Barack Obama Accomplishments
1.Appointed nation's first Chief Technology officer
2.Signed financial reform law establishing a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to look out for the interests of everyday Americans
3.Signed financial reform law requiring lenders to verify applicants' credit history, income, and employment status
4.Signed financial reform law prohibiting banks from engaging in proprietary trading (trading the bank's own money to turn a profit, often in conflict with their customers' interests)
5.Signed financial reform law allowing shareholders of publicly traded companies to vote on executive pay
6.Cut prescription drug cost for medicare recipients by 50%
7.Provided $12.2 Billion in new funding for Individuals With Disabilities Education Act
8.Extended Benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees
9.Appointed more openly gay officials than any other president in US history (duh treats them like they are HUMAN)
10.The American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009: a $789 billion economic stimulus plan
11.Created more private sector jobs in 2010 than during entire Bush years
12.Voluntary disclosure of White House visitors for the first time in US history
13.Appointed first Latina to the US Supreme Court
14.Promoted social responsibility through creation of serve.gov, a national database of volunteer opportunities
15.Signed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, giving the FDA the authority to regulate the manufacturing, marketing, and sale of tobacco for the first time .
16.Signed New START Treaty - nuclear arms reduction pact with Russia
17.Increased average fuel economy standards from 27.5mpg to 35.5mpg, starting in 2016
18.Signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, restoring basic protections against pay discrimination for women and other workers
19.Provided travel expenses to families of fallen soldiers to be on hand when the body arrives at Dover AFB
20.Reversed the policy of barring media coverage during the return of fallen soldiers to Dover Air Force Base
21.Launched recovery.gov to track spending from the Recovery Act, providing transparency and allowing the public to report fraud, waste, or abuse
22.Provided the Department of Veterans Affairs with more than $1.4 billion to improve services to America's Veterans
23.Signed the Children's Health Insurance Reauthorization Act, which provides health care to 11 million kids -- 4 million of whom were previously uninsured
24.Issued executive order to repeal Bush era restrictions on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research
25.Signed the Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Act, the first piece of comprehensive legislation aimed at improving the lives of Americans living with paralysis
26.Developed stimulus package, which includes approx. $18 billion for nondefense scientific research and development
27.Signed the Weapons Systems Acquisition Reform Act to stop fraud and wasteful spending in the defense procurement and contracting system
28.Issued executive order to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay
29.Ended Bush administration's CIA program of 'enhanced interrogation methods' by requiring that the Army field manual be used as the guide for terrorism interrogations
30.Increased minority access to capital
31.Established Credit Card Bill of Rights, preventing credit card companies from imposing arbitrary rate increases on customers
32.Health Care Reform Bill, preventing insurance companies from denying insurance because of a pre-existing condition
33.Health Care Reform Bill, allowing children to remain covered by their parents' insurance until the age of 26
34.Tax cuts for up to 3.5 million small businesses to help pay for employee health care coverage
35.Tax credits for up to 29 million individuals to help pay for health insurance
Others
Since coming into office on January 21, 2009, President Barack Obama has:
1. Signed an Executive Order on government contracting to fight waste and abuse:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/ the_press_office/economy_i n_government_contracting
2. Signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, restoring basic protections against pay discrimination for women and other workers:
http://www.youtube.com/wat ch?v=UtKAKlurRAY
3. Renewed dialogue with NATO and other allies and partners on strategic issues:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/ blog/09/04/04/Afghanistan- and-NATO
4. Announced a plan to responsibly end the war in Iraq:
http://www.nytimes.com/200 9/02/28/washington/28troop s.html
5. Provided funding to families of fallen soldiers have expenses covered to be on hand when the body arrives at Dover AFB:
http://thelede.blogs.nytim es.com/2009/03/18/pentagon -will-help-families
6. Ended media blackout on war casualties and the return of fallen soldiers to Dover AFB:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi /americas/7986203.stm
7. Signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act:
http://www.recovery.gov/Ab out/Pages/The_Act.aspx
8. Launched Recovery.gov to track spending from the Recovery Act, an unprecedented step to provide transparency and accountability through technology:
http://www.recovery.gov/Pa ges/home.aspx
9. Announced the "Making Home Affordable" home refinancing plan:
http://www.makinghomeaffor dable.gov
10. Launched a $15 billion plan to boost lending to small businesses:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/ the_press_office/Remarks-b y-the-President-to-small-b usiness-owners
11. Invested heavily in education both as a way to provide jobs now and lay the foundation for long-term prosperity:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/ issues/education
12. Provided the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) with more than $1.4 billion to improve services to America’s Veterans:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/ issues/veterans
13. Signed an Executive Order establishing the White House Office of Urban Affairs:
http://www.washingtonpost. com/wp-dyn/content/article /2009/07/02/AR200907020141 0.html
14. Limited lobbyist's access to the White House:
http://thecaucus.blogs.nyt imes.com/2009/03/20/obama- outlines-lobbying-restrict ions
15. Issued an Presidential Memorandum to restore scientific integrity in government decision-making:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/ the_press_office/Memorandu m-for-the-Heads-of-Executi ve-Departments-and-Agencie s-3-9-09
16. Answered questions at the first online town hall from the White House that were submitted and voted on transparently by the public at WhiteHouse.gov:
http://www.google.com/host ednews/afp/article/ALeqM5h 2uzQs2_XBgeHotRBvNhY7DR572 g
17. Established a central portal for Americans to find service opportunities:
http://www.serve.gov
18. Launched Business.gov – enabling conversation and online collaboration between small business owners, government representatives and industry experts in discussion forums relevant to starting and managing a business:
http://www.business.gov
19. Appointed the first ever Federal Chief Information Officer to provide management and oversight over federal IT spending:
http://www.cio.gov
20. Signed the Children’s Health Insurance Reauthorization Act on February 4, 2009, which provides quality health care to 11 million kids – 4 million who were previously uninsured:
http://themiddleclass.org/ bill/children039s-health-i nsurance-program-reauthori zation-act-2009
21. Issued an Executive Order repealing the Bush-Era restrictions on embryonic stem cell research:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/ world/2009/mar/09/obama-ad ministration-stem-cell-fun ding
