On Thursday, former Gov. Charles Buddy Roemer of Louisiana launched an exploratory committee for running for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012.

The U.S. House Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, chaired by Florida Republican U.S. Rep. Cliff Stearns, held a hearing on Wednesday on Medicaid and Medicare fraud and heard ideas from Craig Smith, who served in the state Agency for Health Care Administration, on how to curb it -- and cut down the fraud which costs taxpayers anywhere between $60 billion and $90 billion, according to estimates.

Fiscal hawks, led by tea party favorite U.S. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, attempted on Wednesday to forward a constitutional amendment requiring Congress to pass a balanced budget. While the measure failed, as expected, Florida Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio said he was proud to back it.

Various outlets are reporting President Barack Obama has signed the House bill that will keep the federal government funded for two more weeks, temporarily avoiding a shutdown. The bill, approved by the Senate earlier Wednesday by a 91-9 vote, cuts $4 billion from the two-week budget and puts the Republican-led House in a strong position to get more of the cuts they're looking for as they seek to rein in spending.

On Wednesday, Attorney General Pam Bondi met with leaders of the ACLU and NAACP who are looking to restore the right to vote to convicted felons. Based on the release sent out by Bondis office, the two sides continued to agree to disagree on the issue.

Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania offered a response to Fox News suspending him as a contributor while he ponders running for the Republican presidential nomination.

Politico is reporting that Fox News has suspended contributors former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania until they decide to run for the Republican presidential nomination. Fox News did not suspend three other possible candidates -- former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton -- who are also contributors.

Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio joined in the overwhelming majority in the Senate on Wednesday to pass a resolution to keep the federal government funded for two more weeks. He weighed in on the matter after the vote.

The U.S. Senate has passed a spending resolution that will keep the government funded for another two weeks. The measure, which cuts about $4 billion in spending in that time, passed through the House earlier this week. It now heads to President Barack Obama's desk for his signature to avoid a government shutdown after Friday.

The U.S. House passed a spending measure on Tuesday that will keep the federal government open for the next two weeks.

Freshman Republican U.S. Rep. Steve Southerland praised the Houses actions, noting that it saved taxpayers $4 billion.