TODAY’S MORNING UPDATE: Quote of the Day, Today’s News Clips

Quote of the Day:

Associated Press: "I understand where the hidden economy, where the hidden budget is in the state; it's in these authorities and boards and commissions," he said. "We are going to rein in these authorities and let them know they are answerable to the people who are elected in this state." - Governor Chris Christie on the DRBA.
Today’s News Clips:

State News:

·    Gov. Chris Christie plans review of N.J. sports, shows, gaming management, Associated Press
·    A coup for Christie: There will be no new tolls for interstates, NewJerseyNewsroom.com
·    Gov. Chris Christie says Passaic agency hired lobbyists to 'tone down' spending criticism, Star Ledger
·     Gov. Chris Christie plans to ask N.J. Legislature for expansion of veto powers, Star Ledger
·      No Nets deal without my OK, N.J. Gov. Christie says, The Record
·     N.J. loses $70B in wealth during four years as residents depart, Star Ledger
·     Gov. Christie pulls no punches: vetos more spending , Examiner

National News:

·     Harry Reid fights low polls with cash , Politico
·     Could Republicans win back the Senate?, Politico
·     Republicans find loophole in budget ploy to push through healthcare legislation, The Hill
·     How the Democrats Could Lose the Senate , Time
·     Pelosi silent on money saved by promised crackdown on waste, The Hill
·     Scott Brown to be sworn in to Senate a week early, Washington Times
·     Initial Jobless Claims in U.S. Unexpectedly Climbed, Bloomberg

State News:

Gov. Chris Christie plans review of N.J. sports, shows, gaming management
Associated Press
Wednesday, February 3, 2010

TRENTON — Gov. Chris Christie today plans to order a seven-member commission to review the way gaming, sports and entertainment are overseen in New Jersey.

An administration official familiar with the governor's plans said Christie is seeking recommendations on what to do with the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, the Xanadu retail and entertainment complex in the Meadowlands and the horse racing industry. Christie also wants suggestions on how to promote Atlantic City as a resort destination.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to discuss governor's plans ahead of a news conference.

Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Barbara Buono has announced a Senate committee will hold hearings into the sports authority starting Feb. 25.

A report by Christie's transition suggests that the NJEA should be seriously looked into and possible disbanded.

Read Full Article <http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/02/christie_plans_to_order_commis.html>

A coup for Christie: There will be no new tolls for interstates
By Andy Lagomarsino
NewJerseyNewsroom.com
Wednesday, February 3, 2010

New Jersey state Senator Steven Oroho, Assemblywoman Alison Littell McHose and Assemblyman Gary Chiusano, all R-Sussex, Morris, and Hunterdon, Tuesday lauded the comments made by Gov. Christie that he did not favor placing new tolls on roads, such as Interstates 80, 287, 78, 195 and 295. The governor's remarks were made in response to questions posed about a transition report that suggested he consider such an action.

"Gov. Christie made it clear his position on the toll issue," stated Oroho. "I am pleased that we have someone in the State House who recognizes that raising tolls or enacting new ones is not the answer to solving our fiscal problems. It is time to find a solution that doesn't continue to burden the people who already pay the highest taxes in the country."

"Placing the additional burden of paying a toll on our heavily-traveled roadways would do more harm than good," said McHose. "The public has all too often seen that the easiest path to travel, and the one that leads to increasing state revenues, is to raise taxes. I am pleased that Governor Christie understands that a proposal establishing new tolls would especially hurt commuters who utilize these roads and should not be under consideration."

Read Full Article <http://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/state/a-coup-for-christie-there-will-be-no-new-tolls-for-interstates>

Gov. Chris Christie says Passaic agency hired lobbyists to 'tone down' spending criticism
By John Reitmeyer
Star Ledger
Wednesday, February 3, 2010

TRENTON -- The Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission regularly spends hundreds of thousands of dollars a year on lobbyists, and now Gov. Chris Christie says the agency is directing its paid advocates to get him to "tone down" his criticism of its spending.

The governor called the money spent on lobbying another waste of the funds the commission collects from its ratepayers.

"What I understand now is that the PVSC is out there trying to hire lobbyists to lobby the administration to get me to tone down a little bit," Christie said during a Statehouse news conference today. "There isn’t a lobbyist in this town who’s going to get me to tone down on this.

