The 110th Congress: A New Direction for America

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