Ron Klein: “when the American people entrusted this House to a new Democratic majority, they wanted Congress to deliver tangible…”

“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 We also repealed billions of dollars in tax breaks to big oil companies and instead are investing that in alternative fuels and energy-efficient technology.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.”