![\"Amtrak](\"http:\/\/www.opensecrets.org\/news\/Amtrak%20Joe.jpg\")
<\/span>THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS:<\/b> In his State of the Union address on Wednesday, President Barack Obama acknowledged the anger and frustration of many unemployed Americans and called job creation a high priority in the coming months. One component of the pending jobs bill<\/a>, passed by the House and currently being considered by the Senate, is $8 billion in grants to build high-speed train lines across 31 states. However, critics say that the amount proposed will be only a tiny fraction of the cost associated with such an ambitious infrastructure development project. With Vice President Joe Biden<\/a> as second-in-command, it is no surprise that trains are getting attention: his love<\/a> of Amtrak is legendary<\/a>. Speaking of relationships, the railroad industry<\/a> donated $111,000 to Obama’s campaign<\/a> in the 2008 election cycle, and spent more than $44 million on lobbying<\/a> in 2009. <\/p>\nDEEP FREEZE:<\/b> President Barack Obama and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi<\/a> (D-Calif.) aren’t seeing eye-to-eye on the president’s new plan for a three-year spending freeze to start in 2011 as part of his efforts to promote fiscal responsibility. In his State of the Union address, Obama highlighted the administration’s efforts to tighten its belt along with the America people; but clarified that certain areas would be exempt from the freeze. Pelosi disagrees with Obama’s exclusion of the Defense budget, arguing that Pentagon spending needs to be examined, and that unnecessary expenditures need to be eliminated. The defense sector <\/a>spent more than $128 million to influence federal legislation and policies in 2009 — a year in which the Obama administration called for increased money for the Pentagon but also advocated cutting several high-profile defense programs, such as the F-22 fighter jet<\/a>. <\/p>\n BERNANKE BACK IN BUSINESS:<\/b> The White House breathed a sigh of relief yesterday as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke was approved for a second term by a 70-30 vote<\/a> in the Senate. But this isn’t the end of criticism from Congress and the public; all eyes will be fixed on the intersection of Wall Street and Washington<\/a> as Congress tries to pass financial reform measures. Some Senators hope that the rocky road to Bernanke’s confirmation sent a message about the need to protect the interests of Main Street instead of the interests of wealthy CEOs — and about the importance of transparency in the Federal Reserve. Sen. James DeMint<\/a> (R-S.C.), for instance, said<\/a> “Americans want a new Fed chairman who is willing to provide transparency into the Fed’s actions, who is willing to accept responsibility for the Fed’s mistakes, and who is willing to support true monetary reform that guarantees the soundness of our money.”<\/p>\n