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The head of Greece’s second-placed Radical Left Coalition has written to top European officials urging them to re-examine the country’s strict austerity program.

In a letter Thursday, Alexis Tsipras said the strong anti-austerity vote in Sunday’s election, which produced a hung parliament, stripped Greece’s bailout commitments of “political legitimacy.”

Tsipras says the punishing cutbacks have failed to address the country’s problems, are destroying the recession-bound economy and threatening to create a Greek “humanitarian crisis.”

He urged top EU officials to “re-examine the entire framework of the current strategy.”

The letter was addressed to European Union President Herman Van Rompuy, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

ATHENS, Greece (AP) _ Greek power-sharing talks entered a third and final round Thursday, as parties in the crisis-hit country struggled to hammer out a coalition deal after general elections produced no outright winner.

The mandate to seek coalition partners passed to Socialist leader Evangelos Venizelos, whose traditionally dominant PASOK party was hammered in Sunday’s poll, pushed into third place with just 13.2 percent of the vote.

He is the third party leader to try to find an agreement. Antonis Samaras, whose conservative New Democracy won the most votes, and runner-up Alexis Tsipras, who heads the Radical Left Coalition, or Syriza, have already tried and failed.

A major stumbling block has been Tsipras’ insistence that Greece’s tough austerity program, which is part of its international bailout commitments, be canceled or frozen. Both Samaras and Venizelos argue such a move would be catastrophic for the country, and would lead Greece out of the euro.

Venizelos has three days in which to seek some form of agreement, although since all the party leaders have already met during the previous two rounds, that looks unlikely.

“Things are not easy,” he said. “I am not declaring myself optimistic. But I am declaring myself responsible, and dedicated to this aim that I believe serves the national interest.”

If his efforts fail, President Karolos Papoulias will convene all the leaders in a last-ditch attempt to cobble together a coalition. If that is also unsuccessful, new elections will be called for early June, prolonging the political uncertainty.

Speaking earlier in parliament, Venizelos said he believed an agreement was possible.

“If the parties show a minimum level of responsibility, we believe this parliament can produce a government that is viable, responsible and one that can do something better for this country,” he said.

Venizelos, however, sharply criticized a proposal by Syriza to impose a moratorium on debt payments.

“This would lead the country to formal bankruptcy, cutting it off the international banking system, and world markets, halting imports and exports and lines of credit to businesses. Greece would become Albania of the 1960s.”

Markets, in the doldrums since Greece’s election stalemate, partially rebounded Thursday, with shares on the Athens Stock Exchange up 2.15 percent at 628.64 in early afternoon trading.

But new unemployment figures released Thursday showed the jobless rate reaching 21.7 percent in February, after more than 900 people lost their jobs every day on average in the prior 12 months.

In return for billions of euros in rescue loans from other European Union countries and the International Monetary Fund, Greece imposed harsh austerity measures that saw salaries and pensions slashed, tens of thousands of people lose their jobs and businesses close down.

Anger at the past two years of austerity and the deep financial crisis saw voters desert the formerly dominant two main parties and flock to smaller parties on the right and left. Syriza saw a strong boost, bringing the party into second place with 16.8 percent.

“The people have punished PASOK, because they considered it responsible for the crisis,” Venizelos said.

But, Venizelos said the election result was a clear message that the Greek people rejected the dominance of any one party.

“It is clear from the result that the people want a coalition government, handing no clear mandate to any single party,” Venizelos told his party’s deputies. “The Greek people want to remain in the euro.”

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Well, it’s over. Mitt Romney has amassed a nearly-insurmountable delegate lead, and is on track to become his party’s nominee for president.

The road to victory hasn’t been easy for the former Massachusetts governor. The primary campaign stretched on for months, and at least 10 different candidates topped the national polls at some point.

So how much did victory cost?

Romney spent a total of $76.6 million, far more than any other campaign. That total is, for example, more than the combined spending of Ron Paul, Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich.

Now, money isn’t everything in politics — but it sure doesn’t hurt. And in this field, Romney dominated.

"The Romney team was putting a lot of money out there," one Santorum adviser told CNN when the former Pennsylvania senator called it quits earlier this month. "The budget was a factor."

More money, more votes: The billion dollar campaign

At the end of March, the Romney camp had captured 607 delegates and 4.1 million votes. That means the candidate, who has cultivated a reputation as a penny-pincher, spent $18.50 per vote, and $126,000 per delegate.

