Here’s What He’s Done
Returned The Executive Branch To Fiscal Responsibility
1. Within his first week, he signed an Executive Order ordering an audit of government contracts, and combating waste and abuse.
Executive Order -- Economy in Government Contracting | The White House
2. Created the post of Chief Performance Officer, whose job it is to make operations more efficient to save the federal government money.
Obama Names Chief Performance Officer : NPR
3. On his first full day, he froze White House salaries.
msnbc: news, video and progressive community. Lean Forward.
4. He appointed the first Federal Chief Information Officer to oversee federal IT spending.
http://www.cio.gov
5. He committed to phasing out unnecessary and outdated weapons systems. To that end, he also signed the Democratic-sponsored Weapons Systems Acquisition Reform Act, which attempted to put a stop to waste, fraud and abuse in the defense procurement and contracting system.
Gates announces major Pentagon priority shifts - CNN.com http://bit.ly/fz8GAd
6. Through an executive order, he created the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform.
President orders debt panel, names chairmen - Feb. 18, 2010
Prevented a Bush Depression and Improved the Economy
7. Pushed through and signed the Democratic-sponsored American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, otherwise known as “the stimulus package.” The bill passed, even though only three Republicans voted for it. In a major departure from the previous administration, he launched recovery.gov, a website that allows taxpayers to track spending from the Act.
http://1.usa.gov/ibiFSs http://1.usa.gov/e3BJMk
8. The Bush-led Great Recession was costing the economy nearly 800,000 jobs per month by the time President Obama took office. But by the end of his first year, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act created and sustained 2.1 million jobs and stimulated the economy by 3.5%.
UPDATE 2-US stimulus added up to 2.1 mln jobs in Q4 2009-CBO | Reuters
9. Not only did he completed the massive TARP financial and banking rescue plan, he also leaned on the banks and others, and recovered virtually all of the bail-out money.
http://1.usa.gov/eA5jVS TARP Might Make Money - 24/7 Wall St.
10. He created the Making Home Affordable home refinancing plan.
Making Home Affordable
11. Oversaw the creation of more jobs in 2010 alone than Bush did in eight years.
It?s Official: More Private Sector Jobs Created In 2010 Than During Entire Bush Years | NEWS JUNKIE POST
12. Along with Democrats, and almost no Republicans, implemented an auto industry rescue plan, and saved as many as 1 million jobs.
Obama unveils plan to help U.S. auto industry_English_Xinhua Many are of the opinion that he saved the entire auto industry, and even the economy of the entire Midwest.
Obama saved the auto industry and the economy of the Midwest. Do voters care? | New Republic This resulted in GM returning to its place as the top car company in the world.
General Motors is world's sales leader - Los Angeles Times
13. Doubled funding for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership, which is designed to improve manufacturing efficiency.
The Obameter: Double funding for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership, a program that encourages manufacturing efficiency | PolitiFact
14. Signed the Democratic-sponsored Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act giving the federal government more tools to investigate and prosecute fraud in every corner of the financial system, and create a bipartisan Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission to investigate the financial fraud that led to the economic meltdown.
Obama Signs Housing and Fraud Bill, Praises Congress for ?Most Productive? Period - ABC News
15. Signed the Democratic-sponsored Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act, which was designed to to protect consumers from unfair and deceptive credit card practices.
Fact Sheet: Reforms to Protect American Credit Card Holders | The White House
16. Increased infrastructure spending after years of neglect.
Poll: Americans Strongly Back Increase in Infrastructure Spending - US News
17. Signed the Democratic-sponsored and passed Helping Families Save Their Homes Act, expanding on the Making Home Affordable Program to help millions of Americans avoid preventable foreclosures. The bill also provided $2.2 billion to help combat homelessness, and to stabilize the housing market.
http://bit.ly/eEpLFn
18. Through the Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009, he and Congressional Democrats provided tax credits to first-time home buyers, which helped the U.S. housing market recovery.
http://bit.ly/dZgXXw The Federal Home Buyer Tax Credit Program (Military Edition)
19. Initiated a $15 billion plan designed to encourage increased lending to small businesses.
Remarks by the President to small business owners community lenders and members of Congress | The White House
20. Created business.gov, which allows for online collaboration between small businesses and experts re managing a business. (The program has since merged with SBA.gov.)
BusinessUSA
21. Played a lead role in getting the G-20 Summit to commit to a $1.1 trillion deal to combat the global financial crisis.
http://nyti.ms/gHlgp5
22. Took steps to improve minority access to capital.
The Obameter: Increase minority access to capital | PolitiFact
23. Signed an Executive Order instructing federal agencies to review all federal regulations and remove any unnecessary and/or burdensome regulations from the books.
