Proposed Rules And Regulations - Boards For Design Professionals: Fill & Download for Free

Pre-Independence (before 1947)Post 1757 , when East India Company started to rule, they created CCS(Covenanted Civil Services) whose members signed covenants with company's board of directors.There was great corruption in British Bengal because of the political patronage. In 1773, British parliament enacted the 'Regulating Act' in India which established the post of Governor General.The India Act, 1784 established the principles of governance in India. Lord Cornwallis(1786-93) splitted the bureaucracy into two parts :- political branch responsible for civil governance and commercial branch for commercial activities.In 1800, Lord Wellesley setup the Fort William College in Madras in 1800 to induct new entrants into CCS.After 1886, It was called as Imperial Civil Service and its members were appointed under section XXXII of Government Of India Act, 1858.In 1914 5 % were Indians and In 1942, there were 597 Indians and 588 British.Macaulay Committee gave India its first modern civil service in 1854 which recommended that the patronage based system of the East India Company should be replaced by permanent civil service based on merit based system through competitive entry examinations.[4]The Report made it clear that only the best and the brightest would do for the Indian Civil Service (ICS).Aitchison Commission was setup in 1886 under the chairmanship of Sir Charles Umpherston Aitchison so that Indians can get employment in public service.It gave some recommendations :-Max age of entry = 23 yrs old3 tier classification :- Imperial, Provincial and Subordinate civil Services.Abolishment of Statuary Civil Services.Certain seats in Imperial to be filled from Provincial.The statuary Civil Service was abolished in 1892.Islington Commission was established in 1912 which was Royal Commission on Public Services in India.It gave following recommendations in 1915 :-Services under Govt of India to be classified into Class1 and Class 2.25 % of superior posts to be filled by Indians.Probationary period of 2 yrs for direct recruits.Recruitment to superior posts should be made partly in India and partly in England.The Montagu-Chelmsford Report accepted in principle the demand for Indianisation of the higher civil services and accordingly a provision for this was made in the Government of India Act, 1919[6]From 1922 Onwards, ICS exam began to be held in India.The Royal Commission of the Superior Civil Service in India under the Chairmanship of Lord Lee, in its 1924 Report, recommended setting up of Public Service Commission of India. The Public Service Commission of India was set up on 1st October, 1926 under the Chairmanship of Sir Ross Barker.The All India and class 1 central services were designated as Central Superior Services as early as 1924.By 1934 , Administration in India consisted of seven All India Services and five central departments, all under the control of Secretary of State for India, and 3 central departments under joint Provincial and Imperial Control.The Government of India Act, 1935 provided for the establishment of a Public Service Commission for each ProvincePost Independence (After 1947)Indian political leaders chose to retain some elements of the british structure of a Unified Administrative System such as open entry system based on academic achievements, training,permanent tenure, important post at union, state and district level for civil service etc.[5]The civil services can be categorised into :-1. All India Services : Whose members serve both the union and state governments2. Central Civil Services : serve only the union government.3. State Civil Services : state government.Article 312 of constitution empowers Parliament to create the All India Services on the fulfillment of certain conditions.Section 3 of AIS Act,1951 and the rules and regulations made by the government prescribe the selection process for the IAS. Similar provisions exist for IPS and IFoS.[7]Objectives behind AISPreserving national unity and integrity and uniform standards of Administration.Neutrality and Objectivity - non political,secular and non-sectarian outlook.Competence, efficiency and professionalism - at entry by attracting the best and brightest and throughout the career.Integrity and Idealism.The first administrative reforms Commission was setup in January, 1966 . It submitted 20 reports covering many aspects such as State,financial,personnel administration, machinery of GOI etc containing 537 major recommendations.A report indicating the implementation position was placed in parliament in Nov 1977.A gist of the recommendations are as follows :-Need for specialization :- A method of selection for senior management posts was laid down.Unified grading structure :- A structure based on qualifications and nature of duties and responsibilities was suggested.Recruitment : A single competitive exam for the Class 1 service with age limit raised to 26 yrs;discontinuation of direct recruitment to Class 2 services etcRecruitment agencies : A new procedure for appointment of members of the UPSC and State PSC was suggested; selection of recruitment board for selection of clerical staff was recommended.Training : A national policy on civil service training to be designed.Promotions : Detailed guidelines for promotions were outlined.Conduct and Discipline : Reforms in disciplinary enquiry proceedings and setting up of Civil Service Tribunals was suggested.Service Conditions: Th e Commission also gave recommendations on matters related to overtime allowances, voluntary retirement, exit mechanism, quantum of pension, government holidays, incentives and awards to be given on timely completion of projects, and