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Speaker Pelosi Delivers the Democratic Radio Address
July 28, 2007
Yesterday, the House of Representatives kept their promise to protect and defend the American people with the passage of the conference report for H.R.1, the first bill passed by the Democratic-led Congress that implements the recommendations of the bipartisan independent 9/11 Commission. In assuming power, Democrats promised a New Direction for America. Nowhere was this more critical than in ensuring the safety of the American people. With the passage of the final version of this bipartisan bill, this Congress did in six months what the previous Congresses failed to do in almost six years.

Speaker Pelosi delivered the Democratic Radio Address this morning.

Blog Post
Chairman Miller on President Bush's Veto Threat on Ledbetter Bill
July 27, 2007
Chairman George Miller of the Education and Labor Committee reacts to President Bush's threat to veto the the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act:

Chairman Miller Statement on Veto Threat of Ledbetter Fair Pay Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, issued the following statement today after the White House threatened to veto legislation, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, that would rectify a recent Supreme Court ruling that made it harder for workers to pursue pay discrimination claims.

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Speaker Pelosi on Passage of the 9/11 Bill
July 27, 2007
Speaker Nancy Pelosi spoke on the House floor this afternoon expressing her support for the joint House-Senate conference report on H.R.1, implementing recommendations of the 9/11 Commission. The conference report passed, 371-40.
Speaker Pelosi:

"Today, we will pass the final version of this bipartisan bill. We will send it to the President for the signature which we expect that he will apply to it. And when we do, we will have done in 6 months what previous Congresses failed to do in nearly 6 years. We could not have accomplished this without the courage and determination of those whose loved ones were lost on September 11.

Blog Post
$94,000,000
July 27, 2007
This week, the General Accountability Office (GAO) released a report requested by Science Committee Chairman Bart Gordon on the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) lack of monitoring and control over their $35 billion of property, plant, and equipment. NASA has reported a loss of over $94 million in equipment in the last ten years.

The GAO noted that they have reported on NASA's lack of property control "for years" and that NASA themselves undertook an internal study but "instead of tightening controls, as recommended by the agency's 2002 equipment loss study, when faced with equipment losses, NASA raised its threshold for tracking and controlling nonsensitive equipment items from $1,000 to $5,000. This essentially eliminated control over all nonsensitive equipment costing less than $5,000."

Articles
Associated Press: Congress Passes Major Anti-Terror Bill
July 27, 2007
"Congress sent President Bush legislation Friday to intensify anti-terror efforts in the U.S., shifting money to high-risk states and cities and expanding screening of air and sea cargo to stave off future Sept. 11-style attacks."
Blog Post
Armed Services Hearing on Iraq Legislation
July 27, 2007
The Armed Services Committee is currently receiving testimony on H.R. 3087, to require the President, in coordination with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and other senior military leaders, to develop and transmit to Congress a comprehensive strategy for the redeployment of United States Armed Forces in Iraq, and H.R. 3159, the "Ensuring Military Readiness Through Stability and Predictability Deployment Policy Act of 2007."

Watch the hearing live on C Span 3.

Captain Lawrence Korb (USNR, Ret.), who was Assistant Secretary of Defense from 1981-1985, and current Senior Fellow and Director of Military Strategy at the Center for American Progress, gives opening testimony:

Blog Post
House Closes Offshore Tax Loophole
July 26, 2007
Tonight, in passing the rule on the Farm Bill, Democrats abided by the new Congress' Pay-Go rules by closing a tax loophole for companies headquartered overseas. Closing the loophole brought fierce opposition from Republicans, and Rep. Lloyd Doggett (TX-25) responded on the floor:
Rep. Doggett:

"I've listened to these Republicans identify one company after another that they cry big crocodile tears about. And I haven't heard them identify a single company that will have an increase in taxes as a result of this proposal. There are others hiding in the shadows that know they have no justified case, and they have some of their friends out front...

Press Release
Pelosi: 'On 17th Anniversary of Landmark Achievement, It Is Time for America to Renew Its Commitment to the ADA'
July 26, 2007
"'Seventeen years ago, this nation committed to removing barriers that had too long denied Americans with disabilities full and equal access to all aspects of American society. On July 26, 1990, the first President Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), helping to sweep away years of discrimination and transforming society's attitudes toward people with disabilities. The ADA broke new ground for civil rights, but it is deeply and firmly rooted in a fundamental American ideal: that we are all equal in the eyes of the law."
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Blog Post
Chairman Conyers Requests Director Mueller's Notes on Ashcroft Hospital Visit
July 26, 2007
Following today's Judiciary Committee hearing with FBI Director Robert S. Mueller, III, Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers is formally requesting notes Mueller testified he wrote after the now-infamous 2004 meeting in former Attorney General John Ashcroft's hospital room about the NSA wiretapping program. Mueller testified that he is still in possession of the notes that he took because he felt, at the time, the events were, "out of the ordinary." He also testified that he had not shared the notes with anybody except for his counsel and perhaps close staff.

Watch Rep. Artur Davis question Mueller about the notes:

Rep. Davis: "Did you make any notes regarding your conversation with Mr. Ashcroft?"

Director Mueller: "Yes."

Blog Post
Education and Labor Hearing on Mine Safety Legislation
July 26, 2007
The Education and Labor Workforce Protections Subcommittee held a hearing today, "The S-MINER Act (H.R. 2768) and the Miner Health Enhancement Act of 2007 (H.R. 2769)."

Chairwoman Lynn Woolsey:

"In addition, we heard testimony that black lung disease is on the rise and is showing up in even younger workers. We thought we were on the way to eradicating this disabling and often fatal disease, since black lung is entirely preventable if coal mine dust is properly controlled... Obviously we have to get a handle on this, immediately."

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