Press Releases
Brendan Daly/Nadeam Elshami
202-226-7616
05/25/2007
New Direction Congress Makes Progress on Key Issues for the American People
Washington, D.C. – Delivering on its promise for a New Direction, Congress this week sent six top American priorities to the President for his signature.
These initiatives honor the priorities of the American people, including an increase in the minimum wage, more resources for our children’s health, for those who have suffered through natural disasters, and for the men and women in uniform who courageously serve our nation.
These successes build on efforts in the past week to change the way business is done in Washington—from lobby reform to restoring fiscal responsibility—and to protect Americans from oil companies that gouge consumers and drive up record gas prices.
“Today, hard-working Americans who earn the minimum wage are guaranteed their first pay raise in almost a decade,” said Speaker Nancy Pelosi. “Today, we bring overdue assistance to help the victims of the Gulf Coast hurricanes rebuild their lives and communities and American farmers devastated by disaster preserve their farms and their rural way of life.
“Today, we provide emergency funding to keep thousands of children from losing health coverage in states across America. Today, we tackle the failures of the military and veterans’ health systems—and bring new hope for Americans coming home from this war with the wounds of a new kind of warfare. And as of today, President Bush no longer has a blank check for a war without end in Iraq.”
The measures the President will sign into law are:
- The first increase to the minimum wage in almost a decade
- Gulf Coast hurricane recovery assistance that is long overdue
- Emergency funding for children’s health insurance coverage in 11 states—the top priority for this Congress for Democratic and Republican governors
- Disaster relief for American farmers in more than two-thirds of U.S. counties declared disaster areas
- Military and veterans health care funding to address the hallmark medical problems of the war in Iraq (including traumatic brain injury care and research) and to remedy the deplorable conditions and failures of care uncovered at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and other medical centers this year; the legislation also protects our troops from having to pay higher health care fees, reduces the maintenance backlogs at our veterans facilities, and speeds up claims processing
- Legislation to end the politicization of the selection of U.S. Attorneys, after the scandals uncovered involving Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and the U.S. Department of Justice
“These bills build dramatically on the accomplishments of our first 100 hours, when we passed six major pieces of legislation that signaled a New Direction for our country,” said Speaker Nancy Pelosi. “Now, in the final hours before we commemorate Memorial Day, the new Democratic Congress has approved these six American priorities—priorities that have the bipartisan support of the Congress, and will be signed into law by the President.”
In just the past week, the House passed:
The Open Government and Honest Leadership Act, tough lobby reform legislation, to build on the historically strict ethics rules passed in January, to break the link between lobbyists and legislators. The House will soon create an independent ethics review panel to improve the ethics enforcement process.
Legislation to prosecute companies that gouge consumers, and to force anti-trust action against oil-producing countries that manipulate supplies and prices. These bills build on legislation passed in January to rescind subsidies give to Big Oil, and re-invest them in renewable and alternative energy and energy efficiency. At the direction of Speaker Pelosi, committees are developing wide-ranging Energy Independence legislation by July 4th.
A Budget Resolution that restores the accountability of pay-as-you-go fiscal discipline, for the first time in six years and balances the budget by 2012. Two of the past three years, the previous Congress was unable to reach agreement on a budget.
“These legislative successes demonstrate we know how to work together to make progress for the American people—and reject the policy of obstruction, veto threats and stalling tactics,” Pelosi said. “The American people want change, and House Democrats will continue to work hard every day of this Congress to make bipartisan progress to restore accountability, defend our country, achieve energy independence and fight global warming, grow our economy, and strengthen our children and families. Those are the priorities of the New Direction Congress.”