Recent propaganda by Republicans would have us believe that the current Democratic president and Congress have accomplished nothing.

Despite Republican attempts obstruct every legislative effort, much progress has been made. Keeping in mind that it was Republicans that caused these problems and nearly put us in a second Great Depression, let’s look at the legislation Congress has passed that greatly benefits the American people.

House Resolution 4872 modifies student loan programs to make them more affordable so more people can receive a college education.

H.R. 627 tightens credit card regulations, doing away with hidden fees and limiting interest rates charged.

S. 896 allows bankruptcy judges to modify the terms of mortgages, which helps people from losing their homes and helps the mortgage companies from going under.

H.R. 3590 is the health care reform act that provides coverage for more than 30 million uninsured Americans and leaves the system in private, not government hands.

H.R. 4173/S. 3217 reforms banking regulations to head off the economic catastrophe of 2008. This law will keep American taxpayers from having to bail out Wall Street again. This bill also imposes income and excise taxes on corporate bonuses paid from TARP funds. You want your money back, don’t you?

Republicans overwhelmingly opposed all of these bills.

The economy has also improved. In 2009, in what the conservative leaning Wall Street Journal described as “a comeback of historic proportions,” the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the broader S&P 500 ended the year up 25 percent. In the first quarter of 2010, the S&P 500 reported its best quarter since 1998. The same year recorded the highest GDP in six years, 5.7 percent. The first quarter of 2010 reported a health GDP of 3.5 percent.

Returning Congress to Republican control will lead to no progress and set America back decades.

Shawn Smith

Natchez resident