The money was used to cover various expenses like hotels, food, equipment, accounting services, rental cars, air travel, event consultants and online advertisers.

For instance, in March, the campaign spent $871 on Poland Spring water, $1,966 on office supplies from Apple (, Fortune 500), more than $50 at Applebee’s, $48 at Arby’s, $9.57 at Panda Express, $11,000 in payments to the Waldorf Astoria hotel and $70,165 at law and lobbying firm Patton Boggs.

But at least two of Romney’s contenders had a better votes-to-expenditure ratio.

America’s Choice 2012

Gingrich, for example, spent $21 million through the end of March, collecting 141 delegates and 2.2 million votes. That works out to just under $10 per vote and around $150,000 per delegate.

Santorum spent $18.7 million on 264 delegates and 2.9 million votes for a per-vote expenditure just north of $6.50 and a cost-per-delegate of about $71,000.

Paul, meanwhile, got the worst return on his money of the final contenders. The Texas congressman spent nearly $35 million, but received only around 1.1 million votes and 72 delegates. The math works out to $32.40 per vote and roughly $485,500 per delegate.

And that’s just the official campaign spending. This cycle, the influence of super PACs should not be ignored. While technically prohibited from coordinating with campaigns, the new spending vehicles acted as a supplement, and in some cases, became campaign linchpins.

When super PAC money is factored in, overall spending on Romney’s behalf jumps to $122 million, bringing his cost-per-vote to just under $30. By this measure, each delegate cost more than $200,000.

Gingrich also saw a significant jump when super PAC money is included. Adding in the $18 million spent by the Winning our Future super PAC, the former House speaker’s cost-per-vote jumps to over $17.75, while spending per delegate tops $275,000.

The Santorum super PAC added around $8 million in spending. That pushed him to almost $9.50 per vote and $101,500 per delegate. Less reliant on super PAC spending, Paul’s figures were little changed.

Moving ahead, Romney faces the challenge of ramping up fundraising efforts, while investing a healthy percentage of that money in the kind of ground game that will be able to get out the vote in November.

One candidate has a jump on Romney in that category: President Obama. The Obama re-election campaign has brought in $191 million, and already spent just less than half — or $89 million — of that total. 

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1994 was great for movie fans. "Pulp Fiction." "The Shawshank Redemption." "Forrest Gump." But bond investors definitely would rather forget that year.

The yield on the 30-year Treasury (then the benchmark, as opposed to the 10-year that’s the benchmark now) began 1994 at about 5.8%. At the time, the economy was starting to show some signs of life after a big housing bust wreaked havoc on consumers and big banks. (Sound familiar?)

By the end of the year, long-term yields had popped to around 8%, one of the biggest bond market bloodbaths ever. Remember that prices fall when rates rise.

Flash forward to 2012. The 10-year started the year at a rate of just 1.87%. It spiked as high as 2.4% and has since settled back to about 2.25%. With the economy slowly improving, do bond investors have to fear that it’s 1994 all over again?

Some experts are, to paraphrase the Ace of Base song that topped the charts in 1994, seeing the sign. (1994 was not nearly as good a year for music as it was for film.)

But rates may only go so high. The big difference between now and two decades ago is that, in 1994, the Federal Reserve under Alan Greenspan was raising rates.

Current Fed chairman Ben Bernanke has gone out of his way numerous times, including in a speech Monday morning, to point out that the central bank needs to stick with "accommodative" monetary policy to keep the job market and economy humming.

How the Fed hurts retirees

The Fed has already pledged to keep short-term rates near zero through the end of 2014. And investors strongly believe that if there’s any evidence that economic growth is starting to stall, Bernanke will likely agree to the Fed’s third big bond buying program since the 2008 financial crisis.

This so-called quantitative easing, or QE3, could put a lid on how high bond rates can go, experts said. That’s because the Fed would be viewed as a buyer of last resort for long-term Treasuries.

"This is completely different from 1994," said Michael Mata, manager of the ING Global Bond Fund () in Atlanta. "As long as Bernanke is Fed Chairman, the Fed will buy more Treasuries as it deems necessary."

Still, many bond investors are bracing for higher rates — albeit not at 1994 levels. If the economy continues to pick up steam, the Fed will probably let its current stimulus effort, which sells short-term bonds and uses the proceeds to buy long-term Treasuries, expire in June as currently scheduled.

The end of this program, dubbed "Operation Twist," should lead to more selling of long-term bonds and higher rates.

