Yesterday, the House came extremely close to overriding the President's veto of health insurance for 10 million children - 10 Republicans stand between 10 million children and health care.  While we did not succeed yesterday, this fight is not over.  Democrats are committed to providing health insurance to those 10 million children, and we hope the President and Republicans are ready to work with us to achieve that goal.  We will not stop our efforts, and we will send another bill to the President.

On Wednesday, the House was supposed to consider the RESTORE Act, important national security legislation that will provide the intelligence community with the tools it needs to conduct surveillance and keep our nation safe, while also restoring fundamental Constitutional checks and balances that protect the rights of American citizens.  We did not complete consideration of this important bill because Republicans chose to play a political "gotcha" game, rather than work with us to address our nation's security needs.  Democrats will complete this legislation and fulfill our goal of protecting the American people while safeguarding their civil liberties.

This week we continued our effort to affect policy in Iraq, upholding our pledge to put pressure on the President to change direction.  This resolution criticized the Administration for trying to hide corruption in Iraq.  Recent reports show that corruption is a roadblock to achieving critical political reconciliation, and the American people deserve honest answers about the situation in Iraq.

We also passed legislation this week that will keep the Internet open and available to everyone by extending a ban on state and local taxes on Internet access.  We also took steps to increase the safety of America's railways by passing the Federal Railroad Safety Improvement Act, which limits the number of hours rail workers can work and requires the addition of new safety technologies on trains, and upgrading safety at rail tracks and crossings. 

Next week, the House will consider the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, among other legislation.  This bill represents the core Democratic belief that discrimination in any form has no place in America.

Sincerely yours,

STENY H. HOYER

P.S. Please invite your friends and family to sign up for this newsletter to learn about what House Democrats are doing to lead America in a new direction.

Majority Leader Hoyer: “This Is a Defining Moment”

Yesterday, Leader Hoyer spoke on the House Floor to urge his colleagues to override the President's veto of children's health insurance legislation.  Hoyer said that Republicans had to choose between standing with the President, or standing with American children who need and deserve health care.

Read release 

Watch video 

Majority Leader Hoyer: President Bush Has No Standing To Lecture Anyone on Fiscal Responsibility

Leader Hoyer responded to comments made by President Bush on Monday, saying that the President is merely trying to establish his bonafides with his conservative base after failing to rein in spending over the last six years.  Democrats are the party of fiscal responsibility today, and are working to balance the federal budget.

Read release

Watch Leader Hoyer's interview on Fox News Sunday last weekend.