22. Signed the Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Act, the first piece of comprehensive legislation aimed at improving the lives of Americans living with paralysis:
http://www.christopherreev e.org/site/c.ddJFKRNoFiG/b .4442889/k.EC4B/Christophe r_and_Dana_Reeve_Paralysis _Act.htm
23. Announced creation of a Joint Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record for members of the U.S. Armed Forces to improve quality of medical care:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/ blog/09/04/09/The-Care-The y-Were-Promised-and-the-Be nefits-That-They-Have-Earn ed
24. Ended the previous stop-loss policy that kept soldiers in Iraq/Afghanistan longer than their enlistment date:
http://www.nytimes.com/200 9/03/19/washington/19gates .html
25. Committed to phasing out the expensive F-22 war plane and other outdates weapons systems, which weren't even used or needed in Iraq/Afghanistan:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/PO LITICS/04/06/gates.budget. cuts
26. Provided federal support for stem-cell and new biomedical research:
http://www.time.com/time/h ealth/article/0,8599,19089 54,00.html
27. Provided new federal funding for science and research labs:
http://www.nytimes.com/200 9/10/18/science/18sfstimul us.html
28. Played a lead role in G-20 Summit that produced a $1.1 trillion deal to combat the global financial crisis:
http://www.g20.org
29. Signed the Weapons Systems Acquisition Reform Act to stop fraud and wasteful spending in the defense procurement and contracting system:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wi ki/Weapon_Systems_Acquisit ion_Reform_Act_of_2009
30. Ordered the closure of the prison at Guantanamo Bay and a review of our detention and interrogation policy, and prohibited the use of torture:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/PO LITICS/01/22/guantanamo.or der/index.html
31. Appointed Special Envoys for Climate Change, Southwest Asia, the Middle
East, Sudan, and a Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan:
http://www.america.gov/st/ peacesec-english/2009/Janu ary/20090122175146idybeekc m1.328677e-02.html
32. Empowered states to enact federal fuel efficiency standards above federal standards:
http://www.nytimes.com/200 9/01/26/us/politics/26cali f.html
33. Increased infrastructure spending (roads, bridges, power plants) after years of neglect:
http://www.usnews.com/arti cles/news/stimulus/2009/01 /08/poll-americans-strongl y-back-increase-in-infrast ructure-spending.html
34. Increased minority access to capital:
http://www.politifact.com/ truth-o-meter/promises/pro mise/16/increase-minority- access-to-capital
35. Developed a comprehensive new strategy on Afghanistan and Pakistan that will help defeat Al Qaeda and authorized the deployment of more than 21,000 troops to Afghanistan:
http://www.washingtonpost. com/wp-dyn/content/article /2009/03/27/AR200903270083 6.html
36. Signed the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act which gives the federal government more tools to investigate and prosecute fraud, from lending to the financial system, and creates a bipartisan Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission to investigate the financial practices that brought us to this point:
http://blogs.abcnews.com/p oliticalpunch/2009/05/obam a-signs-hou.html
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
51. Signed the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure (CARD) Act to protect Americans from unfair and deceptive credit card practices:
http://www.newsunfiltered. com/archives/2010/02/pew_f inds_credi.html
52. Signed an Executive Order establishing a White House Council on Women and Girls to provide a coordinated Federal response to the challenges confronted by women and girls and to ensure that all Cabinet and Cabinet-level agencies consider how their policies and programs impact women and
families:
http://parenting.blogs.nyt imes.com/2009/03/11/obamas -council-on-women-and-girl s
53. Launched a U.S. financial and banking rescue plan:
http://www.america.gov/st/ econ-english/2009/February /20090210163128saikceinawz 0.7537805.html
54. Ordered secret detention facilities in Eastern Europe and elsewhere to be closed:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wi ki/Black_site
55. Ended the previous policy; the US now has a no torture policy and is in compliance with the Geneva Convention standards:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wi ki/Geneva_Accord
56. Launched U.S. Auto industry rescue plan:
http://news.xinhuanet.com/ english/2009-03/31/content _11102980.htm
57. Provided better body armor to our troops:
http://www.usatoday.com/ne ws/world/iraq/2004-03-26-b ody-armor_x.htm
58. Authorized cutting the missile defense program by $1.4 billion in 2010:
http://www.stripes.com/art icle.asp?section=104&artic le=62548
59. Restarted the nuclear nonproliferation talks and building back up the nuclear inspection infrastructure/protocols:
http://articles.latimes.co m/2009/sep/25/world/fg-oba ma-nuclear25
60. Reengaged in the treaties/agreements to protect the Antarctic:
http://jonbowermaster.com/ blog/2009/04/obama-calls-f or-limits-on-antarctic-tou rism
61. Reengaged in the agreements/talks on global warming and greenhouse gas emissions, and addressed the U.N. Climate Change Conference:
http://www.youtube.com/wat ch?v=yZ-SMqh7q3o
62. Supported the first steps of a legally-binding treaty to reduce mercury emissions worldwide:
http://www.ens-newswire.co m/ens/feb2009/2009-02-16-0 2.asp
63. Visited more countries and met with more world leaders than any president in his first six months in office:
http://www.politifact.com/ truth-o-meter/statements/2 009/nov/19/chain-email/cha in-e-mail-claims-obama-has -visited-more-countri
64. Managed several natural disasters successfully, including severe winter ice storms and flooding in several states:
http://www.youtube.com/wat ch?v=drlsi3Ng4jw
65. Provided new car tax credit:
http://www.soundmoneymatte rs.com/new-car-tax-credit
66. Provided attractive tax write-offs for those who buy hybrid automobiles:
http://www.hybridcars.com/ federal-incentives.html
67. Purchased fuel efficient American-made fleet of vehicles for the federal government:
http://blogs.edmunds.com/g reencaradvisor/2009/06/gsa -buys-210-million-worth-of -fuel-efficient-vehicles-f rom-us-carmakers.html
68. Endorsed Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act of 2009 that would close offshore tax havens:
http://www.financialtaskfo rce.org/2009/10/27/the-for eign-account-tax-complianc e-act-of-2009
69. Nominated Sonia Sotomayor to Supreme Court. She was confirmed and becomes the first Hispanic Supreme Court justice:
http://www.huffingtonpost. com/2009/08/06/sotomayor-c onfirmed-by-fu_n_253146.ht ml
70. Helped reverse a downward spiral of the stock market. On January 19, 2009, the last day of President Bush's presidency, the Dow closed at 8,218.22. Today, the Dow closed at 10,309.24:
http://stockcharts.com/cha rts/historical/djia1900.ht ml
71. Earned an unprecedented success rate of 96.7% on winning congressional votes on issues where he took a position. He did even better than legendary arm-twister Lyndon Johnson who had a 93% success rate in 1965:
http://www.npr.org/templat es/story/story.php?storyId =122436116
72. Provided affordable, high-quality child care to working families:
http://www.politifact.com/ truth-o-meter/promises/pro mise/244/provide-affordabl e-high-quality-child-care
73. Restored America's reputation as a global leader that will do the "right thing" in world affairs:
http://pewglobal.org/docs/ ?DocID=12