Wilmer Stith, portfolio manager of the Wilmington Trust Broad Market Bond Fund () in Baltimore, said that yields on the 10-year could climb as high as 3% after the Fed ceases with Twist. For this reason, he said his fund is betting more on high-quality, investment-grade corporate bonds over Treasuries.

But Stith points out that higher rates are not necessarily a significant problem for the economy — as long as they don’t climb too quickly. And he believes a move from 1.8% to 3% for the 10-year would lead some bond investors to flock back to Treasuries, since they might think the bonds are now a good value.

"At the end of the day, a slow but recovering economy should augur higher yields," Stith said. "But a yield near 3% would be up nicely from the lows, and the net result could be some more buyers."

Another key difference between 1994 and now was that 1994 was also a bad year for stocks. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq fell while the Dow finished the year up just 2%. Investors back then were nervous about the impact of the Fed’s rate hikes on both corporate profits and the broader economy payday loan lenders.

This year, investors seem to be fleeing bonds to rush back into stocks. But this newfound love for riskier assets could itself make life more difficult for bond investors.

Ben Bernanke is just doing his job, folks

Tommy Huie, president and CIO of BMO Asset Management US in Chicago, points out that, until Treasury yields spike significantly higher, investors who want to take part in the market rally but still receive steady income streams might be better off with dividend-paying companies. Heck, even Apple (, Fortune 500) has finally agreed to pay a dividend.

"There are many more attractive opportunities than Treasuries," Huie said. "Concerns about another sell-off like 1994 are legitimate. But it will probably be gradual. Rates may creep up as opposed to spiking up."

Politics could affect bond yields too. Doug Peebles, head of fixed income for AllianceBernstein in New York, said he’s being asked the 1994 question more often lately — especially from people in Europe.

With the U.S. facing yet another crucial deadline for the debt ceiling sometime after the presidential election, it’s possible that bond rates could move much higher (like they did in Italy, Spain and yes, Greece) if investors feel that Republicans and Democrats can’t come to a meaningful agreement on deficit reduction.

Peebles said he does think Treasury rates should be higher than what they are now, but that it’s highly unlikely yields will approach the levels well north of 5% that plague Spain and Italy.

Of course, how high rates head all depends on the economy. And at least one investing expert is worried that if the Fed continues to stick with its pledge to leave short-term rates low for another two years, even if the recovery proves to be sustainable, inflation fears could resurface with a vengeance.

"The slump in economic activity won’t last forever. Interest rates near their lows won’t last forever," said Keith Skeoch, CEO of Standard Life Investments in Edinburgh, Scotland. "Something strange is afoot. The bond sell-off is going to happen. It’s just a matter of when."

Best of StockTwits: Some traders are starting to wonder if Bernanke has "I heart QE" tattooed on his bicep.

mohannadaama: Next best thing to actually doing #QE is threatening to do so when the market least expects it. #Bernanke $SPY $GLD #Stocks #Bonds

etfdigest: Pending home sales down -0.5%, consensus 1.0%, down from 2.0%: That’s gonna leave a mark. Oh wait…more QE? $SPY

DavidSchawel: We live in a QE world; more & more RF assets being sucked out of the system - a form of financial repression as some call it. $SPY $TLT

This is what worries most about the rally this year. It’s hard to tell whether investors really think the economy is getting better, or if they are willing to keep buying stocks because they think Bernanke will drop another quarter in the QE pinball machine every time the market flashes Tilt.

EddyElfenbein: Always amazed at the disconnect between what Ben Bernanke says and what some people think he says.

A fair point. Bernanke isn’t completely tipping his hand. While he’s not as opaque as his predecessor Mr. Greenspan, he’s not as blunt as his European contemporary Mario Draghi at the ECB.

Investors may be grasping for QE3 straws in every Bernanke utterance. But after QE1, QE2 and Operation Twist, can you blame them?

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Paul R. La Monica. Other than Time Warner, the parent of CNNMoney, and Abbott Laboratories, La Monica does not own positions in any individual stocks. 

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It’s been quite a Monday for Apple. Not only did the tech giant announce plans to give investors a $2.65 quarterly dividend and announce plans to buy back $10 billion worth of stock, but it officially landed the top spot in CNNMoney’s March Stock Mania tournament.

CNNMoney readers chose Apple (, Fortune 500) over Exxon Mobil (, Fortune 500) in the finals. Apple grabbed 65% of readers’ votes in the last round.

