Articles
Washington Post: What a Democratic Congress Achieved
08/13/2007
The Post's assessment of the first seven months of the 110th Congress ["The Congress So Far," editorial, Aug. 5] was unduly negative and incomplete. In fact, the Democratic majorities in Congress have demonstrably moved our nation in a new direction and established a strong record of achievement, despite Republican obstructionism.
As the editorial noted, we have enacted a long-overdue increase in the federal minimum wage, recommendations of the bipartisan Sept. 11 commission, and the broadest ethics and lobbying reforms since Watergate (which await President Bush's signature) -- measures that received strong bipartisan support but languished in the Republican-led Congress.
Democrats also sent bipartisan legislation to the president that will enhance
The House and Senate also passed historic energy independence initiatives, the largest expansion of college aid since the GI Bill and legislation extending health insurance to millions of children who today have none. And we have restored fiscal discipline by reinstating budget rules that produced record surpluses in the 1990s.
House Democrats also passed the largest increase for veterans' health care in history, major new investments for equipment and training for our troops, and a farm bill that shifts priorities to family farmers, nutrition and biofuels.
Obviously, our work is not finished. However, as our record demonstrates, we are moving
Steny H. Hoyer
U.S. Representative (D-MD)
House Majority Leader
Washington