Florida Parenting Plan Form 2015-2021: Fill & Download for Free

From Reddit's idontreadresponses: (http://www.reddit.com/r/PoliticalDiscussion/comments/zw1cm/what_exactly_were_obamas_promises_in_his_08/):Within his first week, he signed an Executive Order ordering an audit of government contracts, and combating waste and abuse. http://1.usa.gov/dUvbu5[1]Created the post of Chief Performance Officer, whose job it is to make operations more efficient to save the federal government money. http://n.pr/hcgBn1[2]On his first full day, he froze White House salaries. http://on.msnbc.com/ewJUIx[3]He appointed the first Federal Chief Information Officer to oversee federal IT spending. http://www.cio.gov[4]He committed to phasing out unnecessary and outdated weapons systems.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. http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/04/06/gates.budget.cuts[5] http://www.ndia.org/Advocacy/PolicyPublicationsResources/Documents/WSARA-Public-Law-111-23.pdf[6]Through an executive order, he created the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform.http://money.cnn.com/2010/02/18/news/economy/obama_debt_commission/index.htm[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[8] http://1.usa.gov/e3BJMk[9]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 economyby 3.5%. http://reut.rs/i46CEE[10]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[11] http://247wallst.com/2011/03/31/tarp-might-make-money/[12]He created the Making Home Affordable home refinancing plan. http://1.usa.gov/goy6zl[13]Oversaw the creation of more jobs in 2010 alone than Bush did in eight years. http://newsjunkiepost.com/2010/10/08/its-official-more-private-sector-jobs-created-in-2010-than-during-entire-bush-years/[14]Along with Democrats, and almost no Republicans, implemented an auto industry rescue plan, and saved as many as 1 million jobs. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-03/31/content_11102980.htm[15] Many are of the opinion that he saved the entire auto industry, and even the economy of the entire Midwest. http://www.tnr.com/blog/jonathan-cohn/78781/obama-gm-detroit-auto-bailout-worked[16] This resulted in GM returning to its place as the top car company in the world. http://lat.ms/zIJuQx[17] Willard Romney, on the other hand, advocated for the entire industry to go belly-up. http://nyti.ms/k0zp[18]Doubled funding for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership, which is designed to improve manufacturing efficiency. http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/obameter/promise/7/double-funding-for-the-manufacturing-extension-par/[19]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.http://abcn.ws/g18Fe7[20]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.http://1.usa.gov/gIaNcS[21]Increased infrastructure spending after years of neglect. http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/stimulus/2009/01/08/poll-americans-strongly-back-increase-in-infrastructure-spending.html[22]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://www.zillow.com/blog/mortgage/2009/05/21/president-obama-signs-helping-families-save-their-homes-act[23]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://www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com/[24] http://themortgagereports.com/3173/home-buyer-tax-credit-2010[25]Initiated a $15 billion plan designed to encourage increased lending to small businesses.http://1.usa.gov/eu0u0b[26]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.) http://www.business.gov[27]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[28]Took steps to improve minority access to capital. http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/promise/16/increase-minority-access-to-capital[29]Signed an Executive Order instructing federal agencies to review all federal regulations and remove any unnecessary and/or burdensome regulations from the books. http://1.usa.gov/Lpo5bd[30]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/ez30Dc[31]Dismantled the Minerals Management Service, thereby cutting ties between energy companies and the government. http://nyti.ms/bw1MLu[32]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. http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/promise/188/increase-funding-for-local-emergency-planning[33]Used recovered TARP money to fund programs at local housing finance agencies in California, Florida, Nevada, Arizona and Michigan. http://on.msnbc.com/i1i8eV[34]Crafted an Executive order establishing the President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability to assist in financial education for all Americans. http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Executive_Order_13530[35]Signed an order banning gifts from lobbyists to anyone in the Executive Branch. http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/obameter/promise/427/ban-lobbyist-gifts-to-executive-employees/[36]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[37]Held the first-ever first online town hall from the White House, and took questions from the public.http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5h2uzQs2_XBgeHotRBvNhY7DR572g[38]Became the first to stream every White House event, live. http://1.usa.gov/kAgOP5[39]Established a central portal for Americans to find service opportunities. http://www.serve.gov[40]Provided the first voluntary disclosure of the White House Visitors Log in history. http://1.usa.gov/hQ7ttV[41]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. http://1.usa.gov/gUetLb[42]Improved aspects of the Freedom of Information Act, and issued new guidelines to make FOIA more open and transparent when processing FOIA requests. http://1.usa.gov/gjrnp2[43]Ordered 65 executives who took bailout money to cut their own pay until they paid back all bailout money.http://huff.to/eAi9Qq[44]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. http://www.salon.com/news/2010/05/20/us_financial_overhaul_10[45] http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/barackobama/barackobamawallstreetreformactsigning.htm[46]Through Dodd-Frank legislation, created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau http://1.usa.gov/j5onG[47]Through Dodd-Frank, the Executive Branch fashioned rules that reduce the influence of speculators in the oil market. http://mediamatters.org/research/2012/04/18/dodd-frank-does-regulate-oil-speculation-but-th/185142[48]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://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20008835-503544.html[49]Supported the concept of allowing stockholders to vote on executive compensation. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20008835-503544.html[50]Endorsed and supported the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act of 2009 that would close offshore tax avoidance loopholes. http://www.financialtaskforce.org/2009/10/27/president-obama-statement-on-foreign-account-tax-compliance-act-of-2009/[51] http://www.financialtaskforce.org/2009/10/27/the-foreign-account-tax-compliance-act-of-2009/[52]Negotiated a deal with Swiss banks that now permits the US government to gain access to the records of criminals and tax evaders. http://www.law.com/jsp/law/international/LawArticleIntl.jsp?id=1202433002570[53]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[54]Established a Consumer Protection Financial Bureau designed to protect consumers from financial sector excesses. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20008835-503544.html[55]Oversaw and then signed a Democratic bill constituting the most sweeping food safety legislation since the Great Depression. http://thedc.com/gxkCtP[56]Through the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act, extended the False Claims Act to combat fraud by companies and individuals usingmoney from the TARP and Stimulus programs. http://www.lorman.com/newsletter/article.php?article_id=1297&newsletter_id=274&category_id=8&topic=LIT[57]Along with Congressional Democrats, advocated for and signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which made it a federal crime to assault anyone based on his or her sexual orientation or gender identity. http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/10/28/hate.crimes/index.html[58]Pushed through, signed and demanded the Pentagon enact a repeal of the discriminatory “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy that forced soldiers to lie in order to be eligible to fight for their country, and put our troops at risk by disqualifying many qualified soldiers from helping. http://articles.cnn.com/2010-12-22/politics/dadt.repeal_1_repeal-openly-gay-men-president-barack-obama?_s=PM:POLITICS[59] http://www.enewspf.com/reader-blogs/view/259-dont-ask-dont-tell-ends-tuesday-forever-in-the-usa.html[60]Extended benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees. http://1.usa.gov/g2RLCj[1]Appointed more openly gay officials than anyone in history. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/oct/26/obama-has-appointed-most-us-gay-officials/[2]Appointed first openly transgender Cabinet Official in History. http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/01/04/transgender-woman-appointed-to-commerce-department/[3]Changed HUD rules to prohibit gender and sexual orientation-based discrimination in housing http://www.keennewsservice.com/2010/07/07/hud-clarifies-lgbt-housing-discrimination-protections/Changed his mind and publicly expressed support for the right to enter into a same-sex marriage.http://articles.cnn.com/2012-05-09/politics/politics_obama-same-sex-marriage_1_gay-marriage-civil-unions-word-marriage?