Aides to former Sen. Rick Santorum say he just received a phone call today from Mitt Romney offering congratulations for the new result in the Iowa caucuses.

It now appears there may be a deal on extending the payroll tax cut.

Sources say the agreement was brokered by the chiefs of staff to House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Reid and Boehner, however, have not spoken yet.

It was hammered out by phone and email since top aides are scattered.

There will be a 5:00 pm ET conference call with House Republican members, in which they will learn the terms of the agreement. There is always the caution that until members give feedback, this remains tentative.

It would be expected that Boehner would announce a deal first later today at the earliest. The president would likely speak later.

Under the agreement, one of the tweaks to the two-month extension of the payroll tax cut would make the payroll reporting requirement easier for small businesses.

If the House acts and passes the short-term extension, the Senate could pass this by unanimous consent without calling senators back in person.

*** UPDATE *** Boehner just released this statement:

“Sen. Reid and I have reached an agreement that will ensure taxes do not increase for working families on January 1 while ensuring that a complex new reporting burden is not unintentionally imposed on small business job creators.  Under the terms of our agreement, a new bill will be approved by the House that reflects the bipartisan agreement in the Senate along with new language that allows job creators to process and withhold payroll taxation under the same accounting structure that is currently in place.  The Senate will join the House in immediately appointing conferees, with instructions to reach agreement in the weeks ahead on a full-year payroll tax extension. We will ask the House and Senate to approve this agreement by unanimous consent before Christmas. I thank our Members – particularly those who have remained here in the Capitol with the holidays approaching – for their efforts to enact a full-year extension of the payroll tax cut for working families.”

NBC News has learned that the Senate plans to pass -- by unanimous consent -- the House-passed FAA reauthorization bill. This would have the same impact as a "clean" extension of the funding. Workers could be rehired and the impasse resolved.

The Transportation Department will release a letter shortly saying that Secretary Ray LaHood will agree to grant a waiver to the rural communities affected by the House bill. That means they will not be adversely affected.

In a statement, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says:

"I am pleased to announce that we have been able to broker a bipartisan compromise between the House and the Senate to put 74,000 transportation and construction workers back to work. This agreement does not resolve the important differences that still remain. But I believe we should keep Americans working while Congress settles its differences, and this agreement will do exactly that."

*** UPDATE *** In a statement, LaHood says, per NBC's Jay Blackman: "This is a tremendous victory for American workers everywhere. From construction workers to our FAA employees, they will have the security of knowing they are going to go back to work and get a paycheck - and that's what we've been fighting for. We have the best aviation system in the world and we intend to keep it that way."

Tea Party freshman Rep. Allen West (R-FL) stirred up Democrats with his angry “you are not a lady” email to DNC Chair and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL). But another Democrat has taken heat as a result of West’s words -- and under a false assumption. 

On the House floor Tuesday in a speech that prompted the tangle with Wasserman Schultz,  West called out Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT), claiming Welch had mistaken him for Rep. Tim Scott (R-SC). West and Scott are the only African American Republicans in the House, and they're both freshman.  

Rep. Welch’s office says West got it all wrong, and West concedes that too. His office calls it a misunderstanding. 

Here’s what happened: Welch was wrapping up his own speech, looked in West’s direction, and said: “I see the gentleman from South Carolina.”  West was the next speaker and began by chiding Welch:

"I do need to correct my colleague from Vermont, I'm not from South Carolina, I'm from Florida but that's OK. I'm the guy with hair." Scott has a shaved head.

Aides say the comment left the false impression that Welch was insensitive and mistaken. The Vermont Democrat’s office even received calls accusing him of being racist. His office says Welch was actually referring to South Carolina GOP Rep. Mick Mulvaney, who was seated behind West.

In fact, Welch's office says the context backs that up. “Rep. Welch was alluding to an amendment offered by Rep. Mulvaney to identify wasteful spending in the Pentagon budget as an example of how Democrats and Republicans can work together,” Welch spokesman Scott Coriell tells NBC News.

In addition, aides say Welch and West had appeared together on FOX, making it implausible that Welch would mistake his colleague. But Welch did not correct West publicly, and left the racially tinged charge unanswered. Welch later went directly to West and explained.

