ECONOMIC RECOVERY |
| Economic Rescue Plan with key taxpayer and homeowner protections SIGNED INTO LAW |
| Recovery Rebates to jumpstart economy, help Americans with rising costs SIGNED INTO LAW |
| Extended Unemployment benefits for 3.5 million Americans SIGNED INTO LAW |
| First increase in the minimum wage in a decade SIGNED INTO LAW |
| Saving 380,000 good-paying jobs by meeting shortfall in Highway Trust Fund SIGNED INTO LAW |
| Authorizing completion of key highway projects, creating 40,000 good-paying jobs SIGNED INTO LAW |
| Farm Bill with historic new investments in nutrition, energy, and conservation, and launching reforms to farm payments to reflect farmer need VETO OVERRIDDEN BY CONGRESS, ENACTED INTO LAW |
| Terrorism risk insurance extension, aiding economic growth SIGNED INTO LAW |
| Curtailing tax loopholes for companies that ship American jobs off shore SIGNED INTO LAW |
| Making CEO pay subject to shareholder approval PASSED HOUSE |
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HOUSING FORECLOSURE CRISIS |
| Comprehensive housing foreclosure crisis bill, preventing families from losing their homes and their neighbors from losing value in their homes, and creating a federal backstop and tough, independent regulation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which hold half the nation's mortgage debt SIGNED INTO LAW |
| Helping states/localities purchase foreclosed homes, stabilizing communities SIGNED INTO LAW |
| Tax credit for first-time homebuyers, and property tax deduction for non-itemizers SIGNED INTO LAW |
| Reform of the Federal Housing Administration, expanding access to affordable mortgages, and to “reverse mortgages” for seniors who need equity from their homes SIGNED INTO LAW |
| Stopping tax on “income” when lender forgives part of mortgage in foreclosure SIGNED INTO LAW |
| Creating an Affordable Housing Trust Fund for rental housing SIGNED INTO LAW |
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EDUCATION AND COMPETITIVENESS |
| Largest college aid expansion since the GI Bill in 1944, cutting college loan rates in half SIGNED INTO LAW |
| Uninterrupted access to low-cost student loans, despite credit crunch SIGNED INTO LAW |
| Giving colleges incentives to rein in tuition increases and expand access for low-income students SIGNED INTO LAW |
| Cleaning up abuses in the student loan industry SIGNED INTO LAW |
| Innovation agenda creating a math/science teacher corps; doubling research funding SIGNED INTO LAW |
| Extended tax cut for innovative research & development SIGNED INTO LAW |
| Head Start preschool improved and expanded SIGNED INTO LAW |
| Key investments in education VETOED BY PRESIDENT |
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REDUCING TAXES |
| A tax cut for 19 million middle-income American families facing the AMT in 2007 SIGNED INTO LAW |
| A tax cut for 25 million middle-income American families facing the AMT in 2008 SIGNED INTO LAW |
| Internet tax moratorium extension SIGNED INTO LAW |
| Extended tax cuts for homeowners, families with children, college students, teachers SIGNED INTO LAW |
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AMERICAN WORKERS |
| Minimum wage increased for the first time in a decade, 2nd phase this month SIGNED INTO LAW |
| Reversing Supreme Court decisions that had weakened Americans with Disabilities Act SIGNED INTO LAW |
| Extending & improving help for workers who lose jobs to foreign competition PASSED HOUSE |
| Strengthening the Equal Pay Act by providing more effective remedies PASSED HOUSE |
| Rectifying a Supreme Court decision to allow workers to pursue pay discrimination claims PASSED HOUSE |
| Prohibiting employment discrimination based on sexual orientation PASSED HOUSE |
| Collective bargaining rights for first responders PASSED HOUSE |
| Free choice for workers to choose their own bargaining representative PASSED HOUSE |
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AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE |
| Health care coverage for 10 million American children VETOED BY PRESIDENT |
| Expansion of life-saving stem cell research to cure or prevent chronic diseases VETOED BY PRESIDENT |
| Key investments in health care VETOED BY PRESIDENT |
| Ensuring 44 million American seniors and people with disabilities have access to doctors they know and trust VETO OVERRIDDEN BY CONGRESS, ENACTED INTO LAW |
| Ban on genetic information discrimination in health coverage SIGNED INTO LAW |
| Ending discriminatory treatment of mental health care coverage SIGNED INTO LAW |
| Medicare required to negotiate cheaper drugs for seniors and disabled Americans PASSED HOUSE |
| Blocking $18 billion cut in health care for low-income children & seniors SIGNED INTO LAW |
| Making America healthier by providing FDA regulation of tobacco PASSED HOUSE |
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NATIONAL SECURITY |
| 9/11 Commission terrorism recommendations given force of law SIGNED INTO LAW |
| Investments to begin to fix the military readiness crisis SIGNED INTO LAW |
| Iraq benchmarks, progress reports required SIGNED INTO LAW |
| Providing for responsible redeployment of U.S. troops from Iraq VETOED BY PRESIDENT |
