The Hill Articles: February 3, 2011

OVERNIGHT ENERGY: Oil sands in focus as Canadian leader visits OVERNIGHT TECH: Patent reform bill moves to Senate OVERNIGHT HEALTH: HHS defends Medicaid flexibility, but GOP criticism continues Senators urge House leaders to pass trade-assistance bill Republican leaders work hard to prove their budget-cutting credentials Senate rejects GOP plan to lower labor cost of FAA construction projects FEC increases contribution limits Rep. Graves won’t challenge Sen. McCaskill In maiden speech, Manchin steers towards center DAY’S END ROUNDUP Senate to vote on two amendments to FAA bill by 5:30 p.m. Geithner: GOP default plan ‘harmful’ MoveOn.org mobilizes to support Planned Parenthood amid controversy Paging Batman? Consumer protection agency adopts familiar logo Senators urge return of funds for orphaned earmarks Perry to keynote Kentucky GOP dinner Senators debate merits of high-speed rail New consumer protection bureau gets a Hollywood narrator Defining ‘clean’ is the energy challenge Senators offer tributes to Ronald Reagan Kucinich: Suspected WikiLeaks leaker could be facing ‘cruel and unusual’ treatment House GOP readies budget numbers Small-business demand for credit down for second straight year Chambliss: Introduce deficit plan without tax deductions GOP to move to regulations next week House Appropriations details GOP cuts Consumer agency open for online input Montana Republican exits Senate race, clears way for Rehberg ‘Race to Green’ good for business Rep. Speier to introduce ‘do not track’ bill next week Sebelius offers alternatives to Medicaid waivers Ohio Democrat wishes a happy new year in Chinese Obama spokesman Bill Burton and wife expecting a child Mubarak: Obama doesn’t understand Egypt, culture McCain says a ‘much more centrist’ Obama ‘much’ easier to work with Editorial: Let voters decide on Sen. Ensign Public health groups launching campaign to defend EPA climate rules Senators fear deficit focus will be roadblock to approval of Iraq funds Senate hearing debates timing of fiscal austerity Cut taxes on business to restore American competitiveness (Rep. Richard Hanna) Bernanke: Default would be ‘catastrophic’ Shell scraps bid to drill off Alaska’s coast this year Federal government cuts $15 billion in contract spending White House condemns journalists’ detention: ‘The world is watching’ Reid blasts House GOP proposal as ‘draconian’ and ‘unworkable’ GOP offers $32 billion budget cut Report: Blizzard traffic brought down National Weather Service website More than $30 million in tax credits claimed in error Obama calls for making buildings more efficient VA Blue Button moves ahead with vets’ health records Palin skipping CPAC You win some. You lose some. Bernanke: Congress must change budget’s ‘unsustainable path’ McCaskill challenger blames computer problems for erroneous fundraising report Group wants net neutrality tied to USF reform House Dem says oversight panel on healthcare law ‘fishing expedition’ Grassley, others tweet Prayer Breakfast Sen. Moran talks tanker competition with Defense Secretary Mossberg: Verizon iPhone has better voice service than AT&T RNC sells Reagan’s favorite candy at 100th birthday website Liberal House Dem to Obama: Use threat of cutting all Egypt aid Romney doles out nearly $130K to House and Senate Republicans White House suffers e-mail outage Sen. Rockefeller says Democrats delaying FAA bill Dodd-Frank fixes top financial industry group’s agenda Merkley says U.S. should cut off Egypt aid if ‘thuggery’ continues Giffords’s husband calls on country to ‘work better together’ Patent reform bill passes out of committee GOP faces challenge sustaining ‘broad’ coalition NRSC hits Manchin over healthcare vote Service sector, productivity increase Rove-backed group spends to bolster 19 targeted Republicans Reid: GOP wasting time on ‘symbolic votes’ like healthcare repeal Obama shares stage with Rep. Giffords’ husband at National Prayer Breakfast Top senators: Egypt crisis a wake-up call on oil supplies Virginia AG asks Supreme Court to rule Sen. Leahy threatens to cut off Egyptian aid Minority advocate: Underserved Americans, not the wireless carriers, were the SOTU ‘winners’ Barney Frank won’t challenge Sen. Scott Brown in 2012 Issa, lawmakers ask Pakistan to release U.S. embassy staffer Initial unemployment claims fall by 42,000 New policy on Iran Poll: Obama, Nelson approval below 50 percent in Fla. Obama calls his Christian faith a ‘sustaining force’ Treasury risking trust in U.S. debt with ‘incorrect’ warnings, Republican says Senate to mark Reagan’s 100th birthday Hatch: Kagan should recuse herself from any challenge to healthcare reform Lugar touts fundraising, vows he’s ready for primary challenge from Tea Party News bites: DOE to tout ARPA-E, judge says Feinberg is not independent, and more Judge holds Interior in contempt over drilling ban China’s economic forward thinking Romney: 2012 race would ‘take me to Iowa’ Rep. Giffords’s husband to speak at prayer breakfast Obama to unveil energy agenda amid mounting GOP challenges MORNING READ GOP plans ‘unrelenting’ healthcare repeal effort, even after Senate defeat Effort to repeal health reform tax gains steam Shooting the fat on the VAT OVERNIGHT ENERGY: Bingaman’s challenges after Obama meeting OVERNIGHT TECH: Senators deny cyber bill contains ‘kill switch’ OVERNIGHT HEALTH: Senate blocks repeal, but Republicans not done OVERNIGHT MONEY: Thursday is Bernanke and Paul Ryan time Sen. Whitehouse offers amendment to ban pointing lasers beams at airplanes Senate to resume debate on FAA authorization and amendments on Thursday