"The idea that they would consider hiring lobbyists to try to get us to do that with fee-payer money shows you just how infected that particular commission is," he said.

But hiring lobbyists in Trenton to get Christie to back off isn’t going to work, he said.

"They can hire all of them. It’s not going to work," he said. "All of this money, whether you call it fees or tolls or whatever you call it, is all money that comes out of the people of New Jersey’s pockets.

Read Full Article <http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/02/gov_christie_says_passaic_agen.html>

Gov. Chris Christie plans to ask N.J. Legislature for expansion of veto powers
Associated Press
Wednesday, February 3, 2010

TRENTON — Gov. Chris Christie said today he plans to ask the Legislature for expanded veto powers over additional New Jersey authorities, one day after rejecting the 2010 budget of the Delaware River and Bay Authority.

Christie vetoed the DRBA's 2010 budget, citing its 3 percent increase in spending over 2009. The authority's budget for '09 was $76.2 million, a 1.8 percent increase over 2008. Christie also rejected payments to 98 vendors in unspecified amounts of $25,000 and up to be used throughout the year.

Christie said today he was most troubled by the lack of explanation for the DRBA's blanket spending.

"In a time when we have these kind of budgetary challenges, I am not going to sit by and approve budget increases that are above the rate of inflation," Christie said.

If the DRBA comes up with a rational explanation for the spending, Christie said he would consider the veto.

"We look forward to working with the governor's office to review the matters in question in greater detail," DRPA spokesman Jim Salmon said. In the meantime, the agency will continue operating under the 2009 budget.

Read Full Article <http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/02/gov_chris_christie_announces_p.html>

N.J. loses $70B in wealth during four years as residents depart
By Leslie Kwoh
Star Ledger
Thursday, February 4, 2010

More than $70 billion in wealth left New Jersey between 2004 and 2008 as affluent residents moved elsewhere, according to a report released Wednesday that marks a swift reversal of fortune for a state once considered the nation’s wealthiest.

Conducted by the Center on Wealth and Philanthropy at Boston College, the report found wealthy households in New Jersey were leaving for other states — mainly Florida, Pennsylvania and New York — at a faster rate than they were being replaced.

“The wealth is not being replaced,” said John Havens, who directed the study. “It’s above and beyond the general trend that is affecting the rest of the northeast.”

This was not always the case. The study – the first on interstate wealth migration in the country — noted the state actually saw an influx of $98 billion in the five years preceding 2004. The exodus of wealth, then, local experts and economists concluded, was a reaction to a series of changes in the state’s tax structure — including increases in the income, sales, property and “millionaire” taxes.

“This study makes it crystal clear that New Jersey’s tax policies are resulting in a significant decline in the state’s wealth,” said Dennis Bone, chairman of the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce and president of Verizon New Jersey.

The Boston College report is the first on interstate wealth migration in the country. Wealth includes assets such as real estate, stocks, bonds, 401ks, mutual funds and vehicles.

Read Full Article <http://www.nj.com/business/index.ssf/2010/02/nj_loses_70b_in_wealth_over_fo.html>

No Nets deal without my OK, N.J. Gov. Christie says
By John Brennan
The Record
Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Any deal between the Nets and Devils under which the basketball team would move to Newark is meaningless without state approval, Governor Christie and a key Meadowlands Sports Complex official said Wednesday.

Christie, speaking at a press conference in Trenton, scoffed at recent media reports that a deal is likely to land on his desk this week, and that he will approve it.

“Nothing comes to my desk unless I want it to come to my desk,” Christie said. “Whoever’s going to try to walk in the door has to have permission to walk in the door, first of all.”

Carl Goldberg, the current sports authority chairman, said after Wednesday’s board meeting at the Meadowlands Sports Complex that a Nets-Devils deal “means nothing” unless it is part of a “global solution” such as the one proposed last fall by Jerry Zaro, former Gov. Jon Corzine’s top economic adviser.

Goldberg also confirmed a report in The Record on Tuesday that Miami Dolphins owner and real estate executive Steven Ross is in serious talks to take over the troubled Meadowlands Xanadu project.

Goldberg said he was “cautiously optimistic” that talks between Ross’s Related Companies real estate firm and Xanadu developer Colony Capital would soon bear fruit.