_s=PM:POLITICS[4]Issued a Presidential Memorandum reaffirming the rights of gay couples to make medical decisions for each other. http://1.usa.gov/aUueGT[5]Wrote and signed an Executive Order establishing a White House Council on Women and Girls to ensure that all Cabinet and Cabinet-level agencies evaluate the effect of their policies and programs on women and families.http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/11/obamas-council-on-women-and-girls[6] http://1.usa.gov/rFfqMM[7]Signed the Democratic-sponsored Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which restored basic protections against pay discrimination for women and other workers. This was after the GOP blocked the bill in 2007. Only 5 Republican Senators voted for the bill.[8]Expanded funding for the Violence Against Women Act. http://1.usa.gov/dSbI0x[9]Under his guidance, National Labor Relations Board issued final rules that require all employers to prominently post employees' rights where all employees or prospective employees can see it, including websites and intranets, beginning November 2011. http://1.usa.gov/qu2EhQ[10]Advocated that United Nations adopt a policy supporting gay rights worldwide. http://lat.ms/pQe1RS[11]Issued an order requiring hospitals to allow visitation by same-sex couples. reut.rs/llNJekAppointed Kareem Dale as the first ever Special Assistant to the President for Disability Policy.http://1.usa.gov/fi5IY0[12]Helped Democrats in Congress pass and signed the Civil Rights History Act. http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h586/show[13]Visited more countries and met with more world leaders than any previous president during his first six months in office. http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2009/nov/19/chain-email/chain-e-mail-claims-obama-has-visited-more-countri[14]As he promised, he gave a speech at a major Islamic forum in Cairo early in his administration.http://nyti.ms/dKvY4g[15]Helped to restore America's reputation around the world as a global leader that does the "right thing" in world affairs, at least according to the rest of the world. http://pewglobal.org/docs/?DocID=12[16] http://pewglobal.org/2010/06/17/2010-pew-global-attitudes-press-conference-video/[17]Re-established and reinforced our partnership with NATO and other allies on strategic international issues.http://1.usa.gov/e7QuDj[18]Closed a number of secret detention facilities. http://nyti.ms/rpUc9l[19]Improved relations with Middle East countries by appointing special envoys. http://1.usa.gov/tiGAGe[20]Pushed for military to emphasize devlopment of foreign language skills. http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/obameter/promise/380/bolster-the-militarys-ability-to-speak-different-/[21]Offered $400 million to the people living in Gaza, called on both Israel and the Palestinians to stop inciting violence. http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/obama-offers-abbas-400m-in-extra-aid-for-gaza-in-flotilla-aftermath-1.295093[22]Refused to give Israel the green light to attack Iran over their possible nuclear program, and thus avoid another war that Republicans wanted. http://articles.cnn.com/2009-07-07/politics/obama.israel.iran_1_iran-military-action-israel?_s=PM:POLITICS[23]Worked with Democratic Congress to make donations to Haiti tax deductible in 2009. http://huff.to/6YkAVY[24]Established a new U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue. http://1.usa.gov/eX28DP[25]Issued Executive Order blocking interference and helping to stabilize Somalia. http://1.usa.gov/hxdf8U[26]Established new, more reasonable policies in our relations with Cuba, such as allowing Cuban-Americans to visit their families and send money to support them. http://n.pr/hY3Kwa[27] http://nyti.ms/emQBde[28]Ordered the closure of the prison at Guantanamo Bay. It was Republicans (and, unfortunately, progressive Democrats) who prevented follow through. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/20/barack-obama-guantanamo-congress-veto[29]Ordered a review of our detention and interrogation policy, and prohibited the use of torture, or what Bush called "enhanced interrogation." He ordered interrogators to limit their actions to the Army Field manual.http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/01/22/guantanamo.order/index.html[30]Ordered all secret detention facilities in Eastern Europe and elsewhere to be closed. http://bbc.in/h6N9ax[31]Released the Bush torture memos. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/apr/16/torture-memos-bush-administration[32]On his second day in office, he signed a detailed Executive Order that banned torture, reversed all Bush torture policies, and put the United States in compliance with the Geneva Convention. http://1.usa.gov/dL6Zve[33]http://nyti.ms/hzWWys[34]In response to the emerging "Arab Spring," he created a Rapid Response fund, to assist emerging democracies with foreign aid, debt relief, technical assistance and investment packages in order to show that the United States stands with them. http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/obameter/promise/215/create-a-rapid-response-fund-for-emerging-democrac/[35]Passed the Iran Sanctions Act, to prevent war, and to encourage Iran to give up their nuclear program.http://1.usa.gov/wLtNjb[36]Ended the Iraq War. http://tgr.ph/ru0tyS[37]Authorized and oversaw a secret mission by SEAL Team Six to rescue two hostages held by Somali pirates.[38]Created a comprehensive new strategy for dealing with the international nuclear threat.http://1.usa.gov/gDX1nE[39]Authorized a $1.4 billion reduction in Star Wars program in 2010. http://1.usa.gov/gLFZl2[40]Restarted nuclear nonproliferation talks and built up the nuclear inspection infrastructure/protocols to where they had been before Bush. http://lat.ms/gkcl3i[41]Signed and pushed through ratification a new SALT Treaty. http://politicsreport.com/news/new-salt-treaty-ratified-71-26[42]Negotiated and signed a new START Treaty that will lst until at least 2021. http://1.usa.gov/cI1bC4[43]Through the Defense Authorization Act, reversed the Bush Administration and committed to no permanent military bases in Iraq. http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/promise/132/no-permanent-bases-in-iraq[44]Developed first comprehensive strategy with regard to Afghanistan and Pakistan designed to facilitate the defeat of al Qaeda and the withdrawal of most troops, as well as the rebuilding of Afghanistan. http://wapo.st/ee4Xcs[45]Returned our focus to Afghanistan, stabilized the country, and began the process of withdrawing our troops from the country. http://www.seattlepi.com/national/politico/article/Obama-to-withdraw-troops-from-Afghanistan-1434332.php[46]Negotiated a deal with Afghan govenment, to withdraw troops and military support, while assisting in rebuilding and modernizing of the country. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/05/21/obama-s-plan-to-announce-afghanistan-withdrawal-at-nato-summit-is-shrewd-politics.html[47]Took steps to severely weaken al Qaeda and limited their ability to terrorize the world. http://yhoo.it/n5lXs6[48]Negotiated and signed a nuclear nonproliferation treaty with India. http://1.usa.gov/aHp0Cn[49]Took decisive action to use NATO to limit the slaughter of innocents in Libya, so that the Libyan people could topple a despotic government and determine their own fate. http://aje.me/qAh4Sj[50]Along with Congressional Democrats, not only reauthorized families of fallen soldiers to be able to visit when the body arrives at Dover AFB, but also provided funding for it. Ended the media blackout on coverage of the return of fallen soldiers. http://nyti.ms/glqN66[51] http://bbc.in/gWSSkAFunded Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) with an extra $1.4 billion to improve veterans’ services.http://1.usa.gov/huhqfo[1]Provided active combat troops with better body armor. http://articles.cnn.com/2009-04-09/politics/obama.war.funding_1_afghanistan-al-qaeda-and-taliban-war-spending?_s=PM:POLITICS[2]Created Joint Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record program for military personnel, in order to improve the quality of their medical care. http://1.usa.gov/f4yaxW[3]Put an end to the Bush-era stop-loss policy that kept soldiers in Iraq/Afghanistan beyond their enlistment date. (personal note: my son will be in harm’s way for six fewer months with Obama as president, so you know I love this one.) http://nyti.ms/e2YQ7Q[4]Along with Congressional Democrats, supported and signed Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act, which made more money available to enable better medical care for veterans.http://1.usa.gov/fN4ur1[5]Along with Congressional Democrats, ushered through largest spending increase in 30 years for Department of Veterans Affairs, with money to go to improved medical facilities, and to assist states in acquiring or constructing state nursing homes and extended care facilities. http://1.usa.gov/gY8O3x[6]Created the Green Vet Initiative, which provided special funding to the Labor Department to provide veterans with training in green jobs. http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/promise/466/create-a-green-vet-initiative-to-promote-environ[7]Initiated and signed a recruitment and employment plan to get more veterans into government jobs.http://www.fedshirevets.gov/pdf/Vets_Initiative_Strategic_Plan.pdf[8]Oversaw a $4.6 billion expansion of the Veterans Administration budget to pay for more mental health professionals. http://www4.va.gov/budget/products.asp[9]Signed the Military Spouses Residency Relief Act, which ensures that spouses of military personnel who are forced to move because their spouse is posted for military duty will be able to avoid state taxes in their temporary residence. http://www.journalofaccountancy.com/Web/20092342.htm[10]Repeatedly increased funding for student financial aid, and at the same time cut the banks completely out of the process. http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/obameter/promise/275/expand-pell-grants-for-low-income-students/[11] http://www.ourfuture.org/report/2009031325/obama-s-budget-supporting-students-not-banks[12] http://www.dailycal.org/article/108071/proposed_federal_budget_will_increase_financial_ai[13]Reformed student loan program, to make it possible for students to refinance at a lower rate.http://nyti.ms/dMvHOt[14]Through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act , invested heavily in elementary, secondary and post-secondary education. http://1.usa.gov/gGRIAr[15]Created the Race to the Top program, which encouraged states to come up with effective school reforms and rewards the best of them. http://valerievisconti.com/index.php?