In early 2005 Slaughter wrote the Fairness and Accountability in Broadcasting Act in an attempt to reinstate the Fairness Doctrine, which requires broadcasters to give equal time to different viewpoints. As the co-chair of the House caucus on the media, Slaughter wants to tighten restrictions on how many media outlets one company can own.

The Economy

Though many of her constituents opposed the $700 billion bailout of the financial industry, Slaughter voted for it. "I am concerned about what could result if we do not take action to address this industry's failure," she said. "Without help, Main Street will feel as much pain as Wall Street."

She has introduced legislation to study the effects of trade agreements on American job loss and opposes NAFTA because, she contends, it has led to New York's loss of manufacturing jobs.

Slaughter has fought to bring millions in funding to expand Rochester's waterfront and to keep the Rochester's Small Business Administration office open. She helped secure earmarks of $1.6 million to build a facility at the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus and $4.5 million for the University at Buffalo Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics.

Women's Issues

Slaughter has supported feminist causes throughout her political career. In 1991 she and six other congresswomen marched on the Senate to protest the treatment of Anita Hill during the confirmation hearing of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. She's since been outspoken about sexual harassment in the workplace. In 1994 Slaughter co-authored the Violence Against Women Act.

In the early 1990s Slaughter secured the first $500 million earmarked by Congress for breast cancer research. She also fought for the creation of an Office of Research on Women's Health at the National Institutes of Health. "We want to make sure that women are not ignored anymore, and I think we have the power now and the ability to do that," she said in 1993 while chairing the women's health task force for the Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues.

Slaughter has proposed legislation to create a Pentagon office for victims of sexual abuse in the military, but the bill has gone nowhere. ''If we do not address this problem here and now, I predict the Pentagon will witness a growing exodus of women in uniform, and growing problems in filling the critical positions they occupy,'' she said in 2004.

Health Care

With degrees in both microbiology and public health, Slaughter has been quick to inject herself into health care debates. In May 2008, her 13-year fight against discrimination based on genetics ended when President George W. Bush signed legislation banning the practice. The law forbids insurance companies and employers from denying employment, promotions or health coverage to people whose genetics show a predisposition to costly disease.

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