West’s office says “there are no hard feelings,” and that the two congressmen were “joking about the misunderstanding,” according to West spokeswoman Angela Sachitano.  

But the Florida congressman’s assumption put Welch in a tough spot. His office said, "The misunderstanding was unfortunate.”

President Obama's Interior secretary is due for a raise, but Louisiana GOP Sen. David Vitter threatened to block that pay increase unless the Interior Department opens more access to Gulf drilling. Democrats say that Vitter's opposition amounts to coercion.

This morning, aides to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar say he asked the Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to withdraw any effort to address Salazar's planned salary increase over a rare and personal dispute launched by Vitter. Salazar wrote to Reid, that Vitter's demand is "wrong" and called it "attempted coercion."

Vitter is demanding Salazar take action to open more drilling permits in the Gulf of Mexico, an issue important in his home state after last year's spill. In a letter, Vitter threatened to use a procedural move that would allow him to block Salazar's pay adjustment.

Vitter wrote, "[W]hen the rate of permits issued for new deepwater exploratory wells reaches pre-moratorium levels (so 6 per month), I will end my efforts to block your salary increase."
 
Salazar is entitled to a raise of $19,600, elevating his salary to that of other cabinet posts now that his original Senate term has expired. In long-standing rules, senators appointed to executive branch jobs cannot be paid at the higher rate until their elected terms expire. Secretary Clinton also is under this rule until 2012.

Salazar aides say the secretary had not requested the salary raise himself, and does not want the salary related vote to occur because of Vitter's action. 

Vitter's office says he will not withdraw his objection to the raise at this time and Vitter says in a written statement, "It's just my way of keeping the 'boot on the neck" of Interior until they get job the done. Surely, the secretary can appreciate that approach." That is a reference to Salazar's use of the boot-on-the-neck phrase during oil spill hearings last year.

Today Vitter responded, "I'm glad the secretary has dropped his push for a pay raise; it was truly offensive to Gulf energy workers who are struggling under his policies. Now I hope he starts earning what he already makes and properly issues new permits for much needed drilling in the Gulf."

Aides say Salazar is in Colorado today. Reid's office says he plans to work with Republicans to get Vitter to drop his opposition. 

Senate Majority Leader Reid just issued this statement:

"I have worked with Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on this issue for weeks and it is wrong for Sen. Vitter to try to get something in return for moving forward on a matter that the Senate has considered routine for more than a century."Ken Salazar is extremely well-qualified, hard-working cabinet secretary, and deserves better than to be strong armed while trying to do an important job for the American people."

Not one U.S. Senator has told NBC News that they have seen the official Osama bin Laden death photo. Many, who attended the CIA Director Leon Panetta briefings, say they were not shown in those sessions. Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein says no senators have seen the photos. Feinstein adds she believes a fake has circulated.

Here's the confusion: Three senators -- Sens. Scott Brown (R-MA), Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), and Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), all Republicans on the Armed Services Committee, said they had seen a picture of the deceased bin Laden, but now are backing off.

Brown's office is backtracking and says the photo he referred to was not authentic. Brown agrees with President Obama and opposes the release.

Chambliss says he would make a judgment after he sees the picture but is concerned about the impact of distributing the death picture. 

"I was shown a photo by an individual that was represented to be a photo of bin Laden after he'd been shot," Chambliss said. "It appeared to be an accurate photo. It was not an official photo."

Ayotte said she was shown a photo by another senator on an electronic device. Ayotte said she believed the photo depicted a deceased bin Laden. Now, her office says she is not sure if the image she was shown is legitimate.

"I was shown a photo," Ayotte said. "I don't know whether its authentic. It appeared obviously to look like Osama bin laden but I can't verify whether its authentic or not."

Ayotte differs from the president and supports the release of the official death photo. She is the former attorney general of her home state and her husband Joe Daley is an Iraq war veteran.

NBC's Chuck Todd reported on NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams that, according to multiple administration sources, "No senator has been shown a photo."

