Public Employee Press

2012 ELECTION
Obama's first term
Key accomplishments

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which cut taxes for small businesses and 95 percent of working families. The act also included emergency funding to save 300,000 jobs in education and more than 4,600 jobs in law enforcement. Additional funds were invested in the clean energy sector that supported 224,500 jobs through 2010. Overall the economy has added 4.4 million private sector jobs and has had 30 straight months of private-sector growth.

Investing in education has been a priority for the Obama administration. His best-known initiative has been Race to the Top, which rewards states with money for raising standards, helping teachers improve and turning around underperforming schools. But he has also made college more affordable by doubling the funding for Pell Grants and created the American Opportunity Tax Credit, worth as much as $10,000 over four years of school. Reforming student loans has also been a priority. Starting in 2014 new borrowers will pay no more than 10 percent of their disposable income and any remaining debt will be forgiven after 20 years.

The Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act was the first bill the president signed into law. It established the Equal Pay Taskforce and supports the Paycheck Fairness Act giving women more tools to fight pay discrimination.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act will provide health insurance for 34 million Americans by the time the law is fully implemented in 2014. Consumers will have coverage no matter if they lose or change their jobs, leave their jobs to start a business or decide to retire early. The law also created the $10 billion Prevention and Public Health Fund, the largest federal investment in community health prevention. With Obamacare, many insurance companies are starting to fully cover birth control without co-pays or deductibles as part of women's preventive care.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The agency defends consumers from unfair and abusive financial practices and makes sure that credit card companies and mortgage and payday lenders follow the law. The president's energy policies have also helped consumers save money at the gas pump. By doubling fuel efficiency standards consumers will save more than $8,000 at the pump. The initiative will also create jobs in the auto industry and save 12 billion barrels of oil. Under President Obama we are producing more oil than we have in 14 years.

The United States has become a world leader in natural gas with production at an all-time high. He is promoting the safe, responsible development of our nearly 100-year supply of natural gas, which could create more than 600,000 new jobs by the end of the decade. Obama has addressed the budget deficit with spending cuts and by increasing revenue. The deficit will be reduced by more than $4 trillion, including the $1 trillion he signed into law last summer. The Obama budget also includes investments in education, manufacturing and infrastructure while bringing discretionary spending down to its lowest level in more than 50 years.

President Obama appointed Sonia Sotomayor, the first Hispanic woman to the Supreme Court.Sotomayor was raised in the South Bronx and graduated from Cardinal Spellman High School. She served five years as an assistant district attorney in Manhattan.

DISCLAIMER: This portion of the website was paid for by AFSCME’s Political Action Committee, PEOPLE, with voluntary contributions from AFSCME members and their families, and is not authorized by any candidate of candidate’s committee.