74. Issued an executive order to create the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform:
http://money.cnn.com/2010/ 02/18/news/economy/obama_d ebt_commission/index.htm
75. Increased funding for student loans and pell grants for 2010 students:
http://www.ourfuture.org/r eport/2009031325/obama-s-b udget-supporting-students- not-banks
76. Negotiated deal with Swiss banks to permit US government to gain access to records of tax evaders and criminals:
http://www.law.com/jsp/law /international/LawArticleI ntl.jsp?id=1202433002570
77. Provided tax credit to workers thus cutting taxes for 95% of America's working families:
http://www.politifact.com/ truth-o-meter/statements/2 008/sep/18/barack-obama/a- credit-for-workers-cuts-ta xes-for-middle-class
78. Cracked down on companies that deny sick pay, vacation and health insurance to workers by abusing the employee classification of independent contractor. Such companies also avoid paying Social Security, Medicare and unemployment insurance taxes for those workers:
http://www.nytimes.com/201 0/02/18/business/18workers .html
79. Signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act that made it a federal crime to assault an individual because of his or her sexual orientation or gender identity:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/PO LITICS/10/28/hate.crimes/i ndex.html
80. Appointed the first Special Assistant to the President for Disability Policy:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/ the_press_office/Vice-Pres ident-Joe-Biden-Announces- Kareem-Dale-As-Special-Ass istant-to-the-Preside
81. Signed the Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act authorizing advance appropriations for the Department of Veterans Affairs by providing two-fiscal year budget authority thus enabling better medical care for veterans. Endorsed by the American Legion, American Veterans, Blinded Veter...ans Association, Disabled American Veterans, Jewish War Veterans, Military Officers Association, Military Order of the Purple Heart, Paralyzed Veterans of America and Vietnam Veterans of America:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/ the_press_office/Remarks-b y-the-President-at-Signing -of-the-Veterans-Health-Ca re-Budget-Reform-and-Trans parency-Act
82. Held impromptu press conference to urge Congress to investigate Anthem Blue Cross and other corporate health insurance companies that raise premiums in high amounts without explanation. Rep. Henry Waxman launches probe. In this case, Anthem Blue Cross wanted to raise premiums 39%. They have now put the increase on hold for two months (as of February 2010). Legislation preventing such increases pending:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm /20100218/hl_nm/us_usa_hea lthcare_insurers
83. Designated $1.5 billion from the Troubled Asset Relief Program to fund programs at local housing finance agencies in the states hardest hit by the housing crisis: California, Florida, Nevada, Arizona and Michigan. The MBA forecasts that foreclosures will peak in the last quarter of 2010:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/i d/35476054/ns/business-sto cks_and_economy
84. Protected 300,000 education jobs, such as teachers, principals, librarians, and counselors through the Recovery Act that would have otherwise been lost:
http://www2.ed.gov/news/pr essreleases/2010/02/020120 10a.html
85. Extended discounted COBRA health coverage for the nation's unemployed from 9 months to 15 months. Workers laid off between September 1, 2008 and February 28, 2010 qualify:
http://bucks.blogs.nytimes .com/2009/12/23/how-to-get -extended-cobra-health-cov erage-subsidies
86. Extended unemployment benefits for 2,000,000 unemployed Americans by 20 weeks. At the time the bill was signed 7,000 unemployed Americans were losing their unemployment benefits each day:
http://money.cnn.com/2009/ 11/05/news/economy/Extendi ng_unemployment_benefits/i ndex.htm
87. Eliminated federal funding for abstinence-only education which was significantly increased during the Bush Administration to $176 million annually:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/ world/2009/jul/20/bush-tee n-pregnancy-cdc-report
88. Rescinded the Global Gag Rule:
http://www.guttmacher.org/ media/inthenews/2009/01/23 /index.html
89. Appointed the most diverse Cabinet in history including more women appointees than any other incoming president:
http://www.diversityinc.co m/content/1757/article/631 9
90. Committed to no permanent military bases in Iraq through the Defense Authorization Act. For your reference:
http://www.politifact.com/ truth-o-meter/promises/pro mise/132/no-permanent-base s-in-iraq
91. Provided tax credits to first-time home buyers through the Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009 to revitalize the U.S. housing market:
http://www.federalhousingt axcredit.com
92. Provided the Department of Veterans Affairs the largest spending increase in 30 years to improve medical facilities and national cemeteries, and to assist states in acquiring or constructing state nursing homes and extended care facilities:
http://www1.va.gov/opa/pre ssrel/pressrelease.cfm?id= 1671
93. Strengthened the Endangered Species Act:
http://www.stopextinction. org/media/releases/89-rele ase-president-obama-restor es-endangered-species-prot ections.html
94. Empowered states that legalized medical marijuana to regulate themselves. Fourteen states have allowed some use of marijuana for medical purposes: Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Maryland, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington:
http://www.huffingtonpost. com/2009/10/19/new-medical -marijuana-pol_n_325426.ht ml
95. Enhanced earth mapping:
http://www.politifact.com/ truth-o-meter/promises/pro mise/345/enhance-earth-map ping
96. Increased funding for national parks and forests in 2010, and plans to do it again for FY 2011:
http://www.defenders.org/n ewsroom/press_releases_fol der/2010/02_01_2010_obamas _budget_includes_key_fundi ng_for_land_and_water.php
97. Changed failing war strategy in Afghanistan:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/PO LITICS/12/01/obama.afghani stan/index.html
98. Allocated special funding to the Labor Department to provide green job training to veterans:
http://www.politifact.com/ truth-o-meter/promises/pro mise/466/create-a-green-ve t-initiative-to-promote-en viron
99. Allocated funding to states and the Department of Homeland Security to save thousands of police or firefighter jobs from being cut during the recession:
http://www.politifact.com/ truth-o-meter/promises/pro mise/188/increase-funding- for-local-emergency-planni ng
100. Created and sustained 2.1 million jobs and stimulated the economy 3.5% [as of December 31, 2009] through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act:
http://www.reuters.com/art icle/idUSN23
51. Signed the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure (CARD) Act to protect Americans from unfair and deceptive credit card practices:
http://www.newsunfiltered. com/archives/2010/02/pew_f inds_credi.html
52. Signed an Executive Order establishing a White House Council on Women and Girls to provide a coordinated Federal response to the challenges confronted by women and girls and to ensure that all Cabinet and Cabinet-level agencies consider how their policies and programs impact women and
families:
http://parenting.blogs.nyt imes.com/2009/03/11/obamas -council-on-women-and-girl s
53. Launched a U.S. financial and banking rescue plan:
http://www.america.gov/st/ econ-english/2009/February /20090210163128saikceinawz 0.7537805.html
