Trump Reportedly Poured $1.3 Million In Political Contributions Into His Own Businesses After Losing Election
IF TRUMP DOESN'T END UP IN JAIL OVER THIS...IT MEANS HE HAS PAID OFF EVERYONE IN WASHINGTON
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@hippyjoe1955 why is it when discussing something with people, they always claim that they wrote a paper on it or they used to live or work there? and then there's my favorite, "My next door neighbor's sister's cousin's maid says so..."
hippyjoe1955 · 61-69, M
@DIABLISS Well you see little girl if you have no real world experience you are prone to falling into the trap of thinking you know more than you do. I live in AB. Keystone and Keystone both start in a little town just north of where I grew up. I know the people who work there. I talk to them and listen as they talk about what is going on in the pipeline industry. They are experts because they are intimately involved. Unlike you that listens to CNN and thinks you know something when you don't...... Now run along you have a lot of studying to do to get to understand pipelines and their purpose.
@hippyjoe1955 Misogynist too eh? i am the same age as you and no i don't go around reading about pipelines as a rule but i read a few articles lately and just like everyone else in the world you are passing out blame to everyone that even comments on the subject. it was a great idea but for no solid reason it didn't work out. it would have taken alot of money to keep going until it became a normal thing. Just like car manufacturing in the beginning.
softspokenman · M
It's not the first time trump has been greedy and deceitful.
(Excerpt) Donald J. Trump Pays Court-Ordered $2 Million For Illegally Using Trump Foundation Funds. Ordered to pay 8 charities' $250,000 each for misusing charitable funds from his own foundation for political purposes.
Latitia James N Y Attorney General 12/10/2019
(Excerpt) Donald J. Trump Pays Court-Ordered $2 Million For Illegally Using Trump Foundation Funds. Ordered to pay 8 charities' $250,000 each for misusing charitable funds from his own foundation for political purposes.
Latitia James N Y Attorney General 12/10/2019
@hippyjoe1955 1. Passed Health Care Reform
After five presidents over the course of a century failed to create universal health insurance, signed the Affordable Care Act in 2010. More than twenty million Americans have gained coverage since the passage of the law, which provides subsidies for Americans to buy coverage, expands Medicaid eligibility, and prohibits insurers from denying coverage to people with preexisting conditions. The uninsured rate has dropped from 16 percent in 2010 to 9 percent in 2015. The law also mandates free preventive care, allows young people to stay on their parents’ policies up to age twenty-six, and imposes a ban on annual and lifetime caps on benefits.
2. Rescued the Economy
Signed the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in 2009 to spur economic growth amid the most severe downturn since the Great Depression. As of October 2016, the economy had added 15.5 million new jobs since early 2010 and set a record with seventy-three straight months of private-sector job growth. The unemployment rate, which hit a sustained peak of about 10 percent in 2009, has dropped to 4.6 percent as of November 2016.
3. Passed Wall Street Reform
Signed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act in 2010 to re-regulate the financial sector after its practices caused the Great Recession. The law tightens capital requirements on large banks and other financial institutions, allows the government to take them into receivership if they pose a threat to the economy, and limits their ability to trade with customers’ money for their own profit. Dodd-Frank also created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to crack down on abusive lending and financial services. By the end of fiscal year 2016, the CFPB had handled nearly one million consumer complaints and taken actions that resulted in $11.7 billion in relief for more than twenty-seven million consumers.
4. Negotiated a Deal to Block A Nuclear Iran
Led six nations in reaching an agreement with Iran that requires the country to end its nuclear weapons program and submit to a rigorous International Atomic Energy Agency inspections regime in exchange for lifting global sanctions. The deal—which resulted from first toughening sanctions against Iran—also blocked Iran’s pathways to building a bomb, slowing down the development time for a weapon from three months to one year if Iran were to break its commitments.
5. Secured U.S. Commitment to a Global Agreement on Climate Change
Provided key leadership to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which produced the
2015 Paris Agreement, a commitment by 197 nations to reduce global carbon emissions and limit the global rise in temperatures to below 2 degrees Celsius.
6. Eliminated Osama bin Laden
In 2011, ordered the Special Forces raid of the secret compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, in which the terrorist leader was killed and a trove of al-Qaeda documents was retained.
