Senate career of Hillary Rodham Clinton

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Assignments

Clinton has served on five Senate committees with nine subcommittee assignments:
*Committee on the Budget (2001-2003)cite web | url=http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/congress/sncom012.html | title=Senate Temporary Committee Chairs | publisher=University of Michigan Documents Center | date=2001-05-24 | accessdate=2007-05-30]
*Committee on Armed Services (2003-present)cite news | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/29/magazine/03Hillary-t.html | title=Hillary's War | publisher=The New York Times Magazine | date=2007-05-29 | accessdate=2007-05-30 | author=Jeff Gerth, Don Van Natta, Jr.]
**Subcommittee on Airland
**Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities
**Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support
*Committee on Environment and Public Works (2001-present)
**Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety
**Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure
**Subcommittee on Superfund and Environmental Health (Chairwoman, 2007-present)
*Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (2001-present)
**Subcommittee on Children and Families
**Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety
*Special Committee on Aging.cite web | url=http://clinton.senate.gov/senate/committees/index.cfm | title=Committees | publisher=Official Senate web site | accessdate=2007-09-27]

She is also a Commissioner of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe [cite web | url=http://www.csce.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=AboutCommission.Commissioners&CFID=3874739&CFTOKEN=75235387 | title=About the Commission: Commissioners | publisher=Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe | accessdate=2007-09-29] (since 2001). [cite news | url=http://www.ukrweekly.com/Archive/2001/200109.shtml | title=Senate, House appoint Helsinki commissioners | publisher=The Ukrainian Weekly | date=2001-05-20 | accessdate=2007-09-29]

She has also held two leadership positions in the Senate Democratic Caucus:
#Chairwoman of Steering and Outreach Committee (2003–2006)cite book |last=Gerth |first=Jeff |authorlink=Jeff Gerth |coauthors=Don Van Natta, Jr. |title=Her Way: The Hopes and Ambitions of Hillary Rodham Clinton |year=2007 |publisher=Little, Brown and Company |location=New York |isbn=0-316-01742-6 , pp. 263–264.] [cite web | url=http://stabenow.senate.gov/press/2006/StabenowNamedtoDemocraticLeadershipFinanceCommitteePosts.htm | title=Stabenow Named to Democratic Leadership, Finance Committee Posts | publisher=U.S. Senate | date=2006-11-14 | accessdate=2007-10-22]
# Vice Chairwoman of Committee Outreach (2007–present)cite web | url=http://democrats.senate.gov/leadership/ | title=Democratic Leadership Committees | publisher=Official Senate web site | accessdate=2007-10-22]

First term

Upon entering the United States Senate, Clinton maintained a low public profile while building relationships with senators from both parties, to avoid the polarizing celebrity she experienced as First Lady.cite web | url=http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761556529/Hillary_Clinton.html | title=Hillary Rodham Clinton | work=Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2006 | accessdate=2006-08-22] [cite news | url = http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0310/p01s01-uspo.html | title = Clinton's quiet path to power | first = Gail Russell | last = Chaddock | publisher = Christian Science Monitor | date = 2003-03-10 | accessdate = 2006-08-22 ] [cite news | title = A Tale of Two Clintons | url = http://www.opinionjournal.com/wsj/?id=90000397 | first = Albert R. | last = Hunt | date = 2001-04-07 | publisher = Wall Street Journal | accessdate = 2006-08-22 ] [cite news | title = Sen. Clinton Stresses Chronic Disease Needs | date = 2001-07-26 | first = Martin | last = Kuhn | publisher = National Press Club | accessdate = 2006-08-22 ] (It was reported that when Elizabeth Dole joined the Senate in 2003 under somewhat similar circumstances, she modeled her initial approach after Clinton's, [cite news | url = http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0A10F63C5B0C7A8CDDAC0894DB404482 | title = In Senate, a Dole Is Following a Clinton Path | publisher = The New York Times | date = 2003-05-09 | first = Sheryl Gay | last = Stolberg | page = A01 | accessdate = 2006-08-22 (preview only)] as did the nationally visible Barack Obama in 2005.) [cite news | url = http://obama.senate.gov/news/050928-barack_obama_st/index.php | title = Barack Obama Steps (Carefully) Into the Spotlight | date = 2005-09-28 | first = Perry | last = Bacon, Jr. | publisher = Time | accessdate = 2006-08-22 ] [cite news | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/09/us/politics/09obama.html | title=Obama in Senate: Star Power, Minor Role | author=Kate Zernike, Jeff Zeleny | publisher="The New York Times" | date=2008-03-09 | accessdate=2008-03-09] Clinton also forged alliances with religiously-inclined senators by becoming a regular participant in the Senate Prayer Breakfast.cite news |title=Hillary's Prayer: Hillary Clinton's Religion and Politics |url=http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2007/09/hillarys-prayer.html |publisher=Mother Jones |date=September/October 2007 | accessdate=2007-10-10 |author=Kathryn Joyce and Jeff Sharlet] cite book |last=Bernstein |first=Carl |authorlink=Carl Bernstein |coauthors= |title=A Woman in Charge: The Life of Hillary Rodham Clinton |year=2007 |publisher=Knopf |location=New York |isbn=0-3754-0766-9 , p. 548.]

Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, Clinton sought to obtain funding for the recovery efforts in New York City and security improvements in her state. Working with New York's senior senator, Charles Schumer, she was instrumental in quickly securing $21.4 billion in funding for the World Trade Center site's redevelopment. [Gerth, Van Natta Jr., "Her Way", pp. 231–232.] [Bernstein, "A Woman In Charge", p. 548.] [cite web | author=William C. Thompson, Jr. | url=http://www.comptroller.nyc.gov/press/speeches/association_for_better_ny.shtm | title=Remarks Prepared for Delivery Association for a Better New York | date=2002-09-04 | accessdate=2007-04-08] Not a favorite of New York City police officers and firefighters who were in attendance, she was audibly booed and heckled at The Concert for New York City on October 20, 2001, although her husband was loudly applauded. [cite news | title = Heckling Hillary / A New York rock-concert crowd boos Sen. Clinton | date = 2001-10-29 | accessdate = 2006-08-22 | url = http://www.post-gazette.com/forum/20011029edhil29p3.asp | publisher = Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ] [Gerth, Van Natta Jr., "Her Way", pp. 235–237. Causes included the lack of support from the police and firefighter unions during her 2000 campaign, and her inattentive, possibly disrespectful behavior during Bush's September 20 address to Congress. Hillary Clinton said she did not take the booing personally: "They can blow off steam any way they want to. They've earned it."] [cite news | title=Show us the money | author=Frank Bruni | publisher=The New York Times | date=2001-12-16 | accessdate=2007-10-06] She subsequently took a leading role [For example, cite web | url=http://clinton.senate.gov/news/statements/details.cfm?id=234988 | title=Senator Clinton Calls on President Bush to Sign Emergency Designation to Provide Aid to Ground Zero Workers and Volunteers | publisher=Official Senate web site | date=2002-08-05 | accessdate=2007-10-06] in investigating the health issues faced by 9/11 first responders, eventually earning the praise and endorsement of New York City's Uniformed Fire Officers Association and the Uniformed Firefighters Association for her 2006 re-election bid.cite news | title = Clinton wins endorsement of city's firefighter unions | date=2006-04-19 | accessdate = 2007-10-06 | url = http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/ny-nyhill0420,0,6369920.story | publisher = Associated Press ] [cite news | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/20/nyregion/20hillary.html | title=Firefighters Endorse Clinton for Senate | author=Anne E. Kornblut | publisher=The New York Times | date=2006-04-20 | accessdate=2007-10-06] In 2005, Clinton issued two studies that examined the disbursement of federal homeland security funds to local communities and first responders. Clinton voted for the USA Patriot Act in October 2001. In 2005, when the act was up for renewal, she worked to address some of the civil liberties concerns with it, [cite web | url=http://www.senate.gov/~clinton/news/statements/details.cfm?id=249895 | title=Statement of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton on the USA Patriot Act Reauthorization Conference Report | publisher=Official Senate web site | date=2005-12-16 | accessdate=2007-09-27] before voting in favor of a compromise renewed act in March 2006 that gained large majority support. [cite web | url=http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=2&vote=00029 | title=U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 109th Congress - 2nd Session ... On the Conference Report (H.R. 3199 Conference Report) | publisher=United States Senate | date=2006-03-02 ]