54. Ordered secret detention facilities in Eastern Europe and elsewhere to be closed:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wi ki/Black_site
55. Ended the previous policy; the US now has a no torture policy and is in compliance with the Geneva Convention standards:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wi ki/Geneva_Accord
56. Launched U.S. Auto industry rescue plan:
http://news.xinhuanet.com/ english/2009-03/31/content _11102980.htm
57. Provided better body armor to our troops:
http://www.usatoday.com/ne ws/world/iraq/2004-03-26-b ody-armor_x.htm
58. Authorized cutting the missile defense program by $1.4 billion in 2010:
http://www.stripes.com/art icle.asp?section=104&artic le=62548
59. Restarted the nuclear nonproliferation talks and building back up the nuclear inspection infrastructure/protocols:
http://articles.latimes.co m/2009/sep/25/world/fg-oba ma-nuclear25
60. Reengaged in the treaties/agreements to protect the Antarctic:
http://jonbowermaster.com/ blog/2009/04/obama-calls-f or-limits-on-antarctic-tou rism
61. Reengaged in the agreements/talks on global warming and greenhouse gas emissions, and addressed the U.N. Climate Change Conference:
http://www.youtube.com/wat ch?v=yZ-SMqh7q3o
62. Supported the first steps of a legally-binding treaty to reduce mercury emissions worldwide:
http://www.ens-newswire.co m/ens/feb2009/2009-02-16-0 2.asp
63. Visited more countries and met with more world leaders than any president in his first six months in office:
http://www.politifact.com/ truth-o-meter/statements/2 009/nov/19/chain-email/cha in-e-mail-claims-obama-has -visited-more-countri
64. Managed several natural disasters successfully, including severe winter ice storms and flooding in several states:
http://www.youtube.com/wat ch?v=drlsi3Ng4jw
65. Provided new car tax credit:
http://www.soundmoneymatte rs.com/new-car-tax-credit
66. Provided attractive tax write-offs for those who buy hybrid automobiles:
http://www.hybridcars.com/ federal-incentives.html
67. Purchased fuel efficient American-made fleet of vehicles for the federal government:
http://blogs.edmunds.com/g reencaradvisor/2009/06/gsa -buys-210-million-worth-of -fuel-efficient-vehicles-f rom-us-carmakers.html
68. Endorsed Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act of 2009 that would close offshore tax havens:
http://www.financialtaskfo rce.org/2009/10/27/the-for eign-account-tax-complianc e-act-of-2009
69. Nominated Sonia Sotomayor to Supreme Court. She was confirmed and becomes the first Hispanic Supreme Court justice:
http://www.huffingtonpost. com/2009/08/06/sotomayor-c onfirmed-by-fu_n_253146.ht ml
70. Helped reverse a downward spiral of the stock market. On January 19, 2009, the last day of President Bush's presidency, the Dow closed at 8,218.22. Today, the Dow closed at 10,309.24:
http://stockcharts.com/cha rts/historical/djia1900.ht ml
71. Earned an unprecedented success rate of 96.7% on winning congressional votes on issues where he took a position. He did even better than legendary arm-twister Lyndon Johnson who had a 93% success rate in 1965:
http://www.npr.org/templat es/story/story.php?storyId =122436116
72. Provided affordable, high-quality child care to working families:
http://www.politifact.com/ truth-o-meter/promises/pro mise/244/provide-affordabl e-high-quality-child-care
73. Restored America's reputation as a global leader that will do the "right thing" in world affairs:
http://pewglobal.org/docs/ ?DocID=12
74. Issued an executive order to create the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform:
http://money.cnn.com/2010/ 02/18/news/economy/obama_d ebt_commission/index.htm
75. Increased funding for student loans and pell grants for 2010 students:
http://www.ourfuture.org/r eport/2009031325/obama-s-b udget-supporting-students- not-banks
76. Negotiated deal with Swiss banks to permit US government to gain access to records of tax evaders and criminals:
http://www.law.com/jsp/law /international/LawArticleI ntl.jsp?id=1202433002570
77. Provided tax credit to workers thus cutting taxes for 95% of America's working families:
http://www.politifact.com/ truth-o-meter/statements/2 008/sep/18/barack-obama/a- credit-for-workers-cuts-ta xes-for-middle-class
78. Cracked down on companies that deny sick pay, vacation and health insurance to workers by abusing the employee classification of independent contractor. Such companies also avoid paying Social Security, Medicare and unemployment insurance taxes for those workers:
http://www.nytimes.com/201 0/02/18/business/18workers .html
79. Signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act that made it a federal crime to assault an individual because of his or her sexual orientation or gender identity:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/PO LITICS/10/28/hate.crimes/i ndex.html
80. Appointed the first Special Assistant to the President for Disability Policy:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/ the_press_office/Vice-Pres ident-Joe-Biden-Announces- Kareem-Dale-As-Special-Ass istant-to-the-Preside
81. Signed the Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act authorizing advance appropriations for the Department of Veterans Affairs by providing two-fiscal year budget authority thus enabling better medical care for veterans. Endorsed by the American Legion, American Veterans, Blinded Veter...ans Association, Disabled American Veterans, Jewish War Veterans, Military Officers Association, Military Order of the Purple Heart, Paralyzed Veterans of America and Vietnam Veterans of America:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/ the_press_office/Remarks-b y-the-President-at-Signing -of-the-Veterans-Health-Ca re-Budget-Reform-and-Trans parency-Act
82. Held impromptu press conference to urge Congress to investigate Anthem Blue Cross and other corporate health insurance companies that raise premiums in high amounts without explanation. Rep. Henry Waxman launches probe. In this case, Anthem Blue Cross wanted to raise premiums 39%. They have now put the increase on hold for two months (as of February 2010). Legislation preventing such increases pending:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm /20100218/hl_nm/us_usa_hea lthcare_insurers
83. Designated $1.5 billion from the Troubled Asset Relief Program to fund programs at local housing finance agencies in the states hardest hit by the housing crisis: California, Florida, Nevada, Arizona and Michigan. The MBA forecasts that foreclosures will peak in the last quarter of 2010:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/i d/35476054/ns/business-sto cks_and_economy
84. Protected 300,000 education jobs, such as teachers, principals, librarians, and counselors through the Recovery Act that would have otherwise been lost:
http://www2.ed.gov/news/pr essreleases/2010/02/020120 10a.html
85. Extended discounted COBRA health coverage for the nation's unemployed from 9 months to 15 months. Workers laid off between September 1, 2008 and February 28, 2010 qualify:
http://bucks.blogs.nytimes .com/2009/12/23/how-to-get -extended-cobra-health-cov erage-subsidies
86. Extended unemployment benefits for 2,000,000 unemployed Americans by 20 weeks. At the time the bill was signed 7,000 unemployed Americans were losing their unemployment benefits each day:
http://money.cnn.com/2009/ 11/05/news/economy/Extendi ng_unemployment_benefits/i ndex.htm
87. Eliminated federal funding for abstinence-only education which was significantly increased during the Bush Administration to $176 million annually:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/ world/2009/jul/20/bush-tee n-pregnancy-cdc-report
88. Rescinded the Global Gag Rule:
http://www.guttmacher.org/ media/inthenews/2009/01/23 /index.html
