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New Direction
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House Makes Remarkable Progress, Passing 130 Key Measures in ‘07

 

 

Following is an overview of 130 key bills that the Democratic-led House has passed in the first year of the 110th Congress, organized by three key themes:

Making America Safer
Restoring the American Dream
Restoring Accountability

Making America Safer

• 9/11 Commission’s Recommendations. Passed the conference report on H.R. 1, which implements the unfulfilled recommendations of the bipartisan 9/11 Commission, including improvements in border security, port security, and aviation security, by a bipartisan vote of 371-40. The President signed the bill on August 3 (PL 110-53).



• FY 2008 Defense Authorization. Passed the conference report on H.R. 1585, FY 2008 Defense Authorization, which contains numerous readiness initiatives to strengthen our military, including establishing a Strategic Readiness Fund and providing needed military equipment and training for our stateside troops, and also contains a 3.5% military pay raise, by a bipartisan vote of 370-49. The President vetoed the bill.



• FY 2008 Defense Appropriations. Passed the conference report on H.R. 3222, FY 2008 Defense Appropriations, which includes numerous provisions to strengthen America’s military, including investing in improved military readiness; providing the strained National Guard and Reserve with needed equipment; funding a 3.5% military pay raise, larger than the President’s; upgrading military health care; and providing more support for military families, by a bipartisan vote of 400-15. The conference report also includes a short-term CR, providing continuing funding for government programs and agencies through December 14. The President signed the bill on November 13 (PL 110-116).



• Largest Increase in Veterans’ Funding in History. Passed H.R. 2642, FY 2008 Military Construction-Veterans’ Affairs Appropriations, which provides the largest increase in veterans’ funding in the 77-year history of the VA, targeted on ensuring that our veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan receive the quality health care that they deserve, by a bipartisan vote of 409 to 2. (The Military Construction-Veterans’ Affairs Appropriations provisions – providing the largest increase in veterans’ funding in history – were ultimately included in the FY 2008 Omnibus Appropriations bill, which the President signed.)



• Wounded Warriors Act. Passed H.R. 1538, Wounded Warrior Act, which responds to the Walter Reed scandal by improving the care of injured soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, by a unanimous vote of 426-0. Incorporated into H.R. 1585, Defense Authorization, which was vetoed by the President.



• Tax Relief for Military Families and Veterans. Passed House amendments to Senate amendments to H.R. 3997, Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax Act (HEART Act), which makes permanent essential tax relief for our military families, including tax relief under the Earned Income Tax Credit, and provides more low-income home loans for veterans, by a unanimous vote of 411-0.



• Bonuses for Wounded U.S. Troops. Passed H.R. 3793, Veterans' Guaranteed Bonus Act, which fully addresses the military bonus problems highlighted by the Dole-Shalala Commission – providing essential financial security to our wounded servicemen and women by guaranteeing full payment of bonuses earned and owed to them, by a unanimous vote of 405-0.



• Higher Education Relief for U.S. Troops. Passed H.R. 3625, HEROS Act, which makes permanent the Secretary of Education’s authority to provide U.S. troops called to active duty with higher education relief, including providing them more leeway on repaying their student loans, by voice vote. The President signed the bill on September 30 (PL 110-93).



• Veterans' Suicide Prevention. Passed the final version of H.R. 327, Joshua Omvig Veterans Suicide Prevention Act, which requires the Veterans Administration to provide training and education in suicide prevention to its staff and also authorizes a family mental illness outreach program for veterans, by a unanimous vote of 417-0. The President signed the bill on November 5 (PL 110-110).



• Veterans' COLA. Passed H.R. 1284, Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act, which increases, effective December 1, 2007, the rates of compensation for veterans with service-connected disabilities and the dependency and indemnity benefits for families of disabled veterans, by a unanimous vote of 418-0. The President signed the bill on November 5 (PL 110-111).



• Disabled Veterans Memorial. Passed H.R. 995, Extending Charter for Disabled Veterans Memorial, which extends the charter for the Disabled Veterans Memorial, which expired on October 31, until 2015, allowing the time to raise the private resources and navigate the approval process to bring this memorial to life on the National Mall, by a unanimous vote of 390-0. The President signed the bill on October 25 (PL 110-106).



• Honoring Our Fallen. Passed H.R. 692, Federal Flag Code Amendment Act, which provides that all federal buildings in a state have to comply when the governor orders the American flag lowered to half-staff in honor of soldiers killed while serving, by a bipartisan vote of 408-4. The President signed the bill on June 29 (PL 110-41).



• Providing a Responsible Timeline for Redeployment of U.S. Troops from Iraq, To Begin Within 30 Days. Passed H.R. 4156, Orderly and Responsible Iraq Redeployment Appropriations Act, which changes the direction of the President’s failed Iraq policy by requiring the President to redeploy our troops, while providing our soldiers in harm’s way with the resources they need, by a vote of 218-203. The bill provides short-term funding of $50 billion but requires the redeployment of our troops to begin within 30 days of the bill’s enactment, with a goal for completion of the redeployment by December 15, 2008. The President has threatened to veto.



• Responsible Timeline for Redeployment of U.S. Troops from Iraq. Passed H.R. 2956, Responsible Redeployment from Iraq Act, which requires a responsible redeployment of U.S. troops from Iraq beginning within 120 days of enactment and ending by April 1, 2008 and requires the President to publicly justify post-redeployment missions for the U.S. military, by a vote of 223-201. The President has threatened to veto.