establishing work norms for various posts that maybe reviewed by the Staff Inspection Unit.Various Commissions have been set up from time to time to make recommendations for Recruitment:-Report on Public Administration by A.D. Gorwala, 1951: no scope for patronage.Report on the Public Services (Qualifications for Recruitment) Committee, 1956 – also known as Dr. A. Ramaswami Mudaliar Committee Report: compulsary university degree for higher services, age limit 21-23.Report on Indian and State Administrative Services and Problems of District Administration by V.T. Krishnamachari, 1962: Recruitment to class 1 and 2 should be made annualy.ARC’s Report on Personnel Administration,1969: Single competitive exam , age limit 26, rectt boards for class 3 and 4 employees.Report of the Committee on Recruitment Policy and Selection Methods, 1976 – also known as the D.S. Kothari Committee Report: Two stage examination process - preliminary and mains, changes in training pattern.Report of the Committee to Review the Scheme of the Civil Services Examination, 1989 – also known as the Satish Chandra Committee ReportReport of the Civil Services Examination Review Committee, 2001, also known as Professor Yoginder K. AlaghCommittee Report: testing the candidates in a common subject rather than optional ones.Report of the Committee on Civil Service Reforms also known as the Hota Committee Report, 2004 : age 21-24, 5 yrs concession for SC/ST and 3 yrs for OBC, aptitude test may be introduced, probationers may be given 1 month time after starting of training to choose service.Recommendations on Training :-1951 A.D Gorwala Report : There must be an induction, trainings at intervals, director of training.1962 V.T Krishnamachari Report : trainings for State Civil Service Officers.1969 ARC report : national policy on civil services training, central training division.2003 Yugandhar Committee : need of mid career training programmes.ARC recommended 8 areas of specialization :- Economic, Industrial, Agriculture and Rural Development, Social and Educational, Personnel, Financial, Internal Security and Defence, Planning.The selection to these areas should be made through mid career competitive examination . All Class 1 officers with 8-12 yrs exp would be eligible.[8]Appleby report (1953): suggested the establishment of Organization & methods machinery and Institute of public administration . Both these recomm were implemented by government.Accountability :-Vigilance division in every Department.Article 311 for conducting disciplinary proceedings against civil servants.After completing 25 or 50 yrs , servant may be retired. Its in rule 56(j) of the Fundamental rules.ARC recommended the establishment of lokpal at centre and lokayukta in states to deal with complaints.Implementation of RecommendationsMany of the recommendations involving basic changes have not been acted upon and therefore, the framework, systems and methods of functioning of the civil services based on the Whitehall model of the mid-nineteenth century remains largely unchanged.Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academyof AdministrationOn April 15, 1958 the then Home Minister announced in the Lok Sabha a proposal to set up a National Academy of Administration, where training would be given to all the recruits of the Civil Services. The Ministry of Home Affairs decided to amalgamate the IAS Training School, Delhi and the IAS Staff College, Shimla to form a National Academy of Administration at Mussoorie.The Academy was set up in 1959 and was called the 'National Academy of Administration'.Its status was that of an 'attached office' of the Government of India under the Ministry of Home Affairs.In October 1972, its name was changed to "Lal Bahadur Shastri Academy of Administration" and in July 1973, the word "National" was added and the Academy is now known as the “Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration".The prestigious "Charleville Hotel" built around 1870, provided the location and initial infrastructure for the Academy. There have been subsequent expansions and several new buildings have been constructed and others acquired over the years.The Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration imparts training to members of the Indian Civil Services in a common Foundation Course for the All India Services and the Central Service Group-A; and professional training to regular recruits of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS).The Academy also conducts in service training courses for middle to senior level members of the IAS and induction level training for officers promoted to the IAS from the state civil services. It offers a range of specialized inputs for a diverse clientele. Individuals, Non-Government Organizations, the corporate sector, and Governments both within India and abroad are offered customized courses, which cater to their research and training requirements.The first director of the academy was A.N. Jha.Facilities at AcademyAcademy has all basic facilities e.g. equipped lecture rooms, conference halls, auditorium, library, mess, hostel, sports complex, dispensary, bank, post office, EPABX, computer lab, Internet, SVGA projectors to handle computer screens and VCR output, Slide and overhead projectors and Video recording of classroom sessions.The academy dispensary provides medical services, manned by a Senior Medical Officer, a Lady Medical Officer, nursing and technical staff. Academy has a pathology lab, an X-ray unit and a free homeopathic dispensary etc. Article -civilservicesias.com