7. Ended U.S. Combat Missions in Iraq and Afghanistan
After an initial troop surge in Afghanistan, brought home 90 percent of the nearly 180,000 troops who were deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan when he took office, leaving only a small contingent of forces to assist the Iraqi and Afghani militaries against insurgents and the Taliban. The withdrawal from Iraq created the vacuum that ISIS has filled. But, recently, without redeploying ground troops, the U.S. has helped the Iraqi military in reversing ISIS’s gains.
8. Turned Around the U.S. Auto Industry
In 2009, injected $62 billion (on top of the $13.4 billion in loans from the George W. Bush administration) into ailing GM and Chrysler in return for equity stakes and agreements for massive restructuring. By December 2014, the car companies had repaid $70.4 billion of the funds, and the Center for Automotive Research estimated that 2.5 million jobs were saved.
9. Repealed “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’’
Ended the 1990s-era restriction and formalized a new policy allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military for the first time.
10. Supported Federal Recognition of Same-Sex Marriages
Decided in 2011 that the federal government would no longer defend the Defense of Marriage Act, which restricted federal marriage recognition to opposite-sex couples. In June 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down key portions of the law as unconstitutional, allowing married same-sex couples to finally receive federal protections like Social Security and veteran benefits.
11. Reversed Bush Torture Policies
Two days after taking office, signed an executive order banning the so-called “enhanced interrogation” techniques used by the CIA under President Bush and considered inhumane under the Geneva Conventions. Also released the secret Bush administration legal opinions supporting the use of these techniques.
12. Established Rules to Limit Carbon Emissions from Power Plants
Finalized a “Clean Power Plan” in 2015 through new EPA regulations, setting the first-ever carbon pollution standards for existing power plants. When fully implemented in 2030, the new rules will result in a 32 percent reduction in carbon emissions compared to 2005.
13. Normalized Relations with Cuba
In 2014, took steps to open diplomatic and commercial ties with Cuba, ending the failed Cold War policy of isolation. In March 2016, direct mail flights to Cuba resumed for the first time in fifty years. American tourists may also now freely visit the country.
14. Put Medicare on Sounder Financial Footing
Slowed the growth of health care spending through cost-saving measures enacted as part of the ACA, ensuring the solvency of Medicare’s principal trust fund through 2028.
15. Protected DREAMers from Deportation
Took executive action in June 2012 to protect undocumented young people brought to the U.S. as children
(so-called DREAMers) from deportation and allow them to apply for work permits.
16. Established Net Neutrality
Directed the Federal Communications Commission to issue a rule classifying internet service providers as a public utility and forcing them to treat all web traffic the same, regardless of source. After years of litigation, a federal court upheld the FCC’s rule, meaning providers can’t favor certain websites or block others.
17. Protected Two Liberal Seats on the U.S. Supreme Court
Nominated and obtained confirmation for Sonia Sotomayor (the first Hispanic person and third woman to serve on the Court) in 2009 and Elena Kagan (the fourth woman) in 2010. They replaced David Souter and John Paul Stevens, respectively.
18. Boosted Fuel Efficiency Standards
Released new fuel efficiency standards in 2011 that will increase fuel economy to the equivalent of 54.5 miles per gallon for cars and light-duty trucks by model year 2025.
19. Kicked Banks Out of Federal Student Loan Program, Expanded Pell Grant Funding
As part of the 2010 health care reform bill, signed a measure ending the decades-old practice of subsidizing banks to provide college loans. As a result, all students began getting their federal student loans directly from the federal government. More than half of the savings ($36 billion over ten years) is dedicated to expanding Pell Grants to lower-income students.
20. Improved America’s Image Abroad
With new policies, diplomacy, and rhetoric, reversed a sharp decline in world opinion toward the U.S. (and the corresponding loss of “soft power”) during the Bush years. Favorable opinion toward the United States rose during Obama’s first term in ten of fifteen countries surveyed by the Pew Global Attitudes Project, with an average increase of 26 percent, and have stayed high ever since.
21. Left His Mark on the Federal Judiciary
Appointed more than 300 judges to federal district and appeals courts, in line with other two-term presidents, tipping the balance to majority Democrat appointed. A majority of judges on nine of the thirteen appeals courts are now Democratic appointees—compared to just one when Obama took office. Appointed a record number of female (138) and minority (120) judges to the federal bench, as well as eleven openly gay or lesbian judges.
22. Diversified the Federal Bureaucracy
Appointed women and people of color to fill more than half of appointments to policy positions requiring Senate confirmation, including seventeen of thirty-one Cabinet positions.