• First Version of FY 2007 Supplemental. Passed the conference report on H.R. 1591, FY 2007 Supplemental, which would have fully funded our troops; honored our veterans by providing crucial health care and other services; held the Iraqi government accountable; provided a responsible timetable for the redeployment of U.S. troops; and strengthened our military, including adding $2 billion for a Strategic Reserve Readiness Fund, by a vote of 218-208. The measure also included a minimum wage increase, Gulf Coast recovery, children’s health care, etc. The President vetoed the bill on May 1.



• Revised Version of FY 2007 Supplemental. Passed H.R. 2206, a revised version of the FY 2007 Supplemental, which fails to include the tough provisions holding the Iraqi government accountable and providing a responsible timetable for the redeployment of U.S. troops contained in the earlier version. However, in this bill, the President was forced to abandon his threat to veto any bill containing accountability – agreeing to 18 benchmarks and a potential cut-off of reconstruction aid if progress is not made toward meeting them. The measure also includes a minimum wage increase, children’s health care, etc. The President signed the bill on May 25 (PL 110-28).



• Report on Planning for Redeployment of our Troops from Iraq. Passed H.R. 3087, Planning for Redeployment from Iraq, which requires the Bush Administration to report to Congress in 60 days – and every 90 days thereafter – on the status of planning for the redeployment of our troops from Iraq, by a bipartisan vote of 377-46.



• Responsible Troop Deployment Cycles. Passed H.R. 3159, Responsible Troop Deployment Cycles, which enhances national security and supports our troops and their families by increasing the time our troops are at home between deployments to Iraq, by a vote of 229-194. The President has threatened to veto.



• Holding Private Security Contractors Accountable. Passed H.R. 2740, Holding Security Contractors in War Zones Overseas Accountable, which closes a loophole in current law in order to ensure that all U S. private security contractors – such as Blackwater contractors – in Iraq and other war zones overseas will be held accountable for any criminal behavior, by a bipartisan vote of 389-30.



• Preventing War Profiteering. Passed H.R. 400, War Profiteering Prevention Act, which cracks down on those U.S. contractors who have taken advantage of the war situations in Iraq and Afghanistan to attempt to defraud the U.S. government by overcharging for goods and services, by a bipartisan vote of 375-3.



• Corruption in the Iraqi Government. Passed H.Res. 734, Condemning Withholding Information on Iraqi Corruption, which condemns the State Department for withholding information about corruption in the Iraqi government from Congress, by a bipartisan vote of 395-21.



• Homeland Security Authorization. Passed H.R. 1684, FY 2008 Department of Homeland Security Authorization, which authorizes $39.8 billion for the activities of the Department of Homeland Security in FY 2008 and includes strong accountability measures, by a bipartisan vote of 296-126. The President has threatened to veto.



• Homeland Security Appropriations. Passed H.R. 2638, FY 2008 Homeland Security Appropriations, which funds 3,000 additional Border Patrol agents, provides first responders with the equipment and training they need, and tougher aviation and port security, by a vote of 268-150. The President threatened to veto. (The final Homeland Security Appropriations provisions were included in the FY 2008 Omnibus Appropriations bill.)



• Updating Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Passed H.R. 3773, the RESTORE Act, which updates the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to give the intelligence community the strong tools it needs to track terrorists and prevent another terrorist attack, while protecting the constitutional rights of Americans whose communications may be intercepted in the process, by a vote of 227-189. The President has threatened to veto.



• Preventing Homegrown Terrorism. Passed H.R. 1955, Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act, which creates a National Commission to make recommendations on how to prevent violent radicalization and homegrown terrorism here in the U.S. and a “Center of Excellence” at a university to do in-depth studies of the problems of violent radicalization and homegrown terrorism, by a bipartisan vote of 404-6.



• Rail & Transit Security. Passed H.R. 1401, Rail and Mass Transit Security Act, which requires the Department of Homeland Security to develop plans to protect rail and mass transit and authorizes $6 billion over 4 years in grants to protect these systems, by a bipartisan vote of 299-124. The President has threatened to veto.



• State-Foreign Operations Appropriations. Passed H.R. 2764, FY 2008 State and Foreign Operations Appropriations, which supports our allies in the campaign against terrorism, including providing over $1 billion in aid to Afghanistan; and promotes stability by strengthening development aid and addressing crises such as the HIV/AIDS epidemic, by a vote of 241-178. The President threatened to veto. (The final State-Foreign Operations Appropriations provisions were included in the FY 2008 Omnibus Appropriations bill.)



• Dubai Ports. Passed the Senate amendments to H.R. 556, National Security FIRST Act, clearing it for the President, which responds to the Dubai Ports World scandal of 2006, by working to prevent foreign investments in U.S. key infrastructure that would endanger our national security from being approved, by a bipartisan vote of 370-45. The President signed the bill on July 26 (PL 110-49).



• Reducing Passport Backlog. Passed S. 966, Passport Backlog Reduction Act, which authorizes hiring retired passport processors in order to deal with the fact that the Bush Administration has created a crisis for American travelers by failing to provide the personnel needed to meet the new passport requirements for travel in the Western Hemisphere, which were recommended by the bipartisan 9/11 Commission, by voice vote. The President signed the bill on July 30 (PL 110-50).



• Intelligence Authorization. Passed the conference report on H.R. 2082, FY 2008 Intelligence Authorization, which authorizes “the largest amount for intelligence programs ever authorized,” makes key investments to strengthen intelligence, and promotes efficiency and effectiveness in intelligence programs, by a vote of 225-197. The President has threatened to veto.