The answer is simple and it will make you think twice about flying. Throw away your conspiracy theories, the simplest answer is almost always the right one. I was involved in the commercial and military programs that were partially ignited by TWA 800. The issue was known but TWA 800 made it a priority. All this falls under what is termed “ The Aging Aircraft Wiring Systems” initiatives., which were launched in earnest by multiple organizations once the severity was understood. The aviation industry in general was caught off guard. The FAA, AFRL, NAVAIR/ NAVSEA, DARPA, NASA, NTSB, Sandia, major universities and all the airframe OEM’s, all had major programs launched. We had no technology to assess how bad things had become but the initial findings were very bad, I mean scary bad. In many cases, it was starting to look like it would be cheaper to scrap some aircraft than trying to fix them.What they discovered is that the wiring insulation lost a lot more of its insulation properties over time than what was anticipated and that wire clamping and routing had to be re engineered in many cases . All this is especially true in aircraft fuel tanks. Jet fuel isnt explosive unless it is a vapor. The last place you want a bare wire where arcing could take place is in a fuel tank. The more aircraft they inspected the red flags were hoisted ever higher. It was so bad that the FAA issued directives on certain model aircraft, restricting them to not fly below a certain fuel level in the tanks. This was to assure that the bare wire areas were always submerged in fuel, especially during takeoffs and landings.Since then a lot has been done, but it is still a big problem. The OEM’s and the FAA have been working towards fuel tank inerting systems. Systems that siphon off the fuel vapor and replace it with nitrogen, eliminating the explosion risk.Just dig around a bit on the FAA’s website to see the details and you will think twice about boarding an old aircraft.A final note. One of the big engineering mistakes identified as the likely cause of such an explosion was that the wiring harness bundles were not segregated by what the wires were doing. The fuel level indicator sensors in the fuel tanks are low voltage and low current. They are designed not to spark. During these investigations and research initiatives, the original wiring harness designs were reviewed for potential problems. Sure enough there were plenty.The biggest risk came from bundling high power and high voltage wires together in the same harness as the low voltage sensor wires. Anyone who has ever worked on cars as a hobby can tell you about being zapped by the ignition coil through the wire insulation. In an aircraft, its the perfect storm for catastrophe. So common sense seemed to have been left out of the design meetings on a lot of this. This was one of the first things that they started to fix with Airworthiness Directives from the FAA.The final words from flight 800 right before the explosion, the captain was recorded as saying, “Look at that crazy fuel flow indicator there on number four, see that? The likely spark that ended the flight.Inside a 747 center wing tank .. size of a roomwalkthrough the fuel tanks in below video to appreciate the volumeAdditional notes …I have added information on what has happened in the industry, due to the many comments on maintenance, in the sections below.An NTSB presentation from back when i was involved with this ntsbfueltanks.pptA couple of slides from the above NTSB presentation from 2007 ….lots of people asked if other planes have had the issue…here are severalJUST ADDED - For those who want the hard core details on the latest environmental testing on wires : http://www.tc.faa.gov/its/worldpac/techrpt/ar082.pdfUSA Today http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/washdc/2001-05-02-faa.htm05/01/2001 - Updated 11:31 PM ETFAA to issue strict fuel-tank safety rulesBy Alan Levin, USA TODAYNearly five years after TWA Flight 800 exploded, federal aviation officials plan within days to issue tough new fuel-tank safety standards. The Federal Aviation Administration's final regulations would apply new standards to the entire fleet of about 7,000 commercial aircraft, several aviation sources told USA TODAY. The agency has estimated the changes will cost airlines about $170 million.The long-awaited rules address safety recommendations from the TWA 800 accident, which killed 230. The rules will require more inspections of tanks and revamped designs.The FAA estimated that without any changes the world's airlines could expect a fuel-tank explosion once every 4½ years. Officials hope the new fuel-tank rules will stretch the time between explosions to about 15 years.Instead of settling the issue, however, the new rules are intensifying the debate over what additional steps are needed to prevent fuel-tank blasts.The FAA last year proposed injecting tanks with inert gas to prevent explosions. But airline officials in recent weeks told an FAA advisory group that inert gas will not be necessary with the new standards, several aviation sources say. The airline industry contends the risks are so small that the estimated $1.6 billion cost of using inert gas would be better spent solving other safety problems.This contradicts findings by the National Transportation Safety Board last year that the only way to eliminate fuel explosions is by using inert gas.Three jets have been destroyed by center fuel tank explosions since 1990. On March 3, one person died when a Thai Airways International jet parked at a terminal in Bangkok was destroyed. Investigators for the National Transportation Safety Board say preliminary evidence shows the jet's center fuel tank exploded.Among the steps being taken to reduce the risks is an effort to get airlines to decrease use of on-board air conditioners, which heat fuel tanks. Last week, the FAA also issued an emergency order to shut off pumps