Happy Wednesday!

Hello everybody and welcome to the Shuster "Daily Briefing" for March 25, 2009. This was another big day in the world of national "budget priorities." Our D.C. intern Hui Wang has been tracking the news today and is helping me with the briefing!

President Obama traveled to Capitol Hill late this afternoon to defend his $3.6 trillion budget plan. He is getting a lot of criticism from Republicans and some exasperation from a few moderate Democrats who believe the measure needs to be cut down. Obama is planning a wide-range increase of spending in healthcare, education and energy, and to reduce jobless. He said his plan will decrease the deficit every year after this next fiscal year.

One key figure to watch in the budget negotiations is a frequent guest of this show Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., who is chairman of the budget committee. He is putting together a counter proposal that he says will save $608 billion in five years.

We will start the show tonight with Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif. How much are the progressive Democrats willing to give up? And do they want the President to use a measure that would only require 51 votes to get the Budget through as opposed to 60? Sen. Boxer is a terrific guest and we look forward to talking with her.

Following Sen. Boxer, we will get reaction from a top budget advisor to President Obama.

In our second block, we will take a closer look at the lingering controversy over those AIG bonuses. Readers of the New York Times op-ed page saw an extraordinary column this morning by an AIG employee who announced they are quitting the company. We will talk with a lawyer representing some of the AIG bonus recipients. Prepare for fireworks!

In "Hypocrisy Watch," we will get back to the decision facing Democrats on "budget reconciliation." That's the 51 vote versus 60 vote threshold they are weighing in the budget process. Several Republicans are threatening to "go nuclear" if the Democrats use the 51 vote threshold. But, these same Republicans embraced that maneuver when the GOP controlled Senate passed President Bush's agenda.

Every Wednesday is "Mythbuster Wednesday" here with Newsweek's Daniel Gross. Dan has some great material today, courtesy of some amazing remarks by Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa. He said the way to fix the economy and control Obama's budget is to have “an across- the- board freeze” on federal spending. He called President Obama’s spending plan a “trend toward socialism”, which will undermine the free market. Is that the truth or is it fiction?

"Quote of the Day" comes from Andre Gide:

"Believe those who are seeking the truth; doubt those who find it."

Thanks in advance for watching tonight's show. "1600" airs at 6 p.m. in Washington, D.C.; 5 p.m. in Des Moines; 4 p.m. in Great Falls; and 3 p.m. in Portland.

Shuster and Hui Wang