111th Congress
I am proud to have cast my last vote of this Congress for the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act. September 11th was an attack on our country just like the attack on Pearl Harbor. The brave first responders and volunteers who came to the World Trade Center stayed day after day to clean up, with no regard to their own safety.
This morning, President Obama signed legislation that will, once and for all, repeal the “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” policy of the Department of Defense. I am proud to be a cosponsor of the bill to repeal this discriminatory policy (H.R. 1283), and to have voted last week to repeal “Don't Ask, Don't Tell.”
I voted against the tax cut "deal" last night. It takes money from Social Security putting at risk the future of a federal program that most every American relies upon. It increases taxes on the working poor and puts $1 trillion dollars on the nation's credit card, adding to our national debt.
A large bloc of House and Senate Democrats rallied behind a Treasury Department plan for renewable energy Thursday, bolstering the chances of the cash grant program being extended in the tax cut package.
WASHINGTON- Today, the House of Representatives passed the Continuing Resolution which includes the necessary provision to restore geothermal royalties to local counties. Geothermal production requires counties to provide increased public services, such as police patrols, and requires increased maintenance of public goods, such as roads.