Economy & Budget

The gap between the rich and poor continues to grow, and middle class families are struggling to make ends meet. Many can't afford health insurance, let alone homeowner's, renters' or flood insurance. Congress must begin to take into consideration all the needs of our constituents, especially low-income families, during natural disasters. It is my hope that through the GAO study, we can set the stage to provide low-income families living in flood prone areas with discounted flood insurance.

These hearings on illegal immigration and border security are six years late and millions of dollars short. With complete Republican control of legislation and enforcement of the law for six years, you would think that a party calling so vigorously for border security and enforcement of immigration law could have solved the problem of illegal immigration by now. But the Republican Party seems to be all talk on this subject. Today's Homeland Security Subcommittee hearing was just another in the long list of hearings held and planned by this Republican-led Congress that produce absolutely no solutions to a problem the American public cares about.

The 9th Circuit is the most overburdened court we have in the country and it cannot effectively serve the geographic region it now covers. I am pleased that the Judiciary Committee is taking up the issue and commend Chairman Specter for moving ahead with a hearing. I am hopeful that there will be a prompt mark-up on the bill. The 9th Circuit is just too large to properly service the residents of Idaho and other states in the West. Idahoans and others who are now included in the 9th Circuit will be better served with this change that will provide smaller, more efficient courts. I have been committed to this structural reform for many years and look forward to working with my colleagues in the Senate to ensure that the legislation is enacted into law.

Passage of the Flood Insurance Reform and Modernization Act accomplished two very important goals: protecting homeowners by ensuring that a viable market for flood insurance continues to operate effectively and efficiently in the United States, while at the same time protecting taxpayers by increasing Congressional oversight of the flood insurance system.

By: Tom Donohue of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce

America is at risk of being left behind if it doesn't improve its
education system. There are warning signs everywhere. Thirty percent of
our young people are not even graduating from high school. Our students
are lagging behind in math and science. In order to improve education, we
must first assess what works and what doesn't.

The Chamber has assembled a bipartisan team of experts from the Center for
American Progress and the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy
Research to aggregate and analyze current data and supplement it with new
research that examines return on investment, budget transparency, and the
relationship between per pupil spending and student achievement. The
Chamber will use the results of the analysis to formulate and aggressively
advance public policies to improve state education systems across the
country.

America needs a world-class education system. Students deserve it, parents
demand it, and businesses require it if we are to compete and win in the
global economy.

It doesn't look as though they've made any moves toward international labor standards, and some of our members have problems with their boycott of Israel.

We have now made a complete mockery of the so-called mock mark-up process. Even when the Finance Committee acts unanimously to adopt an amendment, it has no meaning and no impact on the unamendable fast-tracked implementing bill (establishing a free-trade agreement with Oman) that is sent to the Congress.

Leaving out my amendment preventing goods made from forced labor to benefit from this trade agreement is a slap in the face to the Senate and to American workers. It is particularly appalling that the White House believes that imports made with the benefit of human trafficking, forced labor and slave-like working conditions should get special, duty-free access under bilateral trade agreements. American workers should not be forced to compete with forced labor of any kind.

For the people that actually had to live through the aftermath of the hurricanes, it was obvious that something needed to change with the National Flood Insurance Program. It treated flood victims inconsistently, was slow to respond and unclear to even those who were supposed to be overseeing the process. This legislation will allow people to focus on rebuilding, not fighting bureaucratic red tape.

This tax hits every telephone owner and serves a significant burden to business consumers who rack up hefty long-distance bills from month to month. It’s time to give up the ghost and get rid of this outdated tax. I’m glad the U.S. Treasury agrees it is time to hang up on the long-distance tax and give taxpayers the simple and fair tax code that they long for.

The House passed bill is going to facilitate competition in the cable tv service marketplace and that should lower cable rates. We know competition has worked to lower rates in markets located in Texas, Florida, and Virginia.

Over the past decade we've seen cable bills go up primarily because government regulations make it extremely difficult for new providers to enter a market and compete. The House bill will let new entrants provide service without negotiating individual franchise agreements with each locality in the area they hope to serve. New entrants will have to pay the same franchise fees to local governments as existing providers, carry the same level of public access channels, and local government will continue to have control over rights of way. I had introduced the first franchise reform bill with Rep. Wynn last year and I'm glad to see it push the debate in the right direction and lead to a bill. I hope the Senate will join us on this.