Major Accomplishments of Barack Obama

The only president in recent memory to be inaugurated under worse circumstances than Barack Obama in 2009, was Harry Truman in 1945, who was sworn in on the heels of the Great Depression and still mired in WWII.

Given that this president has had to deal with a global economic meltdown; the imminent collapse of major U.S. industries; the bleeding of millions of jobs; 2 ongoing wars; uprisings and protests in Iran, Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen, Bahrain and Libya; several massive international environmental disasters, especially the massive earthquake in Haiti and the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear catastrophe in Japan; catastrophic disasters at home as hurricanes and floods literally took out entire towns all over the South and Mid-West; several terrorist attack attempts here in the U.S., not to mention the bitter fight the Republicans have waged against him every step of the way, it's amazing that anything got done in this country, let alone the sheer magnitude of what we did accomplish.

In fact, Alan Brinkley, a historian at New York’s Columbia University, had this to say about its massive successes: "This is probably the most productive session of Congress since at least the '60s. It’s all the more impressive given how polarized the Congress has been."

See for yourself, what is only a partial list of nearly 400 pieces of legislation that became law out of the 111th Congress:

  1. January 29, 2009: Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act
  2. February 4, 2009: Children’s Health Insurance Reauthorization Act
  3. February 17, 2009: American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
  4. March 30, 2009: Omnibus Public Lands Management Act of 2009
  5. April 21, 2009: Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act
  6. May 20, 2009: Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act
  7. May 20, 2009: Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009
  8. May 22, 2009: Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure Act of 2009
  9. May 22, 2009: Weapon Systems Acquisition Reform Act of 2009
  10. June 22, 2009: Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act
  11. June 30, 2009: Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2009
  12. August 6, 2009: Cash For Clunkers Extension Act
  13. October 19, 2009: Foreign Evidence Request Efficiency Act of 2009
  14. October 22, 2009: Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act
  15. October 28, 2009: Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act
  16. October 30, 2009: Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act
  17. November 6, 2009: Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009
  18. November 11, 2009: Military Spouses Residency Relief Act
  19. December 15, 2009: No Social Security Benefits for Prisoners Act of 2009
  20. December 22, 2009: Human Rights Enforcement Act of 2009
  21. January 27, 2010: Emergency Aid to American Survivors of Haiti Earthquake Act
  22. February 16, 2010: Nuclear Forensics and Attribution Act
  23. February 27, 2010: Social Security Disability Applicants' Access to Professional Representation Act of 2010
  24. March 4, 2010: Travel Promotion Act
  25. March 18, 2010: Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act (HIRE Act)
  26. March 18, 2010: Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2009 (Division B) Reestablished "pay-as-you-go"
  27. March 23, 2010: Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
  28. March 30, 2010: Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010
  29. March 31, 2010: Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act of 2009
  30. April 7, 2010 Prevent Deceptive Census Look Alike Mailings Act
  31. May 5, 2010: Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act of 2010
  32. May 17, 2010: Daniel Pearl Freedom of the Press Act
  33. May 24, 2010: Lord's Resistance Army Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act of 2009
  34. May 27, 2010: Federal Judiciary Administrative Improvements Act of 2010
  35. June 9, 2010: Special Agent Samuel Hicks Families of Fallen Heroes Act
  36. June 25, 2010: Preservation of Access to Care for Medicare Beneficiaries and Pension Relief Act of 2010
  37. July 1, 2010: Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010
  38. July 2, 2010: Homebuyer Assistance and Improvement Act of 2010
  39. July 7, 2010: Formaldehyde Standards for Composite Wood Products Act
  40. July 21, 2010: Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act
  41. July 22, 2010: Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act of 2010
  42. July 27, 2010: Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act of 2010
  43. August 3, 2010: Fair Sentencing Act of 2010
  44. August 10, 2010: SPEECH Act of 2010
  45. August 10, 2010: Cell Phone Contraband Act of 2010
  46. August 11, 2010: United States Manufacturing Enhancement Act of 2010
