Baldwin Sees Progress and Promise In First Hundred Hours
Baldwin Sees Progress and Promise In First Hundred Hours
With a Democratic majority for the first time in twelve years, the House of Representatives concluded its "100 Hours Agenda" on Thursday after passing legislation that addresses some of the nation's most pressing problems in ethics, health care, fiscal responsibility, energy, education, and the workforce.
"I see great progress and promise in what we've accomplished in the first hundred legislative hours of this new session," said Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin, who had the honor of presiding over the House, as Speaker Pro Tempore, as the last item of the 100 Hours agenda, the energy bill, was passed on Thursday. "We're now seeing a people's Congress,' that is working for the common good, rather than the benefit of special interests. Joined by a number of Republicans, the Democratic majority is setting a new direction that is long overdue," Baldwin said.
Fulfilling pledges made by Democrats last year, the House overwhelmingly adopted the most sweeping ethics package since the post-Watergate era. It begins to sever the link between lobbyists and legislation, by banning gifts and travel from lobbyists, and ending the abuses connected to privately-funded congressional travel.
House Members also voted to restore tough "pay-as-you-go" budget rules to begin to reverse the record budget deficits that are passing on trillions in debt to future generations. And, they voted to end the abuse of special-interest earmarks.
Over the rest of the first hundred legislative hours, the House voted to:
* Implement the unfulfilled recommendations of the bipartisan 9/11 Commission, (submitted to Congress in 2004).
* Increase the minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 an hour over the next two years.
* Expand federal funding for life-saving embryonic stem cell research.
* Lower the cost of prescription drugs by repealing the part of the current law that prohibits the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) from negotiating with drug companies for lower prices for Medicare beneficiaries and, instead, directs the Secretary to conduct such cost-saving negotiations.
* Cut the interest rate on subsidized student loans for undergraduates in half over the next five years.
* Repeal $14 billion in subsidies to Big Oil companies and, instead, invests those funds in clean, renewable energy resources and alternative fuels.
"This is the only the beginning," said Baldwin, who noted that the 100 Hours legislation passed the House with broad bipartisan support. "We've set a new tone of cooperation, consensus, and compromise for the Congress that is markedly different from the past. We know what the people expect of us, we know what we need to do, and we've already demonstrated a commitment to meet those expectations," said Baldwin.
Items passed in the House since the start of the 110th Congress:
* Ethics Reform, 1/4/07, Passed 430-1 (D 232-0; R 198-1)
* Restoring Fiscal Responsibility, 1/5/07, Passed 280-152 (D 232-0; R 48-152)
* Implementing the 9/11 Commission Recommendations, 1/9/07, Passed 299-128 (D 231-0; R 68-128)
* Increasing the Minimum Wage, 1/10/07, Passed 315-116 (D 233-0; R 82-116)
* Expanding Stem Cell Research, 1/11/07, Passed 253-174 (D 216-16; R 37-158)
* Requiring Negotiation for Lower Prescription Drug Costs, 1/12/07, Passed 255-170 (D 231-0; R 24-170)
* Cutting Interest Rates on Student Loans, 1/17/07, Passed 356-71 (D 232-0; R 124-71)
* Ending Subsidies for Big Oil and Investing in Renewable Energy, 1/18/07, Passed 264-163 (D 228-4; R 36-159)
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