It’s a comeback of sorts for Apple in the March tournament. Last year, the tech company was bested by automaker Ford, earning just 43% of readers’ votes.

The final four pitted three tech companies, Apple, IBM (, Fortune 500) and Google (, Fortune 500), against Exxon.

The day Apple became normal

In total, 65,845 votes were cast during the week-long contest.

Few companies can match the precipitous run-up in Apple’s share price, which has surged 81% since December 2010. And since the beginning of 2012, Apple’s stock has gained 45%.

Compare that with Exxon’s shares, which have risen only 18% since December 2010, and gained only 2% in 2012, despite a frothy stock market.

Exxon and other oil companies have faced an uphill public relations battle in the aftermath of the devastation caused by BP’s oil spill. Add the recent jump in gas prices, and it’s not getting any easier.

March Stock Mania: See the results!

"What will you do? Put your money into a company that’s helping destroy the planet, or one that innovates? Revolution or pollution? iPad or oil spill?," commented one CNNMoney reader cash advance now.

Even with Apple’s share price hovering around $600, Wall Street analysts see more growth ahead.

Matthew Hoffman, an analyst with Cowen, said that the successful launch of the third generation of the iPad will continue to give Apple an edge in the "combined personal computer + tablet market."

Even with the loss of Apple’s visionary founder Steve Jobs from a battle with cancer last year, most analysts think Apple will continue putting forth game changing products.

Apple was a clear leader throughout March Stock Mania.

It won 93% of the votes in the first round against newly public Zynga (), 88% against McDonald’s (, Fortune 500) in round two, and 85% of the votes against Wal-Mart (, Fortune 500) in round three. In the Final Four, 67% of voter chose Apple over IBM.

Last year’s champion Ford did better in March Stock Mania than last year’s NCAA winner University of Connecticut. UConn made it to the NCAA but lost in the first round.

Ford showed up and competed well this year, but failed to make the final four losing out to IBM.

It looks pretty clear that CNNMoney’s readers are betting on a continued tech boom.  

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International demand for U.S. financial assets rose more than forecast in January as investors sought a haven from the debt crisis in Europe.

Net buying of long-term equities, notes and bonds totaled $101 billion during the month, compared with net purchases of $19.1 billion in December, the Treasury Department said today in Washington. Six economists surveyed by Bloomberg News had forecast net buying of $38.5 billion of long-term assets, according to the median estimate.

Fifty million people in America lack health insurance and the law says most of them must soon be provided coverage. But how to deliver?

The Obama administration Monday finalized an ambitious blueprint for new state-based markets that will offer consumers one-stop shopping along the lines of amazon.com.

It may sound simple enough, but getting there will be like running an obstacle course. The rule comes just two weeks before the Supreme Court takes up a challenge to the constitutionality of the law in a case brought by states. Many governors and legislators are on the sidelines awaiting the outcome, even as time is running out to act.

Starting Jan. 1, 2014, new health insurance markets called “exchanges” must be up and running in every state, the linchpin of a grand plan to make health insurance accessible and affordable to those who now struggle to find and keep coverage. Individual consumers and small businesses will be able to shop online for competitively priced coverage, and many will receive government subsidies to help pay premiums.

“More competition will drive down costs and exchanges will give individuals and small businesses the same purchasing power big businesses have today,” Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius said in a statement.

Experts say it’s anybody’s guess how the national rollout will go. If a state is not ready, the law requires the federal government to step in to run its exchange. But the Obama administration’s request for $800 million to operate federal exchanges has gotten a frosty reception from congressional Republicans.

“At this point it’s still an open question as to whether all the states will open up as of 1-1-2014,” said Neil Trautwein of the National Retail Federation, a business group whose members will be heavily affected by the law.

Reaction on Monday to the 640-page rule was mixed. Consumer organizations, the insurance industry and some business groups gave it favorable or neutral reviews. Republican governors panned it.

The new markets are for individuals and small businesses buying plans. Most people who now have employer health insurance will not have to make changes. It’s a design that works well in Massachusetts, where an exchange has been in place for several years.

Massachusetts achieved political consensus about its health care overhaul under former GOP Gov. Mitt Romney, who is now seeking his party’s presidential nomination. That’s far different from the enduring national divisions over President Barack Obama’s law, even though it used Romney’s as a foundation.

Setting up 50 state exchanges wouldn’t be easy even if the federal overhaul enjoyed widespread support.

For things to go smoothly, state and federal officials must work together to verify private personal and financial details for millions of people, make sure that consumers are enrolled in the right health plan, and accurately calculate how much government aid, if any, each household is entitled to low fee payday advance.