89. Appointed the most diverse Cabinet in history including more women appointees than any other incoming president:
http://www.diversityinc.co m/content/1757/article/631 9
90. Committed to no permanent military bases in Iraq through the Defense Authorization Act. For your reference:
http://www.politifact.com/ truth-o-meter/promises/pro mise/132/no-permanent-base s-in-iraq
91. Provided tax credits to first-time home buyers through the Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009 to revitalize the U.S. housing market:
http://www.federalhousingt axcredit.com
92. Provided the Department of Veterans Affairs the largest spending increase in 30 years to improve medical facilities and national cemeteries, and to assist states in acquiring or constructing state nursing homes and extended care facilities:
http://www1.va.gov/opa/pre ssrel/pressrelease.cfm?id= 1671
93. Strengthened the Endangered Species Act:
http://www.stopextinction. org/media/releases/89-rele ase-president-obama-restor es-endangered-species-prot ections.html
94. Empowered states that legalized medical marijuana to regulate themselves. Fourteen states have allowed some use of marijuana for medical purposes: Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Maryland, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington:
http://www.huffingtonpost. com/2009/10/19/new-medical -marijuana-pol_n_325426.ht ml
95. Enhanced earth mapping:
http://www.politifact.com/ truth-o-meter/promises/pro mise/345/enhance-earth-map ping
96. Increased funding for national parks and forests in 2010, and plans to do it again for FY 2011:
http://www.defenders.org/n ewsroom/press_releases_fol der/2010/02_01_2010_obamas _budget_includes_key_fundi ng_for_land_and_water.php
97. Changed failing war strategy in Afghanistan:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/PO LITICS/12/01/obama.afghani stan/index.html
98. Allocated special funding to the Labor Department to provide green job training to veterans:
http://www.politifact.com/ truth-o-meter/promises/pro mise/466/create-a-green-ve t-initiative-to-promote-en viron
99. Allocated funding to states and the Department of Homeland Security to save thousands of police or firefighter jobs from being cut during the recession:
http://www.politifact.com/ truth-o-meter/promises/pro mise/188/increase-funding- for-local-emergency-planni ng
100. Created and sustained 2.1 million jobs and stimulated the economy 3.5% [as of December 31, 2009] through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act:
http://www.reuters.com/art icle/idUSN23
37. Signed the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act, expanding on the Making Home Affordable Program to help millions of Americans avoid preventable foreclosures, providing $2.2 billion to help combat homelessness, and helping to stabilize the housing market for everybody:
http://www.zillow.com/blog /mortgage/2009/05/21/presi dent-obama-signs-helping-f amilies-save-their-homes-a ct
38. Increased, for the first time in more than a decade, the fuel economy standards for Model Year 2011 for cars and trucks so they will get better mileage, saving drivers money and spurring companies to develop more innovative products:
http://www.politico.com/ne ws/stories/0509/22650.html
39. Issued a Presidential Memorandum to the Department of Energy to implement more aggressive efficiency standards for common household appliances, like dishwashers and refrigerators. Through this step, over the next three decades, we’ll save twice the amount of energy produced by all the coal-fired power plants in America in any given year:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/ the_press_office/Appliance EfficiencyStandards
40. Unveiled a program on Earth Day 2009 to develop the renewable energy projects on the waters of our Outer Continental Shelf that produce electricity from wind, wave, and ocean currents. These regulations will enable, for the first time ever, the nation to tap into our ocean’s vast sustainable resources to generate clean energy in an environmentally sound and safe manner:
http://www.earthday.org
41. Announced a new U.S.-Mexico border initiative:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/ the_press_office/Administr ation-Officials-Announce-U S-Mexico-Border-Security-P olicy-A-Comprehensive-Resp onse-and-Commitment
42. Concluded cyberspace policy review:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/ the_press_office/Statement -by-the-Press-Secretary-on -Conclusion-of-the-Cybersp ace-Review
43. Announced a strategy to address the international nuclear threat:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/ the_press_office/Remarks-B y-President-Barack-Obama-I n-Prague-As-Delivered
44. Established a new "U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue":
http://www.whitehouse.gov/ the_press_office/Statement -On-Bilateral-Meeting-With -President-Hu-Of-China
45. Announced new policy steps towards Cuba:
http://www.nytimes.com/200 9/04/05/world/americas/05c uba.html
46. Increased minority access to capital:
http://www.politifact.com/ truth-o-meter/promises/pro mise/16/increase-minority- access-to-capital
47. Issued a Presidential Memorandum on the Freedom of Information Act instructing the Attorney General to issue new guidelines to the government implementing those same principles of openness and transparency in the processing of FOIA requests:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/ the_press_office/Freedom_o f_Information_Act
48. Funded the design of a new Smithsonian National Museum of African American History scheduled to open on the National Mall in 2015:
http://www.facebook.com/NM AAHC
49. The Executive Order on Presidential Records brings those principles to presidential records by giving the American people greater access to these historic documents, severely curtailing the ability to use executive privilege to shield those documents:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/ the_press_office/President ial_Records
50. Signed the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, a hallmark piece of legislation:
http://www.democrats.org/a /2009/04/edward_m_kenned.p hp
2.Signed financial reform law establishing a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to look out for the interests of everyday Americans
3.Signed financial reform law requiring lenders to verify applicants' credit history, income, and employment status
4.Signed financial reform law prohibiting banks from engaging in proprietary trading (trading the bank's own money to turn a profit, often in conflict with their customers' interests)
5.Signed financial reform law allowing shareholders of publicly traded companies to vote on executive pay
6.Cut prescription drug cost for medicare recipients by 50%
7.Provided $12.2 Billion in new funding for Individuals With Disabilities Education Act
8.Extended Benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees
9.Appointed more openly gay officials than any other president in US history (duh treats them like they are HUMAN)
10.The American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009: a $789 billion economic stimulus plan
11.Created more private sector jobs in 2010 than during entire Bush years
12.Voluntary disclosure of White House visitors for the first time in US history
13.Appointed first Latina to the US Supreme Court
14.Promoted social responsibility through creation of serve.gov, a national database of volunteer opportunities
15.Signed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, giving the FDA the authority to regulate the manufacturing, marketing, and sale of tobacco for the first time .
