OVERNIGHT MONEY: Veto threat

On a broader note, the Senate and president already have declared that they will not swallow the level of cuts being contemplated, so each increase in cuts boosts the chances the government will shut down sometime after March 4.

What Else to Watch For:

Now for FY2012: The House spending bill and the president’s budget for the next fiscal year were on odd parallel tracks on Tuesday, a pattern that is set to continue on Wednesday as Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Jack Lew, the president’s budget director, make return trips to Capitol Hill. 

This time, it will be Geithner’s turn to pull double duty, with the secretary slated to discuss the budget with both the Senate Finance Committee and the House Budget Committee. Lew, meanwhile, will have to be content with a single appearance, before the House Ways and Means Committee. 

On Tuesday, Lew testified before both the House and Senate budget panels – and didn’t always get the welcome mat. For his part, Geithner told Ways and Means that making changes to entitlements were part of creating long-term fiscal health. Both men also heard the charge from Republicans that the White House had failed to lead on areas like entitlements and that the budget spent and taxed too much. 

Blame Game: The House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday will hear from the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC), the panel created by Congress to root out the causes of the financial crisis. The massive report the commission issued last month dished out blame to government regulators and policymakers for failing to see or prevent the crisis as it emerged, while also criticizing top Wall Street bankers for taking on too much risk. 

The report did not garner unanimous approval from the panel, with the six panel members appointed by Democrats signing off and all four Republican appointees standing opposed. The committee will hear both the “yea” and “nay” perspective on Wednesday, with a bipartisan group of six commissioners scheduled to testify.

Title Says It All: Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) is scheduled to appear at a Heritage Foundation event dubbed “Debunking the Debt Limit Hysteria.” (Toomey, you may recall, has pushed a measure that would allow the debt ceiling to be reached without causing default.)

Capitol Hill Roundup: Kathleen Sebelius, the health and human services secretary, is set to return for her second straight day of hearings on the presidential budget as well – this time at House Ways and Means.

And the Government Accountability Office is expected to release a report on government agencies most at risk for waste, with the regulatory system, the postal service and tax collection among the areas thought to be included. 

A bipartisan group of lawmakers is also scheduled to attend the event, including the at times battling duo of Reps. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), the chairman and ranking member respectively of the House oversight panel. 

Economic Indicators:

— The Mortgage Bankers Association is set to drop its weekly applications survey.

— The Census Bureau is scheduled to release building permits information for January.

— The Labor Department is expected to circulate Producer Price Index statistics, also for January.

— The Federal Reserve is slated to release January figures for industrial production.

— And the U.S. Energy Information Administration is scheduled to drop its Week in Petroleum. 

Breaking Tuesday:

About That Shutdown: Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), the House minority whip, told reporters that his party is open to reasonable spending cuts. So: “If the government shuts down, it’ll be the Republicans’ responsibility.”

About That Press Conference: A short rundown of Obama’s talk with reporters on Tuesday: The fiscal commission’s findings have not been tossed aside. And entitlement and tax reform are definitely on the table. 

About That Housing Market: The Wall Street Journal reports that banks have increased what they’re looking for in a down payment since the housing bust. The Obama administration may be looking to bump minimum down payments to 10 percent, but the median down payment stood at 22 percent in nine major cities last year.  

About That Stock Exchange: Deutsche Boerse’s purchase of the New York Stock Exchange – for somewhere around $9.5 billion – may pave the way for more mergers, Bloomberg reports, with Nasdaq being bandied about as a possible target for takeover.

What You Might Have Missed:

On the Money’s Tuesday. 

Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.) wants the House Financial Services Committee to treat witnesses with R-E-S-P-E-C-T.

Elizabeth Warren doesn’t want the CFPB’s purse strings in the hands of lawmakers.

Daniel Inouye on House budget cuts: They’re arbitrary.

Fannie Mae’s CEO defends the use of millions in taxpayer dollars for legal fees.

Barney Frank and friends say proposed Republican cuts would hurt oversight of Wall Street.

Ways and Means Democrats want trade adjustment assistance extended – and soon. 

Ways and Means Republicans want answers on improper tax credit payouts. 

And retail sales slowed in January.