Thank you for subscribing to my e-newsletter. Communicating with my constituents has always been a top priority for me, and I look forward to regularly updating you on the work I’m doing to help Ohio and the nation. It has recently been very busy in Washington, but I have had several opportunities to return to Ohio to work on a wide range of issues. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to visit my Web site at http://voinovich.senate.gov. And please share this e-newsletter with your friends and family by forwarding it to their email!

In late December, Sen. Voinovich attended a bill signing ceremony with President Bush at the White House as his Mortgage Relief Act became law. The Mortgage Relief Act – a bill the senator wrote last spring – relieves families of a tax burden when their lender forgives part of the mortgage on a principal residence, whether as part of a work-out, a short sale or a foreclosure. Sen. Voinovich understands that many homeowners are suffering and cannot wait any longer and he called the passing of this legislation a much-needed Christmas gift for many Ohioans. Before the senator’s bill became law, the Internal Revenue Service taxed any loan forgiveness as “income.” The removal of this tax penalty now encourages homeowners and lenders to work together voluntarily and responsibly so that payments are manageable and foreclosure can be avoided. While this is not a cure-all for the foreclosure crisis, it is a good first step, and there is more work to be done.

Each year, Sen. Voinovich works diligently to compile his Annual Report – a document highlighting the senator’s accomplishments throughout the past year and the issues he has been working on in Washington. In 2007, Sen. Voinovich worked hard to overcome partisan politics, seeking compromise and fairness. He concentrated his efforts in the Senate on four broad themes: fiscal responsibility; national security; American competitiveness; and improving government. The senator finds his work and responsibilities in the U.S. Senate to be deeply fulfilling because he knows that, with the help of Ohioans, he is making a difference for the state and the nation. He recognizes the great trust his constituents put in him and he is thankful for the privilege to serve Ohio. For further details on Sen. Voinovich’s many accomplishments from the first half of the 110^th Congress, please contact his office and request your own copy of the Annual Report, which will be available in the beginning of February. And please feel free to offer your own ideas on how – working together – we can make Ohio, the nation and the world a better place to live.

At the end of the first session of the 110^th Congress, Sen. Voinovich voted against the irresponsible “omnibus” appropriations package, instead calling for fundamental tax reform and biennial budgeting as the proper way to fund the government and restore some much-needed fiscal sanity. In 25 of the past 30 years, Congress has failed to enact all the appropriations bills by the start of the fiscal year. Sen. Voinovich believes that instead of properly appropriating, his colleagues in the Senate wrapped it all up in smoke and mirrors and called much of it ”emergency spending.” Sen. Voinovich understands that tax reform is a daunting but necessary task and one that urgently needs to be addressed. In May 2007, Sen. Voinovich also introduced landmark legislation aimed at converting the annual budget cycle into a biennial – or two-year – cycle. Under biennial budgeting, the annual budget, appropriations and authorizing processes would be converted into a two-year cycle: the first year would be reserved for the budget and appropriations process; and the second year would be used for conducting oversight and passing authorizing legislation. This would leave Congress more time to examine programs to determine which are wasteful, which should receive more funding and which should be terminated altogether.

Sen. Voinovich used much of his Christmas vacation to lead a Congressional Delegation trip overseas to the Middle East, India and Germany. Although he had to cancel his scheduled trip to Pakistan and meeting with President Pervez Musharraf due to the state of unrest in the country after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, he did travel to and meet with top officials in Germany, India, Egypt, Jordan and Israel. The thrust of his visit was focused on the U.S.-India Strategic Cooperation and the Civil Nuclear Deal, stability in the Middle East, the War on Terror and prospects for a two-state solution in the Middle East. As a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Voinovich is keenly aware that one of the greatest issues facing the nation today is the future stability of the Middle East. This trip gave the senator the opportunity to meet with top officials across the region and discuss transatlantic relations, internal politics, foreign aid and military support, the Middle East peace process, Iraq, Iran and combating Islamic extremism. It is Sen. Voinovich’s hope that these nations will find the strength to come together to overcome perpetrators of violence and extremism and create a more stable Middle East. In 2008, he will continue his oversight of U.S. policy as it relates to the Middle East, India and Pakistan, as well as other pressing national security priorities in Afghanistan, Iraq and Kosovo.