• Sudan Accountability (Darfur Crisis). Passed S. 2271, Sudan Accountability and Divestment Act, which bars federal contracts with companies doing business with the Sudanese government and authorizes state and local governments to divest from Sudan, by a bipartisan vote of 411-0. The President signed the bill on December 31 (PL 110-174).



• Energy Independence and Security Act. Passed H.R. 6, Energy Independence and Security Act, which reduces our dependence on foreign oil, reduces global warming, and lowers energy costs for consumers by such steps as raising the CAFÉ standards for the first time in 32 years (to 35 miles per gallon by 2020), providing new energy efficiency standards, making an historic commitment to American-grown biofuels, requiring 15% of our electricity to come from renewable sources, and repealing billions in tax breaks for big oil companies, by a vote of 235-181. The President threatened to veto.



• Revised Energy Independence and Security Act. Passed Senate amendments to H.R. 6, Energy and Security Act, which reduces our dependence on foreign oil, reduces global warming, and lowers energy costs for consumers by such steps as raising the CAFÉ standards for the first time in 32 years, providing new energy efficiency standards, and making an historic commitment to American-grown biofuels – but drops the renewable electricity standard and the repeal of oil company tax breaks, by a bipartisan vote of 314-100. The President signed the bill on December 19 (PL 110-140).



• Select Committee on Energy Security and Global Warming. Passed H.Res. 202, Committee Funding Resolution, which includes provisions to establish a House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, to raise the visibility of these urgent issues, by a vote of 269-150. No presidential signature required.



• Energy Security: Preventing OPEC Price Fixing. Passed H.R. 2264, No Oil Producing and Exporting Cartels Act (NOPEC), which authorizes the Justice Department to take legal action against OPEC state-controlled entities that participate in conspiracies to limit the supply, or fix the price, of oil, by a bipartisan vote of 345-72. The President has threatened to veto.



• Energy Security: Stopping Gasoline Price Gouging. Passed H.R. 1252, Price Gouging Prevention Act, which sets criminal penalties for price gouging of gasoline, and permits states to bring lawsuits against wholesalers or retailers who engage in such practices, by a bipartisan vote of 284-141. The President has threatened to veto.



• Energy-Water Appropriations. Passed H.R. 2641, FY 2008 Energy-Water Appropriations, which invests $3 billion, $1 billion more than the President’s request, to research global warming and take steps to reduce it, and includes a 50 percent increase over the President’s request for energy efficiency and renewable energy, including solar, wind and biofuels, by a bipartisan vote of 312 to 112. The President threatened to veto. (The final Energy-Water Appropriations provisions were included in the FY 2008 Omnibus Appropriations bill.)



• Interior-Environment Appropriations. Passed H.R. 2643, FY 2008 Interior-Environment Appropriations, which fully funds the Clean Water Fund that the President proposed cutting by 37 percent, makes improving our national parks, national wildlife refuges, and national forests a key priority, and boosts basic research on climate change by 53 percent, by a vote of 272 to 155. The President threatened to veto. (The final Interior-Environment Appropriations provisions were included in the FY 2008 Omnibus Appropriations bill.)

Restoring the American Dream

• Making College More Affordable. Passed the conference report on H.R. 2669, College Cost Reduction and Access Act, which contains the single largest investment in college financial assistance since the 1944 GI Bill, including increasing the maximum Pell Grant by $1,090 -- to $5,400 -- by 2012, cutting interest rates in half on need-based college loans, providing tuition assistance for excellent undergraduate students who agree to teach in public schools, and providing loan repayment for those who enter public service careers, by a bipartisan vote of 292-97. The President signed the bill on September 27 (PL 110-84).



• Raising the Minimum Wage. First passed H.R. 2, Increasing the Minimum Wage, which increases the minimum wage for the first time in 10 years – increasing it from $5.15 an hour to $7.25 an hour over two years, by a bipartisan vote of 315-116. Incorporated into H.R. 2206, FY 2007 Supplemental, which the President signed on May 25 (PL 110-28).



• Head Start. Passed the conference report on H.R. 1429, Improving Head Start Act, which expands and improves the successful Head Start early childhood education program, and includes strong accountability measures to ensure programs are succeeding, by a bipartisan vote of 381-36. The President signed the bill on December 12 (PL 110-134).



• Providing Health Coverage for 10 Million Children. Passed H.R. 976, the House-Senate agreement on the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Reauthorization Act, which renews and improves the Children’s Health Insurance Program, providing coverage for 6 million children currently covered by CHIP and extending coverage to nearly 4 million uninsured children, according to the nonpartisan CBO, by a vote of 265-159. The bill also improves CHIP benefits – ensuring dental coverage and mental health parity. The President vetoed the bill on October 3. (The House failed to override the veto on October 18.)



• Revised Bill Providing Health Coverage for 10 Million Children. Passed H.R. 3963, a revised bill to provide health care coverage to 10 million children – revised to meet certain concerns that had been raised. Specifically, it included changes to: better ensure low-income children are enrolled first; better ensure illegal immigrants are excluded; speed up the phasing out of adults; and minimize children leaving private insurance for CHIP, by a vote of 265-142. The President vetoed the bill on December 12.



• Stem Cell Research. Passed S. 5, Promoting Stem Cell Research, clearing it for the President, which promotes life-saving embryonic stem cell research by increasing the number of stem cell lines that are eligible to be used in federally-funded research, by a vote of 247-176. The President vetoed the bill on June 20.



