Achievements
August 6th, 2007 by Jesse LeeCongress recesses amid Democratic achievements
Richard Cowan, Reuters - August 5, 2007
After months of being flogged for accomplishing little, Democrats who control Congress headed into a summer recess having passed several high-profile bills from raising the minimum wage to bolstering U.S. security and expanding children’s health care.
Their top priority — ending the Iraq war — remains frustratingly unfulfilled. But the Democrats who took over in January were able to go home early on Sunday for a monthlong break having won more support in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives for bringing combat troops home by early next year, marking a significant turnaround from last year.
Democrats also will be able to batter President George W. Bush and congressional Republicans for sticking with a war policy that droves of Americans increasingly oppose.
And it was Bush’s fellow conservatives who helped kill his top domestic priority, immigration reform.
Much of the Democrats’ progress was incremental and out of the spotlight of the fights with Bush over the Iraq war, now in its fifth year. While those battles were raging, Democrats were able to plow ahead with bills they say will fulfill campaign promises to improve national security and help the neediest.
“We have made more progress in the last seven days than previous congresses made in the last seven years,” Democratic leaders boasted about the spurt of legislation that passed in the final days.
See a comprehensive list of achievements in our current legislation section >>
UPDATE: See a document from the House Armed Services Committee (pdf) detailing the accomplishments of that committee.