Backers of individual items in Floridas budget did a better job this year of demonstratinghow their projects could economically help the state.

Gov. Rick Scott signed a budget Tuesday that increases education spending by $1 billion from last year, while slashing $142.7 million from individual legislators projects, less than a quarter of the total he axed a year ago.

Scott said lawmakers were able to explain the economic returns on their projects this year.

A poll unveiled on Tuesday shows former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney -- the overwhelming favorite for the Republican presidential nomination -- trailing President Barack Obama in the crucial state of Florida, but finds adding former Gov. Jeb Bush, whose father and brother held the presidency, would help narrow the gap.

Gov. Rick Scott, calling the taxpayers of Florida the winners, signed a budget Tuesday that increases education spending by $1 billion from last year and trims extra spending on lawmakers' favored projects.

With the signing Scott slashed $142.7 in spending for programs such as the Science and Discovery Center of Northwest Florida, the Frank Lloyd Wright House at Florida Southern College and the Bay of Pigs Museum in Miami.

Even before he began rallying for contributions after calling 80 progressive Democrats communists, Rep. Allen West was among the national leaders in the fundraising pack for the quarter ending March 31, according to documents filed with federal election officials.

With $1.8 million in contributions for the first three months of 2012, West has positioned himself among the best-heeled candidates in the nation for the 2012 election cycle, having raised more money in his re-election bid than all but two House members, putting him seventh among all 535 members of Congress.

"Bibi" Netanyahu was disgusted.

"My initial reaction is that Iran has gotten a freebie. It has got five weeks to continue enrichment without any limitation."

With one of his key priorities having been to increase Pre-K to grade 12 education by $1 billion, Gov. Rick Scott will use an elementary school on Tuesday as the backdrop for signing the 2012-2013 budget.

The governors office announced Monday that Scott will sign the $70 billion budget at noon Tuesday at Cunningham Creek Elementary School in St. Johns.

The signing ceremony, Scotts second, will continue his form of traveling away from the political trappings of Tallahassee to highlight the fiscal package.

After an initial foray into the 23rd Congressional District, Republican Joe Goldner says he is running against Rep. Alcee Hastings in neighboring CD 20.

"I'm staying in 20, no matter what. It's on my petition," said Goldner, who was originally ticketed for a five-way GOP contest to face Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fort Lauderdale.

Goldner said he has gathered the necessary petitions to face Hastings, D-Miramar. "I'm all alone in CD 20," he said.

A cyber-squatting congressional candidate who controls nearly two-dozen Internet domain names of Republican rivals is under increasing pressure to release them, or face complaints with the Federal Election Commission.

Sunshine State News, which reported earlier this month that "Friends of Trey Radel" had purchased six website addresses of fellow candidate Chauncey Goss, on Monday obtained an expanded list of domain names owned by Radel's campaign.

The president may have to begin dialing up members of Congress again in an effort to block a vote on the Keystone XL Pipeline.