• Bill Providing Tax Relief for Middle-Class Families. Passed H.R. 3996, Temporary Tax Relief Act, which gives tax relief to middle-class families, including protecting 23 million middle-class families from the Alternative Minimum Tax in 2007, and includes certain tax extenders, without increasing the national debt, by a vote of 216-193. It is paid for by closing certain tax loopholes for the privileged few, including taxing as ordinary income the "carried interest" of private equity firm managers and others. The President threatened to veto.



• Revised Bill Providing Tax Relief for Middle-Class Families. Passed H.R. 4351, AMT Relief Act, which also gives tax relief to middle-class families, including protecting 23 million middle-class families from the Alternative Minimum Tax in 2007, without increasing the national debt, by a vote of 226-193. This version is paid for by closing a loophole to prevent hedge fund managers and others from using offshore tax haven corporations to defer taxes on compensation. It does not include the tax extenders. The President threatened to veto. (Ultimately, the House passed a Senate-passed bill providing protection from the AMT which was not paid for – which the President indicated he would sign.)



• FY 2008 Omnibus Appropriations Bill. Passed H.R. 2764, FY 2008 Omnibus Appropriations Bill, which contains 11 of the 12 FY 2008 appropriations bills and rejects many of the President’s budget cuts and begins to reinvest in the American people’s priorities such as medical research, education and energy independence, while conforming to the President’s discretionary ceiling, by a vote of 253-154. The President signed the bill on December 26 (PL 110-161).



• Innovation Agenda/Math & Science Teachers. Passed H.R. 362, Science and Math Scholarship Act, which invests in 10,000 new science, math and technology teachers in the first year, totaling some 25,000 new teachers over 5 years, by a bipartisan vote of 389-22. Incorporated into H.R. 2272, America COMPETES Act, which the President signed on August 9 (PL 110-69).



• Innovation Agenda/Technology Innovation. Passed H.R. 1868, Technology Innovation Act, which creates the Technology Innovation Program, to provide funds to small high-tech firms, and reauthorizes the Manufacturing Extension Partnership, which stimulates investments in innovative technologies by small manufacturers, by a bipartisan vote of 385-23. Incorporated into H.R. 2272, America COMPETES Act, which the President signed on August 9 (PL 110-69).



• Innovation Agenda/Basic Research Funding. Passed H.R. 1867, National Science Foundation Authorization, which puts us on a path to doubling funding for NSF basic research over the next 10 years, as recommended by the National Academy of Sciences, by a bipartisan vote of 399-17. Incorporated into H.R. 2272, America COMPETES Act, which the President signed on August 9 (PL 110-69).



• Innovation Agenda/Science & Engineering Research. Passed H.R. 363, Sowing the Seeds through Science and Engineering Research Act, which increases support for long-term scientific research and focuses on high-risk, high-reward early stage research, by a bipartisan vote of 380-45. Incorporated into H.R. 2272, America COMPETES Act, which the President signed on August 9 (PL 110-69).



• Innovation Agenda/High-Performance Computing. Passed H.R. 1068, Maintaining U.S. Leadership in High-Performance Computing, which helps strengthen U.S. leadership in high-performance computing and provides support for cutting-edge research to drive information technology into the future, by voice vote. Incorporated into H.R. 2272, American COMPETES Act, which the President signed on August 9 (PL 110-69).



• Water Resources Development. Passed over the President’s veto H.R. 1495, Water Resources Development Act, which strengthens America’s economy, improves our environment and helps protect communities from disasters such as flooding and hurricanes, by investing in a backlog of flood control, shoreline protection, inland navigation and environmental restoration projects that have stacked up because the GOP-led Congress failed to complete a water resources bill for six years, by a bipartisan vote of 381-40. This bill became law after the House and Senate successfully overrode the President’s veto (PL 110-114).



• Tax Relief/Responding to Subprime Mortgage Crisis. Passed Senate amendments to H.R. 3648, Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act, which takes a key step in responding to the subprime mortgage crisis by stopping the tax on phantom "income" when a lender forgives some part of a family’s mortgage in foreclosure, for the next three years, by voice vote. The President signed the bill on December 20 (PL 110-142).



• Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending/Responding to Subprime Mortgage Crisis. Passed H.R. 3915, Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act, which responds to the subprime mortgage crisis by instituting much needed reform to prevent these bad loans from being made in the first place – making sure that consumers get mortgages they can repay, strengthening consumer protections against reckless and abusive lending practices, and giving consumers the ability to seek redress, by a bipartisan vote of 291-127.



• FHA Reform/Responding to Subprime Mortgage Crisis. Passed H.R. 1852, Expanding American Homeownership Act, which revitalizes the Federal Housing Administration, thereby enabling it to serve more subprime borrowers at affordable rates and terms, to attract borrowers that have turned to predatory loans in recent years, and to offer refinancing to homeowners struggling to meet their mortgage payments in the midst of the current turbulent mortgage markets, by a bipartisan vote of 348 to 72.



• National Affordable Housing Trust Fund. Passed H.R. 2895, National Affordable Housing Trust Fund, which establishes a new trust fund to build or preserve 1.5 million affordable homes and apartments over the next 10 years (funded by fees paid by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and by increased FHA loans), by a vote of 264-148. The President has threatened to veto the bill.