16.Signed New START Treaty - nuclear arms reduction pact with Russia
17.Increased average fuel economy standards from 27.5mpg to 35.5mpg, starting in 2016
18.Signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, restoring basic protections against pay discrimination for women and other workers
19.Provided travel expenses to families of fallen soldiers to be on hand when the body arrives at Dover AFB
20.Reversed the policy of barring media coverage during the return of fallen soldiers to Dover Air Force Base
21.Launched recovery.gov to track spending from the Recovery Act, providing transparency and allowing the public to report fraud, waste, or abuse
22.Provided the Department of Veterans Affairs with more than $1.4 billion to improve services to America's Veterans
23.Signed the Children's Health Insurance Reauthorization Act, which provides health care to 11 million kids -- 4 million of whom were previously uninsured
24.Issued executive order to repeal Bush era restrictions on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research
25.Signed the Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Act, the first piece of comprehensive legislation aimed at improving the lives of Americans living with paralysis
26.Developed stimulus package, which includes approx. $18 billion for nondefense scientific research and development
27.Signed the Weapons Systems Acquisition Reform Act to stop fraud and wasteful spending in the defense procurement and contracting system
28.Issued executive order to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay
29.Ended Bush administration's CIA program of 'enhanced interrogation methods' by requiring that the Army field manual be used as the guide for terrorism interrogations
30.Increased minority access to capital
31.Established Credit Card Bill of Rights, preventing credit card companies from imposing arbitrary rate increases on customers
32.Health Care Reform Bill, preventing insurance companies from denying insurance because of a pre-existing condition
33.Health Care Reform Bill, allowing children to remain covered by their parents' insurance until the age of 26
34.Tax cuts for up to 3.5 million small businesses to help pay for employee health care coverage
35.Tax credits for up to 29 million individuals to help pay for health insurance
Others
Since coming into office on January 21, 2009, President Barack Obama has:
1. Signed an Executive Order on government contracting to fight waste and abuse:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/
2. Signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, restoring basic protections against pay discrimination for women and other workers:
http://www.youtube.com/wat
3. Renewed dialogue with NATO and other allies and partners on strategic issues:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/
4. Announced a plan to responsibly end the war in Iraq:
http://www.nytimes.com/200
5. Provided funding to families of fallen soldiers have expenses covered to be on hand when the body arrives at Dover AFB:
http://thelede.blogs.nytim
6. Ended media blackout on war casualties and the return of fallen soldiers to Dover AFB:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi
7. Signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act:
http://www.recovery.gov/Ab
8. Launched Recovery.gov to track spending from the Recovery Act, an unprecedented step to provide transparency and accountability through technology:
http://www.recovery.gov/Pa
9. Announced the "Making Home Affordable" home refinancing plan:
http://www.makinghomeaffor
10. Launched a $15 billion plan to boost lending to small businesses:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/
11. Invested heavily in education both as a way to provide jobs now and lay the foundation for long-term prosperity:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/
12. Provided the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) with more than $1.4 billion to improve services to America’s Veterans:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/
13. Signed an Executive Order establishing the White House Office of Urban Affairs:
http://www.washingtonpost.
14. Limited lobbyist's access to the White House:
http://thecaucus.blogs.nyt
15. Issued an Presidential Memorandum to restore scientific integrity in government decision-making:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/
16. Answered questions at the first online town hall from the White House that were submitted and voted on transparently by the public at WhiteHouse.gov:
http://www.google.com/host
17. Established a central portal for Americans to find service opportunities:
http://www.serve.gov
18. Launched Business.gov – enabling conversation and online collaboration between small business owners, government representatives and industry experts in discussion forums relevant to starting and managing a business:
http://www.business.gov
19. Appointed the first ever Federal Chief Information Officer to provide management and oversight over federal IT spending:
http://www.cio.gov
20. Signed the Children’s Health Insurance Reauthorization Act on February 4, 2009, which provides quality health care to 11 million kids – 4 million who were previously uninsured:
http://themiddleclass.org/
21. Issued an Executive Order repealing the Bush-Era restrictions on embryonic stem cell research:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/
22. Signed the Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Act, the first piece of comprehensive legislation aimed at improving the lives of Americans living with paralysis:
http://www.christopherreev
23. Announced creation of a Joint Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record for members of the U.S. Armed Forces to improve quality of medical care:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/
24. Ended the previous stop-loss policy that kept soldiers in Iraq/Afghanistan longer than their enlistment date:
http://www.nytimes.com/200
25. Committed to phasing out the expensive F-22 war plane and other outdates weapons systems, which weren't even used or needed in Iraq/Afghanistan:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/PO
26. Provided federal support for stem-cell and new biomedical research:
http://www.time.com/time/h
27. Provided new federal funding for science and research labs:
http://www.nytimes.com/200
28. Played a lead role in G-20 Summit that produced a $1.1 trillion deal to combat the global financial crisis:
http://www.g20.org
29. Signed the Weapons Systems Acquisition Reform Act to stop fraud and wasteful spending in the defense procurement and contracting system:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wi
30. Ordered the closure of the prison at Guantanamo Bay and a review of our detention and interrogation policy, and prohibited the use of torture:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/PO
31. Appointed Special Envoys for Climate Change, Southwest Asia, the Middle
East, Sudan, and a Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan:
http://www.america.gov/st/
32. Empowered states to enact federal fuel efficiency standards above federal standards:
http://www.nytimes.com/200
33. Increased infrastructure spending (roads, bridges, power plants) after years of neglect:
http://www.usnews.com/arti
34. Increased minority access to capital:
http://www.politifact.com/
35. Developed a comprehensive new strategy on Afghanistan and Pakistan that will help defeat Al Qaeda and authorized the deployment of more than 21,000 troops to Afghanistan:
http://www.washingtonpost.
36. Signed the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act which gives the federal government more tools to investigate and prosecute fraud, from lending to the financial system, and creates a bipartisan Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission to investigate the financial practices that brought us to this point:
http://blogs.abcnews.com/p
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
51. Signed the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure (CARD) Act to protect Americans from unfair and deceptive credit card practices:
http://www.newsunfiltered.
52. Signed an Executive Order establishing a White House Council on Women and Girls to provide a coordinated Federal response to the challenges confronted by women and girls and to ensure that all Cabinet and Cabinet-level agencies consider how their policies and programs impact women and
families:
http://parenting.blogs.nyt
53. Launched a U.S. financial and banking rescue plan:
http://www.america.gov/st/
54. Ordered secret detention facilities in Eastern Europe and elsewhere to be closed:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wi
55. Ended the previous policy; the US now has a no torture policy and is in compliance with the Geneva Convention standards:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wi
56. Launched U.S. Auto industry rescue plan:
http://news.xinhuanet.com/
57. Provided better body armor to our troops:
http://www.usatoday.com/ne
58. Authorized cutting the missile defense program by $1.4 billion in 2010:
http://www.stripes.com/art
59. Restarted the nuclear nonproliferation talks and building back up the nuclear inspection infrastructure/protocols:
http://articles.latimes.co
60. Reengaged in the treaties/agreements to protect the Antarctic:
http://jonbowermaster.com/
61. Reengaged in the agreements/talks on global warming and greenhouse gas emissions, and addressed the U.N. Climate Change Conference:
http://www.youtube.com/wat
62. Supported the first steps of a legally-binding treaty to reduce mercury emissions worldwide:
http://www.ens-newswire.co
63. Visited more countries and met with more world leaders than any president in his first six months in office:
http://www.politifact.com/
64. Managed several natural disasters successfully, including severe winter ice storms and flooding in several states:
http://www.youtube.com/wat
65. Provided new car tax credit:
http://www.soundmoneymatte
66. Provided attractive tax write-offs for those who buy hybrid automobiles:
http://www.hybridcars.com/
67. Purchased fuel efficient American-made fleet of vehicles for the federal government:
http://blogs.edmunds.com/g
68. Endorsed Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act of 2009 that would close offshore tax havens:
http://www.financialtaskfo
69. Nominated Sonia Sotomayor to Supreme Court. She was confirmed and becomes the first Hispanic Supreme Court justice:
http://www.huffingtonpost.
