A Year After Historic Election, Lawmakers Highlight Accomplishments

On November 1, Speaker Pelosi and other members of the New Congress joined together to highlight major accomplishments on the one year anniversary of the election which brought about change in both the U.S. House and Senate. 

“Congress has accomplished much this year.  The challenges we face are immense and the pace of change too slow, but we can be proud of our accomplishments as we continue down the path of a New Direction,” said Rep. Levin.  “We have reformed Congressional ethics rules, made our government more fiscally responsible and our homeland more secure, helped more people attend college, increased the minimum wage, and re-established good trade policy that stands up for U.S. businesses and workers alike in the global market place.” 

For more information on the 2007 accomplishments to date, click here.

Legislation Introduced to Crack Down on Dangerous Toys

Over the summer, more than 20 million toys manufactured abroad were recalled because they were dangerous to children.  Some of those toys contained nearly 200 times the legal amount of lead.  To address the problem, Rep. Levin recently cosponsored legislation [H.R. 3691, the Safety Assurance for Every (SAFE) Consumer Product Act] to strengthen consumer product safety laws in the United States.  The legislation takes critical steps to ensure the toys our children play with are safe by strengthening the authority and staff of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), including new requirements that all children’s products be certified as having met rigorous product safety standards by independent third party laboratories. 

For a detailed summery of the legislation, click here.

House Approves Overhaul of Trade Adjustment Assistance to Better Meet Needs of Workers

On October 31, the House of Representatives approved a complete overhaul of the federal program to assist workers affected by globalization.  The Trade and Globalization Assistance Act of 2007 [H.R. 3920] would expand and improve the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) Act of 1962 to help more workers that lose their jobs as a result of global trade.  The House approved the measure by a vote of 264 to 157.

“As we re-establish good trade policy that stands up for U.S. businesses and workers in the global market place, we must also fix the broken Trade Adjustment Assistance Act,” said Rep. Levin.  “Each year, Michigan workers have been placed on waiting lists for training, workers have not received the advanced training they need, and too many have been unable to utilize the health care tax credit.  We can compete in the global economy, but we must have programs that fully support workers displaced by globalization in their transition to new, good paying jobs.”

For more information, click here. 

House Adopts Reform of Hardrock Mining Law

On November 1, the House approved legislation [H.R. 2262] to overhaul a 135-year-old federal mining law that literally gives away billions of dollars worth of gold, silver, platinum, copper and other “hardrock” minerals from publicly-owned federal lands.  The measure was approved on a vote of 244 to 166.  Current law permits multi-national conglomerates to stake mining claims on federal lands in the 11 western states and Alaska and to produce valuable hardrock minerals without paying any royalty.

In his Floor statement, Rep. Levin said, “It is time to overhaul this archaic law....  The American people deserve a fair return for the minerals extracted from the lands they own.  By comparison, the coal, oil and gas companies already pay royalties for their operations on federal lands.  Why should hardrock mining be any different?”  

To read the entire statement, click here.

The Week Ahead  

This week, the House will attempt to override President Bush’s veto of the Water Resources Development Act [H.R. 1495].  The House is also expected to debate H.R. 3688, the United States-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement Implementation Act; H.R. 3688, the Homeowners’ Defense Act; and H.R. 3996, the Temporary Tax Relief Act of 2007.  Lawmakers will also debate the conference report on the annual bill [H.R. 3043] that funds the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education. 

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