23. Passed Fair Sentencing Act
Signed 2010 legislation that reduced the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine possession from 100 to 1 to 18 to 1. Successfully lobbied the United States Sentencing Commission to apply those measures retroactively, which contributed to the largest decrease in the federal prison population in over thirty years.
24. Revived the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division
Through then Attorney General Eric Holder, announced a major overhaul of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division in 2009 to bring back federal civil rights enforcement, which had atrophied under President Bush. Among other priorities, the division stepped up its efforts against housing and employment discrimination, strengthened enforcement of the Voting Rights Act, and put renewed focus on cracking down on discriminatory policing practices.
25. Expanded Wilderness and Watershed Protection
Signed the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act of 2009, which designates more than two million acres as wilderness, creates thousands of miles of recreational and historic trails, and protects over 1,000 miles of rivers. By designating new national monuments and other measures, permanently protects over 548 million acres, more than any other president.
26. Gave the FDA the Power to Regulate Tobacco
Signed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act in 2009. Nine years in the making and long resisted by the tobacco industry, the law mandates that tobacco manufacturers disclose all ingredients, obtain FDA approval for new products, and expand the size and prominence of cigarette warning labels. It also bans the sale of “light” cigarettes and tobacco sponsorship of entertainment events.
27. Trimmed and Reoriented Missile Defense
Cut the Reagan-era “Star Wars” missile defense budget, saving $1.4 billion in 2010, and canceled plans to station antiballistic missile systems in Poland and the Czech Republic in favor of a sea-based defense plan focused on Iran and North Korea.
28. Kick-started Clean Energy Investment
As part of the 2009 stimulus, invested $90 billion in research on smart grids, energy-efficient electric cars, renewable electricity generation, cleaner coal, and biofuels. Launched a clean energy incubator within the Argonne National Laboratory and encouraged $4 billion in commitments by foundations, institutional investors, and other private-sector stakeholders to boost their investments in clean energy technology.
29. Reduced the Threat from Nuclear Weapons
Initiated the biannual Nuclear Security Summit to address the global threat posed by nuclear terrorism and advance a common approach to strengthening nuclear security. As a result, weapons-usable highly enriched uranium has been removed from sixteen countries. Signed and won ratification of a 2011 treaty with Russia to limit each country to 1,550 strategic warheads (down from 2,200) and 700 launchers (down from more than 1,400). The treaty also reestablished a monitory and transparency program that had lapsed in 2009.
30. Passed Credit Card Reforms
Signed the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009, which prohibits credit card companies from raising rates without advance notification, mandates a grace period on interest rate increases, and strictly limits overdraft and other fees.
31. Cut Veteran Homelessness by Half
In 2010, launched the nation’s first comprehensive strategy to prevent and end homelessness, Opening Doors, which has led to a 47 percent decline in the number of homeless veterans since 2010 and aims to end youth homelessness by 2020.
32. Enacted Government Surveillance Reform
Signed the 2015 USA Freedom Act, which bans the governmental collection of bulk data, creates a special panel to provide technical and legal advice to the court administering the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), and provides greater transparency for FISA court opinions. The ACLU noted that the legislation marked the first time since 1978 that Congress has “taken steps to restrict, rather than expand, its government surveillance authority.”
33. Expanded Overtime Pay
Updated a provision of the Fair Labor Standards Act to ensure overtime pay for employees making up to $47,476 a year, thereby expanding overtime protections to 4.2 million workers. The new rules were set to go into effect in December 2016, but were blocked in November by a federal judge in Texas.
34. Cracked Down on Bad For-Profit Colleges
Through the Department of Education, issued “gainful employment” regulations in 2011, cutting off commercially focused schools from federal student aid funding if more than 25 percent of former students aren’t paying off their loans or if former students spend more than 12 percent of their average total earnings servicing student loans. In June 2016, regulators voted to shut down the nation’s largest accreditor of for-profit colleges, cutting off federal aid to hundreds of for-profits.
35. Cut the Deficit
Reduced the federal deficit from 9.8 percent of GDP in 2009 to 3.2 percent in 2016, one benefit of a strengthening economy.
36. Created the College Scorecard
Through the Department of Education, developed a comprehensive database in 2015 that allows prospective college students to compare potential schools based on costs, graduation rates, debt, and post-college earnings.
