Dear Friends,

Greetings from DC again! I’ve spent the last month working hard in the district and now Congress is back in session. And I’m pleased to say the Congress is back in full force. The House is flying through the 13 mandatory spending bills that need to be completed before the end of the government’s fiscal year this month. By early next week, the House should be finished with all 13 of the spending bills and we will just be waiting on the Senate to complete their work. This week, the House focused on H.R. 2989, the Transportation, Treasury, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act for 2004. This bill funds programs that improve highways and alleviate traffic congestion. The bill also funds the Office of National Drug Control Policy and the office that combats terrorist financing and financial crimes. If all goes smoothly, we should complete this important bill early next week. We also tackled H.R. 2765 this week. H.R. 2765 is the bill which funds the government of the District of Columbia. This bill calls for significant reform in DC schools and ensures that the DC government strives for efficient city management. The final vote on this bill will happen next week also. What’s on Tap for Next Week? Next week, we will finish the appropriation bills we started this week and we will address H.R. 2622, the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act. H.R. 2622 ensures all consumers have fair and equal access to their credit information while the bill also protects consumers against identity theft. Adjournment? Many of you have asked me when we think Congress might adjourn for this year. The exact adjournment date is still up in the air, but our best guess is that we might adjourn by the end of October. At that point, the members will go home to their districts for more important work. As always, thanks for you interest and input. Have a good weekend!

Sincerely,

Kay Granger