111th Congress Accomplishments

 

Rep. McCarthy Outlines Major Accomplishments of the 111^th Congress

WASHINGTON, DC - The 111^th Congress has made historic progress, working to take America in a New Direction.  Congress is working to turn our economy around and create good jobs; to make common sense reforms to how Wall Street does business; to make quality health insurance affordable for every American; and to launch a clean energy jobs revolution that makes America more secure.  These efforts are being tackled with fiscal discipline and accountability.  Legislative Highlights Include:

ECONOMIC RECOVERY AND CREATING JOBS

AMERICAN RECOVERY & REINVESTMENT ACT, enacted in the first month of President Obama’s term, to jumpstart our economy, create and save 3.5 million jobs, give a tax cut to small business and 95% of American workers, begin to rebuild America’s road, rail, and water infrastructure, and make a historic commitment to education, clean energy, and science and technology, with unprecedented accountability.  (Signed into Law)

STUDENT AID & FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY ACT, making the largest investment in college aid in history – increasing Pell Grants, making college loans more affordable, and strengthening community colleges – while reducing the federal deficit by ending wasteful student loan subsidies to banks. (Signed into Law)

HIRE ACT providing tax incentives for businesses that have already hired 4.5 million unemployed Americans, unleashing billions of dollars to rebuild highways and infrastructure, strengthening small businesses with tax credits and accelerated write-offs, and cracking down on offshore accounts for the wealthy. (Signed into Law)

CASH FOR CLUNKERS, jump-starting the U.S. auto industry, providing consumers with up to $4,500 to trade in an old vehicle for one with higher fuel efficiency—spurring the sale of 700,000 vehicles.  (Signed into Law)

AMERICAN JOBS & CLOSING TAX LOOPHOLES ACT, to prevent corporations from shipping jobs overseas at U.S. taxpayer expense, make Wall Street billionaires pay their fair share of taxes, and promote American jobs by restoring credit to small businesses, extending tax incentives for American R&D and tax relief for middle class American families, rebuilding American infrastructure, and expanding summer jobs for young people. (Passed by House and Senate)

SMALL BUSINESS JOBS & CREDIT ACT, to leverage billions in loans for small businesses through a lending fund for community banks and provide tax incentives to spur investment in small businesses and the formation of new small businesses; fully paid for.  (Passed by House; on Senate Floor)

WORKER, HOMEOWNERSHIP & BUSINESS ASSISTANCE Act,boosting the economy and creating jobs with more unemployment benefits for Americans hit by the recession, an expanded 1st-time homebuyer tax credit, and enhanced small business tax relief—expanded to all struggling U.S. businesses.  (Signed into Law)

HOME STAR JOBS, to provide incentives for consumers to make their homes energy-efficient - creating 168,000 jobs, cutting energy bills for 3 million families, and reducing our dangerous dependence on foreign oil and dirty fuels.  (Passed by House)

AMERICA COMPETES REAUTHORIZATION, to invest in modernizing manufacturing; basic R&D; high risk/high reward clean energy research; and teaching science, technology, engineering and math. (Passed by House)

JOBS FOR MAIN STREET ACT, to boost small business, rebuild highways, and hire and retain teachers, police, and firefighters; paid for by redirecting TARP funds from Wall Street to Main Street.  (Passed by House)

SMALL BUSINESS & INFRASTRUCTURE JOBS ACT, to extend Build America Bonds to help finance the rebuilding of schools, hospitals, roads and bridges; and target tax incentives to spur investment in small businesses and help entrepreneurs looking to start a new business. (Passed by House)

HELPING FAMILIES SAVE THIER HOMES ACT, building on the President’s initiative to stem the foreclosure crisis, with significant incentives to lenders, servicers, and homeowners to modify loans. (Signed into Law)

EDWARD M. KENNADY SERVE AMERICA ACT, tripling volunteerism opportunities to 250,000 for national service for students to retirees; increased college financial awards. (Signed into Law)

PERMANENT ESTATE TAX RELIEF at the 2009 level to ensure that 99.8 percent of estates never pay a dime of taxes and offer certainty and stability for farmers and small businesses. (Passed by House)

INNOVATION AGENDA, investing $31 billion in science, technology, innovation, math education, cutting-edge research, advanced manufacturing technologies, and workforce training.  (Signed into Law)

LABOR-HHS-EDUCATION APPROPRIATIONS, providing targeted increases for health, education and worker training, including NIH research, Pell Grants, Head Start and clean energy jobs. (Signed into Law)

AFFORDABLE QUALITY HEALTH CARE

HEALTH INSURANCE REFORM, landmark legislation putting American families and small business owners—not the insurance companies—in control of their own health care; lowering costs for middle class and small business; holding insurance companies accountable to prevent denials of care and coverage, including for pre-existing conditions; strengthening Medicare and lowering prescription drug costs; creating up to 4 million jobs; and reducing deficit by largest amount in almost two decades. (Signed into law)

Health Care for 11 Million Children, to finally provide cost-effective health coverage for 4 million more children and preserve coverage for 7 million children already enrolled.  (Signed into Law)

FDA Regulation of Tobacco, granting the Food and Drug Administration authority to regulate advertising, marketing, and manufacturing of tobacco products, the #1 cause of preventable U.S. deaths, and to stop tobacco companies from targeting our children. (Signed into Law)

ENSURING SENIORS’ ACCESS TO THEIR DOCTORS,by blocking scheduled 21% cut in Medicare physician payments through November 30, 2010 and also updating payments by 2.2%.  (Signed into Law)

FOOD SAFETY, to fundamentally change the way we protect our food supply; close gaps exposed by recent food-borne illness outbreaks; give the FDA new authorities.  (Passed by House)

Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act,guaranteeing access to lifesaving medical services, primary care, and medications for low-income patients with AIDS and HIV. (Signed into Law)

CLEAN ENERGY JOBS/HOLDING BP ACCOUNTABLE

AMERICAN CLEAN ENERGY AND SECURITY ACT, historic legislation to create 1.7 million jobs (with the Recovery Act); help free us from funding terrorism with our dependence on foreign oil; reduce the carbon pollution causing climate change; keep costs low for Americans; will not increase the deficit. (Passed by House) 

SPILL ACT, to reform maritime liability laws to ensure that the families of those killed or injured in the BP Oil Spill and other such tragedies are justly compensated for their losses.  (Passed by House)

BP OIL SPILL COMMISSION SUBPOENA POWER, to give subpoena power to National Commission on BP Oil Spill to ensure that it cannot be stonewalled by BP or others in its search for spill&rsqu;