National Debt -- Might Reach Limit by Election Day: A new CBO estimate of the projected national debt shows that the statutory debt limit might be reached by election day, rather than in 2009, per the previous estimate -- mostly due to expected decreases in corporate tax revenues. Under the "Gephardt" rule in the House, the debt ceiling increase in the budget resolution boosting the limit to $10.2 trillion goes into effect without a stand-alone vote. A Senate vote would still be required for a House bill raising the debt ceiling to become law. Earmarks -- Muscle, not Merit: The Times reports this morning on a Chronicle of Higher Education study of earmarks dedicated to education. Choice quotation from University of Virginia professor of politics James D. Savage: "When it comes to earmarks, those taxpayer dollars are allocated strictly on the basis of the power and access of the legislators involved." Housing -- Another Crisis, This One Political: Last Friday, Sens. Patty Murray (D-WA) and Christopher Dodd (D-CT) sent a letter to President Bush urging HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson to resign, citing : "four separate allegations of impropriety, as well as damning testimony by senior staff [in] the midst of a housing crisis [at a time when HUD needs] a leader who can work tirelessly to find solutions to the problems plaguing the housing and mortgage markets."