And with customer service the goal, consumers need to get answers in hours, not weeks.

Nearly 30 million people are eventually expected to get private health coverage through exchanges, about half of whom are currently uninsured.

Another group of uninsured people _ as many as 16 million low-income Americans expected to qualify for Medicaid _ could also enter the system through their exchanges.

States are moving in fits and starts to set up the new markets. Only 13 states and Washington, DC, have adopted a plan. Progress varies widely among other rest.

Under the law, most Americans will have a legal responsibility to carry health insurance, either through their job, a government program or by buying their own. Millions will receive financial assistance for their premiums.

Whether that amounts to an unconstitutional expansion of federal power is among the subjects of a showdown that begins March 26, when the Supreme Court is set to begin an unusual three days of arguments. A decision is expected by June.

Sebelius says she expects the court to uphold Obama’s Affordable Care Act and thinks states will move quickly once the court has ruled.

States have until Jan. 1, 2013 to obtain federal approval for their exchanges. Among the rule’s key elements:

_ States can receive conditional federal approval for their exchanges if their plans are far along but not final by Jan. 1, 2013. States can operate exchanges in partnership with other states. The federal government will provide funding for different types of exchanges to allow for flexibility.

_ The state exchanges themselves will determine the number and type of health plans offered to consumers, within broad standards set by the federal government. Plans will have to comply with marketing rules to ensure they are not trying to cherry-pick the healthiest customers in the state.

_ Consumers must be able to apply online for coverage in their state exchanges. To reduce paperwork, exchanges will rely on existing computer databases to verify basic personal information and eligibility. However, some key details, such as whether the consumer is a legal resident of the U.S., may have to be verified by the government. And the IRS will have final say on tax credits.

_ Exchanges must be able to pick from two federally approved methods for coordinating with the Medicaid program in their states.

_ Exchanges must be able to use intermediaries called “navigators” to help educate consumers and small businesses about how the new system works.

_ Exchanges must be financially self-sufficient by 2015, by charging fees to support their operations.

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U.K. house prices fell in February for a third month in four, as economic uncertainty weighed on demand for housing, Halifax said.

Prices (UKHB3MYR) dropped 0.5 percent from January to an average 160,118 pounds ($253,400), the mortgage unit of Lloyds Banking Group Plc (LLOY) said in a statement in London today. From a year earlier, values were down 1.6 percent.

While inflation is cooling, a recovery in consumer confidence is being kept in check by rising unemployment and concern about the impact of Europe

One of Israel’s newest startups is banking on the assumption that instead of reading this story, you’d rather watch a one-minute summary.

“There’s such an overload of information today that consuming long articles has become a really tedious and difficult task,” said Zohar Dayan, 28, the co-founder and chief executive of Wibbitz. “Why not just press a play button and get all the information in a short video?”

Wibbitz’s software takes highlights of an article and superimposes them over a slideshow of pictures and video, which are generated by keywords in the text. A computerized voice reads the selections, so all you have to do is sit back and watch.

But developing the technology only solves some of the challenges facing the two-year-old startup based in Tel Aviv. To turn a profit, the firm needs a successful business strategy. So Wibbitz has tapped a resource far away from Israel: Washington University in St. Louis.

WU students are helping Wibbitz research video advertising models. The project is part of a new class on venture consulting, which paired 12 WU students and 12 Israeli students with six Israeli startups like Wibbitz, with small budgets and basic needs.

The students’ assignments include writing social media and marketing strategies, providing pricing guidelines and compiling market research.

It’s the kind of work that many small startups can’t afford and most students don’t have the opportunity to do, said Cliff Holekamp, a professor of entrepreneurship at WU’s Olin School of Business who heads the class.

The professor, himself an entrepreneur, said this kind of experience can be beneficial to students, whether their goal is to work in venture capital, international business, or to start their own company.

“Entrepreneurs are a great way to understand international business and management consulting,” Holekamp said. “Because it’s a smaller company, you get to really see all the aspects of the business and to understand the overall business strategy.”

Many business schools are now looking to other countries for hands-on learning opportunities, said Robert Hisrich, a professor of global entrepreneurship at the Thunderbird School of Global Management in Glendale, Ariz.

Universities hope that these relationships may come to benefit their local economies. For example, if Wibbitz opens a U.S. office in five years, perhaps they will locate in St. Louis. In the meantime, students gain experience that will make them competitive in a global economy, Hisrich said.