Executive Order -- Identifying and Reducing Regulatory Burdens | The White House
24. Through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, saved at least 300,000 education jobs, such as teachers, principals, librarians, and counselors that would have otherwise been lost.
http://1.usa.gov/ez30D
25. Dismantled the Minerals Management Service, thereby cutting ties between energy companies and the government.
http://nyti.ms/bw1MLu
26. Along with Congressional Democrats, provided funding to states and the Department of Homeland Security to save thousands of police and firefighter jobs from being cut during the recession.
The Obameter: Increase funding for local emergency planning | PolitiFact
27. Used recovered TARP money to fund programs at local housing finance agencies in California, Florida, Nevada, Arizona and Michigan.
msnbc: news, video and progressive community. Lean Forward.
28. Crafted and signed an executive order establishing the President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability to assist in financial education for all Americans.
Executive Order 13530 - Wikisource, the free online library
29. China’s largest manufacturer, Foxconn, is building a large plant in Pennsylvania
Foxconn to build plant in Pennsylvania - Nov. 22, 2013
30. Worked with Apple Computer to get them to build more product here, and thecompany is building two large plants to manufacture products here; one in Texas
Apple's $100m made-in-the-USA Mac facility will be in Texas | ZDNet and one in Arizona
Apple creates 2,000 jobs shifting production back to US | Technology | The Guardian
31. Oversaw increase of manufacturing jobs by more than 500,000 since 2010, and created an institute to invest in more manufacturing jobs in the technology fields of the future.
http://nyti.ms/1egyXrV
32. Ordered all federal contractors to pay a minimum wage of $10.10 per hour, leading the way to a national increase.
Obama to raise minimum wage for government contract workers - The Washington Post
33. Ordered the completion of the International Trade Data System, a digital trade record book, by 2016. This move will streamline and simplify the process through which small- and medium-sized businesses set up the export of US goods.
Obama Inks Executive Order to Streamline Import and Export Process for Businesses | Entrepreneur.com
Brought Much-Improved Transparency and Better Government
34. Signed an order banning gifts from lobbyists to anyone in the Executive Branch.
The Obameter: Ban lobbyist gifts to executive employees | PolitiFact
35. Signed an order banning anyone from working in an agency they had lobbied in previous years, and put strict limits on lobbyists’ access to the White House.
http://nyti.ms/gOrznV
36. Held the first-ever first online town hall from the White House, and took questions from the public.
http://bit.ly/gVNSgX
37. Became the first to stream every White House event, live.
The White House
38. Established a central portal for Americans to find service opportunities.
United We Serve
39. Provided the first voluntary disclosure of the White House Visitors Log in history.
Visitor Access Records | The White House
40. Issued an Executive Order on Presidential Records, which restored the 30-day time frame for former presidents to review records, and eliminated the right for the vice president or family members of former presidents to do the reviews. Provides the public with greater access to historic White House documents, and severely curtails the ability to use executive privilege to shield them.
Executive Order 13489 -- Presidential Records | The White House
41. Improved aspects of the Freedom of Information Act, and issued new guidelines to make FOIA more open and transparent when processing FOIA requests.
Freedom of Information Act | The White House
Wall Street Reforms and Consumer Protection
42. Ordered 65 executives who took bailout money to cut their own pay until they paid back all bailout money.
Pay Czar Cuts Salaries For 65 Bailout Executives
43. Along with Congressional Democrats, pushed through and got passed Dodd-Frank, one of the largest and most comprehensive Wall Street reforms since the Great Depression.
Senate passes massive Wall Street regulation bill - Salon.com American Rhetoric: Barack Obama - Speech on Signing the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act
44. Through Dodd-Frank legislation, created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Bill Text - 111th Congress (2009-2010) - THOMAS (Library of Congress)
45. Created rules that reduce the influence of speculators in the oil market.
Dodd-Frank Does Regulate Oil Speculation -- But The Financial Industry Is Suing To Block It | Research | Media Matters for America
46. Fashioned rules so that banks can no longer use YOUR money to invest in high-risk financial instruments that work against their own customers’ interests.
http://bit.ly/fnTayj
47. Supported the concept of allowing stockholders to vote on executive compensation.
http://bit.ly/fnTayj
48. Endorsed and supported the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act of 2009 that would close offshore tax avoidance loopholes.
President Obama Statement on Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act of 2009 « Financial Transparency Coalition Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act of 2009 « Financial Transparency Coalition
49. Negotiated a deal with Swiss banks that now permits the US government to gain access to the records of criminals and tax evaders.
Swiss, U.S. Reach Agreement in UBS Tax Evasion Dispute
50. Signed the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act, which closed many of the loopholes that allowed companies to send jobs overseas, and avoid paying US taxes by moving money offshore.
http://1.usa.gov/bd1RTq
Moderator Note: Edited to comply with copyright rules (post only a small to medium sized portin of article). Remainder of list at link.
