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 (PL 110-28).   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 conference report on H.R. 2272, America COMPETES Act, which is headed to President’s desk.   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 conference report on H.R. 2272, America COMPETES Act, which is headed to President’s desk.   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 conference report on H.R. 2272, America COMPETES Act, which is headed to President’s desk.   Innovation Agenda/Science & Engineering Research.  Passed H.R. 363, Sowing the Seeds Through Science and Engineering Research Act, which increases support for long-term scientific research and focuses on high-risk, high-reward early stage research, by a bipartisan vote of 380-45, with 172 Republicans voting YEA.  Incorporated into conference report on H.R. 2272, America COMPETES Act, which is headed to President’s desk.   Farm Bill.  Passed H.R. 2419, the Farm Bill, which includes real reforms, such as cracking down on farm subsidies for those who do not need them and redirecting more than half a billion dollars to working family farmers and ranchers; and making substantial commitments to conservation, nutrition programs, and renewable energy, by a vote of 231 to 191, with 19 Republicans voting YEA.  The President has threatened to veto.   Investing in Transportation Infrastructure and Affordable Housing.  Passed H.R. 3074, FY 2008 Transportation-HUD Appropriations, which modernizes transportation, including providing $40.2 billion for highway infrastructure, creating 59,500 new jobs, and providing $9.7 billion for mass transit, creating 17,400 new jobs; and invests in expanding affordable housing opportunities for American families, by a vote of 268-153, with 43 Republicans voting YEA.  The President has threatened to veto.   Investing in Small Business/Economic Development/Etc.  Passed H.R. 2829, FY 2008 Financial Services-General Government Appropriations, which contains provisions to spur job creation and economic growth, including restoring the President’s cut in small business loans and investing in greater efforts to expand availability to capital and financial services in rural communities, by a vote of 240-179, with 18 Republicans voting YEA.  The President has threatened to veto.   Investing in Rural Development.  Passed H.R. 3161, FY 2008 Agriculture Appropriations, which has numerous provisions to strengthen our rural communities, including reinvesting in affordable housing, clean water, broadband access, and community facilities in rural areas; improve nutrition programs; and promote renewable energy and conservation in rural America, by a vote of 237 to 18.  The President has threatened to veto.   Free Choice for Employees.  Passed H.R. 800, the Employee Free Choice Act, which helps all Americans share in our nation’s economic growth by supporting the basic right of workers to choose their own representative, by a vote of 241-185.  The President has threatened to veto.   Rights of Employees to Fair Pay.  Passed H.R. 2831, the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which rectifies the recent Supreme Court decision of Ledbetter v. Goodyear, which had made it much more difficult for workers to pursue pay discrimination claims, by a vote of 225-199.  The President has threatened to veto.     Investing in Innovation and Science.  Passed H.R. 3093, FY 2008 Commerce-Justice-Science Appropriations, which makes major investments in U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness, including Manufacturing Extension Partnerships and the Advanced Technology Program, and in scientific research, putting the NSF on track to double in funding over next 10 years, by a bipartisan vote of 281-142, with 55 Republicans voting YEA.  The President has threatened to veto.   Improving Small Business Lending.  Passed H.R. 1332, Small Business Lending Improvements Act, which provides small businesses with tools to encourage entrepreneurial innovation, including making 7(a) loans more economical, by a bipartisan vote of 380-45, with 151 Republicans voting YEA.    Small Business Contracting.  Passed H.R. 1873, Small Business Fairness in Contracting Act, which strengthens small business by increasing the share of federal contracts going to small businesses and limiting the ability of federal agencies to bundle smaller projects into larger contracts, by a bipartisan vote of 409 to 13, with 187 Republicans voting YEA.    Water Resources Development.  Passed the conference report on H.R. 1495, Water Resources Development Act, which grows the economy 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.  The bill is headed to the President’s desk.