Clinton strongly supported the 2001 U.S. military action in Afghanistan, saying it was a chance to combat terrorism while improving the lives of Afghan women who suffered under the Taliban government. [cite news | title = New Hope For Afghanistan's Women | url = http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,185643,00.html | publisher = Time | author = Clinton, Hillary | date = 2001-11-24 | accessdate = 2006-08-22 | work = Attacks on World Trade Center/Pentagon ] Clinton voted in favor of the October 2002 Iraq War Resolution, which authorized United States President George W. Bush to use military force against Iraq, should such action be required to enforce a United Nations Security Council Resolution after pursuing with diplomatic efforts. (However, Clinton voted against the Levin Amendment to the Resolution, which would have required the President to conduct vigorous diplomacy at the U.N., and would have also required a separate Congressional authorization to unilaterally invade Iraq. She did vote for the Byrd Amendment to the Resolution, which would have limited the Congressional authorization to one year increments, but the only mechanism necessary for the President to renew his mandate without any Congressional oversight was to claim that the Iraq War was vital to national security each year the authorization required renewal.) Clinton later said that she did not read the full classified National Intelligence Estimate that was delivered ten days before the vote to all members of Congress, and that gave a more subtle case for Iraq possessing weapons of mass destruction than the Bush Administration's abridged summary, but that she was briefed on the report. [cite news | title = Report: Clinton didn't read National Intelligence Estimate before Iraq vote | url = http://blogs.usatoday.com/ondeadline/2007/05/report_clinton_.html | publisher = USA Today | accessdate = 2007-06-14 ]

After the Iraq War began, Clinton made trips to both Iraq and Afghanistan to visit American troops stationed there, such as the 10th Mountain Division based in Fort Drum, New York. In spring 2004, Clinton publicly castigated U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz at a hearing, saying his credibility was gone due to false predictions he had made before the war's start. [cite book | last=Ricks | first=Thomas E. | authorlink=Thomas E. Ricks (journalist) | title= | publisher=Penguin Press | year=2006 | location=New York | isbn=1-59420-103-X p. 385.] On a visit to Iraq in February 2005, Clinton noted that the insurgency had failed to disrupt the democratic elections held earlier, and that parts of the country were functioning well. [cite news | title = Clinton says insurgency is failing | url = http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2005-02-19-iraq-senators_x.htm | publisher = Associated Press | date = 2005-02-19 | accessdate = 2006-08-29 ] Noting that war deployments were draining regular and reserve forces, she co-introduced legislation to increase the size of the regular United States Army by 80,000 soldiers to ease the strain. [cite news | title = Clinton wants increase in size of regular Army | date = 2005-07-14 | publisher = The Buffalo News | accessdate = 2006-08-22 | first = Douglas | last = Turner (no longer free)] In late 2005, Clinton said that while immediate withdrawal from Iraq would be a mistake, Bush's pledge to stay "until the job is done" was also misguided, as it would give Iraqis "an open-ended invitation not to take care of themselves." She criticized the administration for making poor decisions in the war, but added that it was more important to solve the problems in Iraq. [cite news | title = Hillary Clinton says immediate withdrawal from Iraq would be 'a big mistake' | publisher = Associated Press | date = 2005-11-21 | url = http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?id=1&display=rednews/2005/11/21/build/nation/39-clinton-iraq.inc | first = Jim | last = Fitzgerald | accessdate = 2006-08-22 ] This centrist and somewhat vague stance caused frustration among those in the Democratic party who favored immediate withdrawal. [cite news | url = http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/11/AR2005121100846.html | title = Hillary Clinton Crafts Centrist Stance on War | publisher = The Washington Post | first = Dan | last = Balz | page = A01 | date = 2005-12-12 | accessdate = 2006-08-22 ] Clinton supported retaining and improving health benefits for veterans, and lobbied against the closure of several military bases. [cite news | title = Hillary's Military Offensive | url = http://msnbc.msn.com/id/10313850/site/newsweek/ | first = Susannah | last = Meadows | date = 2005-12-12 | publisher = Newsweek | accessdate = 2006-08-22 ]

Senator Clinton voted against the two major tax cuts packages introduced by President Bush, the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 and the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003, saying it was fiscally irresponsible to reopen the budget deficit. At the 2000 Democratic National Convention, Clinton had called for maintaining a budget surplus to pay down the national debt for future generations. At a fundraiser in 2004, she told a crowd of financial donors that "Many of you are well enough off that ... the tax cuts may have helped you" but that "We're saying that for America to get back on track, we're probably going to cut that short and not give it to you. We're going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good." [cite news | title = San Francisco rolls out the red carpet for the Clintons | url = http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/politics/20040629-0007-ca-clintons-sanfrancisco.html | first = Beth | last = Fouhy | publisher=Associated Press | date = 2004-06-29 | accessdate = 2007-01-22 ]

