The Economy
Recovery Rebates. Passed the final version of H.R. 5140, Recovery Rebates and Economic Stimulus for the American People Act, which puts hundreds of dollars into the hands of more than 130 million American families including seniors and disabled veterans through recovery rebates, increases affordable refinancing opportunities for Americans in danger of losing their homes, and helps create 500,000 jobs by the end of the year, by a bipartisan vote of 380-34, with 165 Republicans voting YEA. The President signed the bill on February 13, 2008 (PL 110-185).

Raising the Minimum Wage. First passed H.R. 2, Increasing the Minimum Wage, which increases the minimum wage for the first time in 10 years - increasing it from $5.15 an hour to $7.25 an hour over two years, by a bipartisan vote of 315-116, with 82 Republicans voting YEA. Incorporated into H.R. 2206, FY 2007 Supplemental, which the President signed on May 25, 2007 (PL 110-28).

In an effort to end the abuse millions of Americans are facing from credit card companies, Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) introduced the Fair and Justifiable Credit Card Interest Rate Act of 2008, which would put a maximum cap of 20 percent on the interest rate that credit card companies can charge consumers.
Helped the House pass legislation that would protect more than 25 million families from the alternative minimum tax (AMT) in 2008, including more than 54,000 families in the congressional district Hinchey represents.  Without this patch, those families and individuals would be forced to pay $61.5 billion more in taxes, which would mean an average tax increase of more than $2,400 per affected taxpayer.  The Alternative Minimum Tax Relief Act of 2008 is pending before the Senate. 

Extended Unemployment Benefits. Passed Extended Unemployment Benefits, as part of Amendment #2 to H.R. 2642, FY 2008 Emergency Supplemental, by a bipartisan vote of 416-12, with 186 Republicans voting YEA. The bill provides up to 13 weeks of extended unemployment benefits in every state to workers exhausting the 26 weeks of regular unemployment benefits. Incorporated into H.R. 2642, FY 2008 Emergency Supplemental, which the President signed on June 30, 2008 (PL 110-252).

Energy

Revised Energy Independence and Security Act. Passed Senate amendments to H.R. 6, Energy and Security Act, which reduces our dependence on foreign oil, reduces global warming, and lowers energy costs for consumers by increasing energy efficiency, including such steps as raising the CAFÉ standards for the first time in 32 years and providing new energy efficiency standards- the measure also repeals subsidies for big oil, by a bipartisan vote of 314-100, with 95 Republicans voting YEA. The President signed the bill on December 19, 2007 (PL 110-140).

Select Committee on Energy Security and Global Warming. Passed H.Res. 202, Committee Funding Resolution, which includes provisions to establish a House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, to raise the visibility of these urgent issues, by a vote of 269-150, with 44 Republicans voting YEA. No presidential signature required.
Temporarily Suspending Filling SPR. Passed H.R. 6022, Strategic Petroleum Reserve Fill Suspension and Consumer Protection Act, which temporarily suspends oil purchases for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) until the end of the year, by a bipartisan vote of 385-25, with 162 Republicans voting YEA. The President signed the bill on May 19, 2008 (PL 110-232).
Successfully offered an amendment that the House adopted, and the Speaker included in her comprehensive energy package, to require oil companies who leased public lands but did not pay royalties, to pay back billions of dollars of royalties to the taxpayers. (Pending in the Senate).
Successfully offered an amendment that the House adopted to the Mining Reform Act that requires existing mines to pay 4 percent royalties to pay for clean up of superfund sites and other waste sites caused by mining operations. (Pending in the Senate).

Led the fight on four separate occasions to pass an energy amendment that would have transferred $18 billion in oil and gas subsidies to pay for tax credits for investments in fledgling industries like solar, wind and geothermal companies and to support credits for consumers to purchase greener automobiles and to solarize their homes. (Pending in the Senate).

Led the fight against Big Oil's public land-grab by authoring a bill requiring the industry to drill on the 68 million acres they have already leased from the public before they get additional leases in protected areas off our coasts. (Still pending in the House and Senate).
Secured commitments from leadership in the House to increase significantly, the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, expanding the program for millions of New York residents who struggle with the high costs of heating their homes in the winter. (Pending in the Appropriations process).
Secured commitments to expand the home weatherization program to help reduce demand for heating and cooling and to lessen the costs for residents in very hot or cold states. (Pending in Appropriations).

