[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 11790]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  NEW DEMOCRATIC CONGRESS PRODUCING POSITIVE RESULTS FOR ALL AMERICANS

  (Mr. KLEIN of Florida asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. KLEIN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, when the American people entrusted 
this House to a new Democratic majority, they wanted Congress to 
deliver tangible results. We are living up to that promise. In the 
first 100 hours, we passed rules to clean up the way that Congress 
operates. We implemented the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission. We 
raised the minimum wage to expand economic prosperity to millions who 
have been left behind for too long, and we cut interest rates in half 
so college is more affordable to middle-class families in our country.
  We also repealed billions of dollars in tax breaks to big oil 
companies and instead are investing that in alternative fuels and 
energy-efficient technology. We hope this legislation will begin to 
wean our Nation off foreign oil because today customers are once again 
paying record prices at the pump, and that is simply wrong. This 
legislation is a first step in changing our Nation's energy policy.
  We also passed a budget that is actually balanced within the next 5 
years, and we did it without raising taxes.
  Mr. Speaker, we are living up to our promise to move our Nation in a 
new and better direction.

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