• Making Homeowners’ Insurance More Affordable. Passed H.R. 3355, Homeowners' Defense Act, which is designed to stabilize the catastrophe insurance market and make catastrophe insurance more affordable for homeowners by allowing states to combine their disaster risks together through a consortium and by providing states with federal loans when damages exceed the resources of state-run catastrophe funds, by a vote of 258-155. The President has threatened to veto.



• Reforming and Expanding Section 8 Housing Vouchers. Passed H.R. 1851, Section 8 Voucher Reform Act, which reforms the Section 8 housing vouchers to make their allocation targeted more on need, increases access for rural families, and expands the number of families receiving vouchers, by a bipartisan vote of 333-83.



• Federal Housing Finance Reform. Passed H.R. 1427, Federal Housing Finance Reform, which strengthens oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and provides other reforms for these agencies, by a bipartisan vote of 313-104.



• Gulf Coast Housing. Passed H.R. 1227, Gulf Coast Housing Recovery Act, which speeds up the repair and rebuilding of homes and affordable rental housing in areas affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, by a bipartisan vote of 302-125.



• Katrina Housing Tax Relief. Passed H.R. 1562, the Katrina Housing Tax Relief Act, which expands access to low-income financing for homeowners and strengthens tax incentives for building affordable rental housing in the areas of the Gulf Coast affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, by voice vote. Incorporated into H.R. 2206, FY 2007 Supplemental, which the President signed on May 25 (PL 110-28).



• Improving Drug Safety. Passed H.R. 3580, the final House-Senate agreement on FDA Reauthorization/Improving Drug Safety, which contains the most sweeping drug safety provisions in years, including creating a new FDA program to monitor the safety of drugs after they are on the market, increasing the penalties for drug companies that violate safety standards, and imposing stricter conflict-of-interest provisions, by a bipartisan vote of 405-7. The President signed the bill on September 27 (PL 110-85).



• Medicare Drug Price Negotiation. Passed H.R. 4, Medicare Prescription Drug Price Negotiation Act, which directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate with drug companies for lower drug prices for Medicare beneficiaries, by a vote of 255-170. The President has threatened to veto.



• Re-Investing in America’s Priorities. Concurred in the Senate amendment to the conference report on H.R. 3043, FY 2008 Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations bill, which (along with mandatory spending in another bill) makes college more affordable by increasing the maximum Pell Grant by $615, up to $4,925; invests $1.6 billion more in No Child Left Behind programs, giving an additional 117,000 low-income children help with reading and math; and provides an additional for the life-saving medical research at NIH, by a bipartisan vote of 274-141. The President vetoed the bill on November 13. (The final Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations provisions were included in the FY 2008 Omnibus Appropriations bill.)



• Child Safety/Children’s Gasoline Burn Prevention. Passed H.R. 814, Children’s Gasoline Burn Prevention Act, which protects children from death or serious injury from burn hazards, by requiring the same child-resistant caps for all gasoline containers, whether sold with or without gasoline, by voice vote.



• Child Safety/Child Product Safety Notification. Passed H.R. 1699, Danny Keysar Child Product Safety Notification Act, which protects children from unsafe cribs, high chairs and other durable infant and toddler products by requiring direct consumer notification of recalls of these products, by voice vote.



• Child Safety/Increasing Penalties for Product Safety Violations. Passed H.R. 2474, Product Safety Civil Penalties Improvement Act, which provides a better incentive for companies to report safety problems with their products by increasing the maximum civil penalty for product safety violations from $1.8 million to $10 million over two years, by voice vote.



• Child Safety/Pool and Spa Safety Act. Passed H.R. 1721, Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Act, which protects children from drowning by requiring the use of proper anti-entrapment drain covers in pools and spas, by voice vote.



• Child Safety on Internet/PROTECT Our Children Act. Passed H.R. 3845, PROTECT Our Children Act, which trains a strong nationwide network of highly trained law enforcement experts to track down child predators on the Internet, by a bipartisan vote of 415-2.



• Child Safety on Internet/Prosecution of Child Pornography. Passed H.R. 4136, Enhancing the Effective Prosecution of Child Pornography Act, which allows federal money laundering laws to be applied in some cases involving the production of child pornography, by a unanimous vote of 416-0.



• Child Safety on Internet/SAFER NET Act. Passed H.R. 3461, SAFER NET Act, which requires the Federal Trade Commission to launch a $5 million campaign to increase awareness about Internet safety issues, by a bipartisan vote of 398-6.



• Child Safety on Internet/Internet Crime Prevention. Passed 4134, Internet Crime Prevention Education Program Act, which authorizes funding to continue the successful i-Safe program, which has provided online safety education for more than 3 million children in all 50 states, by voice vote.



• Child Safety on Internet/KIDS Act. Passed H.R. 719, Keeping the Internet Devoid of Sexual Predators (KIDS) Act, which requires sex offenders to register their e-mail and instant messenger addresses with the National Sex Offender Registry, by a unanimous vote of 417-0.



• Child Safety on Internet/Prosecution of Child Pornography. Passed H.R. 4120, Effective Child Pornography Prosecution Act, which closes a jurisdictional loophole in order to ensure more effective prosecution of child pornography cases, by a unanimous vote of 409-0.



• Child Safety on Internet/SAFE Online Act. Passed H.R. 3791, SAFE (Securing Adolescents from Exploitation) Online Act, which increases the penalties for service providers that host child pornography on their servers, by a bipartisan vote of 409-2.



• Child Safety/Missing and Exploited Children. Passed H.R. 2517, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) Reauthorization, which authorizes doubling the funding for the Center that has handled more than 137,600 missing child cases, by a bipartisan vote of 408-3.



