Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA), whose home was recently raided as part of an FBI investigation to his ties to convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff, has resigned his seat on the House Appropriations Committee. AP: Rep. John Doolittle, whose house was searched by the FBI in an influence-peddling investigation, said Thursday he will step down temporarily from the House Appropriations Committee.

Tuesday was Tax Day, and if anything it' a reminder that, as Americans, we're all united by at least one thing: a four-digit number, "1040." That's right - even the president and vice president are just like everybody else on Tax Day.

In addition to his demurrer on the tax gap, as Matt notes below, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson also begged off yesterday on another matter of tax policy that had been a major Bush administration priority, telling the Senate Finance Committee: There isn't a major tax reform proposal being put forward now, and I don't see that on the dockets in the near future. So much for all that brave talk out of Congress about fundamental tax reform that we noted earlier this year, and the (now-languishing) recommendations offered in November 2005 by the president's own tax reform advisory commission.

Yesterday, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee voted favorably to reauthorize the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA). PDUFA allows FDA to collect money from the drug industry in order to pay for safety tests of new drugs. While this may sound like a good way for the government to raise funds, the money comes with strings attached. The drug industry, to some extent, dictates the timetable for drug approval.