In Clinton's first term as senator, New York's jobless rate rose by 0.7 percent after a nationwide recession. [cite web | url = http://data.bls.gov/PDQ/servlet/SurveyOutputServlet | title = New York State Unemployment Statistics | date = 2006–07 | publisher = U.S. Dept. of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics | accessdate = 2006-09-03] The state's manufacturing sector was especially beleaguered, losing about 170,000 jobs. [cite web | url = http://brookings.edu/metro/mei/20060727_manufacturing.pdf | title =Bearing the Brunt: Manufacturing Job Loss in the Great Lakes Region, 1995—2005, Table 2 | date = June 2006 | publisher = The Brookings Institution | accessdate = 2006-09-03 ] In 2005, Clinton and Senator Lindsey Graham cosponsored the American Manufacturing Trade Action Coalition, which provides incentives and rewards for completely domestic American manufacturing companies. [cite news | title = 2005 issues | work = American Manufacturing Trade Action Coalition | accessdate = 2006-08-22 ] In 2003, Clinton convinced the information technology firm Tata Consultancy Services to open an office in Buffalo, New York, [cite news | url = http://www.tata.com/tcs/releases/20030310.htm | title = Asia’s largest technology firm opens office in Buffalo | date = 2003-03-10 | publisher = Tata Group | accessdate = 2006-08-22 ] but some criticized the plan because Tata is also involved in the business of outsourcing. [cite news | title = Fears Amid Cheers; Will Making Tata Consultancy Services a Partner in Buffalo's Bioinformatics Initiative Create Jobs Here, or in India? | url = http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_action=list&p_topdoc=11 | date = 2003-03-16 | publisher = Buffalo News | accessdate = 2006-09-03 (no longer free)] In 2004, Clinton co-founded and became the co-chair of the Senate India Caucus [cite news | url = http://www.hindu.com/2004/04/30/stories/2004043013581600.htm | title = India Caucus launched in U.S. | first = Sridhar | last = Krishnaswami | date = 2004-04-29 | publisher = The Hindu | accessdate = 2006-08-29 ] with the aid of USINPAC, a political action committee. [cite web | url = http://www.usinpac.com/photo_display.asp?key_m=Launch%20of%20the%20Senate%20India%20Caucus%20on%20April%2030,%202004 | title = Photo Topic Records - Launch of the Senate India Caucus on April 30, 2004 | work = US India Political Action Committee | accessdate = 2006-08-29 ] [cite news | title = Indian-Americans bat for N-deal | url = http://in.rediff.com/news/2006/jun/05ndeal.htm | date = 2006-06-05 | publisher = Rediff.com | accessdate = 2006-08-29 ]

Senator Clinton led a bipartisan effort to bring broadband access to rural communities. She cosponsored the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act, which encourages research and development in the field of nanotechnology. [cite news | title = Bills Would Enhance Nanotechnology R&D | url= http://www.aip.org/fyi/2003/030.html |date = 2003-02-26 | publisher = American Institute of Physics | accessdate = 2007-03-24] She included language in an energy bill to provide tax exempt bonding authority for environmentally-conscious construction projects,cite web | url=http://enews.tufts.edu/stories/2004FaresLecture.htm | title=2004 Fares Lecture: The Honorable Hillary Rodham Clinton | publisher=Tufts University | accessdate=2007-10-01] and introduced an amendment that funds job creation to repair, renovate and modernize public schools.

In 2005, Clinton was joined by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who once led the Republican opposition to her husband's administration, [cite news | title = New Odd Couple: Hillary Clinton and Newt Gingrich | url = http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/05/13/news/clinton.php | date = 2005-05-14 | author= Raymond Hernandez | publisher = International Herald Tribune | accessdate = 2007-01-24 ] in support of a proposal for incremental universal health care. [cite news | title = Which Brand Would You Buy? | url = http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/06/06/klein.tm/index.html | date = 2005-06-05 | author = Klein, Joe | publisher = Time | accessdate = 2006-08-22 ] She also worked with Bill Frist, the Republican Senate Majority Leader, in support of modernizing medical records with computer technology to reduce human errors, such as misreading prescriptions. [cite news | title = Senators Bill Frist and Hillary Clinton Introduce New Legislation at GW Hospital | url = http://www.gwhospital.com/p16491.html | date = 2005-06-16 | publisher = George Washington University Hospital | accessdate = 2007-02-19 ]

