Foster's first week a full one by Susan O'Neill U.S. House Rep. Bill Foster hit the ground running in his first week in Congress. Foster, a Kane County Democrat, was elected to office on March 8, arrived in Washington and was sworn in on March 11, and made one of the deciding votes on an ethics reform bill later that day. “I feel like I'm making a difference right away,” Foster said during a press teleconference call on Friday. “I'm just absolutely honored to be representing the people of the 14th District. It's an incredible sense of responsibility.” A few days later, he voted against the House Democratic budget resolution, explaining that it did not go far enough in cutting taxes for middle-class families or in addressing out-of-control government spending. “It's a vast improvement over (President) Bush's budget, but it's still not good enough,” Foster said. He said his constituents elected him to represent them because he promised to be fiscally responsible. He explained that, in addition to the tax issues, the budget did not include realistic funding for the Iraq War. “All the budget projections have underestimated the cost of the war,” Foster said. “Five years into it, people have a pretty good idea of what it will cost.” Friday, he voted with other House Democrats on a compromise to the Foreign Intelligence Survelliance Act (FISA). The original act would have given retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies that provided phone records of private citizens to the government. The bill Foster voted for does not allow immunity, but provides for a “secret court” in which telecommunications companies could defend themselves for their role in the survelliance. This allows the court to hear the case, without making public a “top secret” letter from the federal government to the individual companies, he explained. “It's a good compromise,” Foster said. Foster also learned on Friday of his first nomination for a committee assignment, to serve on the Financial Services Committee. He said the committee will play a key role in addressing the country's current mortgage crisis. He said he looks forward to meeting with former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert this week to begin work on transition issues. “He has over 20 years of experience representing the district,” Foster said. “He has a lot to teach me.” His next steps will be to choose a chief of staff and decide where to locate his local office. His next campaign is months away, when he will once again face opponent Republican Jim Oberweis. “The best thing to do to get re-elected is to do a darn good job representing your district,” Foster said. 03/21/2008