37. Improved School Nutrition
Signed the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act in 2010, championed by Michelle Obama, mandating a $4.5 billion spending boost and higher nutritional standards for school lunches. New rules double the amount of fruits and vegetables, and require only whole grains, in foods served to students.
38. Expanded the Definition of Hate Crimes
Signed the Hate Crimes Prevention Act in 2009, applying existing hate crime laws to crimes based on a victim’s sexual orientation, gender, or disability, in addition to race, religion, or national origin.
39. Recognized the Dangers of Carbon Dioxide
Through 2009 EPA regulations, declared carbon dioxide a pollutant, allowing the agency to regulate
its production.
40. Strengthened Women’s Right to Fair Pay
Signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act in 2009, giving women who are paid less than men for the same work the right to sue their employers after they find out about the discrimination, even if it happened years ago. Under previous law, as interpreted by the Supreme Court in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., the statute of limitations on such suits ran out 180 days after the alleged discrimination occurred, even if the victims never knew about it.
41. Secured the Removal of Chemical Weapons from Syria
Forced an agreement by Syrian leader Bashar Assad in 2013 to destroy the country’s stockpile of chemical weapons in accordance with the United Nations Chemical Weapons Convention. In 2016, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons confirmed the destruction of thousands of tons of mustard gas and other toxic chemicals. (There is evidence, however, that Assad has recently continued to use chlorine gas against rebels and civilians in Aleppo.)
42. Protected LGBTQ Americans From Employment Discrimination
Signed an executive order in 2014 prohibiting federal contractors and subcontractors from discriminating against their workers on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.
43. Reduced Discrimination Against Former Prisoners in Federal Hiring
Signed an executive order to “ban the box” in federal hiring and contracting. Government employers can’t ask about criminal records at the beginning of the application process, giving applicants with a criminal history a fairer shot.
44. Won Major Victories Against Housing and Mortgage Discrimination
Through the Justice Department, reached a record $335 million settlement against Countrywide Financial Corporation and a $175 million settlement against Wells Fargo for their practices of charging higher interest and fees to African American and Latino borrowers prior to the financial crisis, in addition to numerous other suits pursued on behalf of borrowers. In 2015, the administration successfully argued before the Supreme Court that victims of housing discrimination suing for bias only need to show “disparate impact,” not an intent to discriminate, to win their case.
45. Expanded Broadband Coverage
Obtained approval from the FCC to shift $8 billion in subsidies away from landlines and toward broadband
internet access for lower-income rural families. By 2016, 98 percent of Americans had access to fast 4G/LTE broadband.
46. Expanded Health Coverage for Children
Signed the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act in 2009, expanding the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) to cover an additional four million children, paid for by a tax increase on tobacco products.
47. Improved Food Safety
Signed the 2011 FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, which increased the Food and Drug Administration’s budget by $1.4 billion and expanded its regulatory responsibilities to include increasing the number of food inspections, issuing direct food recalls, and reviewing the safety practices of countries exporting food products to the U.S.
48. Let the Space Shuttle Die and Killed the Planned Moon Mission
Allowed the expensive ($1 billion per launch), badly designed, and dangerous shuttle program to make its final launch on July 8, 2011. Cut off funding for the even more bloated and problem-plagued Bush-era Constellation program to build a moon base in favor of support for private-sector low-earth orbit ventures, research on new rocket technologies for long-distance manned flight missions, and unmanned space exploration, including the largest interplanetary rover ever launched, designed to investigate Mars’s potential to support life.
49. Rebuilt and Fortified the Gulf Coast post-Katrina
Completed a $14.5 billion system in 2011 to rebuild the levees in New Orleans and protect it from a 100-year storm.
50. Avoided Scandal
Became the first president since Dwight Eisenhower to serve two terms with no serious personal or political scandal.
After five presidents over the course of a century failed to create universal health insurance, signed the Affordable Care Act in 2010. More than twenty million Americans have gained coverage since the passage of the law, which provides subsidies for Americans to buy coverage, expands Medicaid eligibility, and prohibits insurers from denying coverage to people with preexisting conditions. The uninsured rate has dropped from 16 percent in 2010 to 9 percent in 2015. The law also mandates free preventive care, allows young people to stay on their parents’ policies up to age twenty-six, and imposes a ban on annual and lifetime caps on benefits.
2. Rescued the Economy
Signed the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in 2009 to spur economic growth amid the most severe downturn since the Great Depression. As of October 2016, the economy had added 15.5 million new jobs since early 2010 and set a record with seventy-three straight months of private-sector job growth. The unemployment rate, which hit a sustained peak of about 10 percent in 2009, has dropped to 4.6 percent as of November 2016.