/work/race-to-the-top-making-history/[16]Oversaw major expansion of broadband availability in K-12 schools nationwide http://articles.cnn.com/2010-07-01/politics/obama.broadband.connection_1_broadband-services-broadband-access-new-businesses?_s=PM:POLITICS[17] ,Oversaw major expansion in school construction. http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/2009/02/in_his_first_ever_press.html[18]Also through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, he put $5 billion into early education, including Head Start. http://1.usa.gov/tzT2Rr[19]Signed the Democratic-sponsored Post-9/11 GI Bill, also known as GI Bill 2.0 http://military-education.military.com/2011/01/president-signs-gi-bill-2-0/[20]Oversaw expansion of the Pell Grants program, to expand opportunity for low income students to go to college.http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/obameter/promise/275/expand-pell-grants-for-low-income-students/[21]Along with Democratic Congress, passed and signed Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which provided an extra $12.2 billion in funds. http://1.usa.gov/dQvtUe[22]Took major new steps to protec students from ineffective for-profit colleges through "gainful employment" measures, whereby schools have to demonstrate that its students actually find work to get federal aid.http://1.usa.gov/jkzQe2[23]With First Lady Michelle Obama, passed the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act, which will improve nutrition in schools and make children healthier. http://1.usa.gov/GAXkSk[24]Restored federal agencies such as FEMA to the point that they have been able to manage a huge number of natural disasters successfully. http://www.independentmail.com/news/2010/nov/10/obama-declares-record-number-federal-natural-disas/[25]Authorized Navy SEALS to successfully secure the release of a US captain held by Somali pirates and increased patrols off the Somali coast. http://nyti.ms/efBO7B[26]Has repeatedly beefed up border security http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/obameter/promise/286/secure-the-borders/[27]Ordered and oversaw the Navy SEALS operation that killed Osama bin Laden. http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/obameter/promise/901/we-will-kill-bin-laden/[28]Created a Presidential Memorandum to restore scientific integrity in government decision-making.http://1.usa.gov/g2SDuw[29]Opened up process for fast-tracking patent approval for green energy projects. http://cleantechnica.com/2010/11/11/green-innovation-getting-more-support-from-fast-patent-approval-process/[30]Eliminated Bush-era restrictions on embryonic stem cell research, and provided increased federal support for biomedical and stem cell research. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/mar/09/obama-administration-stem-cell-funding[31] http://ti.me/edezge[32]Through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, committed more federal funding, about $18 billion, to support non-defense science and research labs. http://nyti.ms/fTs9t7[33]Signed Democratic-sponsored Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Act, the first comprehensive attempt to improve the lives of Americans living with paralysis. http://www.christopherreeve.org/site/c.ddJFKRNoFiG/b.4442889/k.EC4B/Christopher_and_Dana_Reeve_Paralysis_Act.htm[34]Expanded the Nurse-Family Partnership program, which provides home visits by trained registered nurses to low-income expectant mothers and their families, to cover more first-time mothers. http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/obameter/promise/229/expand-the-nurse-family-partnership-to-all-low-inc/[35]Obama EPA reveresed research ethics standards which allowed humands to be used as "guinea pigs" in tests of the effects of chemicals, to comply with numerous codes of medical ethics. http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/06/chemical-testing/[36]Conducted a cyberspace policy review. http://1.usa.gov/gmbdvC[37]Provided financial support for private sector space programs. http://www.commercialspaceflight.org/?p=458[38]Oversaw enhanced earth mapping, to provide valuable data for agricultural, educational, scientific, and government use. http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/promise/345/enhance-earth-mapping[39]Along with Democrats in Congress, ushered through and signed a bill authorizing FDA to regulate tobacco.http://on.msnbc.com/fiKViB[40] As a result, the FDA has Ordered Tobacco Companies to Disclose Cigarette Ingredients and banned sale of cigarettes falsely labeled as “light.”Through American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, provided $500 million for Health Professions Training Programs. http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/obameter/promise/76/expand-funding-to-train-primary-care-providers-and/[41]Increased funding for community-based prevention programs. http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/obameter/promise/77/increase-funding-to-expand-community-based-prevent/[42]Oversaw a 50% decrease in cost of prescription drugs for seniors. http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-4872&tab=summary[43]http://1.usa.gov/fVNkt9[44]Eliminated the Bush-era practice of forbidding Medicare from negotiating with drug companies on price.http://www.pharmatimes.com/article/11-04-15/US_govt_will_negotiate_Medicare_drug_prices_says_Obama.aspx[45]Two weeks after taking office, signed Democratic-sponsored Children’s Health Insurance Reauthorization Act, which increased the number of children covered by health insurance by 4 million. http://themiddleclass.org/bill/children039s-health-insurance-program-reauthorization-act-2009[46]Urged Congress to investigate Anthem Blue Cross for raising premiums 39% without explanation. Democratic Rep. Waxman responded by launching a probe, and Anthem Blue Cross put increase on hold for two months.http://yhoo.it/e8Tj9C[47]Ushered through and signed Affordable Care Act, which expanded health insurance coverage to at least 30 million more people, ended many common insurance company practices that are often detrimental to those with coverage. He also established healthcare.gov, so that taxpayers could keep up with developments.http://www.healthcare.gov/[48]Through ACA, allowed children to be covered under their parents’ policy until they turned 26.http://nyti.ms/fNB26V[49]Through the ACA, provided tax breaks to allow 3.5 million small business to provide health insurance to their employees, and 29 million people will receive tax breaks to help them afford health insurance.http://nyti.ms/fNB26V[50]Through the ACA, expanded Medicaid to those making up to 133% of the federal poverty level.http://nyti.ms/ekMWpo[51]Through the ACA, health insurance companies now have to disclose how much of your premium actually goes to pay for patient care. http://nyti.ms/fNB26V[52]Provisions in theACA have already resulted in Medicare costs actually declining slightly this fiscal year, for the first time in many years, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The increase in 2011 was 4%, which is very low compared to the average 12% annual inflation rate during previous 40 years.http://1.usa.gov/oMxpTh[53]Through the ACA, expanded space exploration and discovery options to more players http://www.commercialspaceflight.org/2009/08/nasa-announces-plan-to-invest-in-commercial-crew-concepts/[54]Worked to provide affordable, high-quality child care to working families. http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/promise/244/provide-affordable-high-quality-child-care[1]Cracked down on companies that were previously denying sick pay, vacation and health insurance, and Social Security and Medicare tax payments through abuse of the employee classification of independent contractor.http://nyti.ms/fOGLcj[2]Through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act , cut taxes for 95% of America's working families.http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2008/sep/18/barack-obama/a-credit-for-workers-cuts-taxes-for-middle-class[3]Tax rates for average working families are the lowest since 1950. http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/robert-schlesinger/2011/02/08/under-obama-taxes-reach-lowest-level-since-truman[4]Extended and fully funded the patch for the Alternative Minimum Tax for 10 years. http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/01/alternative-minimum-tax-now-part-of-the-senate-stimulus.php[5]Extended discounted COBRA health coverage for the unemployed from 9 months to 15 months, and he’s extended unemployment benefits several times. http://aol.it/evtVxD[6] http://nyti.ms/emrqKJ[7]http://money.cnn.com/2009/11/05/news/economy/Extending_unemployment_benefits/index.htm[8] http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Obama+compromises+with+extend+cuts+unemployment+benefits/3941758/story.html[9]Provided a $20 billion increase for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Food Stamps).http://nyti.ms/gfLqyM[10]Signed an Executive Order that established the White House Office of Urban Affairs. http://wapo.st/eWECA8[11]Fast-tracked regulations to allow