in empty 737 tanks.USA Today Air-cooling gear can heat tanks05/01/2001 - Updated 10:00 PM ETAir-cooling gear can heat tanksBy Alan Levin, USA TODAYEvery day this summer, thousands of jets will take off with fuel tanks holding a heated, explosive mix of gases.Despite dozens of safety measures enacted since TWA Flight 800 exploded in 1996, officials continue to debate whether fuel tanks are safe enough. In the wake of another deadly fuel tank explosion aboard a jet in Bangkok, Thailand, in March, USA TODAY sought to determine how airlines in this country are following one suggestion to help reduce the heat in fuel tanks.In some Boeing jets, tanks sit next to air-conditioning systems that blast them with heat. At normal temperatures, jet fuel is difficult to ignite. But when fuel vapors get hot enough, a single spark can set off an explosion capable of breaking a jet apart in flight. Three such fatal explosions have destroyed jets since 1990.In a change from just a few years ago, many jets now use cold air piped in from the airport terminal instead of using the aircraft's own air conditioning, USA TODAY found.But roughly half of all flights in summer months still use the jets' air-conditioning systems, according to information from pilots, airline spokesmen and government officials."I think the running of the air-conditioning packs on the ground is the most important contributor to the development of (explosive) vapor," says Bernard Loeb, the recently retired head of the National Transportation Safety Board's aviation accident investigation team.After the TWA explosion, which killed 230 people, the NTSB recommended that air conditioning from the terminal be used.Explosions are rare, but the FAA estimates that on the average jet, fuel tanks are flammable 35% of the time. That could be reduced to 25% with mandatory use of alternative air-conditioning sources. Most of that risk occurs on the ground or shortly after takeoff. Cooler air at high altitudes cools fuel tanks.Spokesmen for Boeing, which built the three jets that exploded, and airlines say the tanks are safe. "We don't believe that the carriers who continue to run the (air-conditioning) packs have created an unsafe condition," Boeing spokesman Tim Neale says.One year ago, Boeing issued a letter to its customers suggesting that, "when available," airlines pipe cool air in from the terminal rather than run the on-board air conditioners. Airline officials say they have increasingly begun using "ground-conditioned air" in recent years, but more for economic than safety reasons. Cooling a jet with a system on the ground is cheaper than running a jet's air conditioners.Large carriers such as American Airlines and United Airlines direct pilots to switch off on-board air conditioners at terminals with an alternative source of cool air, spokesmen said.Airlines say that virtually all the nation's large hub airports are now equipped with air-conditioning systems at terminals. Southwest Airlines, which often flies to alternative destinations, uses ground air conditioning at about half of its most popular destinations, and the number is growing, spokeswoman Beth Harbin said.Alternative air conditioning can help only so much, however. Pilots report that some widebody jets are too big to be cooled exclusively by outside air, so they must continue to run on-board conditioners. And many outlying airports do not offer air conditioning.Because a jet's interior heats up so quickly in the sun, pilots say they sometimes have no alternative but to operate on-board conditioners. "I'm going down to Cancun, Mexico, this afternoon," airline pilot David Heekin said recently. "You better believe I'm going to have the air-conditioning packs going full swing."On jets made by McDonnell Douglas, such as the MD-11 and MD-80, the air conditioners were not placed next to the fuel tank. (Boeing now owns McDonnell Douglas.) Airbus placed air-conditioning packs next to tanks on its jets, but the company insulated the tanks and vented the area to reduce heat.see footnote link for overview of industry best practice and regulations on aircraft wiring from the FAA as a direct result of these activities.[1]Analysis of wreckage by Rendon GroupDisasters waiting to happen ……Photo of Arc-through of In-tank Fuel Pump Housing representative of post-accident inspection program (not from TWA 800) More aircraft would have shared the same or similar fate as TWA 800. We got lucky and fixed the problems first.Further ReadingAircraft Maintenance -The Inspection Process from http://www.coopind.com/news_AvMaint-WireMaintenance.htmOngoing wiring inspection is part of any aircraft’s regular safety check process. “In various checks (A/C/D-check) wiring is controlled visually for cleanness, cracks, chafing, color change and installation,” Arntz said. “This is done according to Original Equipment Manufacturer Standard Practice Manuals and EWIS (Electrical Wiring Interconnection System) tasks incorporated into the Aircraft Maintenance Program.”Still, unless something obvious happens—shortly before the explosion on TWA Flight 800, the captain was recorded as saying, “Look at that crazy fuel flow indicator there on number four, see that?”