3. Passed Wall Street Reform
Signed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act in 2010 to re-regulate the financial sector after its practices caused the Great Recession. The law tightens capital requirements on large banks and other financial institutions, allows the government to take them into receivership if they pose a threat to the economy, and limits their ability to trade with customers’ money for their own profit. Dodd-Frank also created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to crack down on abusive lending and financial services. By the end of fiscal year 2016, the CFPB had handled nearly one million consumer complaints and taken actions that resulted in $11.7 billion in relief for more than twenty-seven million consumers.
4. Negotiated a Deal to Block A Nuclear Iran
Led six nations in reaching an agreement with Iran that requires the country to end its nuclear weapons program and submit to a rigorous International Atomic Energy Agency inspections regime in exchange for lifting global sanctions. The deal—which resulted from first toughening sanctions against Iran—also blocked Iran’s pathways to building a bomb, slowing down the development time for a weapon from three months to one year if Iran were to break its commitments.
5. Secured U.S. Commitment to a Global Agreement on Climate Change
Provided key leadership to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which produced the
2015 Paris Agreement, a commitment by 197 nations to reduce global carbon emissions and limit the global rise in temperatures to below 2 degrees Celsius.
6. Eliminated Osama bin Laden
In 2011, ordered the Special Forces raid of the secret compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, in which the terrorist leader was killed and a trove of al-Qaeda documents was retained.
7. Ended U.S. Combat Missions in Iraq and Afghanistan
After an initial troop surge in Afghanistan, brought home 90 percent of the nearly 180,000 troops who were deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan when he took office, leaving only a small contingent of forces to assist the Iraqi and Afghani militaries against insurgents and the Taliban. The withdrawal from Iraq created the vacuum that ISIS has filled. But, recently, without redeploying ground troops, the U.S. has helped the Iraqi military in reversing ISIS’s gains.
8. Turned Around the U.S. Auto Industry
In 2009, injected $62 billion (on top of the $13.4 billion in loans from the George W. Bush administration) into ailing GM and Chrysler in return for equity stakes and agreements for massive restructuring. By December 2014, the car companies had repaid $70.4 billion of the funds, and the Center for Automotive Research estimated that 2.5 million jobs were saved.
9. Repealed “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’’
Ended the 1990s-era restriction and formalized a new policy allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military for the first time.
10. Supported Federal Recognition of Same-Sex Marriages
Decided in 2011 that the federal government would no longer defend the Defense of Marriage Act, which restricted federal marriage recognition to opposite-sex couples. In June 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down key portions of the law as unconstitutional, allowing married same-sex couples to finally receive federal protections like Social Security and veteran benefits.
11. Reversed Bush Torture Policies
Two days after taking office, signed an executive order banning the so-called “enhanced interrogation” techniques used by the CIA under President Bush and considered inhumane under the Geneva Conventions. Also released the secret Bush administration legal opinions supporting the use of these techniques.
12. Established Rules to Limit Carbon Emissions from Power Plants
Finalized a “Clean Power Plan” in 2015 through new EPA regulations, setting the first-ever carbon pollution standards for existing power plants. When fully implemented in 2030, the new rules will result in a 32 percent reduction in carbon emissions compared to 2005.
13. Normalized Relations with Cuba
In 2014, took steps to open diplomatic and commercial ties with Cuba, ending the failed Cold War policy of isolation. In March 2016, direct mail flights to Cuba resumed for the first time in fifty years. American tourists may also now freely visit the country.
14. Put Medicare on Sounder Financial Footing
Slowed the growth of health care spending through cost-saving measures enacted as part of the ACA, ensuring the solvency of Medicare’s principal trust fund through 2028.
15. Protected DREAMers from Deportation
Took executive action in June 2012 to protect undocumented young people brought to the U.S. as children
(so-called DREAMers) from deportation and allow them to apply for work permits.
16. Established Net Neutrality
Directed the Federal Communications Commission to issue a rule classifying internet service providers as a public utility and forcing them to treat all web traffic the same, regardless of source. After years of litigation, a federal court upheld the FCC’s rule, meaning providers can’t favor certain websites or block others.