states to enact fuel efficiency standards that exceeded federal standards.http://nyti.ms/e8e94x[12]Fast-tracked increased fuel economy standards for vehicles beginning with the 2011 model year. It was the first time such standards had been increased in a decade. http://politi.co/hiaPKM[13]Oversaw establishment of an Energy Partnership for the Americas, to create more markets for American-made biofuels and green energy technologies. http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/obameter/promise/225/establish-an-energy-partnership-for-the-americas/[14]Obama EPA reversed a Bush-era decision to allow the largest mountaintop removal project in US history.http://cleantechnica.com/2011/01/13/obama-administration-reverses-largest-appalachian-mountaintop-removal-permit-in-us-history/[15]Ordered the Department of Energy to implement more aggressive efficiency standards for common household appliances. http://1.usa.gov/g3MTbu[16]Ordered energy plants to prepare to produce at least 15% of all energy through renewable resources like wind and solar, by 2021. http://reut.rs/fV155p[17] (As you can see, Republicans are trying hard to kill it.)Oversaw the creation of an initiative that converts old factories and manufacturing centers into new clean technology centers. http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/obameter/promise/310/establish-program-to-convert-manufacturing-centers/[18]Bypassed Republican opposition in Congress and ordered EPA to begin regulating and measuring carbon emissions. http://www.energyboom.com/policy/us-epa-begin-regulating-carbon-emissions[19]Obama EPA ruled that CO2 is a pollutant. http://cleantechnica.com/2009/12/06/epa-wields-timely-stick-ruling-co2-a-public-danger-before-copenhagen-climate-decision/[20]Oversaw doubling federal spending on clean energy research. http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/obameter/promise/495/double-federal-spending-for-research-on-clean-fuel/[21]Pushed through a tax credit to help people buy plug-in hybrid cars. http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/obameter/promise/459/enact-tax-credit-for-consumers-for-hybrid-cars/[22]Created a program to develop renewable energy projects on the waters of our Outer Continental Shelf that will produce electricity from wind, wave, and ocean currents. http://1.usa.gov/fgfRWq[23]Reengaged in the climate change and greenhouse gas emissions agreements talks, and proposed one himself. He also addressed the U.N. Climate Change Conference, officially reversing the Bush era stance that climate change was a “hoax.” http://pubs.acs.org/cen/news/87/i51/8751notw11.html[24][25] http://nyti.ms/hfeqvv[26]Fully supported the initial phase of the creation of a legally-binding treaty to reduce mercury emissions worldwide. http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/feb2009/2009-02-16-02.asp[27]Required states to provide incentives to utilities to reduce their energy consumption. http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/obameter/promise/475/require-states-to-provide-incentives-for-utilities/[28]Following the neglect of Bush’s eight year reign, he reengaged in a number of treaties and agreements designed to protect the Antarctic. http://jonbowermaster.com/blog/2009/04/obama-calls-for-limits-on-antarctic-tourism[29]Created tax write-offs for purchases of hybrid automobiles, and later he and Democrats morphed that program into one that includes electric cars. http://www.hybridcars.com/federal-incentives.html[30]Mandated that federal government fleet purchases be for fuel-efficient American vehicles, and encouraged that federal agencies support experimental, fuel-efficient vehicles. http://blogs.edmunds.com/greencaradvisor/2009/06/gsa-buys-210-million-worth-of-fuel-efficient-vehicles-from-us-carmakers.html[31]http://1.usa.gov/fLWq5c[32] http://1.usa.gov/hmUSbk[33]Oversaw and pushed through amendment to the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 authorizing advances from Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. http://1.usa.gov/yTRYVo[34]Actively tried to amend the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 to eliminate the liability limits for those companies responsible for large oil spills. http://nyti.ms/bxjDi3[35]Initiated Criminal and Civil inquiries into the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. http://nyti.ms/bVuB7a[36]Through his EPA, he asserted federal legal supremacy, and barred Texas from authorizing new refinery permits on its own. http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/business/article/EPA-bars-Texas-authority-to-issue-refinery-730499.php?&showAllComments=y[37]Strengthened the Endangered Species Act. http://www.stopextinction.org/media/releases/89-release-president-obama-restores-endangered-species-protections.html[38]Obama EPA improved boiler safety standards to improve air quality, and save 6500 lives per year.http://www.nrdc.org/media/2011/110223a.asp[39]Through the EPA, attemped to take steps to severely limit the use of antibiotics in livestock feed, to increase their efficacy in humans. http://www.grist.org/article/food-FDA-takes-steps-to-limit-use-of-antibiotics-in-livest[40]Through new EPA regulations, he created a pretext for closing the dirtiest power plants in the country, by limiting emissions of mercury and other toxic gasses. http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/200833-obama-praises-epa-mercury-rule[41]Increased funding for National Parks and Forests by 10% http://www.npca.org/media_center/press_releases/2009/park_funding_102909.html[42]Announced greatly improved commercial fuel efficiency standards. http://1.usa.gov/oQiC1K[43]Announced a huge increase in average fuel economy standards from 27.5mpg in 2010 to 35.5mpg starting in 2016 and 54.5 starting in 2025 http://1.usa.gov/qtghsW[44]Expanded trade agreements to include stricter labor and environmental agreements such as NAFTA.http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/obameter/promise/8/include-environmental-and-labor-standards-in-trade/[45]Oversaw funding of the design of a new Smithsonian National Museum of African American History, which is scheduled to open on the National Mall in 2015. He protected the funding during the recent budget negotiations.http://on.fb.me/fD0EVO[46] http://thedailyrecord.com/2011/04/18/most-smithsonian-funding-intact-under-budget-deal/[47]Oversaw and passed increased funding for the National Endowment for the Arts. http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/obameter/promise/327/support-increased-funding-for-the-nea/[48]Nominated Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court. Sotomayor is the first Hispanic Justice in the court’s history, and the women represent only the third and fourth women to serve on the court, out of a total of 112 justices. http://huff.to/eOChg6[49] http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/2010/aug/05/elena-kagan-us-supreme-court[50]Appointed the most diverse Cabinet in history, including more women than any other incoming president.http://www.diversityinc.com/content/1757/article/6319[51]Eliminated federal funding for abstinence-only education, and rescinded the global gag rule.http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jul/20/bush-teen-pregnancy-cdc-report[52] http://www.guttmacher.org/media/inthenews/2009/01/23/index.html[53]Loosened the rules and allowed the 14 states that legalized medical marijuana to regulate themselves without federal interference. http://huff.to/eQfa7j[54]Signed national service legislation, increasing funding for national service groups, including triple the size of the Americorps program. http://articles.cnn.com/2009-04-21/politics/obama.service_1_summer-of-service-program-americorps-national-service?_s=PM:POLITICS[55]Signed an Executive Order that will speed up deployment of a more comprehensive broadband infrastructure.http://1.usa.gov/M7rVpe[56]Signed an Executive Order creating jobs immediately by instructing them to reduce the time needed for review and permitting of infrastructure projects. http://1.usa.gov/GHxaYt[57]Signed a bill that provided $4.3 billion in additional assistance to 9/11 first reponders. http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2011/01/03/911-responder-bill-becomes-law[58]Signed an Executive Order pledging support for efforts to end the global problem of violence against women and girls. http://1.usa.gov/MHTRVU[59]Despite the characterizations of some, Obama’s success rate in winning congressional votes on issues was an unprecedented 96.7% for his first year in office. Though he is often cited as superior to Obama, President Lyndon Johnson’s success rate in 1965 was only 93%. http://n.pr/i3d7cYThrough the Connect America Fund, pushed through and received FCC approval for a move of $8 billion in subsidies away from telephone landlines to assist lower-income rural families in accessing broadband.http://lat.ms/vhRUEs[55]

