Congress should end the War in Iraq and bring our troops home, enact a carbon tax to stop climate change, and guarantee quality education and health care for all. We should also protect our civil rights and civil liberties, pursue diplomacy rather than military conflict with Iran and throughout the Middle East, and promote tax fairness and economic equality.

These are a few of my most important priorities. Unfortunately, progress toward these goals has been slower than I would like. A divided Senate has made legislating difficult, as has a President who promises to veto nearly every bill Congress would send him.

Rep. Pete Stark joins Speaker Nancy Pelosi, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, children and seniors at a news conference to discuss support for the Children's Health and Medicare Protection Act.

There are, however, plenty of signs that Washington has taken a new direction. Instead of working on behalf of wealthy individuals and corporations, Congress is now helping low- and middle-income families. Legislation increasing the minimum wage, reducing interest rates on student loans, and allocating billions of dollars for critical Gulf Coast recovery efforts has already become law.

In late September, the House also passed and sent to the Senate legislation to enable the Federal Housing Administration to offer refinancing to many homeowners struggling to make their mortgage payments on subprime loans.

I will keep working to make sure we continue to move America forward. This fall, as Congress addresses children’s health and Medicare, the War in Iraq, the No Child Left Behind education law, and mental health parity, among other subjects, I will work for improvements both big and small.

I hope to hear about your priorities at my town meetings on
Saturday, October 13th.

Pete