From NBC's Kelly O'Donnell
Florida freshman GOP Sen. Marco Rubio sent a letter to Senate leaders Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell, urging them to call for a resolution explicitly advocating regime change in Libya.

The key quote in Rubio's letter:

I am writing to seek your support for bringing a bi-partisan resolution to the Senate floor authorizing the President's decision to participate in allied military action in Libya.

Furthermore, this resolution should also state that removing Muammar Qaddafi from power is in our national interest and therefore should authorize the President to accomplish this goal. To that end, the resolution should urge the President to immediately recognize the Interim Transitional National Council as the legitimate government in Libya.

Below is the entire letter:

March 30, 2011

Dear Senators Reid and McConnell:

I am writing to seek your support for bringing a bi-partisan resolution to the Senate floor authorizing the President's decision to participate in allied military action in Libya.

Furthermore, this resolution should also state that removing Muammar Qaddafi from power is in our national interest and therefore should authorize the President to accomplish this goal. To that end, the resolution should urge the President to immediately recognize the Interim Transitional National Council as the legitimate government in Libya.

For more than four decades, Qaddafi has terrorized the Libyan people, sowed instability among its neighbors, plotted assassination attempts against heads of state and supported terrorist enterprises such as the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, which killed 270 innocent people - including 189 Americans.

Inspired by events in Tunisia and Egypt, Libyans have rebelled against Qaddafi's brutal regime, demanding democratic reforms, transparent governance, and respect for basic human and civil rights. In response to these legitimate demands for a better future, Qaddafi has unleashed foreign mercenaries and used weapons of war against unarmed civilians.

As long as Qaddafi remains in power, he will be in a position to terrorize his own people and potentially the rest of the world. In fact he has vowed to turn rebel strongholds into "rivers of blood." If he succeeds, it will provide a blueprint to repressive regimes across the Middle East in the use of force against unarmed civilians. And unlike the conflicts in other nations in the region, the rebels in Libya have requested and welcome our support.

At the end of the day, the fact remains that our nation is not like other countries.  The United States is an exceptional country with exceptional powers. But that power comes with unique moral obligations and responsibilities.

The world is a better place when America is willing to lead. And American leadership is required now more than ever.

It is my hope that you will lead the Senate to take actions along these lines as soon as possible.

Sincerely,

Marco Rubio
United States Senator

Cc: John Kerry, Richard Lugar, Carl Levin, John McCain

From NBC's Kelly O'Donnell, Luke Russert, and Domenico Montanaro
Liberal Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) is vowing to introduce an amendment to de-fund the military action in Libya. It's not likely to pass the House. Below is the full press release.

Kucinich last night also sent out a fundraising solicitation last night on the military action and on the potential that his district is eliminated after districts are re-drawn later this year.

Here's Kucinich's release:

Amendment Would Deny Funds for the Military Offensive in Libya
Washington D.C. (March 22, 2011) - Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) today announced that he will offer an amendment that would prohibit federal funds from being used to fund military operations in Libya. The amendment would be offered to the next funding measure Congress considers.

Kucinich sent the following letter to fellow Members of Congress:

War Is More than Boots on the Ground

Support an Amendment to End Military Involvement in Libya

Dear Colleague:

A few days ago, the United States and our allies began conducting United Nations-sanctioned, U.S.-led military operations against Libya. The establishment of a no-fly zone by the U.S. and our allies, billed as an act to protect civilians in Libya, is an act of war. Yet the President committed the U.S. to military invention without consulting Congress, in clear subversion of Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution, which gives only Congress the power to declare war.

According to the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, the initial costs of a no-fly zone could cost the U.S. between $400 and $800 million, or $30 to $100 million per week. We have already spent trillions of dollars on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, both of which descended into unwinnable quagmires. Now, the President is plunging the United States into yet another war we cannot afford. While the Administration assures us that that the U.S. will hand-off its lead role to coalition partners within days, we have not been notified of long-term plans or goals following initial air strikes in the country. The timeline the President gave to Congress was summarized with one word: "limited."

I intend to offer an amendment to the forthcoming Continuing Resolution or Omnibus Appropriations bill that would prohibit funding for U.S. involvement in military operations in Libya. I urge you to support this amendment.

