The new Congress has an unprecedented number of challenges its facing – two wars overseas, a crippling finacial crisis, and a mandate from the American electorate to secure health care, housing, jobs, and security for our people. But the 110th Congress, which ran from 2007 through 2008, laid the groundwork for change by surging America closer to energy independence, creating high-tech and green jobs here at home, working on behalf of veterans and working-class families, and bringing accountability and fiscal responsibility to Washington.

You'll find below a report card for the greatest achievements from this past Congress.

Economic Recovery

Signed into law
     Economic Rescue Plan, with taxpayer and homeowner protection.
     Recovery Rebates, aimed at jump-starting the economy.
     Extended Unemployment Benefits, benefitting 3,5 million Americans.
     Meeting Highway Trust Fund shortfall, saving 380,000 jobs.
     Authorizing Key Highway Projects, creating 40,000 new jobs.
     Farm Bill, with new investments in energy, nutrition, and conservation.
     Terrorism Risk Insurance Extension, boosting economic growth.
     Curtailing Tax Loopholes, for companies that ship jobs overseas.

Passed the House
     Subjecting CEO Pay to Sharholder Approval.


Housing Foreclosure Crisis

Signed into Law
     Comprehensive Housing Foreclosure Bill, preventing families from losing their homes.
     Helping States, Localities Purchase Foreclosed Homes, stabilizing communities.
     Tax Credit for First-time Homebuyers, and property tax deduction for non-itemizers.
     Reform of the Federal Housing Administration, expanding access to affordable mortgages.
     Stopping Tax on “Income,” when lender forgives part of mortgage in foreclosure.
     Creating an Affordable Housing Trust Fund, for rental housing.

Education and Competitiveness

Signed into Law
     Largest College Aid Expansion, since 1944 G.I. Bill, cutting college loan rates in half.
     Uninterrupted Access to Low-cost Student Loans, despite credit crunch.
     Giving Colleges Incentives to Rein in Tuition Increases, expanding college access.
     Cleaning Up Abuses in the Student Loan Industry.
     Creating a Math, Science Teacher Corps, doubling research funding.
     Head Start Preschool Improved, Expanded.

Passed House, Senate, Unsigned by President Bush
     Extended Tax Cut for Innovative Research, Development.

Vetoed by President Bush
     Key Investments in Education.

Reducing Taxes

Signed into Law
     A tax cut for 19 million middle-income American families facing the AMT in 2007.
     A tax cut for 25 million middle-income American families facing the AMT in 2008.
     Internet tax moratorium extension.
     Extended tax cuts for homeowners, families, college students, teachers.

American Workers

Signed into Law
     Minimum wage increased for the first time in a decade.
     Reversing Supreme Court decisions that had weakened Americans with Disabilities Act.
    
Passed House
     Extending, improving help for workers who lose jobs to foreign competition.
     Strengthening the Equal Pay Act by providing more eff ective remedies.
     Rectifying a Supreme Court decision to allow workers to pursue pay discrimination claims.
     Prohibiting employment discrimination based on sexual orientation.
     Collective bargaining rights for first responders.
     Free choice for workers to choose their own bargaining representative.

Affordable Health Care
Signed into Law
     Ban on genetic information discrimination in health coverage.
     Ending discriminatory treatment of mental health care coverage.
     Blocking $18 billion cut in health care for low-income children, seniors.
     Ensuring 44 million American seniors and disabed have access to doctors they know, trust.

Vetoed by President Bush
     Health care coverage for 10 million American children.
     Expansion of life-saving stem cell research to cure or prevent chronic diseases.
     Key investments in health care.

Passed House
     Medicare required to negotiate cheaper drugs for seniors and disabled Americans.
     Making America healthier with FDA regulation of tobacco.

National Security

Signed into Law
     9/11 Commission terrorism recommendations given force of law.
     Investments to begin to fix the military readiness crisis.
     Iraq benchmarks, progress reports required.
     Tighter foreign investment rules, after Dubai Ports scandal.

Vetoed by President Bush
     Providing for responsible redeployment of U.S. troops from Iraq.
     Extending ban on torture to U.S. intelligence personnel.

Troops and Veterans

     New GI Bill to give free college education to Iraq and Afghanistan veterans.
     Largest veterans’ health care funding increase in history.
     Wounded Warrior Act, improving health care after Walter Reed scandal.
     Major pay raise for troops in both FY2008 and FY2009.
     Tax relief for military families.

Energy Independence and Global Warming

Signed into Law
     Landmark Energy Independence law: first new fuel effi ciency standards in 32 years.
     Tax incentives to invest in clean, renewable energy, create green jobs.
     Historic new support for non-food bio-fuels in the Farm Bill.

Passed House
     Comprehensive Energy Security & Consumer Protection Act.
     Further close “Enron-like Loophole” to curb excessive petroleum speculation.
     Holding OPEC, Big Oil accountable for price fi xing; cracking down on price gouging.
     Greening the Capitol, making Congress carbon neutral.

Rebuilding America

Signed into Law
     Aid to the Gulf Coast recovering from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
     Major new commitment to fl ood control & environmental restoration projects.
     Omnibus Public Lands Bill, with new protections for national parks, wilderness.

Consumer Protection

Signed into Law
     Most sweeping FDA drug safety provisions in more than a decade.
     Banning toxic toys and children’s products from China.

Passed House
     Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights.
     Passenger Bill of Rights for airline travelers.

Fighting Crime

Signed into Law
     Improved background checks for gun purchases.
     5,200 New Border Patrol Offi cers over two years.
     Saved the critical COPS program, proposed for elimination by the President.
     Reauthorized and strengthened Byrne Justice Assistance Grants.

Passed House
     Tools and resources to prevent and prosecute hate crimes.

Fiscal Discipline
    
Adopted by House
     Pay-as-you-go budget discipline.

Passed House, Senate
     A fiscally responsible budget that balances by 2012 and invests in key priorities.
     Cracking down on “no-bid” contracts.

Passed House

     Prohibiting profi teering by U.S. contractors operating in war zones.
     Requiring mandatory fraud reporting for U.S. contractors.

Restoring Accountability

Signed into Law
     Widely-acclaimed landmark lobbying and ethics reform.
     Banning pensions for Members of Congress convicted of certain crimes.
     Strengthening Freedom of Information Act for government transparency.
     U.S. Attorney appointments depoliticized.
     Reducing enormous backlog in passport processing.
     Closing off shore tax loopholes for federal contractors.

Adopted by House
     New historic independent Offi ce of Congressional Ethics.

Passed by House, Senate
     Whistleblower protections strengthened.

Passed by House
     Holding private security fi rms in war zones accountable for criminal actions.
     Withholding federal contracts from tax-delinquent companies.
     Requiring more transparency by companies that rely on federal contracts.
     Requiring standards for the preservation of White House and federal agency e-mails.

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