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“Today, Congress today took a critical step forward in our efforts to reform the way Wall Street does business and to prevent a financial crisis in the future that threatens our nation's economic health..."

“So this is a very positive, bipartisan initiative to help our auto industry, to help consumers, to grow our economy, to do it in an environmentally sound way, and I think is the perfect message for us to take home for August..."

'Today's better-than-expected news that the GDP has swung more than 5 percentage points in just three months is dramatic evidence that the economy is headed in the right direction. We still have a long way to go, as millions of Americans remain unemployed and small businesses from coast to coast are suffering. But economic growth is the first step to creating jobs, and with the right economic policies, we are making progress toward recovery..."

Tonight, the House Energy and Commerce Committee passed America's Affordable Health Choices Act by a vote of 31-28:

In the wake of General Motors and Chrysler filing for bankruptcy, layoffs of auto workers, and the closure of car dealerships, Congress passed the "Cash For Clunkers" program last month to provide consumers who trade in their old, gas-guzzling vehicles with vouchers worth up to $4,500 to help pay for new, more fuel efficient cars and trucks. After reports yesterday that "Cash For Clunkers" was so successful in its first week of implementation that it was running out of money, the House voted 316 to 109 this afternoon to extend the program with an additional $2 billion in funding.

This morning, the Commerce Department released new gross domestic product (GDP) numbers showing that the economy shrunk just 1 percent in the second quarter of the year, which was better than economists had predicted:

Speaker Pelosi: