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My Work in Congress

Working families are being squeezed by the rising cost of living, by healthcare costs and by home foreclosures. We are suffering from the loss of manufacturing jobs which once meant decent wages and benefits for workers. Our nation faces a painful economic transition which requires our government to be a good partner with America’s workers, researchers, and small businesses.

The economic growth we have seen hasn't reached the paychecks of the vast majority of American workers. Wages have barely budged while the cost of everything else is skyrocketing. Our nation can prosper in a ruthless world economy and the prosperity can reach every American worker, not just the top executives.

I’m proud to be a part of a Congress that increased the federal minimum wage for the first time in more than a decade. Another of my first votes in the new Congress was to support the single largest investment in college financial assistance since the GI Bill in 1944. I supported an Energy bill that will put the U.S. on a path toward energy independence, strengthen our national security, grow our economy and create new jobs, lower energy prices, and begin to address global warming. 

Our future depends on having the most skilled workforce in the world, and that requires a commitment both to formal education and to on-the-job training. As Co-Chair of the Community College Caucus, I will continue to look for ways to re-train our workforce after so many factory closings in North Carolina.

My number one priority in Congress is protecting homeowners and their ticket into the middle class. The subprime mortgage crisis could force 2.2 million American families to lose their home to foreclosure in the next two years. Every foreclosure means a family is falling out of the middle class into poverty. I am fighting to pass national legislation to crack down on abusive predatory lending practices in the mortgage industry. I have also introduced legislation to provide emergency relief to homeowners facing foreclosure. My bill would repeal a provision of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code and allow judges to modify mortgage agreements for family's only home. The law currently allows judges to modify agreements on vacation homes and yachts for the wealthy.

In my new role as Chairman of the Investigations and Oversight Subcommittee on the House Science Committee, I have been investigating misdeeds in federal agencies for which my subcommittee has oversight – one common theme seems to be too many former industry people in charge who are friends of our President. It’s been too long since Congress took an active role in good government and accountability.