on this page: The Final Number |Stronger Protections | Another Step Toward Energy Independence | Patching the AMT, the Hard Way | Privacy Statement

Dear Friends,

As another year comes to a close, I would like to take this opportunity to tell you what a pleasure it is to serve as your Congressman.  I love my job and truly believe I represent the best district in the House of Representatives.  This year I have worked to be accessible to all of you - through community meetings, lunches at local establishments and this electronic newsletter.  I hope you continue to be engaged in the issues and to let me know your thoughts.  I look forward to our ongoing dialogue over the coming year.

Best wishes for a happy and healthy 2008!

Langevin enjoys taking questions from Cole Middle School students this past year.

The Final Number

This past week, as Congress raced toward the holidays, we passed the $485 billion Omnibus Appropriations bill, which funds important domestic programs for Fiscal Year 2008.  This legislation is a step toward reversing the President's harmful budget cuts to domestic priorities over the past six years and reinvesting in our nation.  For Rhode Island, I was able to secure funding for disease research initiatives at the University of Rhode Island, interoperability communication projects for emergency responders, crime prevention and afterschool programs.  I was also very proud to support two community health centers as they work to improve services to our underserved populations.  Despite all our achievements, I was still deeply disappointed that President Bush and the Congressional Republicans blocked our efforts to provide even greater funding for the priorities of Rhode Islanders and the American people.  However, I am not discouraged and look forward to continuing the fight for more resources to make our nation and state stronger.

Langevin met up with Charlestown resident, Cody Clarkin at his community garden this past summer.

Stronger Protections

Unfortunately, over the last year, we have learned that the Consumer Product Safety Commission has failed to protect the American consumer.  To help get this agency back on track, I cosponsored the Consumer Product Safety Modernization Act, a comprehensive response to the toy safety crisis, as it creates the toughest lead standard in the world for children's products and helps ensure consumers know when products are recalled.  This legislation also strengthens the currently underfunded and understaffed Consumer Product Safety Commission and significantly increases CPSC resources to hire additional staff and for laboratory renovations, including $20 million to modernize the testing lab.  Finally, this bill also creates new authority for the CPSC to immediately share information about dangerous products with the public and ensures State public health agencies are kept informed.  I am pleased to report that, on December 19, the House of Representatives passed the bill by a unanimous vote of 407 to 0.

Another Step Toward Energy Independence

I have long said we cannot dig or drill our way out of our energy crisis and that we need new strategies to develop sources of energy that will move our nation away from our reliance on oil and gas.  I believe with the recent passage of H.R. 6, the Energy Security and Independence Act, our environment will benefit from reduced greenhouse gas emissions, our economy will grow by creating new industries and jobs, and our national security will strengthen as we limit our dependence on foreign oil.  I am particularly pleased that H.R. 6 includes the first significant increase in automobile fuel economy standards in a generation.  We have the technology to make our vehicles more efficient, and it's past time to do so.  While I wish that the final version of the bill retained the renewable electricity standards and the tax incentives for alternative fuels that the House had passed earlier this year, I will keep working with my colleagues to see those efforts become law.

Langevin shares time with employees and volunteers at the Jonnycake Center in Peacedale. He looks forward to making many more trips like this in 2008.

Patching the AMT, the Hard Way

On December 19, the House passed legislation to prevent the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT), originally created to prevent the wealthiest taxpayers from avoiding income taxes, from being applied to 21 million middle-class Americans.  While everyone agrees that the patch was necessary to provide tax relief for nearly 40,000 hard-working Rhode Islanders in the Second Congressional District, I am concerned with the circumstances under which this bill was considered.  Just two months ago, the House of Representatives passed a fiscally responsible measure that fully complied with pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) rules, which require that the cost of tax relief be offset to prevent additional debt and a burden on future generations.  In fact, I was proud to vote twice for legislation that provided necessary AMT relief and was fully paid for by closing existing loopholes that have allowed the wealthiest Americans to avoid taxation on certain assets. Unfortunately, Republicans' unwillingness to pursue a path of fiscal responsibility forced us to consider a different measure that will add $50 billion to the national debt.  Fixing the AMT is important, and taxpayers should not suffer the consequences of political games.  What saddens me is that there was an easy way to accomplish this goal without adding to the deficit, yet Republican obstructionism prevented it from passing.

I am also disappointed that this measure provides only temporary relief rather than presenting a long-term sustainable solution.  We must develop a more permanent and fiscally responsible response to the AMT, as it will affect an increasing number of taxpayers in future years. I am hopeful that as we continue to debate national tax policy, we will develop a permanent solution to the AMT issue that does not burden future generations with additional debt.

Thank you for your continued interest and support.  Please do not hesitate to contact me about your priorities and concerns as the 110th Congress continues.

Sincerely,

Privacy Statement

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