Congressional Budget Politics

"Lawmakers Rally Lobbyists in 'Call To Arms' For Upcoming Spending Fight: Senate Appropriations Subcommittee Urged Lobbyists to Push for Continued Funding," by ABC's Jonathan Karl and Matthew Jaffe: "In an e-mail obtained by ABC News, a top staffer for [a] key Senate Appropriations subcommittee called for a meeting of lobbyists and interest groups that would be affected by expected cuts to the Labor and Health and Human Services budget. The Jan. 24 meeting was attended by approximately 400 people, ... and served as a 'call to arms' for those determined to fight Republican budget cuts. 'One thing everyone should be able to agree on now is that a rising tide lifts all boats, and that a higher [Labor, Health & Human Services] allocation improves the chances for every stakeholder group to receive more funding,' the committee staffer for Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, wrote in an e-mail inviting people to the meeting." http://abcn.ws/i3NaAM

--A GOP aide e-mails: "[T]his is the kind of thing that Republicans could easily seize on as a prime example of how Washington is broken. Democrats meeting behind closed doors with 400 lobbyists to talk about how they can keep their hands on the taxpayer cash."