Read Full Article <http://www.northjersey.com/news/020310_No_Nets_deal_without_my_OK_NJ_Gov_Christie_says.html>

Gov. Christie pulls no punches: vetos more spending
By Dennis Miller
Examiner
Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Today, Governor Chris Christie vetoed the 2010 Delaware River and Port Authority budget, citing - among other things - a 3% increase over prior years' spending. The increase from '08 to '09 was only 1.8%. The governor also rejected unspecified payments of $25,000 and up to 98 vendors throughout the year.

This is the latest cost-cutting move by Christie as he tries to slow down New Jersey's runaway spending. Last week, he vetoed $1.3 million in change orders for an addition for Burlington City High School. The project was already $18 million over budget.

Like the appointment of Bret Schundler to head the Education Department, these vetoes are huge wins for NJ taxpayers. Christie is showing that he is not shying down from a fight and is serious about stopping the frivolous spending that has caused the state's taxes to rise and its populous to seek shelter in tax-friendlier states.

The governor is also setting his sights on the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission, in which he has criticized the salary of its executive director, whom Christie said makes $313,000 a year. The 96 people at the commission also make more than $100,000 a year. Presently, the governor has no control over the commission, and Christie has used the PVSC has an example for wanting expanded veto powers.

Read Full Article <http://www.examiner.com/x-35282-Gloucester-County-Conservative-Examiner~y2010m2d3-Gov-Christie-pulls-no-punches-vetos-more-spending>

National News:

Harry Reid fights low polls with cash
By John Bresnahan and Manu Raju
Politico
Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, trailing badly in the polls, is pouring money from his prodigious fundraising operation into the state Democratic party organization to bolster his reelection campaign.

Reid has tapped his campaign war chest for dozens of state and local Democratic candidates as well as party organizations representing African-Americans, Hispanics, Asian-Americans, women, gays and college students. But the bulk of Reid’s largesse is going to the Nevada Democratic Party, which will play a critical role in his race, especially in getting out the vote this November.

Reid helped funnel nearly $660,000 to the state party in 2009 alone, according to Federal Election Commission records. These funds came from Reid’s reelection campaign, his leadership PAC — the Searchlight Leadership Fund — and a joint fundraising committee created by Reid’s campaign and the state party. President Barack Obama, who will be making another trip to Nevada later this month to stump for Reid, was the headliner at a multimillion dollar fundraiser last year that benefited Reid’s reelection campaign and the state party.

Sources close to the Reid campaign said the veteran lawmaker will pump hundreds of thousands of additional dollars into the state party’s coffers throughout the year, even as he looks to raise $25 million or more for his own race. He has already raised more than $15 million.

Read Full Article <http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0210/32497.html>

Could Republicans win back the Senate?
By Jim Vandehei and Alexander Burns
Politico
Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Republicans suddenly have a conceivable path to winning back the Senate in November, after locking in top-flight candidates overnight in Illinois and Indiana.

A 10-seat pickup for the GOP — once regarded as an impossibility even by the party’s own strategists — remains very much a long shot. It would still require a win in every competitive race, something that happens only in wave elections like 1994 and 2008.

But only 14 months after the GOP was routed up and down the ballot on the night of Barack Obama’s election, the new political environment makes significant Senate gains likely. And within the past 24 hours, a Republican recapture of the Senate is at least within the realm of speculation.

With all the usual disclaimers attached — do not engage in political odds-making while taking medication or operating heavy machinery — here's why a Republican takeover is at least possible:

GOP officials tell POLITICO former Sen. Dan Coats will run against incumbent Democratic Sen. Evan Bayh, instantly transforming Indiana into a competitive race.

Read Full Article <http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0210/32454.html>

Republicans find loophole in budget ploy to push through healthcare legislation
By Alexander Bolton
The Hill
Wednesday, February 3, 2010

As it turns out, Senate Democrats may not be able to force healthcare legislation through the chamber on a simple majority vote.

Republicans say they have found a loophole in the budget reconciliation process that could allow them to offer an indefinite number of amendments.
Though it has never been done, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) says he’s prepared to test the Senate’s stamina to block the Democrats from using the process to expedite changes to the healthcare bill.

Experts on Senate procedural rules, from both parties, note that such a filibuster is possible. While reconciliation rules limit debate to 20 hours, senators lack similiarconstraints on amendments and could conceivably continue offering them until 60 members agree to cut the process off.

