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Dateline Washington

Shutting off the DOJ Money Flow:

Three states have passed tougher immigration enforcement laws since their leaders believe the federal government can't or won't fulfill its responsibilities to provide national security. However, the Justice Department mounted legal challenges to those states by insisting border security is Uncle Sam's job. Now Tennessee Rep. Diane Black is offering legislation to block funding for any further Justice Department challenges to the state laws. Rep. Black explains why she thinks this move is necessary and reacts to potential criticism ranging from the federal role in border security to the possibility of Congress denying funds for any DOJ investigation the majority doesn't find acceptable.


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GOP Votes to Freeze Federal Pay:

Earlier this week, House Republicans and 72 House Democrats voted to freeze pay for federal employees through 2013. The freeze applies to every government employee except for military personnel. New York Rep. Bob Turner tells us why continuing the freeze was such a high priority for Republicans and how government employees compare to their private sector counterparts on salary and benefits. Turner also addresses the need to tackle real entitlement reform. Turner is an ardent supporter of Israel and weighs in on reports that Israel believes it can wipe out Iran's nuclear facilities if necessary.


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Three Little Wives of Newt:

Newt Gingrich's presidential campaign is trying to regain momentum after a tough loss in Florida. Ironically, his only win thus far is due largely to his reaction to allegations from his second wife that he wanted an open marriage. So the Capitol Steps offer a high class parody featuring the former wives and the current spouse for the former Speaker of the House.


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Holder in the Hot Seat:

Attorney General Eric Holder faced a gauntlet of tough questions from Republicans on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee as part of the ongoing probe into the Fast & Furious operation that allowed guns to walk into the hands of Mexican drug cartels and resulted in hundreds of murders in Mexico plus the killing of U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry. Committee Democrats largely defended Holder and accused the Republicans of playing election year with a tragic story. Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar is a member of the committee. He rips Democrats for trying to cover for the attorney general when Holder either knew about the program or was derelict in not knowing about it. Gosar tells us what may included in the thousands of documents that Holder is refusing to turn over to Congress, why this botched operation endangers the safety of his constituents and where the investigation goes from here.


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The Next Obamacare Mandate?:

On Wednesday, the House of Representatives voted to repeal the CLASS program. It's a long-term care provision within the Obama health plan that the administration shelved last year for being financially unsustainable. Yet Obama and most Democrats still oppose its repeal. Louisiana Rep. Charles Boustany sponsored the repeal that now heads to the Senate. He tells us why he believes repeal of CLASS is essential and what arguments Democrats are offering for keeping the program. Boustany explains why it's dangerous not to repeal CLASS and he reacts to predictions from Senate Republicans that the repeal is not likely to pass on their side of Capitol Hill. Boustany also explains why the program would leave the nation much deeper in debt.


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Maryland Marriage Fight is Back:

Last year, Maryland was expected to be the latest state to legalize gay marriage. But the heavily Democratic legislature got a big surprise as thousands of people of all races and backgrounds rose up to demand the effort be stopped. Their effort was successful but now the battle lines are being drawn a second time as the legislature takes up the issue again. Pastor Derek McCoy is director of the Maryland Marriage Alliance, a coalition of activists committed to preserving the traditional definition of marriage. Pastor McCoy explains how his side was able to win the fight last year and why he's confident again this year. He also tells us why the largely Democratic black community is so overwhelmingly opposed to gay marriage.


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The Battle Against Time:

The Alzheimer's Association is leading a campaign to prevent and effectively treat Alzheimer's disease by the year 2025. The effort is centered around expanded research and naturally relies upon the government to fund a sizable portion of that research. Harry Johns is president of the Alzheimer's Association. He explains what progress is being made right now and whether there is more hope for a way to prevent the disease or to treat it with greater success. Johns also explains why research funding should not be on the table if Congress ever gets around to cutting spending and he details the cost to the nation if there is no significant progress in stopping Alzheimer's from afflicting a rapidly aging population.


