EJ Dionne's column on budget trade-offs and priorities is a good read. This president will defend tax cuts by any means necessary. It was one of those moments when a public official gives away a larger truth by offering what seems to be a throwaway line. Testifying this week on President Bush's budget, Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. suggested he would not mind a bit if the Democratic Congress added money to prevent cutbacks in coverage under the federal government's children's health insurance program.

On Feb. 13, the House will hold a joint subcommittee hearing titled, "Amending Executive Order 12866: Good Governance or Regulatory Usurpation?" The hearing will include testimony by former OIRA administrator Sally Katzen, Georgetown law professor David Vladeck, and OMB Watch's own Rick Melberth. On Jan. 18, President Bush issued a slew of amendments to Executive Order 12866 — Regulatory Planning and Review. The amendments vary in their specific impact, but share the goal of slowing the regulatory process. On Jan. 30, The New York Times published a front page story on the amendments, pushing the issue into the national spotlight. Now, the House Science and Technology Committee Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight and the House Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law (say that three times fast) will hold a joint hearing to investigate. It is heartening to see Congress exercise its oversight power. Bush's decision to amend the regulatory process undermines our nation's public health and safety protections. Furthermore, it shifts certain Congressional powers into the White House, and shows Mr. Bush's contempt for the people's branch of government. Let's hope the White House is paying attention this Tuesday.

More evidence today that the Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART) is really not used to inform the president's budgeting decisions. Ryan Grim reports for The Politico newspaper that President Bush requested a 31 percent increase in funding for the Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign, a program within the White House Office of Drug Control Policy that runs advertisements to encourage kids not to take drugs.

Representative Bartlett (R-MD) has introduced H.R. 71, the First Amendment Restoration Act. This bill would repeal the "electioneering communication" provision in the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act. The "electioneering communication" ban prohibits labor unions, corporations, and nonprofits from sponsoring broadcast advertisements that have any reference to a federal candidate 30 days before a primary election and 60 days before a general election. Bartlett's press release references the Wisconsin Right to Life case that the Supreme Court will hear April 25.