  47. September 27, 2010: Mandatory Price Reporting Act of 2010
  48. September 27, 2010: Small Business Jobs and Credit Act of 2010
  49. September 30, 2010: First Responder Anti-Terrorism Training Resources Act
  50. September 30, 2010: Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2010
  51. October 7, 2010: Reducing Over-Classification Act
  52. October 7, 2010: Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010
  53. October 8, 2010: Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Reauthorization Act of 2010
  54. October 7, 2010: Security Cooperation Act of 2010
  55. October 12, 2010: Redundancy Elimination and Enhanced Performance for Preparedness Grants Act
  56. October 12, 2010: Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act Improvements Act of 2010
  57. October 12, 2010: Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Act of 2010
  58. October 13, 2010: Plain Writing Act of 2010
  59. October 13, 2010: Veterans' Benefits Act of 2010
  60. October 15, 2010: United States Secret Service Uniformed Division Modernization Act of 2010
  61. October 30, 2010: International Adoption Simplification Act
  62. December 9, 2010: Telework Enhancement Act of 2010
  63. December 9, 2010: Animal Crush Video Prohibition Act of 2010
  64. December 13, 2010: Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010
  65. December 14, 2010: Asian Carp Prevention and Control Act
  66. December 15, 2010: CALM Act*
  67. December 17, 2010: Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010
  68. December 18, 2010: Truth in Fur Labeling Act of 2010
  69. December 18, 2010: Social Security Number Protection Act of 2010
  70. December 20, 2010: CAPTA Reauthorization Act of 2010
  71. December 22, 2010: Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010
  72. December 22, 2010: Regulated Investment Company Modernization Act of 2010
  73. December 22, 2010: Truth in Caller ID Act of 2009
  74. December 22, 2010: FOR VETS Act of 2010
  75. December 22, 2010: Preserving Foreign Criminal Assets for Forfeiture Act of 2010
  76. December 29, 2010: Omnibus Trade Act of 2010
  77. December 29, 2010 Helping Heroes Keep Their Homes Act of 2010
  78. January 4, 2011: Predisaster Hazard Mitigation Act of 2010
  79. January 4, 2011: GPRA Modernization Act of 2010
  80. January 4, 2011: FDA Food Safety Modernization Act
  81. January 4, 2011: America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010
  82. January 4, 2011: Diesel Emissions Reduction Act of 2010
  83. January 4, 2011: Supportive Housing for the Elderly Act of 2010
  84. January 4, 2011 :Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act of 2010
  85. January 4, 2011: Frank Melville Supportive Housing Investment Act of 2010
  86. January 4, 2011: Anti-Border Corruption Act of 2010
  87. January 4, 2011: Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Improvements Act of 2010
  88. January 4, 2011: Reduction of Lead in Drinking Water Act
  89. September 29, 2010: Treaty with the United Kingdom Concerning Defense Trade Cooperation
  90. September 29, 2010: Treaty with Australia Concerning Defense Trade Cooperation
  91. September 29, 2010: Hague Convention on International Recovery of Child Support and Family Maintenance
  92. December 22, 2010: New START
  93. February 23, 2011: Obama declared the Defense of Marriage act unconstitutional and will no longer be defending the cases in the 1st and 2nd circuits.
Compare that in both scope and import, to what the Republicans accomplished over a period of six years of control of both houses and the Presidency, and what they've done (or not done) since regaining control of the House of Representatives in 2010. There simply is no comparison.

There are two more sites listing President Obama's accomplishments that should not be missed:

▶ To Those Who Consder President Obama a Disappointment, You're Just Not Paying Attention ~ by Milt Shook at The PCTC Blog

This one's language is a wee bit confrontational, primarily because it was borne of the frustration of having to remind fellow Democrats that they didn't elect a "capitulator" or a "do-nothing" president. Some days I feel his frustration equally. Look past the tone and take note, once again, of the sheer volume and scope of what was accomplished. This site provides links to supporting documentation or articles regarding each piece of legislation.

▶ Obama Achievement Center ~ A Crowd-Sourced Compilation

This site is chock full of an unbelievable volume of achievements of President Obama over the course of his first 2 1/2 years in office, neatly organized and categorized. It's truly a thing of beauty and wonder and an absolute Must Read.

▶ The primary source for the above chronological list: Acts of the 111th United States Congress at Wikipedia



*The CALM Act: Silly, I know, but this is one of my favorite ones. My ears and my nerves thank Congress and President Obama for this one.



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