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No Relief in Sight:

On Tuesday, the Congressional Budget Office projected a deficit of $1.1 trillion in 2012, jobless rates to stay well above 8.0 percent and economic growth to stay around two percent. Nebraska Sen. Mike Johanns says these numbers prove that the Obama agenda is not working and is actually making things much worse. Johanns is stunned that Obama hardly even referenced deficits in his State of the Union speech. He also says projections of much lower deficits in the coming years will not happen because those estimates assume all of the Bush tax cuts will expire. Johanns says scrapping the Bush tax cuts would depress our economy. He also gives a glimpse at the fiscal restraint Senate Republicans will be advocating this year.


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Sunshine State Showdown:

After watching more than a week of ad blitzes, debates and character attacks, Florida Republicans will decide the winner of today's primary and the recipient of its 50 delegates to the GOP convention later this year. Florida Rep. Dan Webster tells us why the economy will undoubtedly be the top issue for Floridians this year and why he believes President Obama has failed to make economic conditions better there. Webster also discusses the negative tone of the campaign in Florida and whether it will turn off independents and some Democrats away from the eventual Republican nominee.


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CLASS Warfare:

One of the provisions of the president's health care plan that helped to make the package fiscally palatable was the CLASS Act. It's a program originally designed to allow people to pay a small amount monthly for a few years and then receive about $18,000 per year if they require long-term care in a nursing home or some other way. Last year, the Obama administration announced it was not implementing the program because it was no fiscally sound. But at the same time, Obama says he opposes its repeal. The fight comes to the House of Representatives on Wednesday, as GOP lawmakers try to repeal the provision. Most Democrats will defend it. Grace-Marie Turner of the Galen Institute joins us to explain how the CLASS Act originated, why it was deemed financially unfeasible and why there needs to be a repeal effort when it's not being implemented right now.


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'The Spending Has to Stop':

Former Michigan Rep. Pete Hoekstra is running for U.S. Senate against Democratic incumbent Debbie Stabenow. Hoekstra says Michigan suffered through a deep recession because of a terrible tax code, too much regulation and way too much spending. He says Washington has followed suit and reaped the same dismal results. Hoekstra says Michigan's new governor has reversed course in those three and the economy is picking up as a result. Hoekstra also says President Obama deserves some credit for reviving the auto industry but fears the president is also saddling the industry with the same type of mandates that crippled it in the first place. The former House Intelligence Committee Chairman also weighs in on the proposed military spending cuts and warns not to gut our national intelligence system like we did prior to 9/11. And Hoekstra tells us which Republican presidential candidate would do his campaign the most good in Michigan.


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Akin Makes His Case for Senate:

Missouri Rep. Todd Akin is seeking the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill later this year. The six-term congressman tells us what he's hearing most from voters across his state and he gives his reasons for why Sen. McCaskill does not deserve a second term.


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An 'Incredible Volume' of Cuts:

Missouri Rep. Todd Akin is a member of the House Armed Services Committee and is not at all comfortable with the amount of cuts in military spending proposed by the Obama administration. Rep. Akin explains why the sheer volume of cuts is alarming to him and which specific reductions in funding and personnel concern him most. Also an expert in sea power, Akin details why Obama's proposed focus on Asia requires many more ships rather fewer. He also highlights the concerns expressed by Obama's own defense secretary.


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Three Million Jobs?:

President Obama claimed in his State of the Union message that since his economic policies took effect, three million jobs have been created. Is that true? Americans for Limited Government ran the numbers and concludes that not only is Obama's total wrong, it's horribly misleading. ALG Senior Editor Robert Romano explains how the basic arithmetic does not add up and why the average rate of job creation suggests the overall unemployment rate should be increasing or remaining about the same. Romano explains what the unemployment rate would be if the labor force had not shrunk dramatically in the past three years and why Obama's claims still don't work, even if you try to add saved jobs as well.


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'Under the Sea':

President Obama delivered his State of the Union message on Tuesday. While Obama tried to paint a positive picture on the economy, it was clear he felt much more comfortable discussing the one undeniable achievement of the past year - killing Osama bin Laden. The president mentioned it twice in his speech and even used the skill and teamwork of the Navy SEALs as a metaphor for how he wants government to function. But the Capitol Steps are pretty sure that Obama wanted to celebrate even more - as evidenced in their parody, Under the Sea . Our guest is Capitol Steps impressionist Mark Eaton.


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