Rebuilding our economy is the top priority for the American people and this Congress. That commitment is reflected in each piece of legislation we consider as we work with President Obama to enact our long-term economic strategy and move America in a New Direction. Democrats moved quickly but deliberatively at the beginning of the 111th Congress to pass a bold plan to jumpstart our economy and provide short-term help to those hurt most by the economic recession while providing long-term solutions that will build a new foundation for our economy for years to come.
This Congress is committed to improving our public education system by strengthening our schools, fully funding special education, and modernizing our classrooms. Quality public education is the foundation of our efforts to build a workforce to compete in the global economy of the future. We are working to reduce class size, make higher education available and affordable for all our students, and ensure that American classrooms are led by the best trained, most qualified teachers in the world.
As long as we are exporting our dollars overseas in exchange for oil, our national security and our economy are at risk. This Congress is taking bold action to wean us off of our addiction to foreign oil by spurring innovation that will create jobs, decrease our dependence on foreign sources of energy and reduce pollution. For too long the Republican-led Congress failed to lay out a clear national energy policy.
House Democrats passed historic legislation to offer the American people the choice of affordable quality health care coverage for the first time. The Affordable Health Care for America Act offers security and stability to all Americans, reduces costs, improves coverage and preserves our choice of doctors, hospitals and health plans. Reforming health care is a crucial part of our economic recovery. Our bill cuts long-term health care costs and reduces the deficit by $109 billion over the first ten years, and continues to reduce the deficit to help grow our e
The Democrats in Congress made a promise to leave no veteran behind, and we remain as committed as ever to ensuring that our troops and veterans receive the honor and care that their courage and bravery demand. We have already made historic gains for our troops, veterans and military families, and now we continue to fight for better health care and better benefits for the brave men and women who wear our uniform.
In 1940, John Lewis was born the son of sharecroppers in rural Alabama. As a youth, he experienced the harsh realities of segregation and racism – forced to sit apart from white children and unable to share the same privileges they did. Today, Lewis is a leader in Congress and recently witnessed the swearing-in of Barack Obama, the first American-American president of the United States. The story of John Lewis is that of the struggle to transform the world of his youth to create the vastly expanded opportunities available today.