• Hate Crimes. Passed H.R. 1592, Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which gives state and local law enforcement the tools and resources they need to prevent and prosecute hate crimes, as well as closing gaps in current federal hate crimes law, by a vote of 237-180. The President has threatened to veto.



• Collective Bargaining for Firefighters, Police Officers, Etc. Passed H.R. 980, Collective Bargaining for First Responders, which provides firefighters, police officers, and other public safety officers with basic collective bargaining rights, without undermining state authority or existing state laws – ensuring our first responders have the basic right to seek better wages and benefits, by a bipartisan vote of 314-97.



• Background Checks for Gun Purchases. Passed H.R. 2640, NICS Improvement Act, which is designed to improve the accuracy of the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) by giving grants to states for automating and sharing with NICS the records of those barred from purchasing a firearm under the 1968 Gun Control Act, by voice vote. (Public Law 110-180)



• Continuing Resolution for FY 2007. Passed H.J.Res. 20, Continuing Resolution for FY 2007, which kept within the FY 2007 budget ceiling created by the previous majority but which invested in urgent domestic needs, including an increase of $3.6 billion for veterans’ health care, $1.4 billion for affordable housing, and $615 million for increasing the maximum Pell Grant from $4,050 to $4,310, by a bipartisan vote of 286-140. The President signed the bill on February 15 (PL 110-5).



• COPS Improvement Act. Passed H.R. 1700, COPS Improvement Act, which puts 50,000 additional police officers on the streets over the next six years, and also authorizes funds for COPS technology grants and for hiring community prosecutors, by a bipartisan vote of 381-34.



• Employment Non-Discrimination Act. Passed H.R. 3685, Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which makes it illegal to fire, refuse to hire, or otherwise discriminate against employees simply based on their sexual orientation, by a vote of 235-184. The President has threatened to veto.



• Genetic Nondiscrimination. Passed H.R. 493, Genetic Nondiscrimination, which prohibits employers and insurance companies from using genetic information when making decisions about hiring, firing, or providing health coverage, by a bipartisan vote of 420-3.


• Sunshine in Student Loan Industry. Passed H.R. 890, Student Loan Sunshine Act, which cleans up the relationships between student lenders and colleges, in light of mounting evidence of conflicts of interest and other unethical practices in the student loan industry, by a bipartisan vote of 414 to 3.



• Expanding Trade Adjustment Assistance. Passed H.R. 3920, the Trade and Globalization Assistance Act, which expands and improves Trade Adjustment Assistance, which provides job training and other assistance to workers laid off due to trade, including extending it to service workers and to more manufacturing workers, by a vote of 264-157. The President has threatened to veto.



• U.S.-Peru Trade Agreement. Passed H.R. 3688, U.S.-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement Implementation Act, which implements the U.S.-Peru Trade Agreement that would reduce most tariffs and duties affecting trade between the two countries and that includes labor and environmental standards within the agreement, by a bipartisan vote of 285-132. The President signed the bill on December 14 (PL 110-138).



• Modernizing Federal Aviation Administration. Passed H.R. 2881, FAA Modernization Act, which modernizes the aging air traffic control system and strengthens airport infrastructure to reduce delays and improve safety; provides consumer protections for airline passengers; increases the number of safety inspectors; and includes environmental protections to reduce global warming, by a vote of 267-151. The President has threatened to veto.



• Farm Bill. Passed H.R. 2419, the Farm Bill, which includes real reforms, such as cracking down on farm subsidies for those who do not need them and redirecting more than half a billion dollars to working family farmers and ranchers; and making substantial commitments to conservation, nutrition programs, and renewable energy, by a vote of 231 to 191. The President has threatened to veto.



• Investing in Small Business/Economic Development/Etc. Passed H.R. 2829, FY 2008 Financial Services-General Government Appropriations, which contains provisions to spur job creation and economic growth, including restoring the President’s cut in small business loans and investing in greater efforts to expand availability to capital and financial services in rural communities, by a vote of 240-179. The President threatened to veto. (The final Financial Services-General Government Appropriations provisions were included in the FY 2008 Omnibus Appropriations bill.)



• Investing in Transportation Infrastructure and Affordable Housing. Passed the conference report on H.R. 3074, FY 2008 Transportation-HUD Appropriations, which modernizes transportation, including providing $40.2 billion for highway infrastructure, creating 100,000 new jobs, and providing $9.7 billion for mass transit; and invests in expanding affordable housing opportunities for American families, by a vote of 270-147. The President threatened to veto. (The final Transportation-HUD Appropriations provisions were included in the FY 2008 Omnibus Appropriations bill.)



• Investing in Rural Development. Passed H.R. 3161, FY 2008 Agriculture Appropriations, which has numerous provisions to strengthen our rural communities, including reinvesting in affordable housing, clean water, broadband access, and community facilities in rural areas; improve nutrition programs; and promote renewable energy and conservation in rural America, by a vote of 237 to 18. The President threatened to veto. (The final Agriculture Appropriations were included in the FY 2008 Omnibus Appropriations bill.)



• Investing in Innovation and Science. Passed H.R. 3093, FY 2008 Commerce-Justice-Science Appropriations, which makes major investments in U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness, including Manufacturing Extension Partnerships and the Advanced Technology Program, and in scientific research, putting the NSF on track to double in funding over next 10 years, by a bipartisan vote of 281-142. The President threatened to veto. (The final Commerce-Justice-Science Appropriations provisions were included in the FY 2008 Omnibus Appropriations bill.)



