More than two months after being nominated, the Senate held a vote to confirm Hilda Solis as Secretary of Labor. The Senate voted Feb. 24, confirming Solis 80-17 (R: 24-17; D: 56-0; I: 2-0) Roll Call 66. Y=R, N=R

An amendment was included in the FY 2010 Defense Department spending bill continued extended unemployment benefits and COBRA health insurance subsidies for the long-term jobless through Feb. 28, 2010. The programs were due to expire Dec. 31. The bill passed the Senate Dec. 19 on a vote of 88-10 (R: 29-10; D: 59-0) Roll Call 384. Y=R, N=W

An amendment to the health care reform bill  would give American consumers, pharmacists and drug wholesalers access to U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved medicines sold in other major industrialized countries at a fraction of the U.S. price. The amendment needed 60 votes to pass. It failed Dec. 15 by a vote of 51-48 (R: 23-17; D: 28–31) Roll Call 377. Y=R, N=W

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act expands coverage to more than 30 million Americans, puts new rules on insurance companies and provides subsidies to help middle- and low- income families and small business to purchase coverage through market exchanges. However, it falls short in several critical areas, including lack of a public health insurance plan option and a requirement that businesses pay their fair share. It also imposed a new tax on working families’ benefits (a corrections bill passed in March 2010 strengthened the fair share for business requirements and eliminated 85 percent of the tax on benefits). Republicans filibustered the bill. On Nov. 21, the Senate invoked cloture on the motion to proceed to the bill by a vote of 60-39 (R: 0–39; D: 60–0) Roll Call 353. Y=R, N=W

President Obama nominated federal judge Sonia Sotomayor to be a U.S. Supreme Court associate justice. During her time on the federal bench, she demonstrated her understanding of the impact of the law on working families and consistently interpreted labor laws in the manner in which they were intended. As a federal judge, she enforced the rights of workers to be paid correct wages, to receive the health care benefits to which they were entitled and to be free from all types of discrimination. She also recognized that persecution for union activity can be a basis for granting asylum. The Senate confirmed Sotomayor on Aug. 6 by a vote of 68-32 (R: 0-31; D: 68-0; I:0-1) Roll Call 262. Y=R, N=W

The “cash-for-clunkers” bill provided an additional $2 billion for the vehicle trade-in program, which offers vouchers worth up to $4,500 toward the purchase of new vehicles to consumers who trade in their older, less-efficient models. The program triggered a major surge in sales of new cars, helping hard-pressed dealers, manufacturers, suppliers and their workers. At the same time, the program will reduce oil consumption and greenhouse gas emissions by getting older, less efficient vehicles off the road and replacing them with new, higher-mileage vehicles.  The Senate passed the bill Aug. 6 by a vote of 60-37 (R: 7-33; D: 51-4; I: 2-0) Roll Call 262. Y=R, N=W

The financial crisis and recession created an 11 million jobs deficit.The Jobs for Main Street Act begins to address that by redirecting $75 billion in unused bank bailout money—the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP)—to fund infrastructure and job investments; and provide additional emergency funding to help families who are suffering. The bill passed Dec. 16 on a vote of 217-212 (R: 0-174; D: 217-38) Roll Call 991. Y=R, N=W

The legislation overhauls the country's financial rules, creates a Consumer Financial Protection Agency, brings the financial derivatives market under federal regulation for the first time, imposes restrictions on credit ratings firms, improves investor protections and requires the registration of investment advisers of private pools of capital. The bill passed Dec. 11 on a vote of 223-202 (R: 0-175; D: 223-27) Roll Call 968. Y=R, N=W

The Affordable Health Care for America Act would expand health care coverage to 96 percent of Americans, rein in insurance company abuses, lower costs for families, business and the federal budget and improve the quality of health care. It included a public health insurance option to lower costs and increase competition, required all but the smallest employers to provide their workers with coverage or contribute to a fund to make it affordable for workers and asked the wealthiest in this country to pay their fair share to fund health care. The bill passed Nov. 7 on a 220-215 vote (R: 1-176; D: 219-39) Roll Call 887. Y=R, N=W

With the numbers of long-term unemployed reaching record levels, the House passed legislation to provide 14 additional weeks of unemployment insurance benefits compensation for the long-term unemployed in every state and an additional six weeks for those who live in states with a three-month unemployment rate of 8.5 percent or higher. It passed Nov. 5 on a vote of 403-12. It was signed into law Nov. 6 (R: 156-12; D: 247-0) Roll Call 859. Y=R, N=W

The House Corporate and Financial Institution Compensation Fairness Act provides a number of reforms to executive compensation practices at publicly traded companies, including banks and other financial companies receiving federal help under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) and other federal programs during the current economic downturn. Among other provisions, the bill would allow a company’s shareholders to take annual votes on executive compensation packages and on "golden parachute" compensation going to outgoing executives in the event of a merger or acquisition. The bill passed July 31 by a vote 237-185 (R: 2-169; D: 235-16) Roll Call 686. Y=R, N=W

The “cash-for-clunkers” bill provided an additional $2 billion for the vehicle trade-in program, which offers vouchers worth up to $4,500 toward the purchase of new vehicles to consumers who trade in their older, less-efficient models. The program triggered a major surge in sales of new cars, helping hard-pressed dealers, manufacturers, suppliers and their workers. At the same time, the program will reduce oil consumption and greenhouse gas emissions by getting older, less efficient vehicles off the road and replacing them with new, higher-mileage vehicles. The bill passed July 31 by a vote of 316-109 (R: 77-95; D: 239-14) Roll Call 682. Y=R, N=W

The legislation would impose restrictions on credit card company lending practices, including when companies could increase annual percentage interest rates retroactively on an existing balance.  It expands a number of disclosure requirements for credit card companies and restricts the ability of credit card companies to change the terms of an account after it has been established. The bill passed May 19 by a vote of 90-5 (R: 35-4; D: 53-1; I: 2-0) Roll Call 194. Y=R, N=W

During the debate on the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act, Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) offered an amendment that would have allowed bankruptcy judges to modify home mortgages on terms that could allow thousands of homeowners facing foreclosure to keep their homes. Many mortgage lenders have been slow or failed to modify existing loans, despite many borrowers receiving loans based on false, misleading and predatory lending practices. The amendment failed April 30 by a vote of 45-51 (R: 0-39; D: 43-12; I: 2-0) Roll Call 174. Y=R, N=W

The Senate budget resolution increased discretionary spending by $490 billion over five years—restoring funding to housing, education, job training, and safety and health care programs that had been consistently cut during the past eight years. The resolution also provided a reserve fund for health care reform, education reform and a “cap-and-trade” program to cut the nation’s emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. The resolution passed April 2 on a vote of 55-43 (R: 0-41; D: 53-2; I: 2-0) Roll Call 154. Y=R, N=W