What really stands out to me is how many red State governors ignored and suppressed vital facts, actually punished State employees because they tried to inform the public, while refusing to enact face mask laws. The Governor of Florida lovingly promoted tired Donny’s deliberate attempt to just wish the pandemic away. Their actions should be criminal. State legislators should but won’t impeach these governor's for their grievous actions.Let’s face it, Donny did nothing. The COVID-19 virus has killed 330,000 plus Americans. He never thought that this was a national emergency. Yes, he invoked the war powers act but essentially did nothing with it. When Donny actually had the ability to take definitive action, create a truly viable federal response, he just passed. He knew the real danger but simply didn’t care. So the red States leaders gleefully followed his example.The following is just a sample of Donny’d denials, lies, guesses and prevarications about the pandemic.“All the President’s Lies About the CoronavirusAn unfinished compendium of Trump’s overwhelming dishonesty during a national emergencyCHRISTIAN PAZNOVEMBER 2, 2020THE ATLANTICEditor’s Note: The Atlantic is making vital coverage of the coronavirus available to all readers. Find the collection here.Updated at 2:20 p.m. ET on November 2, 2020.President Donald Trump has repeatedly lied about the coronavirus pandemic and the country’s preparation for this once-in-a-generation crisis.Here, a collection of the biggest lies he’s told as the nation endures a public-health and economic calamity. This post will be updated as needed.When: Friday, February 7, and Wednesday, February 19The claim: The coronavirus would weaken “when we get into April, in the warmer weather—that has a very negative effect on that, and that type of a virus.”The truth: When Trump made this claim, it was too early to tell whether the virus’s spread would be dampened by warmer conditions, though public-health experts and epidemiologists were immediately skeptical of Trump’s comment. But the spring and summer have passed, and the pandemic is still raging.When: Thursday, February 27The claim: The outbreak would be temporary: “It’s going to disappear. One day, it’s like a miracle—it will disappear.”The truth: Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, warned days later that he was concerned that “as the next week or two or three go by, we’re going to see a lot more community-related cases.” He was right—the virus has not disappeared.When: Multiple timesThe claim: If the economic shutdown continues, deaths by suicide “definitely would be in far greater numbers than the numbers that we’re talking about” for COVID-19 deaths.The truth: More than 200,000 Americans have died from COVID-19. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suicide is one of the leading causes of death in the United States. But the number of people who died by suicide in 2017, for example, was roughly 47,000, nowhere near the COVID-19 numbers. Estimates of the mental-health toll of the Great Recession are mixed. A 2014 study tied more than 10,000 suicides in Europe and North America to the financial crisis. But a larger analysis in 2017 found that although the rate of suicide was increasing in the United States, the increase could not be directly tied to the recession and was attributable to broader socioeconomic conditions predating the downturn.When: Multiple timesThe claim: “Coronavirus numbers are looking MUCH better, going down almost everywhere,” and cases are “coming way down.”The truth: When Trump made these claims in May, coronavirus cases were either increasing or plateauing in the majority of American states. Over the summer, the country saw a second surge even greater than its first in the spring.Juliette Kayyem: The emotionally challenging next phase of the pandemicWhen: Wednesday, June 17The claim: The pandemic is “fading away. It’s going to fade away.”The truth: Trump made this claim ahead of his rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, when the country was still seeing at least 20,000 new daily cases and a second spike in infections was beginning.When: Thursday, July 2The claim: The pandemic is “getting under control.”The truth: Trump’s claim came as the country’s daily cases doubled to about 50,000, a higher count than was seen at the beginning of the pandemic, and as the number continued to rise, fueled by infections in the South and the West.When: Saturday, July 4The claim: “99%” of COVID-19 cases are “totally harmless.”The truth: The virus can still cause tremendous suffering if it doesn’t kill a patient, and the WHO has said that about 15 percent of COVID-19 cases can be severe, with 5 percent being critical. Fauci has rejected Trump’s claim, saying the evidence shows that the virus “can make you seriously ill” even if it doesn’t kill you.When: Monday, July 6The claim: “We now have the lowest Fatality (Mortality) Rate in the World.”The truth: The U.S. had neither the lowest mortality rate nor the lowest case-fatality rate when Trump made this claim. As of July 13, the case-fatality rate—the ratio of deaths to confirmed COVID-19 cases—was 4.1 percent, which placed the U.S. solidly in the middle of global rankings. At the time, it had the world’s ninth-worst mortality rate, with 41.33 deaths per 100,000 people, according to Johns Hopkins University.When: Multiple timesThe claim: Mexico is partly to blame for COVID-19 surges in the Southwest.The truth: Even before Latin America’s COVID-19 cases began to rise, the U.S. and Mexico had jointly agreed in March to restrict nonessential land travel between the two countries, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection says illegal border crossings are down compared with last year. Health experts say blaming Mexican immigrants for surges is misguided, especially when most of the individuals crossing the border are U.S. citizens who live nearby.When: Multiple timesThe claim: Children are “virtually immune” to COVID-19.The truth: The science is not definitive, but that doesn’t mean children are immune. Studies in the U.S. and China have suggested that kids are less likely than adults to be infected, and more likely to have mild symptoms, but can still spread the virus to their family members and others. The CDC has said that about 7 percent of COVID-19 cases and less than 0.1 percent of COVID-19-related deaths have occurred in children.When: Thursday, August 27The claim: The U.S. has “among the lowest case-fatality rates of any major country anywhere in the world.”The truth: When Trump said this, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, and India all had lower case-fatality rates than the U.S., which sat in the middle of performance rankings among all nations and among the 20 countries hardest hit by the virus.When: Thursday, August 27The claim: Trump “launched the largest national mobilization since World War II” against COVID-19, and America “developed, from scratch, the largest and most advanced testing system in the world.”The truth: These claims are incorrect and misleading. The federal government’s coronavirus response has been roundly criticized as a failure because of flawed and delayed testing, entrenched inequality that has amplified the virus’s effects, and chaotic federal leadership that’s left much of the country’s response up to the states to handle. Trump vacillated on fully invoking the Defense Production Act in March, set off international panic when he mistakenly said he was banning all travel from European nations, and was slow to support social-distancing measures nationwide. Widespread use of the DPA was still rare in July, despite continued shortages of medical supplies.Another claim: Trump celebrated a gain of 9 million jobs as “a record in the history of our country” and said that the United States had experienced “the smallest economic contraction of any major Western nation.”The truth: The country did gain 9 million jobs from May to July—after losing more than 20 million from February to April, during the pandemic’s first surge. And more than a dozen developed countries have recorded smaller economic contractions than America’s recession.When: Multiple timesThe claim: America is “rounding the corner” and “rounding the final turn” of the pandemic.The truth: Trump made these claims before and after the country registered 200,000 coronavirus deaths. As the winter approaches, the number of coronavirus cases is increasing in almost every state; in the last week of October, cases rose faster than reported tests in 47 of the 50 states, according to the COVID Tracking Project.When: Multiple timesThe claim: The media is overblowing fears about the virus ahead of Election Day.The truth: There is no media conspiracy to hype up the virus threat. Cases and hospitalizations are rising across the country, and America set and broke multiple daily case records during the last week of October, nearing 100,000 cases in a single day on Friday.When: Multiple timesThe claim: "What happens is, you get better” after being sick with COVID-19. “That's what happens: You get better.”The truth: While most cases of COVID-19 are mild, that doesn’t negate the risk the virus poses. As of the beginning of November, it has killed more than 220,000 Americans.Another claim: “You get better and then you’re immune.”The truth: Although similar viruses provide some short-term immunity after recovery, doctors don’t yet know how long COVID-19 immunity lasts, especially given anecdotal reports of reinfection. Trump’s claim also ignores the long-term side effects of contracting COVID-19 that so-called long-haulers have reported.When: Multiple timesThe claim: A CDC study shows that “85 percent of the people wearing masks catch” the virus.The truth: The CDC study that the president cited in interviews does not suggest that people who wear masks get the virus at higher rates than those who don’t, CNN reported. The lie also distorts the purpose of mask-wearing, which is chiefly to protect other people from the virus, not to protect only the mask-wearer herself.Blaming the Obama AdministationWhen: Wednesday, March 4The claim: The Trump White House rolled back Food and Drug Administration regulations that limited the kind of laboratory tests states could run and how they could conduct them. “The Obama administration made a decision on testing that turned out to be very detrimental to what we’re doing,” Trump said.The truth: The Obama administration drafted, but never implemented, changes to rules that regulate laboratory tests run by states. Trump’s policy change relaxed an FDA requirement that would have forced private labs to wait for FDA authorization to conduct their own, non-CDC-approved coronavirus tests.When: Friday, March 13The