| The economic crisis is the Congress's top priority, a key part of which includes passing legislation to address the housing crisis, the root of our economic troubles. This week, the House passed bills aimed at rebuilding the economy in a way that protects consumers and restores fairness.  | Leader Hoyer delivers the keynote
address at a Bipartisan Policy Center
forum, “Unprecedented Federal Debt:
Putting Our Fiscal House in Order.” |
On Wednesday, the House passed the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act, to provide critical resources to help law enforcement pursue and prosecute mortgage and securities fraud, which contributed to the financial crisis we are currently facing. It also creates an outside, bipartisan commission to investigate the causes of the financial crisis and the current recession, so that we can prevent them from occurring in the future. On Thursday, the House passed the Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act to crack down on the dangerous practices that created a housing bubble and led to the recent wave of foreclosures. This week, I also delivered remarks at a Bipartisan Policy Center forum on the current state of the economy, how we got here, and the steps that Congress continues to take to return our economy to sustainability. Entitlement reform that addresses Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid should be a part of our efforts to create a strong economy in the long-term. As Congress takes up health care reform, dealing with overall health care costs will be critical to getting a handle on Medicare and Medicaid.
Next week, the House will consider legislation reforming how we buy weapons systems. This furthers the Democratic Congress’s pledge to restore fiscal responsibility by protecting taxpayer dollars and eliminating waste from government programs. The House will also consider a supplemental appropriations bill that supports our troops in Iraq, increases resources to Afghanistan and Pakistan, and invests in preparations to combat pandemic flu. I hope to send a bill to the President for his signature as soon as possible.
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