Veterans 

New GI Bill. Passed the new GI Bill, as part of Amendment #2 to H.R. 2642, FY 2008 Emergency Supplemental, by a bipartisan vote of 416-12, with 186 Republicans voting YEA. The new GI bill fully restores full, four-year college scholarships for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, on a par with the educational benefits after World War II, covering up to the cost of the most expensive in-state public school and also provides transferability of unused education benefits to spouses and children. A 1988 congressional study found "that every dollar spent on educational benefits under the original GI Bill added seven dollars to the national economy in terms of productivity, consumer spending and tax revenue." Incorporated into H.R. 2642, FY 2008 Emergency Supplemental, which the President signed on June 30, 2008 (PL 110-252).

Largest Increase in Veterans' Funding in History. Passed H.R. 2642, FY 2008 Military Construction-Veterans' Affairs Appropriations, which provides the largest increase in veterans' funding in the 77-year history of the VA, targeted on ensuring that our veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan receive the quality health care that they deserve, by a bipartisan vote of 409-2, with 185 Republicans voting YEA. (The Military Construction-Veterans' Affairs Appropriations provisions - providing the largest increase in veterans' funding in history - were ultimately included in the FY 2008 Omnibus Appropriations bill, PL 110-161).

Largest Increase in Veterans' Funding in History. Passed H.R. 2642, FY 2008 Military Construction-Veterans' Affairs Appropriations, which provides the largest increase in veterans' funding in the 77-year history of the VA, targeted on ensuring that our veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan receive the quality health care that they deserve, by a bipartisan vote of 409-2, with 185 Republicans voting YEA. (The Military Construction-Veterans' Affairs Appropriations provisions - providing the largest increase in veterans' funding in history - were ultimately included in the FY 2008 Omnibus Appropriations bill, PL 110-161).

Education

Making College More Affordable, by Expanding Student Aid by $20 Billion. Passed the conference report on H.R. 2669, College Cost Reduction and Access Act, which contains the single largest investment in college financial assistance since the 1944 GI Bill, including increasing the maximum Pell Grant by $1,090 -- to $5,400 -- by 2012, cutting interest rates in half on need-based college loans, and providing loan repayment for those who enter public service careers, by a bipartisan vote of 292-97, with 77 Republicans voting YEA. The President signed the bill on September 27, 2007 (PL 110-84).

Continued Access to Student Loans. Passed the final version of H.R. 5715, Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act, which provides students with continued, uninterrupted access to federally guaranteed student loans, despite the current credit crisis, by for example allowing the Education Department to buy privately-held student loans, by a bipartisan vote of 388-21, with 167 Republicans voting YEA. The President signed the bill on May 7, 2008 (PL 110-227).

Consumer Protection 

Improving Drug Safety. Passed H.R. 3580, the final House-Senate agreement on FDA Reauthorization/Improving Drug Safety, which contains the most sweeping drug safety provisions in years, including creating a new FDA program to monitor the safety of drugs after they are on the market, increasing the penalties for drug companies that violate safety standards, and imposing stricter conflict-of-interest provisions, by a bipartisan vote of 405-7, with 183 Republicans voting YEA. The President signed the bill on September 27, 2007 (PL 110-85).
Housing 

Comprehensive Housing Package/Responding to Subprime Mortgage Crisis. Passed H.R. 3221, Comprehensive Housing Package, which provides mortgage refinancing assistance so that families in danger of losing their homes can refinance into lower-cost government-insured mortgages they can afford to repay, and would help at least 400,000 families avoid foreclosure, by a vote of 272-152, with 45 Republicans voting YEA. The package also creates a federal backstop for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which are crucial to the mortgage market. This comprehensive package also contains tax provisions to expand refinancing opportunities and spur home buying; and the provisions of the Neighborhood Stabilization Act, FHA Modernization Act, and GSE Reform Act. The President signed the bill on July 30, 2008 (PL 110-289).  

Health Care 

Blocked 10% Medicare Physician Pay Cut/Improving Medicare. Passed H.R. 6331, Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act, which prevents a 10% payment reduction for physicians in Medicare (which would have resulted in millions of seniors losing access to the doctors they know and trust), enhances Medicare prevention and mental health benefits, improves and extends programs for low-income Medicare beneficiaries, and improves access to care for rural seniors, by a bipartisan vote of 355 to 59, with 129 Republicans voting YEA. This bill became law after the House and Senate successfully overrode the President's veto (PL 110-275).
Blocked Damaging Medicaid Regulations. Passed provisions blocking damaging Medicaid regulations, as part of Amendment #2 to H.R. 2642, FY 2008 Emergency Supplemental, by a bipartisan vote of 416-12, with 186 Republicans voting YEA. These provisions place a moratorium until April 2009 on six damaging Medicaid regulations which, if implemented, would slash Medicaid funding by billions and put in jeopardy needed services and protections for millions of vulnerable beneficiaries. Incorporated into H.R. 2642, FY 2008 Emergency Supplemental, which the President signed on June 30, 2008 (PL 110-252).

Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP Extension. Passed S. 2499, Medicare, Medicaid and CHIP Extension Act, which extends CHIP through March 31, 2009 and provides additional funding to ensure that no children currently enrolled will be dropped from their coverage; blocks the scheduled 10.1% cut in Medicare physician payment for six months; and imposes a six-month moratorium on certain of the Bush Administration's Medicaid regulations, by a bipartisan vote of 411-3, with 192 Republicans voting YEA. The President signed the bill on December 29, 2007 (PL 110-173).

Homeland Security/Intelligence 

9/11 Commission's Recommendations. Passed the conference report on H.R. 1, which implements the unfulfilled recommendations of the bipartisan 9/11 Commission, including improvements in border security, port security, and aviation security, by a bipartisan vote of 371-40, with 150 Republicans voting YEA. The President signed the bill on August 3, 2007 (PL 110-53).
Dubai Ports. Passed the Senate amendments to H.R. 556, National Security FIRST Act, clearing it for the President, which responds to the Dubai Ports World scandal of 2006, by working to prevent foreign investments in U.S. key infrastructure that would endanger our national security from being approved. The President signed the bill on July 26, 2007 (PL 110-49).

Environment/Public Lands 

Omnibus Public Lands. Passed S. 2739, Consolidated Natural Resources Act, which is an omnibus public lands bill that provides for new protections for wilderness, national parks, and historic sites and trails across the country - including creating a 100,000 acre "Wild Sky Wilderness" in the State of Washington, by a bipartisan vote of 291-117, with 70 Republicans voting YEA. The President signed the bill on May 8, 2008 (PL 110-229).

Infrastructure/Transportation 

Allowing Completion of Key Highway Projects, Creating 40,000 Jobs. Passed H.R. 1195, Highway Bill, which allows the completion of important highway and transit projects outlined in the 2005 highway bill, thereby helping create and promote 40,000 new, good-paying American jobs in highway-related construction, by a bipartisan vote of 358-51, with 138 Republicans voting YEA. The President signed the bill on June 6, 2008 (PL 110-244).
Water Resources Development. Passed over the President's veto H.R. 1495, Water Resources Development Act, which strengthens America's economy, improves our environment and helps protect communities from disasters such as flooding and hurricanes, by investing in a backlog of flood control, shoreline protection, inland navigation and environmental restoration projects that have stacked up because the GOP-led Congress failed to complete a water resources bill for six years, by a bipartisan vote of 381-40, with 155 Republicans voting YEA. This bill became law after the House and Senate successfully overrode the President's veto (PL 110-114).  

Restoring Accountability 

Comprehensive Lobbying and Ethics Reform. Passed the conference report on S. 1, Honest Leadership and Open Government Act, which is the most sweeping lobbying reform measure in a generation and is designed to help end the tight-knit relationship between lobbyists and lawmakers, including increasing disclosure of lobbyists' contributions to lawmakers and establishing an online public database of lobbyist disclosure information, by a bipartisan vote of 411-8, with 190 Republicans voting YEA. The President signed the bill on September 14 (PL 110-81).

Innovation 

Innovation Agenda/Math & Science Teachers. Passed H.R. 362, Science and Math Scholarship Act, which invests in 10,000 new science, math and technology teachers in the first year, totaling some 25,000 new teachers over 5 years, by a bipartisan vote of 389-22, with 168 Republicans voting YEA. Incorporated into H.R. 2272, America COMPETES Act, which the President signed on August 9, 2007 (PL 110-69).
Innovation Agenda/Technology Innovation. Passed H.R. 1868, Technology Innovation Act, which creates the Technology Innovation Program, to provide funds to small high-tech firms, and reauthorizes the Manufacturing Extension Partnership, which stimulates investments in innovative technologies by small manufacturers, by a bipartisan vote of 385-23, with 164 Republicans voting YEA. Incorporated into H.R. 2272, America COMPETES Act, which the President signed on August 9, 2007 (PL 110-69).
Innovation Agenda/Basic Research Funding. Passed H.R. 1867, National Science Foundation Authorization, which puts us on a path to doubling funding for NSF basic research over the next 10 years, as recommended by the National Academy of Sciences, by a bipartisan vote of 399-17, with 175 Republicans voting YEA. Incorporated into H.R. 2272, America COMPETES Act, which the President signed on August 9, 2007 (PL 110-69).