110th Congress: New Direction for America

05/23/2008

House of Representatives Report to the Nation
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
May 23, 2008

New Direction

Americans are calling for a New Direction after years of inaction and incompetence on the toughest challenges: a costly war without an end; skyrocketing fuel prices without a plan for energy security; a housing crisis which threatens to force more families from their homes. All have pushed us to the brink of recession.

The New Direction Congress moved quickly to address the downturn and rebuild our economy. With bipartisan support and unprecedented speed, we enacted an economic stimulus plan that put Recovery Rebates in the hands of 130 million American households and will help create 500,000 jobs.

We are working now to tackle the housing foreclosure crisis … combat record prices at the pump … extend Unemployment Insurance to the growing number of Americans looking for work … make healthy food affordable to millions of Americans… launch a new GI Bill for a full, four-year education for the veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan … and help restore consumer confidence by protecting our children from toxic toys.

We are building on a strong record.

We made America more secure … by making the 9/11 Commission recommendations the law of the land to protect Americans and fight terrorism with cargo container and airline screening, security funding distributed on the basis of risk not politics, and improved first responder communications … and by reducing global warming and our dependence on foreign oil with an historic Energy Independence law that improves vehicle fuel efficiency for the first time in 32 years and makes an historic commitment to American-grown bio-fuels.
We helped put the American Dream back within reach … with the first minimum wage increase in a decade, and the second increase coming in July … the largest college aid expansion in six decades … and a national science, technology, math, and engineering teacher corps to spur innovation across our economy.
We met our commitments … with the largest increase in funding for veterans’ health care in history … overdue aid to the Gulf Coast recovering from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita … landmark ethics reform … the first election-year budget agreement in 8 years … and a new commitment to fiscal responsibility.
We have listened to Americans who demanded a New Direction in Iraq—but our efforts have been resisted again and again. The cost to our troops and their families, our military readiness, our ability to defeat terrorism, our reputation in the world … and our economy … has been staggering.

The New Direction Congress must and will do more to:

Rebuild the American economy and create good-paying jobs here at home,
Strengthen America’s national security and rebuild our military,
Reduce the cost of health care, and
Reverse global warming.

ECONOMIC RECOVERY

Recovery Rebates to jumpstart economy, help Americans with rising costs SIGNED INTO LAW
First increase in the minimum wage in a decade SIGNED INTO LAW
Highway Bill, creating 40,000 good-paying jobs ON PRESIDENT’S DESK
Farm Bill with historic new investments in nutrition, energy, and conservation, and launching reforms to farm payments to reflect farmer need VETO OVERRIDDEN BY CONGRESS,

ENACTED INTO LAW

Terrorism risk insurance extension, aiding economic growth SIGNED INTO LAW
Closing tax loopholes for companies and executives that ship American jobs or investment off shore PASSED HOUSE

HOUSING FORECLOSURE CRISIS

Comprehensive housing foreclosure crisis bill, preventing families from losing their homes, and a critical step in an American economic recovery PASSED HOUSE
Reform of the Federal Housing Administration, expanding access to affordable mortgages, and to “reverse mortgages” for seniors who need equity from their homes PASSED HOUSE AND

SENATE

Stopping tax on “income” when lender forgives part of mortgage in foreclosure SIGNED INTO LAW
Helping states/localities purchase foreclosed homes, stabilizing communities PASSED HOUSE

EDUCATION AND COMPETITIVENESS

Largest college aid expansion since the GI Bill in 1944 SIGNED INTO LAW
Uninterrupted access to low-cost student loans, despite credit crunch SIGNED INTO LAW
Giving colleges incentives to rein in tuition increases PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE
Cleaning up abuses in the student loan industry PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE
Innovation agenda creating a math/science teacher corps; doubling basic research funding SIGNED INTO LAW
Extended tax cut for innovative research & development PASSED HOUSE
Head Start preschool improved and expanded SIGNED INTO LAW
Key investments in education VETOED BY PRESIDENT

REDUCING TAXES

A tax cut for 19 million middle-income American families facing the AMT SIGNED INTO LAW
Internet tax moratorium extension SIGNED INTO LAW
Extended tax cuts for homeowners, families with children, college students, teachers PASSED HOUSE

AMERICAN WORKERS

Minimum wage increased for the first time in a decade, 2nd phase this July SIGNED INTO LAW
Extending & improving help for workers who lose jobs to foreign competition PASSED HOUSE
Allowing women & other workers to pursue pay discrimination claims PASSED HOUSE
Prohibiting employment discrimination based on sexual orientation PASSED HOUSE
Collective bargaining rights for first responders PASSED HOUSE
Free choice for workers to choose their own bargaining representative PASSED HOUSE

AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE

Health care coverage for 10 million American children VETOED BY PRESIDENT
Expansion of life-saving stem cell research that could cure or prevent chronic diseases VETOED BY PRESIDENT
Key investments in health care VETOED BY PRESIDENT
Ban on genetic information discrimination in health coverage SIGNED INTO LAW
Ending discriminatory treatment of mental health care coverage PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE
Medicare required to negotiate cheaper drugs for seniors and disabled Americans PASSED HOUSE
Preserving access to and improving Medicare by reforming provider reimbursements and expanding benefits PASSED HOUSE
Blocking $18 billion cut in health care for low-income children & seniors PASSED HOUSE

NATIONAL SECURITY

9/11 Commission terrorism recommendations given force of law SIGNED INTO LAW
Investments to begin to fix the military readiness crisis SIGNED INTO LAW
Iraq benchmarks, progress reports required SIGNED INTO LAW
Providing for responsible redeployment of U.S. troops from Iraq VETOED BY PRESIDENT
Extending ban on torture to U.S. intelligence personnel VETOED BY PRESIDENT
Strong Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) reforms PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE
Tighter foreign investment rules, after Dubai Ports scandal SIGNED INTO LAW

TROOPS AND VETERANS

Largest veterans’ health care funding increase in history SIGNED INTO LAW
Wounded Warrior Act, improving health care after Walter Reed scandal SIGNED INTO LAW
New GI Bill to give free college education to Iraq and Afghanistan veterans PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE
Major pay raise for troops SIGNED INTO LAW

ENERGY INDEPENDENCE AND GLOBAL WARMING

Landmark Energy Independence law: first new fuel efficiency standards in 32 years, building efficiency standards, historic commitment to bio-fuels SIGNED INTO LAW
Extending and expanding tax incentives to invest in clean, renewable energy PASSED HOUSE
Historic new support for non-food bio-fuels in the Farm Bill PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE
Directing the President to lower gas prices by suspending deposits to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve SIGNED INTO LAW
Holding OPEC and Big Oil accountable for price fixing PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE
Cracking down on price gouging by oil companies PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE
Greening the Capitol, making Congress carbon neutral ENACTED BY HOUSE

REBUILDING AMERICA

Aid to the Gulf Coast recovering from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita SIGNED INTO LAW
Major new commitment to flood control & environmental restoration projects VETO OVERRIDDEN BY CONGRESS, ENACTED INTO LAW
Omnibus Public Lands Bill, with new protections for national parks, wilderness, historic sites, trails, and water resources from coast to coast SIGNED INTO LAW

CONSUMER PROTECTION

Most sweeping FDA drug safety provisions in more than a decade SIGNED INTO LAW
Banning toxic toys from China and other countries PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE
Passenger Bill of Rights for airline travelers PASSED HOUSE

FIGHTING CRIME

Improved background checks for gun purchases SIGNED INTO LAW
3,000 New Border Patrol Officers SIGNED INTO LAW
Saved the critical COPS program, proposed for elimination by the President SIGNED INTO LAW
Tools and resources to prevent and prosecute hate crimes PASSED BY HOUSE

FISCAL DISCIPLINE

Pay-as-you-go budget discipline ADOPTED IN HOUSE RULES
A fiscally responsible budget that balances by 2012 and invests in key priorities PASSED BY HOUSE AND SENATE, NO PRESIDENTIAL ACTION REQUIRED

RESTORING ACCOUNTABILITY

Widely-acclaimed landmark lobbying and ethics reform SIGNED INTO LAW
New historic independent Office of Congressional Ethics ADOPTED IN HOUSE RULES
Banning pensions for Members of Congress convicted of certain crimes SIGNED INTO LAW
Strengthening Freedom of Information Act for government transparency SIGNED INTO LAW
U.S. Attorney appointments depoliticized SIGNED INTO LAW
Reducing enormous backlog in passport processing SIGNED INTO LAW
Cracking down on “no-bid” contracts PASSED BY HOUSE AND SENATE
Whistleblower protections strengthened PASSED BY HOUSE AND SENATE
Strengthening independence of federal Inspectors General PASSED BY HOUSE AND SENATE
Holding private security firms in war zones accountable for criminal actions PASSED BY HOUSE
Prohibiting profiteering by U.S. contractors operating in war zones PASSED BY HOUSE
Withholding federal contracts from tax-delinquent companies PASSED BY HOUSE
Closing off shore tax loopholes for federal contractors PASSED BY HOUSE
Requiring mandatory fraud reporting for U.S. contractors PASSED BY HOUSE
Requiring more transparency by companies that rely on federal contracts PASSED BY HOUSE

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