To say President Obama’s first year in office has been a memorable one would be an understatement. From successfully passing Health Care Reform to expanding SCHIP, confirming Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor to signing Lilly Ledbetter, President Obama has proven himself to be the leader we all elected him to be.
Below is a our “Year in Review” – you can also click to see the full list of First Year Accomplishments here.
“One year ago, I took office amid two wars, an economy rocked by severe recession, a financial system on the verge of collapse, and a government deeply in debt. Experts from across the political spectrum warned that if we did not act, we might face a second depression. So we acted– immediately and aggressively. And one year later, the worst of the storm has passed.”
– PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA
STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS, JANUARY 27, 2010
ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION YEAR ONE
WORKING TO MOVE AMERICA FORWARD…
HISTORIC HEALTH INSURANCE REFORM
After a long, thorough and transparent process, we have passed the most historic health insurance reform legislation in history. Before now, seven presidents had tried, and seven had failed to reform our broken system. This legislation, which includes bipartisan ideas, is historic.
• This reform is the most significant piece of economic and social legislation since FDR signed the Social Security Act in the 1930s, and the largest expansion of health care since Medicare helped to transform the lives of America’s seniors in the 1960s.
• The bill provides stability and security to Americans who have insurance, affordable options for those who don’t, and lower costs for families, businesses and our country as a whole.
• It provides the largest middle class tax cut for health care in our history and brings greater accountability to health care by laying out common sense rules of the road to keep premiums down and prevent insurance industry abuses and denial of care.
RECOVERY ACT
President Obama inherited the worst economic crisis in a generation, and our country was teetering on the edge of a second Great Depression.
• The economy was losing nearly 800,000 jobs a month
• Banks were in crisis and our credit markets were frozen
• $10 trillion in wealth had been destroyed in the stock market
Since taking office, President Obama has been working hard to stabilize our economy, put us on the road to recovery, and rebuild a new, stronger foundation for long term growth.
President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the most sweeping economic recovery plan in American history. Because of the Recovery Act:
• Up to 2 million jobs have been funded so far – and the bill is on track to result in 3.5 million jobs by the end of 2010.
• 95 percent of working families are receiving the Making Work Pay tax credit in their paychecks.
• More than 7 million low and moderate-income students will receive a 15 percent increase in their Pell Grant awards to help pay for college.
• And thousands of teachers, law enforcement officials and firefighters have been able to stay working because of the billions of dollars in Recovery Act assistance made available to state and local governments.
CHILDREN’S HEALTH INSURANCE
President Obama re-authorized and expanded health insurance for four million more low income children through the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), an action President Bush vetoed twice. Now, 11 million children are covered under SCHIP.
CREATING JOBS
President Obama signed into law the first of many bipartisan jobs bills being worked on in Congress. The measure builds on the economic progress already achieved by the Recovery Act and put more Americans back to work by offering small businesses tax cuts in exchange for hiring workers and funding for bond and highway programs.
CREDIT CARD REFORM
Last year, President Obama signed bipartisan comprehensive credit card reform into law – the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act (CARD). This helps level the playing field by stopping unfair credit card company practices that have been confusing and unfair to American families for far too long.
TOBACCO LEGISLATION
President Obama signed into law the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, which gives the FDA broad authority to regulate the manufacturing and marketing of tobacco products.
NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR COMMUNITY SERVICE
The President signed a national service bill to create hundreds of thousands of opportunities for people to serve their communities.
STEM CELL RESEARCH
President Obama lifted a ban on federal funding of stem cell research, ensuring that scientific decisions are based on facts, not ideology.
FAIR PAY FOR WOMEN
Upon taking office, President Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, finally guaranteeing equal pay for equal work.
HATE CRIMES PREVENTION ACT
President Obama signed into law the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, legislation that extends new federal protections to people who are victims of violent crime because of their gender, sexual orientation or identity, or disability.
SONIA SOTOMAYOR
President Obama’s first Supreme Court nominee, Sonia Sotomayor, was confirmed and seated. Justice Sotomoyor brings more federal judicial experience to the Supreme Court than any justice in 100 years. She is the Court’s first Latina justice and the third woman to serve.
RESTORING OUR REPUTATION AROUND THE WORLD
President Obama has taken critical steps to strengthen our alliances and restore our reputation around the world. The Obama Administration has prohibited torture and begun the work of leaving Iraq to its people. The President has outlined a new strategy to fight al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan, with a clear goal of goal of disrupting, dismantling and defeating al Qaeda and its extremist allies.
HISTORIC PROGRESS FOR OUR COUNTRY…
FINANCIAL REGULATORY REFORM
The President will continue to work on reforming our financial regulatory system by building on the strengths of our current regulatory structure and correcting its flaws. Reform will give regulators the tools they need to respond quickly to any future crisis, and to prevent that crisis from causing widespread harm.
REFORMING EDUCATION
President Obama is working to reform our education system, through innovative programs like “Race to the Top” and “Educate to Innovate,” inspiring new teachers and giving American students the tools they need to be successful in the global economy.
BUILDING A CLEAN ENERGY ECONOMY
President Obama will continue to work with Congress to forge a new energy policy that will break our dependence on foreign oil, jumpstart our clean energy economy with the creation of millions of new good, green jobs and finally address the dangerous carbon pollution that causes climate change and threatens our planet. Last year, the President announced new national emissions and fuel efficiency standards for American cars and light trucks and played a crucial role in brokering the Copenhagen Accord, a critical step in addressing the climate crisis.
REPEALING DON’T ASK, DON’T TELL
The President has pledged to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and legislation is beginning the process of moving through the House and Senate. Last year, the President signed a presidential memorandum that extends key federal benefits to the same-sex partners of Foreign Service and executive branch government employees. This was just one step, but it is a critical one – and it paves the way for long-overdue progress.
