ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF THE 107TH CONGRESS
While the 107th Congress has faced unprecedented challenges, it has also delivered historic accomplishments. From economic growth incentives to education reform to fighting the war against global terror, this Congress has delivered for the American people. We have made great strides on issues that make a difference in our everyday lives.
At the outset of the Congress, we laid out two key priorities - providing tax relief for working Americans and expanding markets for American goods and services. We accomplished both. In the summer of 2001, the President signed a tax relief measure that provided the average working family with more than $1,000 in relief. As it turned out, this tax relief was very well timed because the rebate checks arrived just in time to soften the combined effects of the economic downturn and September 11th.
Earlier this year, we approved Presidential Trade Promotion Authority for the first time in nearly eight years. This Authority allows the President and his trade team to pry open new markets for America's world class products and services by negotiating trade agreements and bringing them back to Congress for a simple up or down vote. The more agreements we are able to negotiate, the greater potential we have for selling our goods and services overseas. Expanded trade also brings down costs for consumers by providing more choices in the products we buy. All the way around, expanded trade amounts to a win, win, win for America's workers, consumers, and businesses.
Another top priority for us was significant education reform. Congress delivered it in a bipartisan way late last year. The No Child Left Behind Act, H.R. 1, provided historic education reform by strengthening standards for schools, teachers, and students. Parents will now receive report cards on their children's schools; teachers will receive tax relief for their out of pocket expenses; and funding will be tripled for reading programs that have been proven successful. These initiatives represent some of the highlights of this far-reaching legislation.
Perhaps the greatest challenges came with the terrorist attacks of September 11th and their aftermath. Congress united in a bipartisan way to provide disaster and recovery assistance, give law enforcement the tools they need to find those responsible and prevent further acts, and enact comprehensive transportation security legislation. The terrible tragedy of those events brought us together in a way almost none of us had experienced before and gave us a renewed perspective on the blessings and responsibilities we the nation have.