claim: The Obama White House’s response to the H1N1 pandemic was “a full scale disaster, with thousands dying, and nothing meaningful done to fix the testing problem, until now.”The truth: Barack Obama declared a public-health emergency two weeks after the first U.S. cases of H1N1 were reported, in California. (Trump declared a national emergency more than seven weeks after the first domestic COVID-19 case was reported, in Washington State.) While testing is a problem now, it wasn’t back in 2009. The challenge then was vaccine development: Production was delayed and the vaccine wasn’t distributed until the outbreak was already waning.When: Multiple timesThe claim: The Trump White House “inherited” a “broken,” “bad,” and “obsolete” test for the coronavirus.The truth: The novel coronavirus did not exist in humans during the Obama administration. Public-health experts agree that, because of that fact, the CDC could not have produced a test, and thus a new test had to be developed this year.The claim: The Obama administration left Trump “bare” and “empty” shelves of medical supplies in the national strategic stockpile.The truth: The 2009 H1N1 outbreak did deplete the N95 mask supply and was never replenished, but the Obama administration did not leave the stockpile empty of other materials. While the stockpile has never been funded at the levels some experts have requested, its former director said in 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic, that it was well-equipped. (The outbreak has since eaten away at its reserves.)When: Sunday, May 10The claim: Referring to criticism of his administration’s response, Trump tweeted: “Compare that to the Obama/Sleepy Joe disaster known as H1N1 Swine Flu. Poor marks ... didn’t have a clue!”The truth: It is misleading to compare COVID-19 to H1N1 and to call the Obama administration’s response a disaster, as my colleague Peter Nicholas has reported. In 2009, the CDC quickly flagged the new flu strain in California and began releasing antiflu drugs from the national stockpile two weeks later. A vaccine was available in six months.Another claim: Trump later attacked “Joe Biden’s handling of the H1N1 Swine Flu.”The truth: Biden was not responsible for the federal government’s response to the H1N1 outbreak, as Nicholas has also explained.On Coronavirus TestingWhen: Friday, March 6, and Monday, May 11The claim: “Anybody that needs a test, gets a test. We—they’re there. They have the tests. And the tests are beautiful” and “If somebody wants to be tested right now, they’ll be able to be tested.”The truth: Trump made these two claims two months apart, but the truth was the same both times: The U.S. did not have enough testing.When: Wednesday, March 11The claim: In an Oval Office address, Trump said that private-health-insurance companies had “agreed to waive all co-payments for coronavirus treatments, extend insurance coverage to these treatments, and to prevent surprise medical billing.”The truth: Insurers agreed only to absorb the cost of coronavirus testing—waiving co-pays and deductibles for getting the test. The Families First Coronavirus Response Act, the second coronavirus-relief bill passed by Congress, later mandated that COVID-19 testing be made free. The federal government has not required insurance companies to cover follow-up treatments, though some providers announced in late March that they will pay for treatments. The costs of other non-coronavirus testing or treatment incurred by patients who have COVID-19 or are trying to get a diagnosis aren’t waived either. And as for surprise medical billing? Mitigating it would require the cooperation of insurers, doctors, and hospitals.Read: The dangerous delays in U.S. coronavirus testing haven’t stoppedWhen: Friday, March 13The claim: Google engineers are building a website to help Americans determine whether they need testing for the coronavirus and to direct them to their nearest testing site.The truth: The announcement was news to Google itself—the website Trump (and other administration officials) described was actually being built by Verily, a division of Alphabet, the parent company of Google. The Verge first reported on Trump’s error, citing a Google representative who confirmed that Verily was working on a “triage website” with limited coverage for the San Francisco Bay Area. But since then, Google has pivoted to fulfill Trump’s public proclamation, saying it would speed up the development of a new, separate website while Verily worked on finishing its project, The Washington Post reported.When: Tuesday, March 24, and Wednesday, March 25The claim: The United States has outpaced South Korea’s COVID-19 testing: “We’re going up proportionally very rapidly,” Trump said during a Fox News town hall.The truth: When the president made this claim, testing in the U.S. was severely lagging behind that in South Korea. As of March 25, South Korea had conducted about five times as many tests as a proportion of its population relative to the United States. For updated data from each country, see the COVID-19 Tracking Project and the database maintained by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.When: Monday, May 11The claim: America has “developed a testing capacity unmatched and unrivaled anywhere in the world, and it’s not even close.”The truth: At the time, the United States was still not testing enough people and was lagging behind the testing and tracing capabilities that other countries had developed. The president’s testing czar, Brett Giroir, and Fauci confirmed the need for more testing at a May 12 Senate hearing.Another claim: The United States has conducted more testing “than all other countries together!”The truth: By May 18, when Trump last made this claim, the U.S. had conducted more tests than any other country. But it had not conducted more tests than the rest of the world combined. (As of May 27, more than 14 million tests have been administered in America.)When: Multiple timesThe claim: “Cases are going up in the U.S. because we are testing far more than any other country.”The truth: COVID-19 cases were not rising because of “our big-number testing.” Outside the Northeast, the share of tests conducted that came back positive was increasing in the summer, with the sharpest spike happening in southern states. In some states, such as Arizona and Florida, the number of new cases being reported was outpacing any increase in the states’ testing ability. And as states set new daily case records and reported increasing hospitalizations, all signs pointed to a worsening crisis.When: Multiple timesThe claim: “The Cases are up because TESTING is way up”The truth: The president made this claim multiple times during the summer surge of the pandemic, and is repeating that lie now as the country experiences a third surge. In reality, positive cases are outpacing tests around the country, the COVID Tracking Project reports, following a similar trajectory as the summer surge.On Travel Bans and TravelersWhen: Wednesday, March 11The claim: The United States would suspend “all travel from Europe, except the United Kingdom, for the next 30 days,” Trump announced in an Oval Office address.The truth: The travel restriction would not apply to U.S. citizens, legal permanent residents, or their families returning from Europe. At first, it applied specifically to the 26 European countries that make up the Schengen Area, not all of Europe. Trump later announced the inclusion of the United Kingdom and Ireland in the ban.Another claim: In the same address, Trump said the travel restrictions would “not only apply to the tremendous amount of trade and cargo but various other things as we get approval.”The truth: Trump followed up in a tweet, explaining that trade and cargo would not be subject to the restrictions.When: Thursday, March 12The claim: All U.S. citizens arriving from Europe would be subject to medical screening, COVID-19 testing, and quarantine if necessary. “If an American is coming back, or anybody is coming back, we’re testing,” Trump said. “We have a tremendous testing setup where people coming in have to be tested … We’re not putting them on planes if it shows positive, but if they do come here, we’re quarantining.”The truth: Testing was already severely limited in the United States when Trump claimed this in the spring. It was not true that all Americans returning to the country were being tested, nor that anyone was being forced to quarantine, CNN reported.Read: Trump’s European travel ban doesn’t make senseWhen: Tuesday, March 31The claim: “We stopped all of Europe” with a travel ban. “We started with certain parts of Italy, and then all of Italy. Then we saw Spain. Then I said, ‘Stop Europe; let’s stop Europe. We have to stop them from coming here.’”The truth: The travel ban applied to the Schengen Area, as well as the United Kingdom and Ireland, and not all of Europe as he claimed. Additionally, Trump is wrong about the United States rolling out a piecemeal ban. The State Department did issue advisories in late February cautioning Americans against travel to the Lombardy region of Italy before issuing a general “Do Not Travel” warning on March 19. But the U.S. never placed individual bans on Italy and Spain.When: Multiple timesThe claim: “Everybody thought I was wrong” about implementing restrictions on travelers from China, and “most people felt they should not close it down—that we shouldn’t close down to China.”The truth: While the WHO did say it opposed travel bans on China generally, Trump’s own top health officials have made clear that the travel ban was the “uniform” recommendation of the Department of Health and Human Services. Fauci and Deborah Birx, the coordinator of the coronavirus task force, both praised the decision too.When: Multiple timesThe claim: The Trump administration’s travel restrictions on