Daily Democratic Wire 1-29-2010

George Wenschhof

Today, President Barack Obama will address House Republicans - as he said in his State of the Union address, the president is willing to reach out to Republicans. He will speak at the start of a three day House Republican Retreat being held in Baltimore, Maryland. TheHill.com has more here.

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Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke confirmed for second term - the vote was 70-30 with 12 Democrats joining 18 Republican Senators in opposition. After all the drama, the vote was not close. FirstRead has more here.

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Senate votes in increase national debt ceiling by 1.9 trillion - this action was necessary as the debt was approaching the current debt ceiling. Included was also a "pay-go" amendment for new proposed programs. The national debt ceiling is now 14.3 Trillion. The House is expected to pass the bill soon. Politico.com has more here.

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Good news on the economy as Commerce Department reports second straight quarter of economic growth - for the quarter; Oct. - Dec. 2009 the growth was a 5.7% annual increase which is the largest rate of growth in the U.S. since the third quarter in 2003. Hopefully, this is a sign the Stimulus program is working and the country is coming out of the severe recession. MSNBC.com has more here.

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Former Prime Minister Tony Blair faces grilling in official British inquiry on Iraq - how Britain became involved in the U.S. led invasion of Iraq is being investigated. Stay tuned for testimony here may impact some of the U.S. players who sold the U.S. on getting involved in this disastrous occupation of Iraq. The NY Times has more here.

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