President Obama Outlines Promises Kept in First
Term
Tonight, President Obama told Americans directly about the promises he’s kept in his first term to move America forward:
“We’ve gone through a tough four years, there’s no doubt about it. Four years ago I told the American people, and I told you, I will cut taxes for middle class families, and I did. I told you I would cut taxes for small businesses, and I have. I said I would end the war in Iraq, and I did. I said we would refocus attention on those who actually attacked us on 9/11, and we have gone after al Qaeda like never before, and Osama bin Laden is dead. I said we would put in place health care reform to make sure insurance companies can’t jerk you around and that if you don’t have health insurance you would have a chance to get affordable insurance. I have. I committed to rein in the excesses of Wall Street, and we passed the toughest Wall Street reforms since the 1930’s. We’ve created five million jobs, gone from 800,000 jobs a month being lost, and we are making progress. We saved an auto industry that was on the brink of collapse.
“Now, does that mean you’re not struggling? Absolutely not. A lot of us are. And that’s why the plan that I put forward for manufacturing and education and reducing our deficit in a sensible way, using the savings from ending wars to rebuild America and putting people back to work, making sure that we are controlling our own energy but not just the energy of today but also the energy of the future, all those things will make a difference.
“So the point is, the commitments I’ve made, I’ve kept, and those that I haven’t been able to keep, it’s not for lack of trying, and we’re going to get it done in a second term.”
UNDER PRESIDENT OBAMA’S LEADERSHIP, THE ECONOMY HAS GONE FROM LOSING 800,000 JOBS A MONTH TO ADDING 5.2 MILLION PRIVATE SECTOR JOBS OVER THE LAST 31 MONTHS
The U.S. Economy Has Added 5.2 Million Private Sector Jobs In The Last 31 Months. In February 2010, the U.S. economy employed 106,773,000 people in the private sector. In September 2012, the U.S. economy employed 111,952,000 people in the private sector, gaining 5,179,000 jobs over the 31 month period, including the CES preliminary benchmark revision to March 2012 data. [Current Employment Statistics, Bureau Of Labor Statistics, accessed 10/5/12; CES Preliminary Benchmark Announcement, Bureau Of Labor Statistics, 9/27/12]
Private Sector Job Growth Has Continued For 31 Consecutive Months. [Bureau of Labor Statistics, accessed 10/5/12]
The Unemployment Rate Is Lower Than At Any Time Since January 2009. [Bureau of Labor Statistics, accessed 10/5/12]
When President Obama Took Office The Economy Was Losing 800,000 Jobs A Month. According to Bureau of Labor Statistics data, the average of nonfarm job losses in January 2009, March 2009, and February 2009 totals 780,000. [Bureau of Labor Statistics, accessed 9/4/12]
PRESIDENT OBAMA PROMISED ACCESSIBLE AND AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE AND SIGNED THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT INTO LAW
On March 23, 2010, President Obama Signed The Affordable Care Act Into Law, Ensuring Health Care Access and Affordability For Millions Of Americans. “We are a nation that faces its challenges and accepts its responsibilities. We are a nation that does what is hard. What is necessary. What is right. Here, in this country, we shape our own destiny. That is what we do. That is who we are. That is what makes us the United States of America. And we have now just enshrined, as soon as I sign this bill, the core principle that everybody should have some basic security when it comes to their health care.” – [Remarks by the President at the signing of the Affordable Care Act, 03/23/10]
PRESIDENT OBAMA PROMISED TO INVEST IN THE AMERICAN AUTO INDUSTRY, AND HIS LEADERSHIP SAVED THE AUTO INDUSTRY, SAVING OVER A MILLION JOBS
Center For Automotive Research: The Auto Industry Rescue Saved Over 1.1 Million Jobs In 2009. According to a report on the difference between orderly bankruptcy proceedings assisted by government-provided debtor-in-possession financing versus an uncontrolled bankruptcy for American automakers, the Center for Automotive Research estimates that emergency loans to American automakers saved 1.14 million jobs in 2009. [Center for Automotive Research Report, 11/7/10]
PRESIDENT OBAMA SAID HIS ADMINISTRATION WOULD REFOCUS ON OSAMA BIN LADEN, AND HE BROUGHT OSAMA BIN LADEN TO JUSTICE
On May 1, 2011, President Obama Announced An Operation Into Pakistan Had Successfully Killed Osama Bin Laden. “In a late-night appearance in the East Room of the White House, Mr. Obama declared that “justice has been done” as he disclosed that American military and C.I.A. operatives had finally cornered Bin Laden, the leader of Al Qaeda, who had eluded them for nearly a decade. “ [NYT, 05/01/11]