Sincerely,
Dennis J. Kucinich
Member of Congress

From NBC's Kelly O'Donnell and Carrie Dann
At 2pm ET, President Barack Obama is scheduled to make his first public comments addressing last night's United Nations Security Council vote to impose a no-fly zone over Libya.

His remarks will take place after an emergency bipartisan meeting of key lawmakers, who are discussing the situation with the president at the White House.

Several members of Congress will participate by phone because they are no longer in Washington after wrapping up legislative business yesterday. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Speaker John Boehner,  and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor are among those who will call in to the meeting.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will be at the White House.

Here's a list of the participants:

Majority Leader Harry Reid

Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer

Senator Carl Levin

Senator Dick Lugar

Senator Saxby Chambliss

Rep. Mike Rogers

Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger

Speaker John Boehner

Majority Leader Eric Cantor

Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi

Senator Dick Durbin

Senator Mitch McConnell

Senator John Kyl

Senator John Kerry

Senator Diane Feinstein

Rep. Buck McKeon

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen

Rep. Howard L. Berman

From NBC's Kelly O'Donnell and msnbc.com's Carrie Dann
The Senate has passed a stopgap bill to fund the government until April 8, sending the measure to the president’s desk for his signature before he leaves on a five-day trip to Central and South America.

The vote was 87-13.

Nine Republicans, three Democrats, and one independent voted against the bill.

Republicans Mike Crapo, Jim DeMint, John Ensign, Orrin Hatch, James Inhofe, Mike Lee, Jim Risch, Rand Paul, and Marco Rubio voted against the measure.

Over 50 House Republicans bucked their own party leadership Tuesday in opposing the continuing resolution (CR), arguing that its cuts were not extensive enough and objecting to the stripping out of some controversial ‘riders.'

Democrats Patty Murray, Jay Rockefeller, and Carl Levin – as well as independent Bernie Sanders – also opposed the measure, saying that the cuts in the GOP-backed CR are too austere.

From NBC's Kelly O'Donnell and Domenico Montanaro
We noted in First Thoughts that Republicans yesterday declined to say explicitly if they would be willing to participate in White House-offered and Vice President Biden-led negotiations on the budget and spending cuts.

But Republicans will, in fact, meet today with Biden and other administration officials today at 4:00 pm ET, aides say.

After saying a meeting might not happen, aides to House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell say the GOP leaders will attend. Hill Democratic leaders will also attend.

From NBC’s Kelly O’Donnell and Carrie Dann
House and Senate leaders may have cooperated to avoid a government shutdown in the short term, but the cooperative spirit between the chambers’ top lawmakers didn’t have much of a cozy afterglow.

Shortly before a Senate vote on a two-week compromise bill to keep the government’s lights on, House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid exchanged digs over a longer-term spending measure.

“I'm not sure whether Senator Reid has a plan to cut spending and keep the government running,” Boehner said at a meeting of the Credit Union National Association on Wednesday morning. “If he does, I think the American people would be interested in seeing it. If he doesn't, I think he owes the American people an explanation."

Last month, the House passed legislation to fund the government through the end of the fiscal year and make $61 billion in cuts to federal funding. The Senate has yet to act on that legislation or propose an alternative long-term spending bill.

A Reid spokesman fired back at Boehner's remarks. “That's tough talk from someone who is being bossed around by a bunch of freshman,” said spokesman Jon Summers, referring to the pressure some new Tea Party-affiliated House members have applied on their leadership to deepen the spending cuts even further.“It's surprising that the Speaker of the House is unaware that the Senate is voting on a bill to fund the government and cut spending this morning."

The two-week measure is expected to breeze to passage in the Senate this morning. It passed the House yesterday in a bipartisan vote that won the approval of over 100 Democrats and all but six Republicans.

*** UPDATE *** The Senate passed the short-term spending bill Wednesday morning by an overwhelming vote of 91-9.  Voting no were four senators who caucus with Democrats (Sens. Tom Harkin, Patty Murray, Carl Levin, and Bernie Sanders) and five Republicans (Orrin Hatch, Rand Paul, Mike Lee, Mike Crapo, and Jim Risch.)