—electrical problems can go unnoticed. This is why such problems may not be found until the C- or D-Check, when “an aircraft is pretty much disassembled down to its bones,” said Frank Correro, StandardAero’s avionics manager in Springfield, Ill. “This is when technicians have their best opportunity to look at all of the aircraft’s wiring, to spot and rectify problems.” The only exceptions are self controlling systems built into an aircraft system that identify faults through BITE (Built-in Test Equipment) tests, and power wires that are specifically monitored with load control units (circuit breakers) to indicate system failure and protect wiring.Sometimes equipment manufacturers can help when aircraft wiring problems are identified in the shop. “Recently, HARCO was asked to look at a harness that had been in service for 20 years,” Gannon said. “The harness, which measured exhaust gas temperatures mated to probes, required exposed ring terminals to be fastened to the probe stud.” Now such an exposed ring terminal can invite moisture, which can reduce the insulation resistance of a wire harness. To address this, “Harco introduced some features to prevent the harness from absorbing water that improved the insulation resistance properties of the harness, and prevented false warning indicators from being triggered in the cockpit,” he said.What to Look ForUnfortunately for aircraft maintenance technicians, there is no advanced handheld device that can be waved over aircraft wires, to detect faults quickly and reliably. Instead, it takes careful visual inspections of wiring bundles, along with manipulation of wires for flexibility and signs of cracking, to detect problems before they become serious.“The problem is that most mechanics are not given extensive training in wiring inspection,” said Paul Sneden. He is an instructor at Global Jet Services. Based in Weatogue, Conn., Global Jet Services offers a range of professional development and continuing educations courses for aircraft technicians, including a week-long course in wiring inspection and maintenance that is used by MROs such as StandardAero. “They need extra hand-on training to identify and deal with the many signs of deteriorating aircraft wiring.”So what should mechanics be looking for when inspecting aircraft wiring? In general, anything that doesn’t look like factory-standard, Sneden replied. Ideally, wiring bundles should be secure but not under stress, with all clamps in place and properly locked. Exterior insulation should be unbroken and uncracked, and it should continue to be when flexed by hand to spot any hidden damage.Aging, faulty wiring is also thought to have contributed to the cockpit fire on Swissair 111 on September 2, 1998. While suggestive, the Canadian TSB investigation was unable to confirm if arcing from wiring of the in-flight entertainment system was the main event that ignited the flammable covering on insulation blankets that quickly spread across other flammable substances.Any form of staining is bad news. It could point to fluid leaking onto the wires, or deterioration of the wire’s insulation. “Similarly, any sign of chafing, charring, burning or arcing is not to be dismissed,” said Sneden. “The bundle needs to be removed and inspected, and if need be replaced.”That’s not all. Any signs of damage on wiring could be evidence of failures in other parts of the aircraft’s systems and airframe. The causes for wiring damage need to be tracked back to the source, so that these problems can be dealt with as well.A rule of thumb is the older and/or more used the aircraft, the more likely that the wiring is suffering from age-related deterioration. Since aircraft 20 years or older fall into the ‘aging’ category, mechanics need to be extra-vigilant when working on anything made in 1993 or earlier.Unfortunately, until the current wave of airline fleet renewals is over, MROs will find themselves coping with an increasing number of aging aircraft on a daily basis. The problem of wire deterioration is thus considered to be so serious, that “EWIS has been incorporated as a preventive measure to monitor wire aging,” said SR Technics’ Arntz. “Therefore it can be stated that on condition maintenance has been changed to a more preventive maintenance concept for wiring.”So far, “a complete re-wiring of aged wires is not yet a part of the rulemaking agenda,” he added. But this might change as active air fleets get older and if more aging wire issues emerge.Vigilance is VitalIf there is a moral to this tale, it is that aircraft wiring is a difficult-to-service element that must be monitored, inspected and maintained as rigorously as engines and avionics. The losses of TWA Flight 800 and Swissair Flight 111 point to the devastating consequences that can occur should this not happen.from An overview of the aircraft wiring issueBy David Evans, Editor Aviation Maintenance- Reprinted courtesy of Aviation Maintenance/Access IntelligenceThe potential hazard posed by bad aircraft wiring has generated a tremendous amount of activity in the industry. Some operators now treat wiring as a system, meriting attention during maintenance equivalent to the black boxes and other electrical components to which the wire is attached. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) proposal for fleetwide inspection of wiring in zones containing combustable materials or wiring within two inches of hydraulic, mechanical or electric flight controls could well involve a whole new - albeit necessary - burden on aircraft maintainers.The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) lent added urgency to the need for wiring inspections with its late June press conference, timed shortly before the 10 th anniversary of the TWA Flight 800 disaster, to reinforce and restate the Board’s concern about fuel tank safety and aging, cracked and deteriorated wiring. Recall that the accident airplane, an old B747-100, blew up shortly after takeoff from New York’s JFK International Airport on July 17,1996, for an overnight flight to Paris.All 230 aboard were killed when flammable vapors in the center wing fuel tank exploded. Electrical arcing in a bundle of wires outside the fuel tank produced a surge of current that passed down a fuel quantity indication system (FQIS) wire. As the Board noted in its press release of June 29, “The ignition of the flammable fuel/air mixture in the tank was attributed to an electrical failure.”Chafing the Dominant ProblemTo be sure, numerous airworthiness directives (Ads) have been issued since the TWA disaster, mandating wiring and other modifications to ensure electrical system safety. While the FAA does not have good records on the incidence of wire failures in the commercial industry, the U.S. Navy has amassed considerable information and insight. Navy data suggests that as many as one million man hours are spend annually in troubleshooting, isolating, locating and fixing wiring faults. Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) data suggests that nearly as many hours are spent on unscheduled wiring maintenance as on scheduled maintenance.Further, the data collected by NAVAIR indicated that chafing contributed to more than a third (37%) of all wiring failures on Navy aircraft during the period 1980-1999. Moreover, despite the fact that chafing, or the erosion of insulation and the exposure of conductor, is a known problem, and the tools to resolve it are available, analysis of data from the years 2000 to 2004 show that chafing remained the leader of all wire failure modes on Navy aircraft.Perhaps the closest to an industry wide measure for the commercial side comes from the fleet wide inspections mandated by the FAA for fuel system wiring on the B737 fleet in 1998. The inspections were directed after fuel was observed leaking from a conduit for wiring that had been opened by electrical arcing. All B737 operators were required to report their findings to the FAA. The inspections revealed a clear relationship between aircraft age and the severity of the severity of the problems found. Fully 30% of aircraft with more than 70,000 hours were found with severe chafing and bare wires.That is twice the percent found on B737s with fewer than 70,000 hours. Some commercial operators have raised awareness of good wiring husbandry and practices to be avoided. For example, United Air Lines has widely distributed a poster outlining the do’s and don’ts for wiring maintenance.United’s laudable effort notwithstanding, we offer below a somewhat broader perspective of the aircraft wiring issue, including a contrarian view to the search for ever thinner and lighter wire insulation.Wiring 101The amount matters. Modern jets contain 100-200 miles of wiring running into every nook and cranny of the airplane. To borrow a biological metaphor, the wiring is akin to the body’s nervous system.The trend matters. New jets feature more wiring carrying more current (the advent of wireless systems is reversing this trend). The cabin area of a new-production jet, for example, features wiring for such things as in-flight entertainment systems. A measurement the electric power generating capacity of 1st, 2nd, and current generation jets of comparable passenger-carrying capability would show a steady increase in aircraft electric power generating capability.Protection matters, Fire detection and suppression is inadequate. Enough electric power for a medium-size office building is concentrated in the electrical and equipment (E&E) bay located under the cockpit. The E&E bay has neither fire detection nor suppression. A runaway electrical fire downed Swissair Flight 111 in Sept. 1998; a month later a Delta Airlines L-1011 experienced an electrical fire behind the flight engineer’s panel, in a location where hand extinguishers were virtually useless. With about 100 miles remaining on a flight from Hawaii to California, the crew effected an emergency landing at San Francisco. This airplane could easily have been “another Swissair,” involving an airplane of U.S. registry.Age matters. Wiring is not immortal; it ages in service. Over time, the insulation can break, exposing conductor. Exposed conductors create a fertile field for ticking faults, spurious signals and, worse, full-blown electrical arcing. Any carrier with a significant population of its aircraft having 10 or more years’ service has an aging wire problem.Location matters. Wiring is subject to changes in temperature, moisture, vibration and chafing. In some areas of the aircraft, such as in the leading/trailing edges of the wing, the landing gear wheel wells, etc., the physical stresses are higher than in more protected areas (e.g., the cabin)Installation matters. Sharp bend radii, improperly supported wire bundles, mixed insulation types in the same bundle, routing high and low power circuits in the same bundle, to name a few sins, can exacerbate the known environmental effects. Arcing in a vertically oriented bundle is more hazardous than in one running horizontally. One might suggest the large wire bundles indicate an electrical wiring philosophy based on ease of installation during manufacture, not necessarily ease of maintenance for the operator.Type matters. Certain types of wire insulation, notably aromatic polyimide, have known properties of hardness, vulnerability to cracking, and the tendency to arc spectacularly. Indeed, the carbonized insulation under arcing conditions itself becomes a conductor, spreading the danger literally with the speed of lightning.Maintenance matters. Wiring can be damaged during maintenance of other aircraft components, largely because technicians are unaware of the potential hazard created by stepping on a bundle or yanking it in such a way that brittle insulation is damaged further. Another major problem is unrelated maintenance damaging the wire. For example, drilling into aluminum structure creates shavings, called swarf. If those bits of swarf fall onto wire, they can eventually cut or wear through insulation, giving rise to intermittent (or