McCollum Highlights Legislative Accomplishments

Op-Ed

McCollum Highlights Legislative Accomplishments

Dear Friends:

As Congress recesses for the summer, the House has taken positive steps to meet the needs of American families. But we realize there is still much to be done when we return in September.

The President signed our comprehensive response to the mortgage crisis, helping 400,000 American families facing foreclosure keep their homes, helping communities recover and providing a tax credit for first-time home buyers.

When we return to Washington, we will send to the President the first Higher Education Act Reauthorization in a decade, making college more affordable and cleaning up the student loan industry scandals.

We will also send to this White House a conference report that makes children's products safer, sets a tough new ban on toxic toys, and provides more enforcement tools for the Consumer Product Safety Commission as product recalls plague consumer safety and consumer confidence.

I am also please to share that the House is passing the Paycheck Fairness Act, which significantly strengthens the Equal Pay Act of 1963 to better ensure equal pay for equal work for women in addition to another historic funding increase for veterans' care.

Despite these accomplishments, the next Congress will face difficult challenges.

We have a growing deficit and our national debt has increased 59 percent since President Bush took office. And our economy is struggling - energy prices are skyrocketing, housing prices are falling, and thousands of jobs have been lost this year.

The next Congress and the new President will have to focus on a building a strong energy strategy and creating new employment opportunities through needed investments in infrastructure and innovation. At the top of the agenda will be ending the war in Iraq and reinvesting in America.

Sincerely,

Betty McCollum Signature
Congresswoman Betty McCollum
Serving Minnesota's Fourth Congressional District

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