GOP leader of N.J. Assembly dies

Matt Rainey/Star Ledger

Alex DeCroce's death shocked lawmakers and legislative staff who had been working with him all evening.

TRENTON, N.J. - As the long and busy final day of New Jersey's legislative session was coming to a close, most lawmakers were preparing to head home for a few hours of sleep before the new session got under way.

But in a matter of moments, everything changed.

The Assembly and state Senate members, along with their aides and other staffers, stood stunned as they learned that Assembly Republican leader Alex DeCroce had collapsed and died around 11 p.m. Monday in a men's room at the Statehouse. They had been working with the 75-year-old lawmaker all evening as the Legislature wrapped up its session with a flurry of last-minute bills, and one of his final acts as the GOP leader was to accuse Democrats of casting votes for an absent member.

GOV. CHRISTIE TO POSTPONE TODAY'S STATE-OF-THE-STATE ADDRESS

The death threw into turmoil the Legislature's reorganization plans for Tuesday and caused Gov. Chris Christie to delay his annual state-of-the-state address. The Assembly and Senate greatly scaled back swearing-in ceremonies for new members. Christie planned to deliver remarks about DeCroce on the floor of the Assembly in lieu of his scheduled address.

Assemblyman Herb Conaway, the Legislature's only physician, attended to DeCroce at the scene, but it was too late. DeCroce was soon declared dead, and Christie, a fellow Republican and personal friend of DeCroce for 20 years, confirmed the death 2 ? hours later.

A cause of death was not immediately known.

"Tonight I lost a dear friend, colleague and mentor," Christie said in a statement. "He helped to give me my start in elective politics in Morris County in 1993. He was one of the most kind, considerate and trustworthy people I have ever had the pleasure to know. This is an enormous loss for our state and for me personally."

An obviously emotional Christie returned to the capital around midnight, wearing a sport jacket over a T-shirt and loafers but no socks. The governor was seen breaking down while embracing Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver and other legislative leaders.

DeCroce, who lived in Parsippany-Troy Hills, served in the Assembly since 1989 and became the GOP's leader there in 2003. His district includes parts of Morris and Passaic counties.

His wife, Betty Lou DeCroce, is a deputy commissioner with the Department of Community Affairs.

DeCroce's death comes on the heels of the passing of another GOP assemblyman, Peter Biondi, on Nov. 10 - two days after he was re-elected to an eighth term.

Source: http://feeds.nydailynews.com/~r/nydnrss/news/~3/3U7NzD5jKaA/story01.htm

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Romney raises $24 million (AP)

MANCHESTER, N.H. ? Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney raised $24 million during the last three months of 2011.

Romney's campaign announced the year's final fundraising numbers on Wednesday, a day after he won the New Hampshire primary. It's his best fundraising quarter of the primary campaign so far. The former Massachusetts governor has $19 million to use in upcoming primaries as he looks to become the GOP nominee.

The total means that Romney raised $56 million in 2011. He announced his candidacy in June. Romney, a multimillionaire, didn't make any personal contributions to the campaign. In 2008, he contributed more than $45 million of his own money. The announcement underscores Romney's huge financial advantage over the conservative rivals scrambling to beat him in South Carolina's Jan. 21 primary.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120111/ap_on_el_ge/us_romney_fundraising

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Fed investments send $76.9 billion to Treasury

WASHINGTON?? The Federal Reserve paid the federal government $76.9 billion in 2011, the second highest amount in history. The central bank earned the money from investments made to bolster the U.S. economy.

The Fed reported that the 2011 payment is down from an all-time record of $79.3 billion made in 2010.

Part of the decline reflected lower earnings that the Fed made from its support for insurance giant American International Group, which repaid a loan early last year, cutting the Fed's interest earnings.

The Fed began buying Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities during the recession and 2008 financial crisis to try to lower long-term interest rates.

Fed officials say such unconventional efforts are necessary until economic growth becomes stronger. Critics have charged that those purchases could ultimately contribute to higher inflation.

All the Fed's efforts have pushed the central bank's balance sheet to $2.9 trillion, more than three times the size of the balance sheet before the financial crisis struck in the fall of 2008.

The Fed is funded from interest earned on its portfolio of securities. After covering its expenses, the Fed makes a payment of the remaining amount to the Treasury Department. By contrast to the payments of the past two years, the payment in 2008 was just $31.7 billion.

This year's payment was reduced by the amount that the Fed paid to cover the cost of operating the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and a new Office of Financial Research, housed in the Treasury Department.

Both agencies were created by the sweeping overhaul of financial regulation passed by Congress in 2010. Republicans have objected to this approach for supporting the consumer bureau, arguing that the agency should come under the normal congressional budget process like other government agencies.

For 2011, the Fed provided $242 million to operate the consumer agency and $40 million to operate financial research office.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45945235/ns/business-us_business/

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Filed Under (Blackwater/Xe Blog Posts) by webmaster on 01-10-2012

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