70. Helped reverse a downward spiral of the stock market. On January 19, 2009, the last day of President Bush's presidency, the Dow closed at 8,218.22. Today, the Dow closed at 10,309.24:
http://stockcharts.com/cha
71. Earned an unprecedented success rate of 96.7% on winning congressional votes on issues where he took a position. He did even better than legendary arm-twister Lyndon Johnson who had a 93% success rate in 1965:
http://www.npr.org/templat
72. Provided affordable, high-quality child care to working families:
http://www.politifact.com/
73. Restored America's reputation as a global leader that will do the "right thing" in world affairs:
http://pewglobal.org/docs/
74. Issued an executive order to create the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform:
http://money.cnn.com/2010/
75. Increased funding for student loans and pell grants for 2010 students:
http://www.ourfuture.org/r
76. Negotiated deal with Swiss banks to permit US government to gain access to records of tax evaders and criminals:
http://www.law.com/jsp/law
77. Provided tax credit to workers thus cutting taxes for 95% of America's working families:
http://www.politifact.com/
78. Cracked down on companies that deny sick pay, vacation and health insurance to workers by abusing the employee classification of independent contractor. Such companies also avoid paying Social Security, Medicare and unemployment insurance taxes for those workers:
http://www.nytimes.com/201
79. Signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act that made it a federal crime to assault an individual because of his or her sexual orientation or gender identity:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/PO
80. Appointed the first Special Assistant to the President for Disability Policy:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/
81. Signed the Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act authorizing advance appropriations for the Department of Veterans Affairs by providing two-fiscal year budget authority thus enabling better medical care for veterans. Endorsed by the American Legion, American Veterans, Blinded Veter...ans Association, Disabled American Veterans, Jewish War Veterans, Military Officers Association, Military Order of the Purple Heart, Paralyzed Veterans of America and Vietnam Veterans of America:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/
82. Held impromptu press conference to urge Congress to investigate Anthem Blue Cross and other corporate health insurance companies that raise premiums in high amounts without explanation. Rep. Henry Waxman launches probe. In this case, Anthem Blue Cross wanted to raise premiums 39%. They have now put the increase on hold for two months (as of February 2010). Legislation preventing such increases pending:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm
83. Designated $1.5 billion from the Troubled Asset Relief Program to fund programs at local housing finance agencies in the states hardest hit by the housing crisis: California, Florida, Nevada, Arizona and Michigan. The MBA forecasts that foreclosures will peak in the last quarter of 2010:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/i
84. Protected 300,000 education jobs, such as teachers, principals, librarians, and counselors through the Recovery Act that would have otherwise been lost:
http://www2.ed.gov/news/pr
85. Extended discounted COBRA health coverage for the nation's unemployed from 9 months to 15 months. Workers laid off between September 1, 2008 and February 28, 2010 qualify:
http://bucks.blogs.nytimes
86. Extended unemployment benefits for 2,000,000 unemployed Americans by 20 weeks. At the time the bill was signed 7,000 unemployed Americans were losing their unemployment benefits each day:
http://money.cnn.com/2009/
87. Eliminated federal funding for abstinence-only education which was significantly increased during the Bush Administration to $176 million annually:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/
88. Rescinded the Global Gag Rule:
http://www.guttmacher.org/
89. Appointed the most diverse Cabinet in history including more women appointees than any other incoming president:
http://www.diversityinc.co
90. Committed to no permanent military bases in Iraq through the Defense Authorization Act. For your reference:
http://www.politifact.com/
91. Provided tax credits to first-time home buyers through the Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009 to revitalize the U.S. housing market:
http://www.federalhousingt
92. Provided the Department of Veterans Affairs the largest spending increase in 30 years to improve medical facilities and national cemeteries, and to assist states in acquiring or constructing state nursing homes and extended care facilities:
http://www1.va.gov/opa/pre
93. Strengthened the Endangered Species Act:
http://www.stopextinction.
94. Empowered states that legalized medical marijuana to regulate themselves. Fourteen states have allowed some use of marijuana for medical purposes: Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Maryland, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington:
http://www.huffingtonpost.
95. Enhanced earth mapping:
http://www.politifact.com/
96. Increased funding for national parks and forests in 2010, and plans to do it again for FY 2011:
http://www.defenders.org/n
97. Changed failing war strategy in Afghanistan:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/PO
98. Allocated special funding to the Labor Department to provide green job training to veterans:
http://www.politifact.com/
99. Allocated funding to states and the Department of Homeland Security to save thousands of police or firefighter jobs from being cut during the recession:
http://www.politifact.com/
100. Created and sustained 2.1 million jobs and stimulated the economy 3.5% [as of December 31, 2009] through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act:
http://www.reuters.com/art
51. Signed the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure (CARD) Act to protect Americans from unfair and deceptive credit card practices:
http://www.newsunfiltered.
52. Signed an Executive Order establishing a White House Council on Women and Girls to provide a coordinated Federal response to the challenges confronted by women and girls and to ensure that all Cabinet and Cabinet-level agencies consider how their policies and programs impact women and
families:
http://parenting.blogs.nyt
53. Launched a U.S. financial and banking rescue plan:
http://www.america.gov/st/
54. Ordered secret detention facilities in Eastern Europe and elsewhere to be closed:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wi
55. Ended the previous policy; the US now has a no torture policy and is in compliance with the Geneva Convention standards:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wi
56. Launched U.S. Auto industry rescue plan:
http://news.xinhuanet.com/
57. Provided better body armor to our troops:
http://www.usatoday.com/ne
58. Authorized cutting the missile defense program by $1.4 billion in 2010:
http://www.stripes.com/art
59. Restarted the nuclear nonproliferation talks and building back up the nuclear inspection infrastructure/protocols:
http://articles.latimes.co
60. Reengaged in the treaties/agreements to protect the Antarctic:
http://jonbowermaster.com/
61. Reengaged in the agreements/talks on global warming and greenhouse gas emissions, and addressed the U.N. Climate Change Conference:
http://www.youtube.com/wat
62. Supported the first steps of a legally-binding treaty to reduce mercury emissions worldwide:
http://www.ens-newswire.co
63. Visited more countries and met with more world leaders than any president in his first six months in office:
http://www.politifact.com/
64. Managed several natural disasters successfully, including severe winter ice storms and flooding in several states:
http://www.youtube.com/wat
65. Provided new car tax credit:
http://www.soundmoneymatte
66. Provided attractive tax write-offs for those who buy hybrid automobiles:
http://www.hybridcars.com/
67. Purchased fuel efficient American-made fleet of vehicles for the federal government:
http://blogs.edmunds.com/g
68. Endorsed Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act of 2009 that would close offshore tax havens:
http://www.financialtaskfo
69. Nominated Sonia Sotomayor to Supreme Court. She was confirmed and becomes the first Hispanic Supreme Court justice:
http://www.huffingtonpost.
