Making College More Affordable.  Passed H.R. 2669, College Cost Reduction Act, which contains several provisions to make college more affordable, including increasing the maximum Pell Grant by $500 million by 2011, cutting interest rates in half on need-based college loans, providing tuition assistance for excellent undergraduate students who agree to teach in public schools, and increasing the limits on federal student loans, by a vote of 273-149, with 47 Republicans voting YEA.  The President has threatened to veto.    Children’s Health Insurance and Protecting Medicare.  Passed H.R. 3162, the Children’s Health and Medicare Protection Act, which reauthorizes the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) for 6 million children and provides 5 million more low-income children with health coverage, protects seniors’ access to their doctors, and protects Medicare from privatization by leveling the playing field between traditional Medicare and private plans, by a vote of 225-204.  The President has threatened to veto.   Stem Cell Research.  Passed S. 5, Promoting Stem Cell Research, clearing it for the President, which promotes life-saving embryonic stem cell research by increasing the number of stem cell lines that are eligible to be used in federally-funded research, by a vote of 247-176, with 37 Republicans voting YEA.  The President vetoed on June 20.   Re-Investing in America’s Priorities.  Passed H.R. 3043, FY 2008 Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations bill, which makes college more affordable by increasing the maximum Pell Grant by  $390, up to $4,700; invests $2 billion more in No Child Left Behind programs, giving an additional 161,000 low-income children help with reading and math; reverses the GOP disinvestment in life-saving medical research, investing an additional $750 million in NIH; and provides new access to health care to more than 2 million uninsured Americans, by a bipartisan vote of 276-140, with 53 Republicans voting YEA.  The President has threatened to veto.   Medicare Drug Price Negotiation.  Passed H.R. 4, Medicare Prescription Drug Price Negotiation  Act, which directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate with drug companies for lower drug prices for Medicare beneficiaries, by a vote of 255-170, with 24 Republicans voting YEA.  The President has threatened to veto.   Sunshine in Student Loan Industry.  Passed H.R. 890, Student Loan Sunshine Act, which cleans up the relationships between student lenders and colleges, in light of mounting evidence of conflicts of interest and other unethical practices in the student loan industry, by a bipartisan vote of 414 to 3, with 194 Republicans voting YEA.   Hate Crimes.  Passed H.R. 1592, Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which gives state and local law enforcement the tools and resources they need to prevent and prosecute hate crimes, as well as closing gaps in current federal hate crimes law, by a vote of 237-180, with 25 Republicans voting YEA.  The President has threatened to veto.   Head Start.  Passed H.R. 1429, Improving Head Start Act, which expands and improves the successful Head Start early childhood education program, and includes strong accountability measures to ensure programs are succeeding, by a bipartisan vote of 365-48, with 142 Republicans voting YEA.    Improving Drug Safety.  Passed H.R. 2900, FDA Amendments/Improving Drug Safety, which contains the most sweeping drug safety provisions in years, creating a new FDA program to monitor the safety of drugs after they are on the market, by a bipartisan vote of 403-16, with 187 Republicans voting YEA.   Collective Bargaining for Firefighters, Police Officers, Etc.  Passed H.R. 980, Collective Bargaining for First Responders, which provides firefighters, police officers, and other public safety officers with basic collective bargaining rights, without undermining state authority or existing state laws – ensuring our first responders have the basic right to seek better wages and benefits, by a bipartisan vote of 314-97, with 98 Republicans voting YEA.    Background Checks for Gun Purchases.  Passed H.R. 2640, NICS Improvement Act, which is designed to improve the accuracy of the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) by giving grants to states for automating and sharing with NICS the records of those barred from purchasing a firearm under the 1968 Gun Control Act, by voice vote.   Affordable Housing Fund.  Passed H.R. 1427, Federal Housing Finance Reform/Affordable Housing Fund, which strengthens oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and creates an Affordable Housing Fund that will provide about $500 million a year for five years to promote affordable housing for low-income homeowners and renters, by a bipartisan vote of 313-104, with 90 Republicans voting YEA.   Cutting Interest Rates on Student Loans in Half.  Passed H.R. 5, Cutting Interest Rates on Student Loans, which makes college more accessible and affordable by cutting the interest rates on subsidized student loans in half, by a bipartisan vote of 356-71, with 124 Republicans voting YEA.    Continuing Resolution for FY 2007.  Passed H.J.Res. 20, Continuing Resolution for FY 2007, which kept within the FY 2007 budget ceiling created by Republicans but which invested in urgent domestic needs, including an increase of $3.6 billion for veterans’ health care, $1.4 billion for affordable housing, and $615 million for increasing the maximum Pell Grant from $4,050 to $4,310, by a bipartisan vote of 286-140, with 57 Republicans voting YEA.  The President signed the bill on February 15 (PL 110-5).   COPS Improvement Act.  Passed H.R. 1700, COPS Improvement Act, which puts 50,000 additional police officers on the streets over the next six years, and also authorizes funds for COPS technology grants and for hiring community prosecutors, by a bipartisan vote of 381-34, with 157 Republicans voting YEA.   Reforming and Expanding Section 8 Housing Vouchers.  Passed H.R. 1851, Section 8 Voucher Reform Act, which reforms the Section 8 housing vouchers to make their allocation targeted more on need, increases access for rural families, and expands the number of families receiving vouchers, by a bipartisan vote of 333-83, with 110 Republicans voting YEA.    Gulf Coast Housing.  Passed H.R. 1227, Gulf Coast Housing Recovery Act, which speeds up the repair and rebuilding of homes and affordable rental housing in areas affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, by a bipartisan vote of 302-125, with 72 Republicans voting YEA.   Katrina Housing Tax Relief.  Passed H.R. 1562, the Katrina Housing Tax Relief Act, which expands access to low-income financing for homeowners and strengthens tax incentives for building affordable rental housing in the areas of the Gulf Coast affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, by voice vote.  Incorporated into H.R. 2206, FY 2007 Supplemental, which the President signed on May 25 (PL 110-28).   Genetic Nondiscrimination.  Passed H.R. 493, Genetic Nondiscrimination, which prohibits employers and insurance companies from using genetic information when making decisions about hiring, firing, or providing health coverage, by a bipartisan vote of 420-3, with 191 Republicans voting YEA.