17. Protected Two Liberal Seats on the U.S. Supreme Court
Nominated and obtained confirmation for Sonia Sotomayor (the first Hispanic person and third woman to serve on the Court) in 2009 and Elena Kagan (the fourth woman) in 2010. They replaced David Souter and John Paul Stevens, respectively.
18. Boosted Fuel Efficiency Standards
Released new fuel efficiency standards in 2011 that will increase fuel economy to the equivalent of 54.5 miles per gallon for cars and light-duty trucks by model year 2025.
19. Kicked Banks Out of Federal Student Loan Program, Expanded Pell Grant Funding
As part of the 2010 health care reform bill, signed a measure ending the decades-old practice of subsidizing banks to provide college loans. As a result, all students began getting their federal student loans directly from the federal government. More than half of the savings ($36 billion over ten years) is dedicated to expanding Pell Grants to lower-income students.
20. Improved America’s Image Abroad
With new policies, diplomacy, and rhetoric, reversed a sharp decline in world opinion toward the U.S. (and the corresponding loss of “soft power”) during the Bush years. Favorable opinion toward the United States rose during Obama’s first term in ten of fifteen countries surveyed by the Pew Global Attitudes Project, with an average increase of 26 percent, and have stayed high ever since.
21. Left His Mark on the Federal Judiciary
Appointed more than 300 judges to federal district and appeals courts, in line with other two-term presidents, tipping the balance to majority Democrat appointed. A majority of judges on nine of the thirteen appeals courts are now Democratic appointees—compared to just one when Obama took office. Appointed a record number of female (138) and minority (120) judges to the federal bench, as well as eleven openly gay or lesbian judges.
22. Diversified the Federal Bureaucracy
Appointed women and people of color to fill more than half of appointments to policy positions requiring Senate confirmation, including seventeen of thirty-one Cabinet positions.
23. Passed Fair Sentencing Act
Signed 2010 legislation that reduced the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine possession from 100 to 1 to 18 to 1. Successfully lobbied the United States Sentencing Commission to apply those measures retroactively, which contributed to the largest decrease in the federal prison population in over thirty years.
24. Revived the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division
Through then Attorney General Eric Holder, announced a major overhaul of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division in 2009 to bring back federal civil rights enforcement, which had atrophied under President Bush. Among other priorities, the division stepped up its efforts against housing and employment discrimination, strengthened enforcement of the Voting Rights Act, and put renewed focus on cracking down on discriminatory policing practices.
25. Expanded Wilderness and Watershed Protection
Signed the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act of 2009, which designates more than two million acres as wilderness, creates thousands of miles of recreational and historic trails, and protects over 1,000 miles of rivers. By designating new national monuments and other measures, permanently protects over 548 million acres, more than any other president.
26. Gave the FDA the Power to Regulate Tobacco
Signed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act in 2009. Nine years in the making and long resisted by the tobacco industry, the law mandates that tobacco manufacturers disclose all ingredients, obtain FDA approval for new products, and expand the size and prominence of cigarette warning labels. It also bans the sale of “light” cigarettes and tobacco sponsorship of entertainment events.
27. Trimmed and Reoriented Missile Defense
Cut the Reagan-era “Star Wars” missile defense budget, saving $1.4 billion in 2010, and canceled plans to station antiballistic missile systems in Poland and the Czech Republic in favor of a sea-based defense plan focused on Iran and North Korea.
28. Kick-started Clean Energy Investment
As part of the 2009 stimulus, invested $90 billion in research on smart grids, energy-efficient electric cars, renewable electricity generation, cleaner coal, and biofuels. Launched a clean energy incubator within the Argonne National Laboratory and encouraged $4 billion in commitments by foundations, institutional investors, and other private-sector stakeholders to boost their investments in clean energy technology.
29. Reduced the Threat from Nuclear Weapons
Initiated the biannual Nuclear Security Summit to address the global threat posed by nuclear terrorism and advance a common approach to strengthening nuclear security. As a result, weapons-usable highly enriched uranium has been removed from sixteen countries. Signed and won ratification of a 2011 treaty with Russia to limit each country to 1,550 strategic warheads (down from 2,200) and 700 launchers (down from more than 1,400). The treaty also reestablished a monitory and transparency program that had lapsed in 2009.
30. Passed Credit Card Reforms
Signed the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009, which prohibits credit card companies from raising rates without advance notification, mandates a grace period on interest rate increases, and strictly limits overdraft and other fees.