• Extension of the Internet Tax Moratorium. Passed final version of H.R. 3678, Seven-Year Extension of Internet Tax Moratorium, which helps the economy by providing a seven-year extension of the Internet tax moratorium, by a unanimous vote of 402-0. The President signed the bill on October 31 (PL 110-108).



• Free Choice for Employees. Passed H.R. 800, the Employee Free Choice Act, which helps all Americans share in our nation’s economic growth by supporting the basic right of workers to choose their own representative, by a vote of 241-185. The President has threatened to veto.



• Rights of Employees to Fair Pay. Passed H.R. 2831, the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which rectifies the recent Supreme Court decision of Ledbetter v. Goodyear, which had made it much more difficult for workers to pursue pay discrimination claims, by a vote of 225-199. The President has threatened to veto.



• Federal Contracting Opportunities for Small Businesses. Passed H.R. 3867, Small Business Contracting Program Improvements Act, which makes critical changes to the SBA’s federal contracting programs that will open up new opportunities for small businesses, including veteran- and minority-owned firms, by a bipartisan vote of 334-80.



• Improving Small Business Lending. Passed H.R. 1332, Small Business Lending Improvements Act, which provides small businesses with tools to encourage entrepreneurial innovation, including making 7(a) loans more economical, by a bipartisan vote of 380-45.



• Small Business Investment Expansion. Passed H.R. 3567, Small Business Investment Expansion, which reforms SBA programs to assist small business owners with obtaining investment capital necessary to start or grow their operations and improves access to venture capital and angel investments for these entrepreneurs, by a bipartisan vote of 325-72.



• Fairness in Small Business Contracting. Passed H.R. 1873, Small Business Fairness in Contracting Act, which strengthens small business by ensuring an increased share of federal contracts going to small businesses and limiting the ability of federal agencies to bundle smaller projects into larger contracts, by a bipartisan vote of 409 to 13.



• Patent Reform. Passed H.R. 1908, Patent Reform Act, which strengthens the patent system and improves patent quality – critical to American inventors and American ingenuity in a global market, benefits consumers by bringing cutting-edge products to the market, and stimulates greater innovation, growth and competitiveness, by a bipartisan vote of 220-175.



• Improving Railway Safety. Passed H.R. 2095, Federal Railroad Safety Improvement Act, which strengthens the economy by improving the safety of railways, which play a key role in our economy, including upgrading safety at rail tracks and crossings and ensuring more rest for railroad workers, by a bipartisan vote of 377-38.



• Modernizing Flood Insurance. Passed H.R. 3121, Flood Insurance Modernization Act, which provides overdue and much-needed reforms to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), including phasing out unnecessary subsidies, encouraging broader participation, and providing a new optional multiple peril policy that allows property owners to purchase wind and flood coverage in a single policy, by a vote of 263-146. The President has threatened to veto.



• Terrorism Risk Insurance. Passed Senate amendments to H.R. 2761, Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) Extension, which extends TRIA, which provides a federal backstop to private terrorism insurance, for 7 years – thereby enhancing U.S. economic stability by enabling the real estate and construction industries to move forward with long-term, large-scale construction projects, by a bipartisan vote of 360-53. The bill was signed by the President on December 21 (PL 110-146).


• Regional Economic Development. Passed H.R. 3246, Regional Economic Development Act, which establishes five regional economic development commissions that would provide grants for infrastructure development, job training assistance, tourism development, and related programs, by a vote of 264-154. The President has threatened to veto.



• Clean Water. Passed H.R. 720, Clean Water State Revolving Fund, which provides a recommitment to the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, by authorizing $14 billion over the next four years, which helps local communities have clean lakes and streams, as well as safe drinking water, by a bipartisan vote of 303-108. The President has threatened to veto.



• Sewer Overflow Controls. Passed H.R. 569, Sewer Overflow Control Grants, which responds to the growing public health hazard of sewer overflows by authorizing $1.8 billion for sewer overflow grants over the next five years, by a bipartisan vote of 367-58.



• Usable Water Supply. Passed H.R. 700, Pilot Projects for Increasing Usable Water Supply, which authorizes pilot projects to increase an area’s usable water supply – by encouraging innovation in water reclamation, reuse and conservation, by a bipartisan vote of 368-59.



• Native Hawaiian Governing Entity. Passed H.R. 505, Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act, under which Native Hawaiians can establish a "governing entity" that would represent them in negotiations with federal and state governments, by a vote of 261-153. The President has threatened to veto.



• Minnesota Bridge Reconstruction. Passed H.R. 3311, Minnesota Bridge Reconstruction, which authorizes $250 million for a project to repair and reconstruct the Interstate 35W highway bridge in Minneapolis, which collapsed on August 1, killing at least 5 people, by a unanimous vote of 421-0. The President signed the bill on August 6 (PL 110-56).

Restoring Accountability

• Pay-As-You-Go Budget Rules. Passed Title IV of H.Res. 6, Honest Leadership Package, which re-imposes strict pay-as-you-go budget rules to end new deficit spending, by a vote of 280-152. No presidential signature required.



• Fiscally Responsible Budget. Passed conference report on S.Con.Res. 21, FY 2008 Budget Resolution, which balances the budget over five years, and reinvigorates efforts to eliminate wasteful spending and improve government efficiency, by a vote of 214 to 209. (In two of the last three years, the previous majority in Congress had failed to adopt a budget conference report.) No presidential signature required.