Another option for Democrats would be to seek a ruling by the parliamentarian that Republicans are simply filing amendments to stall the process. But such a ruling could taint the final healthcare vote and backfire for Democrats in November.

Read Full Article <http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/79423-gop-finds-loophole-in-reconciliation-ploy>

How the Democrats Could Lose the Senate
By Jay Newton-Small
Time
Thursday, February 4, 2010

Most of the Democratic fretting thus far in the election season — and with nine months to go it's still early on — has been focused on potentially losing their 39-seat majority in the House. After all, Democrats control the Senate, where incumbency rules, by a comfortable ten votes, and only 37 seats are up for grabs this year. However, recent retirements, worrisome poll numbers for several incumbents and the entrance of some strong GOP challengers have prompted a wave of concern amongst Senate Dems. While still unlikely, if a perfect political storm were to occur, there is a chance Democrats could lose the Senate. Here's what would need to happen:

Read Full Article <http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1958995,00.html>

Pelosi silent on money saved by promised crackdown on waste
By Jared Allen
The Hill
Thursday, February 4, 2010

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who touted House Democratic efforts to crack down on wasteful spending last year, won’t say how much the initiative would save taxpayers.

Last April, the Speaker fired off a letter to each of her chairmen, calling on them to “conduct rigorous oversight of all aspects of federal spending and government operations to help achieve deficit reduction and long-term fiscal responsibility.” She also demanded that each send her a schedule of planned hearings on waste, fraud and abuse.

In many ways, it was a simple plan: The chairmen were to develop a list of wasteful federal budget items and target those projects for elimination.

The implementation of the program, however, has been more complicated.

Pressed for details, the Speaker’s office this week declined to specify what recommendations Pelosi received from the various committees; whether every committee submitted a list of proposed budget cuts; how the recommendations she did receive were selected or ignored; and how much in savings was identified.

Read Full Article <http://thehill.com/homenews/house/79665-pelosi-reticent-on-savings-from-crackdown-on-waste>

Scott Brown to be sworn in to Senate a week early
By Perry Bacon Jr.
Washington Times
Thursday, February 4, 2010

Sen.-elect Scott Brown (R) will be sworn into office Thursday, a week earlier than expected, after he asked officials in his home state of Massachusetts on Wednesday to certify his election "without delay."

Brown's addition to the Senate will mark the end of the 60-vote majority Democrats have held for much of the past year and give Republicans enough votes to block legislation as they choose.

Brown won a special election Jan. 19 for the seat of the late senator Edward M. Kennedy. He had been slated to join the Senate on Feb. 11, but in a letter to Massachusetts's governor and secretary of state, he asked that his election be certified as soon as possible so he could participate in votes scheduled before then. Brown did not say which votes he wanted to take part in.

Massachusetts Gov. Deval L. Patrick (D) is expected to sign an election certificate for Brown on Thursday morning, and the senator-elect would fly from Boston later in the day to be sworn in.

Senate Democrats say the swearing-in by Vice President Biden probably will happen at 5 p.m. on Thursday.

Read Full Article <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/03/AR2010020303736.html>

Initial Jobless Claims in U.S. Unexpectedly Climbed
By Timothy R. Homan and Bob Willis
Bloomberg
Thursday, February 4, 2010

 Feb. 4 (Bloomberg) -- More Americans unexpectedly filed first-time claims for unemployment insurance last week, indicating companies lack confidence the economic recovery will be sustained.

Initial jobless applications increased to 480,000 in the week ended Jan. 30, the most in seven weeks, from 472,000 the prior week, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington. The number of people receiving unemployment insurance was little changed and those receiving extended benefits increased.

An unemployment rate that’s projected to average 10 percent this year will likely weigh on consumer spending, preventing the biggest part of the economy from accelerating. Without additional gains in sales, companies will be forced to keep cutting costs, limiting staff in order to boost profits.

“The pace of improvement has slowed significantly in the last two months,” said Anna Piretti, a senior economist at BNP Paribas in New York. “This points to downside risk for consumption and the rest of the economy.”

Stock-index futures extended losses and Treasury yields fell after the report. The contract on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index dropped 0.9 percent to 1,086.5 at 8:55 a.m. in New York. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note declined to 3.66 percent from 3.71 percent late yesterday.

Read Full Article <http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aTgVpZ_E29.8&pos=2#>