During the 2005 debate over the use of filibusters by Senate Democrats, which prevented some of President Bush's judicial nominations from being confirmed, Clinton was not part of the "Gang of 14", a bipartisan group of senators who would support cloture but oppose the Republican threat to abolish the filibuster. However, she did vote in favor of cloture along with that group, thereby allowing the nominations to come to a vote. She subsequently voted against three of the nominees, but all were confirmed by the Senate. [cite news | url = http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,157604,00.html | title = Senate Confirms Owen | publisher = Fox News | date = 2005-05-25 | accessdate = 2006-08-22 ] Clinton voted against the confirmation of John Roberts as Chief Justice of the United States, saying "I do not believe that the Judge has presented his views with enough clarity and specificity for me to in good conscience cast a vote on his behalf," but then said she hoped her concerns would prove to be unfounded. [cite web | url = http://clinton.senate.gov/news/statements/details.cfm?id=246324&& | title = Statement of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton on the Nomination of John Roberts to be Chief Justice of the United States | date = 2005-09-22 | work = Clinton.Senate.gov | accessdate = 2006-08-22 ] Roberts was confirmed by a solid majority, with half the Senate's Democrats voting for him and half against. [cite news | url = http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/09/29/roberts.nomination/index.html | title = Roberts sworn in as chief justice | publisher = CNN | date = 2005-09-29 | accessdate = 2006-08-22 ] She joined with about half of the Democratic Senators in support of the filibuster against the nomination of Samuel Alito to the United States Supreme Court, and subsequently voted against his confirmation along with almost all Democratic members of the Senate. [cite news | url = http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060131/NEWS06/601310465/1012 | title = Alito filibuster fails; Bayh, Lugar split | date = 2006-01-31 | first = Maureen | last = Groppe | publisher = The Indianapolis Star | accessdate = 2006-08-22 ] On the Senate floor, Clinton said Alito would "roll back decades of progress and roll over when confronted with an administration too willing to flaunt the rules and looking for a rubber stamp." [cite web | first =Hillary | last =Clinton | title =Remarks of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton on the Senate Floor on the Nomination of Judge Samuel Alito | date =2006-01-25 | url =http://clinton.senate.gov/news/statements/details.cfm?id=250765 | publisher =Clinton.Senate.gov | accessdate =2006-10-12] Alito was confirmed in a vote split largely along party lines.

Clinton sought to establish an independent, bipartisan panel patterned after the 9/11 Commission to investigate the response to Hurricane Katrina by the federal, state and local governments, but could not obtain the two-thirds majority needed to overcome procedural hurdles in the Senate. [cite news | url = http://www.breitbart.com/news/2005/09/14/D8CK6RV01.html | title = Senate Kills Bid for Katrina Commission | first = Lara Jakes | last = Jordan | publisher = Associated Press | date = 2005-09-14 | accessdate = 2006-08-22 ]

In 2005, Clinton called for the Federal Trade Commission to investigate how hidden sex scenes showed up in the controversial video game "". [cite news | title = Clinton wades into GTA sex storm | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4682533.stm | date = 2005-07-14 | publisher = BBC News | accessdate = 2006-08-29 ] Along with Senators Joe Lieberman and Evan Bayh, she introduced the Family Entertainment Protection Act, intended to protect children from inappropriate content found in video games. Similar bills have been filed in some states such as Michigan and Illinois, but were ruled to be unconstitutional.

In July 2004 and June 2006, Clinton voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment that sought to prohibit same-sex marriage.cite web | url=http://www.votesmart.org/voting_category.php?can_id=55463 | title=Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton - Voting Record | publisher=Project VoteSmart | accessdate=2008-04-14] cite news | url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13181735/ | title=Gay marriage ban defeated in Senate vote | publisher=Associated Press for MSNBC | date=2006-06-07 | accessdate=2008-04-14] The proposed constitutional amendment fell well short of passage on both occasions. On June 27, 2006, Clinton voted against the Flag Desecration Amendment, which failed to pass by one vote. Earlier, she attempted to reach a compromise by proposing the Flag Protection Act of 2005, a legislative ban on flag burning (in cases where there was a threat to public safety) that would not require a constitutional amendment, but it was also voted down. [cite news | title = Once Symbolic, Flag Amendment Close to Passage | publisher = Los Angeles Times | date = 2006-06-25 | accessdate = 2006-08-22 | first = Janet | last = Hook ]

