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HOH’s One-Minute Recess: Bittersweet Symphony

Anti-deficit advocacy group Public Notice is spreading the love — of cutting government spending — on Capitol Hill on Monday by sending “bittersweet valentines” to Members of Congress.

The creative lobbying effort reminds Members that today, the day the president’s budget was released, the “American people have made it clear they want and expect the president and new Congress to work together to cut spending,” Executive Director Gretchen Hamel says.

The valentines are heart-shaped candy boxes (with chocolate cherries inside — yum!) that feature the message: “Awww, you shouldn’t have … WAIT you didn’t! Get out there and cut some spending.” Public Notice thinks the candy will “warm the hearts of taxpayers everywhere.”

There also are messages hidden under each candy, including one reading, “tastes better than pork!” and another saying, “cuts are a BFD.”

Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) are among those slated to receive the bittersweet treats, the group says.

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