PRESIDENT OBAMA SAID HE WOULD END THE WAR IN IRAQ RESPONSIBLY, AND HE DID
President Obama Declared An End To Combat Operations In Iraq In August 2010. “President Barack Obama has hailed the end of US combat operations in Iraq, saying his country has paid ‘a huge price’ to ‘put Iraq's future in its people's hands.’” [BBC News, 09/01/10]
On December 18, 2011, The Last Convoy Of US Troops Crossed The Border Out Of Iraq, Officially Ending The War In Iraq. “The last convoy of American troops drove into Kuwait on Sunday morning, punctuating the end of the nearly nine-year war in Iraq.” [New York Times, 12/18/11]
PRESIDENT OBAMA SAID HE WOULD CUT TAXES FOR THE MIDDLE CLASS, AND HE CUT TAXES MULTIPLE TIMES FOR MIDDLE CLASS FAMILIES
A Typical Family Making $50,000 A Year Has Seen Their Taxes Cut By $3,600 Over The Last Four Years Due To The Making Work Pay Tax Credit And The Payroll Tax Cut. “A typical family making $50,000 a year has seen their taxes cut by $3,600 over the last four years, $800 in each of 2009 and 2010 due to the Making Work Pay tax credit and $1,000 in each of 2011 and 2012 due to the payroll tax cut.” [White House National Economic Council, July 2012]
President Obama Has Signed 18 Tax Cuts To Support Small Business Growth. “To date, the President has supported 18 direct tax breaks that bolster small business growth. In September 2010, he signed the Small Business Jobs Act, which included eight new small business tax cuts that, among other forms of tax relief, extended accelerated bonus depreciation for two million businesses, making investment and growth more affordable; made investments in one million small firms eligible for zero capital gains taxes; and allowed two million self-employed Americans to deduct their health insurance costs when calculating their self-employment taxes.” [White House National Economic Council, May 2012]
PRESIDENT OBAMA SAID WE’D NEVER BAIL OUT THE BANKS AGAIN, AND NOT ONLY DID HE PASS WALL STREET REFORM THAT ENDED “TO BIG TO FAIL,” BUT HE WENT AND GOT BACK EVERY TAXPAYER DOLLAR THE BANKS HAD BEEN GIVEN
Wall Street Reform Expressly Prohibits Taxpayer Bailouts For Financial Institutions And Provides For The Orderly Liquidation Of Failing Financial Firms Funded By Bank Assets And Assessments. “The Act provides for the orderly liquidation of systemically important, failing financial companies…The Act expressly prohibits taxpayer bailouts by: Providing that shareholders receive no payments until all other claims are paid (including claims of the FDIC and other governmental entities). Requiring unsecured creditors to bear losses in accordance with priority of claims provisions. Requiring the FDIC to ensure that management and board members responsible for failure are removed. If receivership assets are insufficient to cover the costs of orderly liquidation, requiring any funds expended in the liquidation of any financial company to be recovered through assessments as described in the Act.” [Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Staff Summary Of Wall Street Reform, 9/10/10]
- · Non-AIG Bank Bailouts – Called “Bank Programs” By Treasury – Have Made A $21 Billion Profit For Taxpayers. [Treasury TARP Tracker, Accessed 9/8/12]
September 2012: Treasury And The Federal Reserve’s Combined $182 Billion Commitment Made To Stabilize AIG During The Financial Crisis Was Fully Recovered. “Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced that it has agreed to sell 553,846,153 shares of its American International Group, Inc. (AIG) common stock at $32.50 per share in an underwritten public offering. The aggregate proceeds to Treasury from the common stock offering are expected to be approximately $18.0 billion. As part of Treasury’s offering today, AIG agreed to purchase 153,846,153 shares at the public offering price of $32.50 per share – representing approximately $5.0 billion of Treasury’s expected proceeds from the sale. Treasury has granted the underwriters a 30-day over-allotment option to purchase up to an additional 83,076,922 shares of AIG common stock. Giving effect to today’s offering, Treasury and the Federal Reserve’s combined $182 billion commitment made to stabilize AIG during the financial crisis is now fully recovered.” [Treasury Press Release, 9/10/12]
PRESIDENT OBAMA REPEALED THE DISCRIMINATORY DON’T ASK, DON’T TELL POLICY
President Obama Signed The Repeal Of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” “The military’s longstanding ban on service by gays and lesbians came to a historic and symbolic end on Wednesday, as President Obama signed legislation repealing ‘don’t ask, don’t tell,’ the contentious 17-year old Clinton-era law that sought to allow gays to serve under the terms of an uneasy compromise that required them to keep their sexuality a secret.” [New York Times, 12/22/10]
