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Congress Kicks Off New Session
The House of Representatives has reconvened for its 2008 session, and there are several important issues that Congress should address this year. 

First, Americans across our nation are dealing with rising health care costs, record gas prices, and a struggling housing market.  I believe Congress should act responsibly and in a timely manner as it considers proposals to help ensure that our economy remains strong.  In the coming days and weeks, I will be actively involved in advocating policies that can truly help middle-income Americans and lay the foundation for strong economic growth and job creation in the future.

In addition, I believe Congress must support our troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan and reauthorize legislation that allows our nation's intelligence community to monitor the activities of terrorist suspects abroad in a timely and effective manner.  Congress must also reach a strong, bipartisan agreement on a new Farm Bill, which is very important to agriculture-rich Northern California.  Further, Congress will be considering the reauthorization of No Child Left Behind, a federal education law that I believe needs to be modified to increase local control of our schools.  I believe Congress should also take decisive action to secure our borders and enforce our nation's immigration laws.  And I strongly believe Congress needs to begin to responsibly address the out-of-control growth in mandatory spending for Social Security and Medicare, which threatens our future economic security.

As the legislative session moves ahead, I look forward to working on behalf of the citizens of Northern California in our nation's capital, and invite you to offer your feedback about these or any other issue important to you.