Blog Post

In his inaugural address to the nation on January 20, 2009, President Barack Obama declared from the steps of the U.S. Capitol, "The state of our economy calls for action: bold and swift. And we will act not only to create new jobs but to lay a new foundation for growth."

Today marks the first 100 days of President Barack Obama's Administration. Working in full partnership with the President, the 111th Congress has had an historic start and made great progress on our joint effort to put this nation on the path to recovery and growth. Together we have enacted:

On Equal Pay Day, we recognize the point in the year it takes a woman to make the same amount of money made by a man in the previous year. As families grapple with an uncertain economy, equal pay for equal work is about daily survival for millions.

This Congress has already taken action to strengthen economic security for women. We passed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act to help ensure gender equity in pay, and I was proud to join President Obama as he signed it into law.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Health and Human Services, Department of Homeland Security, and the World Health Organization are investigating and responding to the outbreak of swine flu in the United States and internationally. President Obama explained today, "we are closely monitoring the emerging cases of swine flu in the United States. And this is obviously a cause for concern and requires a heightened state of alert.

Today, Speaker Pelosi sent the following letter to House Committee Chairs, thanking them for their continued commitment to oversight investigations and asking them to develop a list of specific cuts in the departments, programs, and budgets under their jurisdiction writing, "as you continue to conduct your oversight investigations, I ask you to develop a specific list of initiatives aimed at reducing costs, ending duplication, and promoting efficiency in order to cut the costs of government as aggressively as possible...a vigorous oversight process, with the goal of reducing inefficiency and c

President Obama's time in office has been distinguished by bold action; on the great challenges facing our nation, the President has shown tremendous leadership.

In his inspirational Inaugural Address, President Obama promised to 'restore science to its rightful place.' Today, the President reiterated that commitment at the National Academy of Sciences, with concrete steps to restore America's leadership in innovation, discovery, and growth.

Today, the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and the Environment held their fourth day of hearings on the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (ACES) featuring testimony from former Vice President Al Gore and former Senator John Warner.

By a vote of 342-78, the House passed the COPS Improvements Act (H.R. 1139) this afternoon. Created in 1994, the COPS (Community Oriented Policing Services) hiring grants program was enormously successful -- helping local law enforcement agencies hire more than 117,000 additional police officers in every state from 1995 to 2005 and our nation experienced a significant drop in crime rates.