• Comprehensive Lobbying and Ethics Reform. Passed the conference report on S. 1, Honest Leadership and Open Government Act, which is the most sweeping lobbying reform measure in a generation and is designed to help end the tight-knit relationship between lobbyists and lawmakers, including increasing disclosure of lobbyists’ contributions to lawmakers and establishing an online public database of lobbyist disclosure information, by a bipartisan vote of 411-8. The President signed the bill on September 14 (PL 110-81).



• Ethics Reform in House Rules. Passed Title II of H.Res. 6, Honest Leadership Package, which includes an ethics reform package, including banning gifts and travel from lobbyists and the organizations that employ them and ending the influence-for-hire K Street Project, by a bipartisan vote of 430-1. No presidential signature required.



• Strengthening Freedom of Information Act. Passed H.R. S. 2488, OPEN Government Act, which strengthens the Freedom of Information Act to better protect the public’s right to know and make the government more transparent, by voice vote. The bill was signed by the President on December 31 (PL 110-175).



• Pensions of Convicted Members. Passed H.R. 476, Congressional Pension Forfeiture Act, which requires Members convicted of certain federal offenses forfeit their congressional pension rights, by a unanimous vote of 431-0. Incorporated into S. 1, Honest Leadership and Open Government Act, which the President signed on September 14 (PL 110-81).



• Reform of House Page Program. Passed H.R. 475, House Page Board Oversight, which improves oversight of the House Page Program by requiring regular meetings of the Page Board, making it fully bipartisan, and adding a former page and the parent of a page to the board, by a unanimous vote of 416-0. The President signed the bill on February 2 (PL 110-2).



• Barring Spouses from Campaign Payrolls. Passed H.R. 2630, Barring Spouses of Candidates from Being on Campaign Payrolls, which prohibits federal office holders and candidates from employing their spouses in their campaign and also requires the disclosure of all other immediate family members who are employed by the candidate’s campaign, by voice vote.



• U.S. Attorneys. Passed S. 214, Preserving Independence of U.S. Attorneys, thereby clearing the bill for the President, which better ensures the independence of U.S. attorneys, by repealing a 2006 provision allowing the Attorney General to make indefinite interim appointments of U.S. attorneys, by a bipartisan vote of 306-114. The President signed the bill on June 14 (PL 110-34).



• Whistleblower Protections. Passed H.R. 985, Whistleblower Protections Act, which strengthens protections for federal whistleblowers to prevent retaliation against those who report federal waste, fraud and abuse, by a bipartisan vote of 331-94. The President has threatened to veto.



• Enhancing Effectiveness and Independence of Inspectors General. Passed H.R. 928, Improving Government Accountability Act, which contains a number of provisions to enhance the effectiveness and independence of Inspectors General, which are the principal watchdogs to prevent and detect waste, fraud, and abuse in their agencies' programs, by a bipartisan vote of 404-11. The President has threatened to veto.



• Providing a Media Shield. Passed H.R. 2102, Free Flow of Information Act, which provides a qualified privilege for journalists protecting confidential sources, while also protecting national security and effective law enforcement, by a bipartisan vote of 398-21. The President has threatened to veto.



• Accountability in Contracting. Passed H.R. 1362, Accountability in Contracting Act, which cleans up government contracting abuses and “no bid” contracts that companies like Halliburton and KBR have made infamous, by a bipartisan vote of 347-73.



• Ending Use of Private Tax Collectors. Passed H.R. 3056, Tax Collection Responsibility Act, which strengthens government accountability and protects taxpayers and confidential tax information by repealing the authorization for the Internal Revenue Service to use private collectors to collect federal income taxes, by a vote of 232-173. The President has threatened to veto.



• Protecting U.S. Taxpayers through Mining Reform. Passed H.R. 2262, Hardrock Mining and Reclamation Act, which stands up for the U.S. taxpayer by requiring operators of mining operations on federal lands, which are owned by U.S. taxpayers, to pay royalty payments for the first time, by a vote of 244-166. The President has threatened to veto.



• D.C. Voting Rights. Passed H.R. 1905, D.C. Voting Rights Act, which provides a vote in Congress to the 600,000 residents of the District of Columbia and a new, at-large seat through the 112th Congress to the state next entitled to representation (which is Utah, according to the Census), by a vote of 241-177. The President has threatened to veto.



• Disclosure of Presidential Records. Passed H.R. 1255, Disclosure of Presidential Records, which restores public access to former presidents’ official papers, nullifying a 2001 executive order that gave current and former presidents (and their heirs) broad authority to withhold official presidential documents, by a bipartisan vote of 333-93. The President has threatened to veto.



• Corporate Accountability. Passed H.R. 1257, Shareholder Vote on Executive Compensation Act, which enhances the accountability of corporate management to shareholders, by allowing a non-binding vote by shareholders on executive compensation plans, by a bipartisan vote of 267-134.


• Reforming SBA Disaster Aid Program. Passed H.R. 1361, SBA Disaster Aid Overhaul, which overhauls the SBA disaster assistance program in response to the SBA’s disastrous performance after the 2005 Gulf Coast hurricanes, by a vote of 267-158.



• Preventing Voter Deception and Voter Intimidation. Passed H.R. 1281, Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act, which is designed to combat the numerous, documented efforts to deceive or intimidate voters to keep them away from the polls, by making voter deception a federal crime and increasing the penalties for voter intimidation, by voice vote.

 

 

 

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