70. Helped reverse a downward spiral of the stock market. On January 19, 2009, the last day of President Bush's presidency, the Dow closed at 8,218.22. Today, the Dow closed at 10,309.24:
http://stockcharts.com/cha
71. Earned an unprecedented success rate of 96.7% on winning congressional votes on issues where he took a position. He did even better than legendary arm-twister Lyndon Johnson who had a 93% success rate in 1965:
http://www.npr.org/templat
72. Provided affordable, high-quality child care to working families:
http://www.politifact.com/
73. Restored America's reputation as a global leader that will do the "right thing" in world affairs:
http://pewglobal.org/docs/
74. Issued an executive order to create the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform:
http://money.cnn.com/2010/
75. Increased funding for student loans and pell grants for 2010 students:
http://www.ourfuture.org/r
76. Negotiated deal with Swiss banks to permit US government to gain access to records of tax evaders and criminals:
http://www.law.com/jsp/law
77. Provided tax credit to workers thus cutting taxes for 95% of America's working families:
http://www.politifact.com/
78. Cracked down on companies that deny sick pay, vacation and health insurance to workers by abusing the employee classification of independent contractor. Such companies also avoid paying Social Security, Medicare and unemployment insurance taxes for those workers:
http://www.nytimes.com/201
79. Signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act that made it a federal crime to assault an individual because of his or her sexual orientation or gender identity:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/PO
80. Appointed the first Special Assistant to the President for Disability Policy:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/
81. Signed the Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act authorizing advance appropriations for the Department of Veterans Affairs by providing two-fiscal year budget authority thus enabling better medical care for veterans. Endorsed by the American Legion, American Veterans, Blinded Veter...ans Association, Disabled American Veterans, Jewish War Veterans, Military Officers Association, Military Order of the Purple Heart, Paralyzed Veterans of America and Vietnam Veterans of America:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/
82. Held impromptu press conference to urge Congress to investigate Anthem Blue Cross and other corporate health insurance companies that raise premiums in high amounts without explanation. Rep. Henry Waxman launches probe. In this case, Anthem Blue Cross wanted to raise premiums 39%. They have now put the increase on hold for two months (as of February 2010). Legislation preventing such increases pending:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm
83. Designated $1.5 billion from the Troubled Asset Relief Program to fund programs at local housing finance agencies in the states hardest hit by the housing crisis: California, Florida, Nevada, Arizona and Michigan. The MBA forecasts that foreclosures will peak in the last quarter of 2010:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/i
84. Protected 300,000 education jobs, such as teachers, principals, librarians, and counselors through the Recovery Act that would have otherwise been lost:
http://www2.ed.gov/news/pr
85. Extended discounted COBRA health coverage for the nation's unemployed from 9 months to 15 months. Workers laid off between September 1, 2008 and February 28, 2010 qualify:
http://bucks.blogs.nytimes
86. Extended unemployment benefits for 2,000,000 unemployed Americans by 20 weeks. At the time the bill was signed 7,000 unemployed Americans were losing their unemployment benefits each day:
http://money.cnn.com/2009/
87. Eliminated federal funding for abstinence-only education which was significantly increased during the Bush Administration to $176 million annually:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/
88. Rescinded the Global Gag Rule:
http://www.guttmacher.org/
89. Appointed the most diverse Cabinet in history including more women appointees than any other incoming president:
http://www.diversityinc.co
90. Committed to no permanent military bases in Iraq through the Defense Authorization Act. For your reference:
http://www.politifact.com/
91. Provided tax credits to first-time home buyers through the Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009 to revitalize the U.S. housing market:
http://www.federalhousingt
92. Provided the Department of Veterans Affairs the largest spending increase in 30 years to improve medical facilities and national cemeteries, and to assist states in acquiring or constructing state nursing homes and extended care facilities:
http://www1.va.gov/opa/pre
93. Strengthened the Endangered Species Act:
http://www.stopextinction.
94. Empowered states that legalized medical marijuana to regulate themselves. Fourteen states have allowed some use of marijuana for medical purposes: Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Maryland, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington:
http://www.huffingtonpost.
95. Enhanced earth mapping:
http://www.politifact.com/
96. Increased funding for national parks and forests in 2010, and plans to do it again for FY 2011:
http://www.defenders.org/n
97. Changed failing war strategy in Afghanistan:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/PO
98. Allocated special funding to the Labor Department to provide green job training to veterans:
http://www.politifact.com/
99. Allocated funding to states and the Department of Homeland Security to save thousands of police or firefighter jobs from being cut during the recession:
http://www.politifact.com/
100. Created and sustained 2.1 million jobs and stimulated the economy 3.5% [as of December 31, 2009] through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act:
http://www.reuters.com/art
37. Signed the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act, expanding on the Making Home Affordable Program to help millions of Americans avoid preventable foreclosures, providing $2.2 billion to help combat homelessness, and helping to stabilize the housing market for everybody:
http://www.zillow.com/blog
38. Increased, for the first time in more than a decade, the fuel economy standards for Model Year 2011 for cars and trucks so they will get better mileage, saving drivers money and spurring companies to develop more innovative products:
http://www.politico.com/ne
39. Issued a Presidential Memorandum to the Department of Energy to implement more aggressive efficiency standards for common household appliances, like dishwashers and refrigerators. Through this step, over the next three decades, we’ll save twice the amount of energy produced by all the coal-fired power plants in America in any given year:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/
40. Unveiled a program on Earth Day 2009 to develop the renewable energy projects on the waters of our Outer Continental Shelf that produce electricity from wind, wave, and ocean currents. These regulations will enable, for the first time ever, the nation to tap into our ocean’s vast sustainable resources to generate clean energy in an environmentally sound and safe manner:
http://www.earthday.org
41. Announced a new U.S.-Mexico border initiative:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/
42. Concluded cyberspace policy review:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/
43. Announced a strategy to address the international nuclear threat:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/
44. Established a new "U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue":
http://www.whitehouse.gov/
45. Announced new policy steps towards Cuba:
http://www.nytimes.com/200
46. Increased minority access to capital:
http://www.politifact.com/
47. Issued a Presidential Memorandum on the Freedom of Information Act instructing the Attorney General to issue new guidelines to the government implementing those same principles of openness and transparency in the processing of FOIA requests:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/
48. Funded the design of a new Smithsonian National Museum of African American History scheduled to open on the National Mall in 2015:
http://www.facebook.com/NM
49. The Executive Order on Presidential Records brings those principles to presidential records by giving the American people greater access to these historic documents, severely curtailing the ability to use executive privilege to shield those documents:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/
50. Signed the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, a hallmark piece of legislation:
http://www.democrats.org/a
Comments
Post a Comment