“Part of what we do at universities is educate people to help the world,” he said. “And if we can help our own area’s economy, all the better.”

SILICON VALLEY MIDEAST

There are few places riper than Israel to gain experience with an international startup online pay day loans. The country with about 7.6 million inhabitants — a population about 30 percent larger than Missouri’s — and boasts 57 companies on the Nasdaq stock exchange, third most after the U.S. and China.

“Israel is a major world headquarters for tech startups,” Holekamp said. “It’s literally Silicon Valley east — I should say, Mideast.”

The success of Israel’s startups can be traced to its own tumultuous history, said Saul Singer, co-author of the book “Start-up Nation: The Story of Israel’s Economic Miracle.”

“Israel itself is a startup,” Singer said. “It took drive and risks to create the country called Israel.”

Singer also credits the army with giving Israeli youth both a propensity for risk-taking and a “mission orientation,” two attributes crucial to successful startups, he said.

Israel has mandatory military service; typically, men serve for three years and women for two years.

“On one hand you can’t fail and on the other hand you have to take risks,” Singer said of the Israeli army experience. “It gives you all sorts of tough real-world experiences that teach you what it means to get things done.”

Sarah Haselkorn, a WU junior studying engineering, and Tim Fetter, a 28-year-old MBA student, have spent hours researching different types of video advertising for Wibbitz.

At the end of the semester, they will tell the startup whether “pre-rolls,” the short commercials that launch before a video begins, or banner ads, which sit on the side of the webpage, are the better advertising strategy.

The group has hit a number of snags, the least of which is the challenge of coordinating weekly conference calls with four students on two different continents.

But Fetter said he’s learned a lot from the Israeli students and entrepreneurs, who he said approach business differently, and perhaps more efficiently, than Americans.

Israelis “are a lot more open — and, I would even say, confrontational, which carries a negative connotation here — but not in a bad way,” Fetter said. “I think that makes for an environment where it’s a lot easier to develop as a person and to air issues, and part of the reason they are such an innovative culture.”

His Israeli counterparts said they have some things to learn from American students as well.

“American students are very methodical, organized and thorough,” said Dayan, the Wibbitz CEO. “I think combining that with the straightforward way of the Israelis really produces excellent results.”

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In the land of big-time deficits and trillion dollar budgets, Congress is spending less money on at least one thing.

Itself.

After voting last year to cut its own operating budget by 5%, House members have reduced the number of paid positions on their staffs, and are spending less on office supplies and computers.

The cuts have translated to 948 fewer salaried staff positions, a 62.5% drop in spending on computers and 30.7% less spending on office supplies, according to an analysis conducted by the Sunlight Foundation.

Staff assistant positions were the hardest hit, registering a 16.6% decline, while the number of part-time employees dropped 15.6%. Meanwhile, the number of slots for communication directors actually increased.

The House has around 12,000 staffers, and the job cuts amounted to a 7.4% overall decline in positions, according to Sunlight.

When compared to current deficits, the House spending reductions don’t add up to much in the way of savings. But for a Republican-controlled chamber, they are an important reflection of legislative priorities.

"The cuts are such a tiny fraction of the overall budget," said Lee Drutman, a data fellow at Sunlight. "And the reality is it makes it harder for them to do a decent job."

And more cuts are on the way, as funding will decrease another 6.4% for the legislative year that kicks off Tuesday.

Commentary: Debt crisis must be solved in the open

With many of the easy cuts already made, and staff salaries accounting for about half of congressional budgets, things might get tricky for lawmakers trying to keep a full roster of employees saving account pay day loan.

A report from the Congressional Management Foundation, a non-profit that helps congress improve its operations, backs that up.

"The 2011 cuts were manageable," the report said. "However, the consensus is that the cumulative two-year cut of 11.4% will require the large majority of offices to make painful cuts that will be felt by virtually all staff."

Drutman warns that any further reduction in staff levels will hurt the ability of congressional offices to independently produce sound policy recommendations and legislation.

"Capitol Hill staffers are already stretched incredibly thin," Drutman said. "And that means if you’re a staffer, you’re more dependent on outside sources."

And who are those outside sources?

For the most part, said Drutman, they’re lobbyists. And dependence on lobbyists for policy expertise is a dicey proposition.

Lobbyists can help fill policy knowledge gaps on congressional staffs, but at the same time come with deep-pocketed backers seeking a specific legislative outcome. 

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