31. Cut Veteran Homelessness by Half
In 2010, launched the nation’s first comprehensive strategy to prevent and end homelessness, Opening Doors, which has led to a 47 percent decline in the number of homeless veterans since 2010 and aims to end youth homelessness by 2020.
32. Enacted Government Surveillance Reform
Signed the 2015 USA Freedom Act, which bans the governmental collection of bulk data, creates a special panel to provide technical and legal advice to the court administering the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), and provides greater transparency for FISA court opinions. The ACLU noted that the legislation marked the first time since 1978 that Congress has “taken steps to restrict, rather than expand, its government surveillance authority.”
33. Expanded Overtime Pay
Updated a provision of the Fair Labor Standards Act to ensure overtime pay for employees making up to $47,476 a year, thereby expanding overtime protections to 4.2 million workers. The new rules were set to go into effect in December 2016, but were blocked in November by a federal judge in Texas.
34. Cracked Down on Bad For-Profit Colleges
Through the Department of Education, issued “gainful employment” regulations in 2011, cutting off commercially focused schools from federal student aid funding if more than 25 percent of former students aren’t paying off their loans or if former students spend more than 12 percent of their average total earnings servicing student loans. In June 2016, regulators voted to shut down the nation’s largest accreditor of for-profit colleges, cutting off federal aid to hundreds of for-profits.
35. Cut the Deficit
Reduced the federal deficit from 9.8 percent of GDP in 2009 to 3.2 percent in 2016, one benefit of a strengthening economy.
36. Created the College Scorecard
Through the Department of Education, developed a comprehensive database in 2015 that allows prospective college students to compare potential schools based on costs, graduation rates, debt, and post-college earnings.
37. Improved School Nutrition
Signed the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act in 2010, championed by Michelle Obama, mandating a $4.5 billion spending boost and higher nutritional standards for school lunches. New rules double the amount of fruits and vegetables, and require only whole grains, in foods served to students.
38. Expanded the Definition of Hate Crimes
Signed the Hate Crimes Prevention Act in 2009, applying existing hate crime laws to crimes based on a victim’s sexual orientation, gender, or disability, in addition to race, religion, or national origin.
39. Recognized the Dangers of Carbon Dioxide
Through 2009 EPA regulations, declared carbon dioxide a pollutant, allowing the agency to regulate
its production.
40. Strengthened Women’s Right to Fair Pay
Signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act in 2009, giving women who are paid less than men for the same work the right to sue their employers after they find out about the discrimination, even if it happened years ago. Under previous law, as interpreted by the Supreme Court in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., the statute of limitations on such suits ran out 180 days after the alleged discrimination occurred, even if the victims never knew about it.
41. Secured the Removal of Chemical Weapons from Syria
Forced an agreement by Syrian leader Bashar Assad in 2013 to destroy the country’s stockpile of chemical weapons in accordance with the United Nations Chemical Weapons Convention. In 2016, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons confirmed the destruction of thousands of tons of mustard gas and other toxic chemicals. (There is evidence, however, that Assad has recently continued to use chlorine gas against rebels and civilians in Aleppo.)
42. Protected LGBTQ Americans From Employment Discrimination
Signed an executive order in 2014 prohibiting federal contractors and subcontractors from discriminating against their workers on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.
43. Reduced Discrimination Against Former Prisoners in Federal Hiring
Signed an executive order to “ban the box” in federal hiring and contracting. Government employers can’t ask about criminal records at the beginning of the application process, giving applicants with a criminal history a fairer shot.
44. Won Major Victories Against Housing and Mortgage Discrimination
Through the Justice Department, reached a record $335 million settlement against Countrywide Financial Corporation and a $175 million settlement against Wells Fargo for their practices of charging higher interest and fees to African American and Latino borrowers prior to the financial crisis, in addition to numerous other suits pursued on behalf of borrowers. In 2015, the administration successfully argued before the Supreme Court that victims of housing discrimination suing for bias only need to show “disparate impact,” not an intent to discriminate, to win their case.
45. Expanded Broadband Coverage
Obtained approval from the FCC to shift $8 billion in subsidies away from landlines and toward broadband
internet access for lower-income rural families. By 2016, 98 percent of Americans had access to fast 4G/LTE broadband.
46. Expanded Health Coverage for Children
Signed the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act in 2009, expanding the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) to cover an additional four million children, paid for by a tax increase on tobacco products.