Looking to establish a "progressive infrastructure" to rival that of American conservatism, [Gerth, Van Natta Jr., "Her Way", p. 401.] Clinton played a formative role in conversations that led to the 2003 founding of former Clinton administration chief of staff John Podesta's Center for American Progress; [Gerth, Van Natta Jr., "Her Way", p. 313.] cite news | url=http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2007/10/01/hillary-clinton-told-yearlykos-convention-she-helped-start-media-matt | title=Hillary Clinton Told YearlyKos Convention She Helped Start Media Matters | author=Noel Sheppard | publisher=NewsBusters | date=2007-10-01 | accessdate=2007-10-05] shared aides with Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, founded in 2003;Gerth, Van Natta Jr., "Her Way", pp. 267–269.] advised and nurtured the Clintons' former antagonist David Brock's Media Matters for America, created in 2004; and following the 2004 Senate elections, successfully pushed new Democratic Senate leader Harry Reid to create a Senate war room to handle daily political messaging.

econd term

Clinton opposed the Iraq War troop surge of 2007 and supported a February 2007 non-binding Senate resolution against it, which failed to gain cloture. [cite news | title = Senate GOP foils debate on Iraq surge | publisher = Associated Press | date = 2007-02-17 | accessdate = 2007-02-19 ] In March 2007 she voted in favor of a war spending bill that required President Bush to begin withdrawing troops from Iraq within a certain deadline; it passed almost completely along party lines [cite news | title = Senate passes war spending bill with withdrawal deadline | publisher = CNN.com | date = 2007-03-29 | accessdate = 2007-03-29 ] but was subsequently vetoed by President Bush. In May 2007 a compromise war funding bill that removed withdrawal deadlines but tied funding to progress benchmarks for the Iraqi government passed the Senate by a vote of 80-14 and would be signed by Bush; Clinton was one of those that voted against it. [cite news | title = Bush to sign war funding bill Friday | url = http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2007/05/25/iraq_debate_moves_into_next_phase/ | publisher = Boston Globe | date = 2007-05-25 | accessdate = 2007-05-25 ] In August 2007 Clinton, following the lead of Armed Services Committee chair Carl Levin, called on the Iraqi Parliament to replace Nouri al-Maliki as Prime Minister of Iraq with "a less divisive and more unifying figure," saying that Maliki had failed to make progress in bridging differences between the hostile factions within Iraq. [cite news | title = Sen. Clinton urges Iraqi PM Maliki be replaced | publisher = Reuters | date = 2007-08-22 | accessdate = 2007-08-30 ] Maliki responded angrily to the suggestion, saying "There are American officials who consider Iraq as if it were one of their villages, for example Hillary Clinton and Carl Levin ... This is severe interference in our domestic affairs." [cite news | title = Iraq's Maliki lashes out at Hillary Clinton | url = http://ca.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2007-08-26T140551Z_01_YAT713362_RTRIDST_0_NEWS-IRAQ-COL.XML | publisher = Reuters | date = 2007-08-26 | accessdate = 2007-08-30 ] Clinton responded to General David Petraeus's September 2007 Report to Congress on the Situation in Iraq by saying, "I think that the reports that you provide to us really require a willing suspension of disbelief." [cite news | url=http://www.nysun.com/article/62426 | title=Clinton Spars With Petraeus on Credibility | author=Eli Lake | publisher=The New York Sun | date=2007-09-12 | accessdate=2007-10-07] Regarding the concurrent MoveOn.org ad controversy, Clinton voted against a Senate resolution condemning personal attacks on Petraeus, which passed 72-25. [cite news | url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,297498,00.html | title=Senate Votes to Condemn MoveOn for Ad Attacking General Petraeus | publisher=Fox News | date=2007-09-21 | accessdate=2007-10-07] In September 2007 she voted in favor of a Senate resolution calling on the State Department to label the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps "a foreign terrorist organization", which passed 76-22. [cite news | url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,298157,00.html | title=Senate Approves Symbolic Rebuke of Iran | publisher=Fox News | date=2007-09-26 | accessdate=2007-10-11]

