Major accomplishments of this past year in Congress have made America safer, returned accountability to Washington, and restored opportunity for obtaining the “American Dream.” We passed the largest Veteran’s Health Care funding increase in the seventy-seven year history of the VA. We passed the Water Resources Development Act to fund Everglades restoration projects, hurricane relief, and beach erosion programs. We passed the College Cost Reduction Act, the largest student financial aid program since the GI Bill in 1944. We passed legislation implementing the 9/11 Commission’s Recommendations, ensuring that cargo coming in and out of Port Everglades and the Port of Miami will be screened. We passed lobbying and ethics reform, the first minimum wage increase in more than ten years, a bill improving and expanding Head Start, and a historic Energy Independence and Security bill that will reduce our dependence on foreign oil while creating jobs here for Americans. On top all of this, we held 198 hearings on the Iraq War, troop readiness and military contractors.
As you may remember from my August column, several amendments that I personally introduced were passed by the House of Representatives. These amendments included funding for a $1.9 million national windstorm program, aimed at saving lives and protecting property by studying and preparing for wind storms such as hurricanes and tornadoes as well as the Ryan White Care Act which provides funding to protect children from contracting AIDS through supportive neighborhood health clinics.
Following the passage of those amendments, I am thrilled to tell you about the success of the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act. I was the main sponsor of this legislation, which was added to the Energy bill in the Senate and signed into law by the President on December 19, 2007. The Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act aims to combat drowning in residential and public swimming pools, the second leading cause of accidental death for children ages one to fourteen years old. The legislation authorizes $29 million for the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to help reduce accidental drownings, including the funding of an incentive grant program for states that enact pool safety laws and the creation of an educational outreach program for pool and spa safety.
I am pleased that the U.S. House of Representatives also passed the PROTECT Our Children Act, which I sponsored. This bill takes a bold step forward in addressing the growing problem of child exploitation.
Not only have I seen great progress in Washington this past year, but some exciting events took place in the district as well. I am pleased to share that the Broward County Girl Scouts participated in a “Cut-A-Thon” benefiting Locks of Love, which netted over 1,000 inches of donated hair to children who suffer from Alopecia and other diseases that cause hair loss. Through my G.I.F.T. (Get It Fixed Today) program, my office was able to arrange a canned food drive for the Jubilee Center in Hollywood, with donations from three participating elementary schools. I also held my annual Congressional Art Competition in May, as well as sponsoring our own Veterans’ History Project for South Florida veterans, and sent some of our nation’s best and brightest students to the prestigious Service Academies.
Twelve years of indifference and inaction by the previous majority in Congress had left the American people wondering who would stand up for them. I hope that you share my enthusiasm for some of the major legislative accomplishments we saw in 2007. While we still have a distance to go, you should know that every day I’m in Washington, I am working hard on the issues about which you care the most.
As always, your thoughts are extremely important to me. Please contact me with any comments, questions, and concerns at my Pembroke Pines office (954) 437-3936, Aventura office (305) 936-5724, or my Washington, DC office (202) 225-7931. Best wishes for you and your family for a happy and healthy New Year!
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