47. Improved Food Safety
Signed the 2011 FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, which increased the Food and Drug Administration’s budget by $1.4 billion and expanded its regulatory responsibilities to include increasing the number of food inspections, issuing direct food recalls, and reviewing the safety practices of countries exporting food products to the U.S.
48. Let the Space Shuttle Die and Killed the Planned Moon Mission
Allowed the expensive ($1 billion per launch), badly designed, and dangerous shuttle program to make its final launch on July 8, 2011. Cut off funding for the even more bloated and problem-plagued Bush-era Constellation program to build a moon base in favor of support for private-sector low-earth orbit ventures, research on new rocket technologies for long-distance manned flight missions, and unmanned space exploration, including the largest interplanetary rover ever launched, designed to investigate Mars’s potential to support life.
49. Rebuilt and Fortified the Gulf Coast post-Katrina
Completed a $14.5 billion system in 2011 to rebuild the levees in New Orleans and protect it from a 100-year storm.
50. Avoided Scandal
Became the first president since Dwight Eisenhower to serve two terms with no serious personal or political scandal.
hippyjoe1955 · 61-69, M
@DIABLISS Nice litany of falsehood. Obama was an international laughing stock throughout his presidency. Everyone of his initiatives you listed were utter failures. Not one of them were successful. Just for example sending pallet loads of cash to Iran simply allowed them to sponsor terrorism throughout the world and did not stop them from working on their nuclear program. Healthcare? BWAHAHAHAHA The economy? BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA GASP. He ended torture? Not bloody likely. He simply upped the number of drone strikes and killed his enemies rather than torture them. The man was an utter failure and the US's reputation became even more of a joke under Obama than it was under Bush. Sadly it has sunk even farther under Biden which many think as Obama's third term.
@hippyjoe1955 i no longer need to talk to you. you are an insane person
whowasthatmaskedman · 70-79, M
Its all quite legal. Not the Trump towers and Trump restaurants arent grateful for the business. Only after he actually declares that he is running do the stricter donation rules apply. Besides, its doner money. They would only have spent it on televangelists and guns..😷
plungesponge · 41-45, M
I doubt he will ever be jailed. Like it or not, he's the unquestionable pied piper of millions of low information voters, and what he does or what is done to him has the potential to upend the political game, so the system will avoid public drama. Actually even his rivals will consider him a hugely valuable asset if controllable, and his crimes are useful leverage to control him, so more than likely they will dangle the threat of incarceration over him whenever they need him to steer the masses, but never actually do it
@plungesponge i agree some but i don't think anyone can control Trump
sunsporter1649 · 70-79, M
BizSuitStacy · M
@sunsporter1649 LOL. They actually believe a multi-[b]BILLIONAIRE[/b] would commit a crime over chump change. 🤣
Roundandroundwego · 61-69
whowasthatmaskedman · 70-79, M
@Roundandroundwego That is quite true. Which is why you need a strong and just regulatory framework to balance Capitalism. One the money cant buy..😷
whowasthatmaskedman · 70-79, M
softspokenman · M
windinhishair · 61-69, M
Subsumedpat · 36-40, M
hippyjoe1955 · 61-69, M
softspokenman · M
smiler2012 · 56-60
🤫is this not misappropriating funds to all sense and purposes .teflon don cannot slip the net for ever [lilymaesixty1]
hippyjoe1955 · 61-69, M
@smiler2012 not sure it happened but if it did it is not misappropriation of funds. This is common practice in US politics.
smiler2012 · 56-60
@hippyjoe1955 😄so this is an american legal loophole is it . are there no accountants who check this where party funds go and come from
hippyjoe1955 · 61-69, M
@smiler2012 The campaign funds have been a problem for years and years since the candidate gets to keep all the funds he/she doesn't spend. I suspect in Trump's case this is a fabricated story. I have not seen any verification of it.
Viper · M
Top politicians don't go to prison, even if everyone knows they're guilty... it's not happening for Trump nor Hilary.
smileylovesgaming · 31-35, F
U think only Trump has done this.
windinhishair · 61-69, M
@smileylovesgaming Does that make crimes OK?
cycleman · 61-69, M
Supreme Court ain't gonna punish him.
TwiddlerofThumbs · F
Do you think he has the cash for that?
@TwiddlerofThumbs yes
BizSuitStacy · M
I smell more 🐂💩
hippyjoe1955 · 61-69, M
@BizSuitStacy The El Toro Poo Poo is a little ripe on this one.
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