In March 2007, in response to the dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy, Clinton called on Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to resign, [cite news | title = Hillary Clinton Calls for Gonzales' Resignation | url = http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=2948538&page=1 | publisher = ABC News | date = 2007-03-13 | accessdate = 2007-03-24 ] and launched an Internet campaign to gain petition signatures towards this end. [cite news | title = Hillary Launches Web Effort to Oust Gonzales | url = http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2007/3/14/120441.shtml?s=ic | publisher = Newsmax.com | date = 2007-03-14 | accessdate = 2007-03-24 ] In May 2007, following the Supreme Court's decision in "Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co." to narrowly interpret the time period in which equal pay discrimination complaints must be filed, Clinton vowed to introduce legislation to statutorily expand this timeframe. [cite news | title = Goodyear wins in pay-bias case | publisher = Associated Press | date = 2007-05-30 | accessdate = 2007-05-30 ] In November 2007, following the eventual resignation of Gonzales, Clinton missed the 53–40 vote confirming Michael Mukasey as the new Attorney General, but had earlier said she opposed the nomination. [cite news | url=http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/S/SENATE_MUKASEY?SITE=DCTMS | title=Mukasey Vows to Be Independent Advocate | author=Laurie Kellman | publisher=Associated Press for The Washington Times | date=2007-11-09 | accessdate=2007-11-22]

In May and June 2007, regarding the high-profile, hotly debated comprehensive immigration reform bill known as the Secure Borders, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Reform Act of 2007, Clinton twice voted against amendments that would have derailed the bill, thus moving forward the bill's chance of passage. [cite news | title = Immigration measure survives challenges as both sides mobilize to take debate on the road | url = http://www.nwfdailynews.com/article/6227 | publisher = Associated Press | date = 2007-05-24 | accessdate = 2007-05-25 ] [cite web | url=http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=110&session=1&vote=00180 | title=On the Amendment (Vitter Amdt. No. 1157) | date=2007-05-24 | publisher=U.S. Senate] [cite web | url=http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=110&session=1&vote=00177 | title=On the Amendment (Coleman Amdt. No. 1158) | date=2007-05-24 | publisher=U.S. Senate] She introduced a failed amendment to facilitate legal immigrants bringing other family members into the country.cite news | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/01/us/politics/01immig.html | first=Marc|last=Santora | title=Immigration Is Fodder for Clinton Rivals | publisher=The New York Times | date=2007-11-01 | accessdate=2007-11-02] After not announcing her position until a week before the vote, she ayed on a cloture motion to bring the overall bill to a vote, which failed. [cite web | url=http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=110&session=1&vote=00206 | title=On the Cloture Motion (Upon Reconsideration, Motion to Invoke Cloture on the Kennedy Amdt. No. 1150, As Amended) | date=2007-06-07 | publisher=U.S. Senate] When the bill was again brought forward, she continued to vote in favor of cloture motions to consider it. [cite web | url=http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=110&session=1&vote=00228 | title=On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture on the Motion to Proceed to Consider S.1639) | date=2007-06-26 | publisher=U.S. Senate] In October, Clinton voted in favor of a small subset of the failed bill, the DREAM Act, but it too failed to gain cloture. [cite news | url=http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/dream-act-fails-to-clear-cloture-hurdle-2007-10-24.html | title=DREAM Act fails to clear cloture hurdle | author=Klaus Marre | publisher=The Hill | date=2007-10-24 | accessdate=2007-10-24]

In October 2007, Clinton signed her name to a request from her and 40 other Democratic senators to Mark P. Mays, head of Clear Channel Communications and affiliate broadcaster of "The Rush Limbaugh Show", to repudiate comments made by Rush Limbaugh that referred to certain U.S. servicemen as "phony soldiers". [cite news | url=http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/10/03/limbaugh.soldiers/ | title= Clear Channel defends Limbaugh after 'phony soldiers' remark | publisher=CNN.com | date=2007-10-03 | accessdate=2007-10-20]

Clinton has enjoyed high approval ratings for her job as Senator within New York, reaching an all-time high of 72 to 74 percent approving (including half of Republicans) over 23 to 24 percent disapproving in December 2006, before her presidential campaign became active; [cite web | url=http://www.quinnipiac.edu/x1318.xml?ReleaseID=1000 | title=Clinton Approval At All-Time High | publisher=Quinnipiac Poll | date=2006-12-14 | accessdate=2007-09-28] [cite web | title = Results of SurveyUSA News Poll #11487 | date = 2006-12-20 | url = http://www.surveyusa.com/client/PollReport.aspx?g=8037f845-8641-4436-a9c7-b2a18687083a | publisher = SurveyUSA | accessdate = 2007-01-17] by August 2007, after a half year of campaigning, it was still 64 percent over 34 percent. [cite web | url=http://www.surveyusa.com/client/PollReport.aspx?g=d3e732d3-805b-4afb-bc31-68cd9b64f0f8 | title=Results of SurveyUSA News Poll #12488 | publisher=SurveyUSA | date=2007-08-21 | accessdate=2007-09-28]

