This week, the House passed an important piece of legislation that will help us continue to pressure the President to change direction in Iraq.  The Tanner-Abercrombie bill requires the President to present Congress with a plan for redeployment within 60 days and every 90 days thereafter.  This vote showed that there is strong bipartisan support for detailing an endgame strategy in Iraq.

On Wednesday, the President vetoed a bipartisan and fiscally responsible bill that would continue to provide health insurance to 6.6 million children in need, and cover an additional 3.8 million low-income children.  This directly contradicts his 2004 campaign promise to extend health insurance to millions of poor children, and is a cynical attempt to establish his fiscal bonafides with his base.  The House and hundreds of outside advocacy groups are working hard to override the President's veto, and prevent him from standing in between 10 million children and the health care they deserve.

Tomorrow, I will deliver the Democrats' national radio address, urging House Republicans to stand with all those who support children's health insurance - 43 governors, Senate Republicans, Congressional Democrats, and most importantly 72% of Americans - and help override the President's veto.

Next week, the House will consider a war profiteering bill that will strengthen criminal law so that war profiteers can be prosecuted.  In light of recent product safety issues, the House will take up several bills to ensure that imported products are safe and meet U.S. standards.  The House will also continue working to alleviate the current housing crisis with an affordable housing bill that will establish a fund run by the Housing and Urban Development Department to assist state and local governments reconstruct and build public housing.

Sincerely yours,

STENY H. HOYER

P.S. Please invite your friends and family to sign up for this newsletter to learn about what House Democrats are doing to lead America in a new direction.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer to Deliver Democratic Radio Address

Leader Hoyer will deliver the Democrat's national radio address on Saturday, October 6th at 11 a.m. Eastern time.  He will discuss the effort to override the President's veto of children's health insurance legislation.  The address can be heard on major radio networks, including AP, ABC, NPR, CBS Radio, CNN Radio, C-SPAN, Armed Forces Radio Network, American Urban Radio Network, Voice of America Radio Network, BBC Radio, CBC Radio, and Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Read text of the radio address - embargoed until 11:06 a.m., October 6th

Majority Leader Hoyer's Statement on the President's Veto of CHIP Legislation

On Wednesday, Hoyer criticized the President's decision to veto the bipartisan CHIP Reauthorization Act, saying that Bush's indefensible veto violates his own campaign promise, and demonstrates a stunning lack of compassion.

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Majority Leader Hoyer's Statement on the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act

Majority Leader Hoyer spoke in support of the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act, saying that this law will help the large number of homeowners who are struggling to make ends meet and who are facing foreclosure by not taxing forgiven debt.

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Majority Leader Hoyer's Statement on New Budget Committee Report

The House Budget Committee released a report this week that details how Democrats are the party of fiscal discipline today by restoring and adhering to pay-as-you-go budget rules, as well as passing a budget that will bring our budget back to balance in 2012.

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