The Gavel today has this statement from Nancy Pelosi, regarding the First 100 Days of the new Democratic Congress:
Pelosi: End of First 100 Days Is Only the Beginning of a New Direction for All Americans
"From the first hours Democrats held the majority in Congress, we have worked to provide a new direction for the American people.
"Beginning with the first 100 hours, the House passed, with broad bipartisan support, legislation to make America safer at home; make our economy stronger and fairer; make college more accessible; make health care more affordable; advance embryonic stem cell research; and bring us closer to our goal of energy independence. We restored openness and accountability to our government with tough ethical reforms.
Follow me over the fold to see the rest, and to see what Madame Speaker says will be tackled next.
"In the first 100 days, Democrats provided our nation with a long overdue new direction on the war in Iraq that supports both our troops and our veterans. We restored fiscal responsibility with a budget that reflects our American values, extends health care coverage to uninsured children, provides aid to the survivors of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and restores critical funding for education, law enforcement, and medical research.
"This week, we mark the end of the first 100 days, but only the beginning of a new direction for all Americans. Democrats will continue to defend our country and grow our economy while restoring confidence in the Congress and our government."
The post on The Gavel linked to a page called "A New Direction", which has an excellent summary of the "First 100 Hours", along with the "First 100 Days". I think this would be a good list to have handy when talking with our conservative friends and family.
But, the best part of this page was "Next on the Agenda", with 5 main areas, along with specific ways of accomplishing each one.
Defend our Country
Fight terrorism with a greater focus on those who attacked us on 9/11, on homeland security, and on keeping nuclear weapons out of the hands of terrorists.
Improve our military readiness by rebuilding a 21st century force capable of projecting power and our ideals to protect our country and our interests.
Demand accountability and end the "rubber stamp" approach to Congressional oversight of the war in Iraq, the fight against terrorism, and homeland security.
You have to wonder how the MSM will twist this, because this screams "Patriotic" in a way that nothing BushCo has done since 9/11.
Grow our Economy
Invest in 25,000 new highly-trained science, math, engineering, and technology teachers, and 100,000 students in the fields that fuel the Innovation Economy.
Double basic R&D funding and focus funds on high-risk, high-reward early stage research.
Expand 'always on' broadband Internet, targeting rural and underserved regions.
Pass a strong new agriculture bill for family farmers and ranchers who will lead the way to an energy independent America.
Help make home ownership affordable and make lending institutions more accountable.
Promote bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform that secures our border, strengthens our economy, protects American workers and fixes our broken system.
Wow, what will we as a nation do with some of our most pressing economic issues not only on their way to being fixed, but having future ones prevented?
Care for our Children and Families
Dramatically expand access to quality health care for America's children.
Expand and improve our most successful pre-school program, Head Start.
Convene a Children's Summit, to ensure the best science guides policy on child care, children's health, and early learning.
Treat mental health care the same as other medical coverage.
Expedite FDA approval and enhance the safety of life-saving drugs.
Provide more support to local police and strengthen oversight of Internet child safety.
Protecting and caring for our children is something the Democrats do way better than the Republicans ever did. (See No Child Left Behind for a primo example)
Protect our Planet
Reduce our dependence on foreign oil to help combat rising gas prices.
Increase the use of renewable energy and energy efficiency to reduce emissions, helping to protect future generations from climate change.
Promote innovation to make America the world leader in clean energy technologies.
Democrats make the world (continue) to go 'round.
Restore Accountability
Break the link between legislation and lobbyists by passing lobby reform.
Strengthen our democracy and protect the integrity of our elections with paper trail accountability and reforms to prevent voter intimidation.
Republicans: How are we going to blame our Chiefs of Staff now?
Nancy Pelosi is an amazing person to lead the House, not only organizing the Democrats, but for many important topics, she's been a part of bringing all sides of the argument together. America is damn lucky to have her.
I hope that the activist in each of us will grab on to the topics closest to our hearts, and watch for those to reach the House floor. Help Nancy to accomplish these great things by speaking up to your representatives right now, letting them know the direction you'd like to take. Do it now, before they become inundated with feedback on the topic.