In February 2008, Clinton voted in favor of an expanded version of the economic stimulus package crafted by the House and President Bush.cite news | url=http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-na-stimulus7feb07,1,2385014.story | title=Senate Democrats fail to expand stimulus bill | author=Noam N. Levey | publisher="Los Angeles Times" | date=2008-02-07 | accessdate=2008-02-17] The bill would have added benefits to senior citizens, disabled veterans, and the unemployed, but narrowly failed to break a filibuster. Due to campaigning, Clinton missed the subsequent final vote for the House-Bush version, which passed easily 81–16 and became the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008. [cite news | url=http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080207/economy_stimulus.html | title=Congress Sends Economic Aid Plan to Bush | publisher=Associated Press for Yahoo! Finance | date=2008-02-07 | accessdate=2008-02-17] A few days later, Clinton also missed a key vote on whether to strip telecommunications company retroactive immunity from a new Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act update bill, an action that fell well short of passing; [cite news | url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/02/12/politics/politico/thecrypt/main3821504.shtml | title=Dems Fall Well Short Of Stripping Immunity From Spy Bill | author=Martin Kady II | publisher=The Politico for CBS News | date=2008-02-12 | accessdate=2008-02-17] she similarly missed the final 68–29 vote on the Act updating. [cite news | url=http://www.kansascity.com/105/story/487447.html | author=Pamela Hess | title=Senate OKs new rules on eavesdropping | publisher=Associated Press for "The Kansas City Star" | date=2008-02-12 | accessdate=2008-02-17]

During General Petraeus's April 2008 testimony before the Armed Services Committee, Clinton said that political progress in Iraq had not matched the security gains brought by the troop surge, that too much of the U.S. military was tied down in Iraq, and that "it's time to begin an orderly process of withdrawing our troops." [cite news | url=http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/politics/la-na-petraeus9apr09,1,167137.story | title=Petraeus, Democrats square off | author=Peter Spiegel, Julian E. Barnes | publisher="The Los Angeles Times" | date=2008-04-09 | accessdate=2008-04-09]

On June 24, 2008, Clinton received a warm reception as she returned to the Senate for the first time after the unsuccessful conclusion of her presidential campaign three weeks earlier. [cite news | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/25/us/politics/25scene.html | title=Clinton Returns to the Warm Embrace of Her Day Job | author=Mark Leibovich | publisher="The New York Times" | dae=2008-06-25 | accessdate=2008-06-25]

As the Financial crisis of 2007–2008 reached a peak with the liquidity crisis of September 2008, Clinton proposed a revival of the New Deal-era Home Owners' Loan Corporation, to help homeowners refinance their mortgages. Writing in a "Wall Street Journal" op-ed, she said that "This is a sink-or-swim moment for America. We cannot simply catch our breath. We've got to swim for the shores."cite news | url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122230767702474045.html | title=Let's Keep People In Their Homes | author=Hillary Rodham Clinton | publisher="The Wall Street Journal" | date=2008-09-25 | accessdate=2008-10-02] Regarding the proposed bailout of United States financial system, she initially pronounced the $700 billion resuce plan flawed, but said she would support it. [cite news | url=http://www.wkbw.com/news/local/30053734.html | title=Senate to Vote on Financial Rescue Plan | publisher=WKBW-TV | date=2008-10-01 | accessdate=2008-10-02] On October 1, 2008, she voted in favor of the Senate legislation, HR1424, saying that it represented the interests of the American people; it passed the Senate 74–25. [cite news | url=http://www.ny1.com/content/features/86538/senate-passes-economic-rescue-package/Default.aspx | title=Senate Passes Economic Rescue Package | publisher=NY1 News | date=2008-10-01 | accessdate=2008-10-02]

Electoral history

Election box candidate with party link
party = Democratic Party (US)
candidate = Hillary Rodham Clinton
votes = 3,747,310
percentage = 55.3
change =Election box candidate with party link
party = Republican Party (US)
candidate = Rick Lazio
votes = 2,915,730
percentage = 43.0
change = Election box candidate with party link
party = Democratic Party (US)
candidate = Hillary Rodham Clinton
(Incumbent)
votes = 3,008,428
percentage = 67.0
change = +11.7Election box candidate with party link
party = Republican Party (US)
candidate = John Spencer
votes = 1,392,189
percentage = 31.0
change = -12.0

Footnotes and references