| Extending ban on torture to U.S. intelligence personnel VETOED BY PRESIDENT |
| Tighter foreign investment rules, after Dubai Ports scandal SIGNED INTO LAW |
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TROOPS AND VETERANS |
| New GI Bill to give free college education to Iraq and Afghanistan veterans SIGNED INTO LAW |
| Largest veterans’ health care funding increase in history SIGNED INTO LAW |
| Wounded Warrior Act, improving health care after Walter Reed scandal SIGNED INTO LAW |
| Major pay raise for troops in both FY 2008 and FY 2009 SIGNED INTO LAW |
| Tax relief for military families SIGNED INTO LAW |
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ENERGY INDEPENDENCE AND GLOBAL WARMING |
| Landmark Energy Independence law: first new fuel efficiency standards in 32 years, historic commitment to renewable American bio-fuels SIGNED INTO LAW |
| Historic new support for non-food bio-fuels in the Farm Bill VETO OVERRIDDEN BY CONGRESS, ENACTED INTO LAW |
| Tax incentives to invest in clean, renewable energy and create hundreds of thousands of green jobs SIGNED INTO LAW |
| Comprehensive Energy Security & Consumer Protection Act PASSED HOUSE |
| Making Big Oil pay its fair share for taxpayer-owned resources and transition to energy independence |
| Protect consumers by releasing oil from the government stockpile and increasing home heating assistance |
| National Renewable Electricity Standard (15% by 2020) |
| Responsible compromise on off shore drilling and increased American production |
| Standards for more efficient homes and buildings |
| Reduced transit fares and expanded service |
| Further close “Enron-like Loophole” to curb excessive petroleum speculation PASSED HOUSE |
| Holding OPEC and Big Oil accountable for price fixing; cracking down on price gouging PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE |
| Greening the Capitol, making Congress carbon neutral ENACTED BY HOUSE |
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REBUILDING AMERICA |
| Aid to the Gulf Coast recovering from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita SIGNED INTO LAW |
| Major new commitment to flood control & environmental restoration projects VETO OVERRIDDEN BY CONGRESS, ENACTED INTO LAW |
| Omnibus Public Lands Bill, with new protections for national parks, wilderness, historic sites, trails, and water resources from coast to coast SIGNED INTO LAW |
| Modernizing and improving Amtrak and other inter-city passenger rail for energy efficiency ON WAY TO PRESIDENT'S DESK |
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CONSUMER PROTECTION |
| Most sweeping FDA drug safety provisions in more than a decade SIGNED INTO LAW |
| Banning toxic toys and children's products from China and other countries and toughening enforcement of the Consumer Product Safety Commission SIGNED INTO LAW |
| Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights PASSED HOUSE |
| Passenger Bill of Rights for airline travelers PASSED HOUSE |
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FIGHTING CRIME |
| Improved background checks for gun purchases SIGNED INTO LAW |
| 5,200 New Border Patrol Officers over two years SIGNED INTO LAW |
| Saved the critical COPS program, proposed for elimination by the President SIGNED INTO LAW |
| Reauthorized and strengthened Byrne Justice Assistance Grants (JAG) for local law enforcement, which the President had proposed eliminating SIGNED INTO LAW |
| Tools and resources to prevent and prosecute hate crimes PASSED BY HOUSE |
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FISCAL DISCIPLINE |
| Pay-as-you-go budget discipline ADOPTED IN HOUSE RULES |
| A fiscally responsible budget that balances by 2012 and invests in key priorities PASSED BY HOUSE AND SENATE, NO PRESIDENTIAL ACTION REQUIRED |
| Cracking down on “no-bid” contracts PASSED BY HOUSE AND SENATE |
| Prohibiting profiteering by U.S. contractors operating in war zones PASSED BY HOUSE |
| Requiring mandatory fraud reporting for U.S. contractors PASSED BY HOUSE |
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RESTORING ACCOUNTABILITY |
| Widely-acclaimed landmark lobbying and ethics reform SIGNED INTO LAW |
| New historic independent Office of Congressional Ethics ADOPTED IN HOUSE RULES |
| Banning pensions for Members of Congress convicted of certain crimes SIGNED INTO LAW |
| Strengthening Freedom of Information Act for government transparency SIGNED INTO LAW |
| U.S. Attorney appointments depoliticized SIGNED INTO LAW |
| Reducing enormous backlog in passport processing SIGNED INTO LAW |
| Closing offshore tax loopholes for federal contractors SIGNED INTO LAW |
| Whistleblower protections strengthened PASSED BY HOUSE AND SENATE |
| Strengthening independence of federal Inspectors General ON WAY TO THE PRESIDENT'S DESK |
| Holding private security firms in war zones accountable for criminal actions PASSED BY HOUSE |
| Withholding federal contracts from tax-delinquent companies PASSED BY HOUSE |
| Closing off shore tax loopholes for federal contractors PASSED BY HOUSE |
| Requiring more transparency by companies that rely on federal contracts PASSED BY HOUSE |
| Requiring standards for the preservation of White House and federal agency e-mails PASSED BY HOUSE |