China were a “ban” that closed up the “entire” United States and “kept China out.”The truth: Nearly 40,000 people traveled from China to the United States from February 2, when Trump’s travel restrictions went into effect, to April 4, The New York Times reported. Those rules also do not apply to all people: American citizens, green-card holders and their relatives, and people on flights coming from Macau and Hong Kong are not included in the “ban.”On Taking the Pandemic SeriouslyWhen: Tuesday, March 17The claim: “I’ve always known this is a real—this is a pandemic. I felt it was a pandemic long before it was called a pandemic … I’ve always viewed it as very serious.”The truth: Trump has repeatedly downplayed the significance of COVID-19 as outbreaks began stateside. From calling criticism of his handling of the virus a “hoax,” to comparing the coronavirus to a common flu, to worrying about letting sick Americans off cruise ships because they would increase the number of confirmed cases, Trump has used his public statements to send mixed messages and sow doubt about the outbreak’s seriousness.When: Thursday, March 26The claim: This kind of pandemic “was something nobody thought could happen … Nobody would have ever thought a thing like this could have happened.”The truth: Experts both inside and outside the federal government sounded the alarm many times in the past decade about the potential for a devastating global pandemic, as my colleague Uri Friedman has reported. Two years ago, my colleague Ed Yong explored the legacy of Ebola outbreaks—including the devastating 2014 epidemic—to evaluate how ready the U.S. was for a pandemic. Ebola hardly impacted America—but it revealed how unprepared the country was.On COVID-19 Treatments and VaccinesWhen: Monday, March 2The claim: Pharmaceutical companies are going “to have vaccines, I think, relatively soon.”The truth: The president’s own experts told him during a White House meeting with pharmaceutical leaders earlier the same day that a vaccine could take a year to 18 months to develop. In response, he said he would prefer that it take only a few months. He later claimed, at a campaign rally in Charlotte, North Carolina, that a vaccine would be ready “soon.” Many months later, this is still not true.When: Thursday, March 19The claim: At a press briefing with his coronavirus task force, Trump said the FDA had approved the antimalarial drug chloroquine to treat COVID-19. “Normally the FDA would take a long time to approve something like that, and it’s—it was approved very, very quickly and it’s now approved by prescription,” he said.The truth: FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn, who was at the briefing, quickly clarified that the drug still had to be tested in a clinical setting. An FDA representative later told Bloomberg that the drug has not been approved for COVID-19 use, though a doctor could still prescribe it for that purpose. Later that same day, Fauci told CNN that there is no “magic drug” to cure COVID-19: “Today, there are no proven safe and effective therapies for the coronavirus.”When: Friday, April 24The claim: Trump was being “sarcastic” when he suggested in a briefing on April 23 that his medical experts should research the use of powerful light and injected disinfectants to treat COVID-19.The truth: Trump’s tone did not seem sarcastic when he made the apparent suggestion to inject disinfectants. Turning to Birx and a Department of Homeland Security science-and-technology official, he mused: “I see the disinfectant, where it knocks it out in a minute. One minute. And is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning? … It would be interesting to check that.” When he walked this statement back the next day, he added that he was only asking his experts “to look into whether or not sun and disinfectant on the hands [work].”When: Friday, May 8The claim: The coronavirus is “going to go away without a vaccine … and we’re not going to see it again, hopefully, after a period of time.”The truth: Fauci has repeatedly said that the coronavirus’s sudden disappearance “is just not going to happen.” Until the country has “a scientifically sound, safe, and effective vaccine,” Fauci said in May, the pandemic will not be over.Read: Why does the president keep pushing a malaria drug?When: Multiple timesThe claim: Taking hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19 is safe and effective. “I happen to be a believer in hydroxy. I used it. I had no problem. I happen to be a believer,” Trump said on one occasion. “It doesn’t hurt people,” he commented on another.The truth: Trump’s own FDA has warned against taking the antimalarial drug with or without the antibiotic azithromycin, which Trump has also promoted. Several large observational studies in New York, France, and China have concluded that the drug has no benefit for COVID-19 patients, and Fauci and Trump’s testing czar, Brett Giroir, have also cautioned against it as the president has repeated this claim in recent months.Another claim: “One bad” study from the Department of Veterans Affairs that found no benefit among veterans who took hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19 was run by “people that aren’t big Trump fans.” The study “was a Trump-enemy statement.”The truth: There’s no evidence that the study was a political plot orchestrated by Trump opponents, and it reached similar conclusions as other observational reports. The VA study was led by independent researchers from the University of Virginia and the University of South Carolina with a grant from the National Institutes of Health.Another claim: Many frontline doctors and workers are taking hydroxychloroquine to prevent COVID-19.The truth: Multiple trials are under way to determine if health-care workers should take the drug as a preventative. But there are no conclusive numbers for how many workers are taking the drug outside of those studies.When: Thursday, August 6The claim: A coronavirus vaccine could be ready by Election Day.The truth: The timeline Trump proposes contradicts health experts’ consensus that early 2021 is likely the soonest a vaccine could be widely available.When: Tuesday, September 29The claim: “We’re weeks away from a vaccine,” Trump said at the first debate.The truth: Redfield has said a COVID-19 vaccine may not be widely available to the American public until the summer of next year. Two of the three drug companies working on a vaccine have said they hope to have only initial clinical-trial results by the end of this year.When: Multiple timesThe claim: A CDC study shows that “85 percent of the people wearing masks catch” the virus.The truth: The CDC study that the president cited in interviews does not suggest that people who wear masks get the virus at higher rates than those who don’t, CNN reported. The lie also distorts the purpose of mask-wearing, which is chiefly to protect other people from the virus, not to protect only the mask-wearer herself.On the Defense Production ActWhen: Friday, March 20The claim: Trump twice said during a task-force briefing that he had invoked the Defense Production Act, a Korean War–era law that enables the federal government to order private industry to produce certain items and materials for national use. He also said the federal government was already using its authority under the law: “We have a lot of people working very hard to do ventilators and various other things.”The truth: Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Peter Gaynor told CNN on March 22 that the president has not actually used the DPA to order private companies to produce anything. Shortly after that, Trump backtracked, saying that he had not compelled private companies to take action. Then, on March 24, Gaynor told CNN that FEMA plans to use the DPA to allocate 60,000 test kits. Trump tweeted afterward that the DPA would not be used.Jane Chong: How to actually use the Defense Production ActWhen: Saturday, March 21The claim: Automobile companies that have volunteered to manufacture medical equipment, such as ventilators, are “making them right now.”The truth: Ford and General Motors, which Trump mentioned at a task-force briefing the same day, announced earlier in March that they had halted all factory production in North America and were likely months away from beginning production of ventilators, representatives told the Associated Press. Since then, Ford CEO James Hackett told CNN that the auto company will begin to work with 3M to produce respirators and with General Electric to assemble ventilators. GM said it will explore the possibility of producing ventilators in an Indiana factory. Tesla CEO Elon Musk, whose company Trump highlighted in a tweet, has said that the company is “working on ventilators” but that they cannot be produced “instantly.”On States’ ResourcesWhen: Tuesday, March 24The claim: Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York passed on an opportunity to purchase 16,000 ventilators at a low cost in 2015, Trump said during the Fox News town hall.The truth: Trump seems to have gleaned this claim from a Gateway Pundit article. That piece, in turn, cites a syndicated column from Betsy McCaughey, a former lieutenant governor of New York, which includes a figure close to 16,000. The number comes from a 2015 report from the state’s health department that provided guidance for how New York could handle a possible flu pandemic. The report notes that the state would need 15,783 more ventilators than it had at the time to aid patients during “an influenza pandemic on the scale of the 1918 pandemic.” The report does not include a recommendation to Cuomo for additional purchases or stockpiling. Trump “obviously didn’t read the document he’s citing,” a Cuomo representative said in a statement.Another claim: Trump also repeated a claim from the Gateway