Updated 1:32 p.m. By Ben Pershing House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) introduced a bill Thursday calling for the House ethics committee to restart its probe of ex-representative Eric Massa (D-N.Y.), as Republicans seek to focus attention on what Democratic leaders knew about Massa's behavior and when they knew it. Rather than approve the measure outright, the House voted, 402 to 1, to refer the bill to the ethics committee. Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-Pa.) was the lone "no" vote, and 15 lawmakers -- many of them members of the ethics panel -- voted "present." Though technically the panel is now under no obligation to act, it is likely the committee will follow the instructions laid out in Boehner's resolution. The bill directs the ethics committee "to investigate fully ... which House Democratic leaders and members of their respective staffs had knowledge prior to March 3, 2010 of the aforementioned allegations

A new polling memo from Joel Benenson, the White House's pollster of choice, argues that support for President Barack Obama's health care plan has been building in the wake of his State of the Union speech in late January. Since February 1, according to data compiled by Benenson, 44 percent of those tested in national surveys support the bill while 45 percent oppose it -- a sea change from the 38 percent favor/52 percent oppose average of polls conducted in the three months prior. That movement, argues Benenson, is born out of a continued desire from the American people for Congress to pass some sort of health care reform and broad popularity of some of the major measures contained in the bill. He cites a recent Newsweek survey as evidence -- noting that 81 percent of those polled favor the creation of an insurance exchange and 76 percent support requiring

The Smithsonian National Museum of American History this week takes a stroll through formal fashion history with a short video documenting the process of setting up the museum's first ladies exhibition, which on Tuesday acquired first lady Michelle Obama's white inaugural gown. Curator of the first ladies collection Lisa Kathleen Graddy and costume conservator Sunae Park Evans both talk about their work in the video, as well as the first ladies and other "mistresses of the White House" (such as daughters or daughters-in-laws) whose dresses the museum has been collecting and preserving for posterity since 1912.

One of President Obama's top campaign advisers told CNN that Democrats should be worried about this year's midterm elections. "I think that there is a real shot we are going to get slaughtered in elections this fall if we aren't leading the efforts to reform Washington," Steve Hildebrand said Wednesday. "We campaigned in '06 and '08, and if voters don't see that change, we haven't lived up to that promise." Hildebrand was Obama's deputy national campaign director and one of the principal architects the candidate's field operation. After the election he went back to private consulting.

By Ben Pershing President Obama and congressional Democrats are nearly finished deciding what will be in their compromise health-reform package. All that's left to determine is how -- or whether -- it can pass. "Obama pitched the cost-saving benefits of his health plan Wednesday, and made a campaign-style closing argument for the overhaul in his second trip outside Washington this week," the Wall Street Journal reports. The New York Times writes that "House leaders said they hoped to have a completed bill to present to rank and file members Thursday morning. As he left a meeting with Congressional leaders Wednesday evening in the office of Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the White House chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, said, 'Lots of progress.'" Pelosi told reporters that negotiators were "pretty close" to agreement. Politico says that Pelosi "will start outlining the finished package to the rest of her rank-and-file in a meeting Thursday

1. Organizing for America, the organization within the Democratic National Committee intended to capture the energy of President Obama's 2008 campaign and advocate for his legislative agenda, is ramping up its efforts to push for passage of the health care bill before the White House's March 18 deadline. "Each day until the vote, we'll feature a powerful new way for OFA supporters to speak out in our communities and weigh in directly with Congress," wrote David Plouffe, Obama's 2008 campaign manager, in an email to OFA supporters. Day one's goal is to educate people about what's in the health care bill (and, more importantly, what's not), a recognition that, to date, the White House has lost the messaging battle around the bill. Among the ways in which OFA will try to do that: a "simple summary" of the bill and a fact sheet on the specific, positive changes the bill