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Dear Cleve,
Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful moms, grandmothers and ‘mother figures' in my Congressional District and throughout Minnesota. Every day truly is your day because parenting is a daily job - perhaps the most important job you will ever have.
Enjoy the roses, breakfast in bed, brunch at your favorite restaurant and the many hugs and kisses you will receive. As a mother of two, the joy my children have provided is priceless and the greatest gift I could have ever asked for.
In addition to being a mom, I am also a former teacher. So it is with great pleasure I also salute Minnesota's teachers as we close out National Teacher Appreciation week. Educators, like moms, unselfishly give of themselves to prepare our children for the future. They deserve to be honored.
In my other role as Congresswoman, I have been very busy working on behalf of American families. As Founder and Co-chair of the Congressional Global Health Caucus, I coordinated a briefing on the H1N1 flu epidemic to address coordination and preparedness on Thursday. On that same day, I voted in a committee mark up to send the $94.2 billion FY 2009 emergency supplemental appropriations bill - which includes a significant investment in pandemic flu preparedness and funds for the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan and aid to Pakistan - to the floor of the House. And to build on the progress Congress and President Obama's Administration has made to enact reforms, the House passed the Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act, which will curb abusive and predatory lending, and approved, the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act, which now heads to the President's desk to be signed into law.
But this busy legislative week did not stop Members of Congress from paying tribute to moms and teachers at events in Washington and around the country. Happy Mother's Day and thank you to all our teachers!
Sincerely,
Congresswoman Betty McCollum
Serving Minnesota's Fourth Congressional District
McCollum Congratulates St. Paul Central H.S. National Science Bowl Team
 Photo Caption: Congresswoman McCollum meets with St. Paul Central High School's science team to personally congratulate them during the High School Science Bowl Congressional Reception on Capitol Hill Congresswoman McCollum congratulated St. Paul Central High School's team who received national honors for their achievements during the U.S. Department of Energy's 2009 National Science Bowl, the nation's largest academic competition of its kind.
National Teacher Apprecaition Week (May 3-9)
Teacher Appreciation Week is an opportunity to say thank you to educators and show our gratitude for their commitment to academic excellence. Congresswoman McCollum salutes America's teachers.
McCollum Highlights Resources for Teachers
Congresswoman McCollum is a member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Legislative Branch, which has jurisdictional oversight over the Library of Congress.
Teachers Resources at the Library of Congress:
(More than 10 million primary sources online)
http://www.loc.gov/teachers/
The Library of Congress offers educators access to more than 15 million unique primary source documents including maps, photographs, historical documents, films, sound recordings and more. The Teachers page section of the Library's Web site includes interactive student activities, Webcasts and more than 85 lesson plans based on the Library's online collections on subjects ranging from history to literature to civics and government. Lesson plans have been teacher-tested and are based on state standards.
New World Digital Library:
http://www.wdl.org
The Library of Congress, in cooperation with UNESCO, launched the new World Digital Library in April. Within hours of going online, this multilingual and multi-medial site had attracted 600 thousand visits and more than 7 million page views.
America's Story from America's Library:
http://www.americaslibrary.gov
The Library of Congress America's Library Web site introduces users to the great stories of our nation's history through games, puzzles, and interactive activities. Young learners have the opportunity to learn about our nation's leaders and cultural heritage in a fun and engaging way through this site.
McCollum & Girls Scouts USA Promote Leadership for Girls
 Photo Caption: Congresswoman McCollum, Members of Congress & Girl Scouts USA President Connie Lindsey attend special breakfast themed, What Girls Say About Leadership: Empowering the Next Generation of Female Leaders MCCOLLUM SPECIAL ALERT: $250 Economic Recovery Payments to Social Security Recipients Are in The Mail
The $250 economic recovery payments for Social Security recipients, which were provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, are being sent out with the goal of all these payments being delivered by the end of May 2009.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) will deliver the $250 payment by check to those recipients who receive their Social Security benefit by check and by direct deposit for those recipients who receive their Social Security benefit by direct deposit.
MCCOLLUM SPECIAL ALERT: Veterans Should Immediately Sign Up for The New GI Bill
As of May 2009, Post -9/11 Veterans can begin signing up for the new GI Bill for the 21st Century Congress enacted last year.
The Department of Veterans Affairs is now accepting and processing applications for the Post-9/11 GI Bill. Veterans can complete and submit the application form available online and will receive a letter explaining VA's decision regarding your eligibility for the program.
The application form requires that individuals currently eligible for benefits under the Montgomery GI BILL-Active Duty (MGIB-AD), Montgomery GI Bill-Selected Reserve (MGIB-SR) or the Reserve Educational Assistance Program (REAP) make an irrevocable election from their existing program to the Post-9/11 GI Bill.
To apply today, go to: http://www.gibill.va.gov/
McCollum Works In Congress for America's Mothers and Their Children
Accomplishments of the 111TH CONGRESS:
FOR AMERICA'S MOTHERS
Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act: Restores the right of women and other workers to challenge unfair pay in court. Specifically, rectifies the May 2007 Ledbetter v Goodyear Supreme Court decision that overturned precedent and made it much more difficult for workers to pursue pay discrimination claims. Was the first major bill to be signed into law by President Obama.
Budget Conference Agreement: Includes numerous provisions to address the needs and improve the lives of America's mothers and their families, including providing investments to improve K-12 education; investing in a clean energy economy to launch a sustainable era of job creation; creating a deficit-neutral fund for health care reform that will cut costs and expand coverage; and cutting the deficit by nearly two-thirds by 2013.
The Recovery Act: Includes many provisions to benefit America's mothers, including providing tax cuts to 95 percent of working families, including millions of female-headed households; investing in additional child care; preventing cutbacks in Medicaid coverage, upon which millions of women and children rely; expanding nutrition assistance available to families; and expanding job opportunities and job training for women.
FOR AMERICA'S GRANDMOTHERS
The Recovery Act: Includes a series of provisions that will benefit seniors, including the following:
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$250 Economic Recovery Payments for Seniors: Provides a $250 payment to millions of America's seniors, with the payments being sent out to seniors during the month of May.
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Senior Nutrition Programs: Provides $100 million for senior nutrition programs, including congregate meals and home-delivered meals. Is expected to provide nearly 14 million additional seniors' meals.
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Protecting Low-Income Medicare Beneficiaries: Extends the Qualified Individual (QI) program, which assists certain low-income Medicare beneficiaries with their Medicare Part B premiums.
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Preventing Certain Scheduled Cuts in Medicare: Blocks a scheduled Medicare payment reduction to teaching hospitals, and a scheduled Medicare payment reduction to hospices.
FOR AMERICA'S CHILDREN
Health Care for 11 Million Children: Renews and improves the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) - preserving coverage for 7 million children currently covered by CHIP and extending coverage to 4 million uninsured but eligible children. Was the second major bill to be signed into law by President Obama.
FDA Regulation of Tobacco Products: Has a key aim of reducing underage smoking with such new regulations as 1) banning all remaining tobacco-brand sponsorships of sports and entertainment events; and 2) restricting vending machines to adult-only facilities; and 3) requiring retailers to verify age for all over-the-counter sales.
Budget Conference Agreement: Includes numerous provisions to address the needs of children and youth, including increasing K-12 education funding to raise student achievement; supporting early childhood education; and making college more affordable and accessible.
The Recovery Act: Includes key investments in Head Start and Early Head Start; child support enforcement; nutrition for women, infants, and children; K-12 education; and increasing the maximum Pell Grant.
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