Pundit article that Cuomo’s office established “death panels” and “lotteries” as part of the state’s pandemic response.The truth: The 2015 report and the accompanying press release announced updated guidelines for hospitals to follow to allocate ventilators. The guidelines “call for a triage officer or triage committee to determine who receives or continues to receive ventilator therapy” and describes how a random lottery allocation might work. (Neither should be the first options for deciding care, the report notes.) Cuomo never established a lottery.When: Sunday, March 29The claim: Trump “didn’t say” that governors do not need all the medical equipment they are requesting from the federal government. And he “didn’t say” that governors should be more appreciative of the help.The truth: The president told Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Thursday, March 26, that “a lot of equipment’s being asked for that I don’t think they’ll need,” referring to requests from the governors of Michigan, New York, and Washington. He also said, during a Friday, March 27, task-force briefing, that he wanted state leaders “to be appreciative … We’ve done a great job.” He added that he wasn’t talking about himself, but about others within the federal government working to combat the pandemic.When: Sunday, March 29, and Monday, March 30The claim: Hospitals are reporting an artificially inflated need for masks and equipment, items that might be “going out the back door,” Trump said on two separate days. He also said he was not talking about hoarding: “I think maybe it’s worse than hoarding.”The truth: There is no evidence to show that hospitals are maliciously hoarding or inflating their need for masks and personal protective equipment when reporting shortages in supplies. Although Cuomo reported anecdotal stories of thefts from hospitals early in March, he was referring to opportunists trying to price-gouge early in the pandemic. Reuters has reported a handful of stories of nurses hiding masks to conserve supplies amid shortages, but not wide-scale thefts as Trump claimed.On ChinaWhen: Tuesday, April 14The claim: Asked about his past praise of China and its transparency, Trump said that he hadn’t “talk[ed] about China’s transparency.”The truth: Trump lauded the country in tweets he sent in late January and early February. In one, he highlighted the Chinese government’s “transparency” about the coronavirus outbreak.Read: How China is planning to win back the worldWhen: Friday, May 29The claim: The WHO ignored “credible reports” of the coronavirus’s spread in Wuhan, the Chinese city that first reported the new virus, including those published in The Lancet medical journal in December.The truth: The Lancet said it did not publish such reports in December. Its first reports on the virus’s spread in Wuhan were published on January 24.Another claim: Taiwanese officials had warned the WHO about human-to-human transmission of a new virus by December 31.The truth: Taiwan did not cite “human to human” transmission in the communications Trump referenced, but it did ask for more information and compared the virus to SARS.Another claim: In mid-January, the WHO said the coronavirus could not be transmitted between humans.The truth: The WHO did say on January 12 that early investigations by China could find “no clear evidence” of human-to-human transmission in Wuhan, but it did not rule such transmission out. Two days later, a WHO official said during a press conference that “it is possible that there is limited human-to-human transmission” among families, and warned hospitals around the world to prepare for a greater outbreak.”So, the Governor’s hear Trump’s fairy tales and say to themselves, “hell, there’s nothing to worry about” or something very similar. The dereliction of duty by our president almost outweighs the grievous actions of the red State governors. The COVID-19 deaths and infections could have been reduced significantly if Donny would have jumped out of his reality television host persona and actually acted presidential. But not our Donny, no, no, being an actual leader is way out of his comfort zone.

VA Caregiver Program Opens to Eligible WWII, Korea and Vietnam Vetswill continue to look for more information on old soldiers and the VA IWorld War II veterans about to take part in the Veterans Day parade in Panama City, Florida, November 11, 2015. (U.S. Navy/Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Fred Gray IV)31 Jul 2020Military and Veteran Benefits, News, Veteran Jobs | By Patricia KimeAfter a yearlong delay, veterans from World War II through Vietnam who need around-the-clock care from a loved one can apply for the Department of Veterans Affairs' family caregiver program, starting Oct. 1.The VA announced Friday in the Federal Register that the program's expansion to include veterans who served on or before May 7, 1975, will begin with several changes that affect all who are enrolled, including current veterans and caregivers.Read Next: 1 Marine Dead, 8 More Missing After AAV Accident Off California CoastUnder the new rules, veterans with a single or combined service-connected disability rating of 70% or higher, who also meet certain criteria and served before the 1975 date, are eligible to apply in October.The VA will determine whether the applicant fits into one of two categories: Level 1, those who need substantial caregiving but are more capable than the most disabled cohort; or Level 2, those who are not able to "self-sustain in the community," meaning they require continuous supervision and help with three or more daily activities.According to the VA, the stipend amount for the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregiving will be dependent on geography and level. A caregiver in Dallas, supporting a Level 2 veteran, for example, would receive a monthly stipend of roughly $2,803.17. For someone caring for a Level 1 veteran, it would be $1,751.98.Those currently enrolled in the program and those with a pending application will be reassessed under the new eligibility criteria over the next year, according to the VA.If a reassessment results in an increased stipend, the veteran and their caregiver would receive the new amount, as well as a lump sum of retroactive pay back to Oct. 1, 2020. If the assessment determines the veteran is eligible for a decreased amount, the VA will give them notice by Oct. 2, 2021, and the decrease would go into effect "no earlier than 60 days" after they receive the notice.For veterans who are currently enrolled but deemed during the reassessment to be ineligible under the new criteria, the VA will inform the veteran at or around Oct. 1, 2021, and their benefits would continue for 90 days following discharge from the program.As part of the assessment, the VA will examine the level of activity veterans can do themselves each day, taking into account whether they can dress themselves, bathe, groom themselves, adjust a prosthetic or orthotic device on their own, go to the bathroom without assistance, feed themselves or need help moving around their homes.The 2018 VA Mission Act required the department to expand its caregiver program to include combat veterans from previous wars. The current program, which was established in 2011, serves combat-wounded veterans of the post-9/11 era and has helped 38,000 former service members at a cost of roughly $900 million annually.VA Secretary Robert Wilkie said Friday that the new regulation allows the most "vulnerable veterans to stay home with loved ones for as long as possible.""The expanded regulation addresses the complexity and expense of keeping Veterans at home with their families who provide personalized care," Wilkie said in a release.Under the Mission Act, the program will undergo another expansion on Oct. 1, 2022, to include combat veterans who served between 1975 and Sept. 11, 2001.In addition to expanding eligibility beyond those who are combat wounded, the new regulations define new procedures for discharging former service members from the program, standardize operating procedures and provide new training for staff and caregivers. The changes also will give caregivers access to financial planning and legal services.The program was the target of a VA Office of Inspector General investigation in 2018 that found problems with how the department managed the program, accepted applicants and monitored the health of those who were discharged from the program.The IG found that the department also paid out $4.8 million to caregivers of veterans who weren't eligible for the program.Last year, four spouses and two fiancees of veterans eligible for the program sued the VA for allegedly improperly revoking their benefits or denying them.More information on the VA's caregiver program can be found on its website.-- Patricia Kime can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @patriciakime.Related: Military Caregivers File Lawsuit, Saying VA Improperly Revoked BenefitsRelated TopicsMilitary Headlines Veteran Benefits Spouse and Family Benefits Family and Spouse Veteran Caregiver© Copyright 2020 Military and Veteran Benefits, News, Veteran Jobs. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.You May Also LikeWilkie Says Bigger VA Budget Is Proof Trump Backs Veterans and TroopsArmy Redesigns Leave Forms to Simplify Time-Off RequestsWhen I Explain 9/11 to My KidsVeterans are Divided About Reports Trump Disparaged MilitaryMilitary NewsThe US Military Coronavirus ResponseMilitary OpinionMilitary EventsArmyNavyAir ForceMarine CorpsCoast GuardUnited States Space ForceSelect ServiceARMYMARINESNAVYAIR FORCENATIONAL GUARDCOAST GUARDSPOUSELOGINMost Popular Military NewsIt's Official: White House to Award First Medal of Honor for Heroism in Fight Against ISISIt's Official: Sgt. Maj. 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