worse) electrical failures. To be sure, it takes time to put a cover over the wires while drilling, then folding up the covers and removing them from the airplane. But it may take less time than involved in finding swarf-related faults in the wiring weeks or months later.The military’s experience matters. Some industry officials believe the U.S. military’s experience is not relevant jets are exposed to higher maneuvering loads and to harsher operating environments. On the other hand, the military’s experience with a jet designed with a 6,000 hour service life may be highly relevant to an airliner with a design service goal of 60,000 hours. The airliner is exposed to lower extremes over an order of magnitude longer period of time. In this respect, the military’s experience may be considered a form of accelerated aging from which the commercial side of the aerospace industry could learn much.Inspection types matter. Visual inspections are not enough. Eyeballing the wiring in a jet may uncover only a third or less of the insulation breaches exposing conductor. Yet technologies can be mobilized to quantify the state of wiring in an airplane, and to assess the amount of life remaining. These techniques can be used to target a cost-effective program of selective wire replacement.A Broad ViewThe airline industry may be at a place with respect to wiring that it was a decade ago with aging structure. The physical structure of an airliner now is built to be damage tolerant. That is, the airplane is designed such that structural components feature sufficient residual strength to withstand the weakening effects of fatigue cracking, say; from a tiny flaw that may lurk unseen somewhere in the structure from the day it leaves the factory. Recall that when damage tolerant structure was being debated, the manufactures worried the added weight would drive them out of the airplane building business and into the manufacture of railroad rolling stock.As it turned out, damage tolerant design added about 1,000 lbs. (454 kg) to the weight of a DC-10 while greatly extending its service life. Damage tolerant structure is now considered the norm.Wiring however, is not damage tolerant. As a weight saving measure, the thickness of the insulation has been shaved to minimum. In some wires, the insulation is about the thickness of four human hairs laid side-by-side. Or, as one expert observed, the industry is about “four hairs from electrocution.” Indeed, many of the problems of chafing, etc. elucidated above would not be the threats they are if the insulation was about four times thicker. Admittedly, this is kind of a brute-force approach, but by one estimate thickening the insulation would add about 200 pounds (91 kg) to the weight of wiring in a widebody jet.That’s about the equivalent weight of magazines and catalogues in the seat-back pockets. Perhaps a philosophy of damage tolerant electrical system design is only a matter of time—and certainly it is within the current state-of-the-art.Other potential improvements are numerous. Heavier insulation could be made an available option during manufacture. High power and low power wires could be better segregated. Connectors could be better separated, too and not all bunched together so that an electrical arc can jump from one to another. Longer- life circuit breakers could be installed as original equipment, saving considerable money over the long haul.Fire detection and suppression in the electronics and equipment (E&E) bay, and other unprotected areas where electrical systems are concentrated, could be insisted upon. The reduced maintenance costs, higher dispatch reliability, and fewer precautionary landings would, over the life of the airplane, more than offset the purchase cost of such features and protections.Brief Timeline on Flight 800 and the Fuel Tank Inerting FAA initiatives as a direct resultJuly 17, 1996 At about 2031 EDT, TWA flight 800, a Boeing 747-13, broke up in flight with a loss of life of all 230 passengers and crew. The crash debris fell into the Atlantic Ocean south of East Moriches, Long Island, NY. The accident investigation was one of the longest and most expensive in the NTSB's history. A substantial fraction of the aircraft was recovered and reconstructed, and numerous studies were carried in the effort to determine the probable cause. The Explosion Dynamics Laboratory at Caltech was asked by the NTSB to participate in the investigation and lead a group of researchers to examine the issues of fuel flammability, ignition, and flame propagation. EDL staff were involved from the fall of 1996 until the final hearing in August 2000.December 13, 1996 Safety Recommendation Letter A-96-174 published.TO THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION: Require the development of and implementation of design or operational changes that will preclude the operation of transport-category airplanes with explosive fuel-air mixtures in the fuel tank: (a) significant consideration should be given to the development of airplane design modifications, such as nitrogen-inerting systems & the addition of insulation between heat-generating equipment & fuel tanks. Appropriate modifications should apply to newly certificated airplanes &, where feasible to existing airplanes.May 20, 1997 Added fuel tank flammability reduction to the Ten-Mosted Wanted List of Transportation Safety Improvements:"Reduce the potential for explosive fuel-air mixtures in fuel tanks of transport category aircraft. The NTSB has urged the FAA to make operational changes. They include refueling the center wing tank from cooler ground fuel tanks before flight, monitoring temperatures and maintaining a proper minimum amount of fuel in the tanks."December 8-9, 1997 NTSB Investigative hearing.August 22 and 23, 2000 Final hearing by NTSB and announcement of probable cause.2002 Fuel-tank inerting added to Ten-Most Wanted List (removed in 2008)Feb 17, 2004 The FAA announced that it is considering issuing a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPR) requiring a fuel tank inerting system to be installed on existing aircraft with center wing tank flammability hazards.Feb 15, 2005 The FAA issued the special conditions for the certification of the flammability reduction means (FRM) or fuel tank inerting system proposed by Boeing for the 747 family of aircraft. This system will use hollow fiber membranes to generate "nitrogen enhanced air" to fill the vapor space of the center fuel tank in order to reduce the O2 concentration below 12% for a sufficient duration of the flight that the center fuel is not flammable for greater than 3% of the fleet operational time.Nov 15, 2005 The FAA has finally put on public display the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on fuel tank inerting.November 23, 2005 The (NPRM) was published in the Federal register.March 21, 2006 The FAA has extended the deadline for comment on the NPRM to May 8, 2006.July 12, 2006 From the NTSB website: "The investigation into a wing fuel tank explosion on a Transmile Airlines B-727 airplane in Bangalore, India, on May 4, 2006, is ongoing. The evidence indicates that an explosion in the left wing fuel tank destroyed the structural integrity of the wing."July 21, 2008 The FAA has issued the the final rule: "Reduction of Fuel Tank Flammability in Transport Aircraft." The rule requires retrofitting of certain aircraft with heated center wing tanks and use of flammability reduction means (inerting systems) or ignition mitigation means (foam) on future aircraft to meet a target flammability exposure of 3% fleet average flammability and specific risk of 3% during ground operation and climb out on warm day, above 80 F. The present value of the total compliance cost is estimated by the FAA to be 1 billion USD. Boeing has developed and placed into production inerting systems based on hollow fiber membrane technology for the 747 and 737 typeOctober 16, 2008 Safety Recommendation A-96-174 closed as an acceptable action.More detailsFAA Lessons LearnedNASA Analysis https://sma.nasa.gov/docs/default-source/safety-messages/safetymessage-2011-01-09-twa800inflightbreakup.pdf?sfvrsn=4http://pe.org.pl/articles/2013/7/5.pdfhttps://www.faa.gov/documentLibrary/media/Advisory_Circular/AC%2025_981-1.pdfFootnotes[1] https://www.faa.gov/training_testing/training/air_training_program/job_aids/media/ewis_job-aid_2.0_printable.pdf

I didn't have time to gather all the facts so forgive me for being so brief but here it goes:“Within his first week, he signed an Executive Order ordering an audit of government contracts, and combating waste and abuse. http://1.usa.gov/dUvbu5Created the post of Chief Performance Officer, whose job it is to make operations more efficient to save the federal government money. http://n.pr/hcgBn1On his first full day, he froze White House salaries for the duration of the Great Recession.http://on.msnbc.com/ewJUIxHe appointed the first Federal Chief Information Officer to oversee federal IT spending and efficiency. http://www.cio.govHe committed to phasing out unnecessary and outdated weapons systems and signed the Weapons Systems Acquisition Reform Act, in an attempt to limit waste, fraud and abuse in the defense procurement and contracting systems. http://bit.ly/hOw1t1http://bit.ly/fz8GAdHe created the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform. http://bit.ly/hwKhKaSigned 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/Lpo5bdDismantled the Minerals Management Service, thereby cutting ties between energy companies and the government. http://nyti.ms/bw1MLuBanned gifts from lobbyists to anyone in the Executive Branch. http://bit.ly/fsBACNBanned anyone from working in an agency they had lobbied in previous years and placed strict limits on lobbyists’ access to the White House. http://nyti.ms/gOrznVHeld the first-ever first online town hall from the White House, and took questions from the public. http://bit.ly/gVNSgXBecame the first president to stream every White House event, live.http://1.usa.gov/kAgOP5Established a central portal for Americans to find service opportunities.http://www.serve.govRestored 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, giving the public greater access to historic White House documents, and curtails the use of executive privilege to shield them. http://1.usa.gov/gUetLbImproved the Freedom of Information Act and issued new guidelines to make FOIA more open and transparent when processing FOIA requests. http://1.usa.gov/gjrnp2Streamline the Department of Education’s procurement policies and made them more transparent. http://bit.ly/1r9oQvhProvided the first voluntary disclosure of the White House Visitors Log in history. http://1.usa.gov/hQ7Signed a law to completely reform NSA Data Collection program and keep phone records in the hands of the phone company. http://bit.ly/1dG34vDStaved Off a Bush Depression, Improved the EconomyPushed through and signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, also known as “the stimulus package.” He also launched http://recovery.gov, a website that allows taxpayers to track spending from the Act. http://1.usa.gov/ibiFSshttp://1.usa.gov/e3BJMkBy the end of his first year, the economy created and sustained 2.1 million jobs and stimulated the economy by 3.5%. http://reut.rs/i46CEEHe created the massive TARP financial and banking rescue plan and forced banks and other entities to pay back virtually all of the bailout money.http://1.usa.gov/eA5jVShttp://bit.ly/eCNrD6He created the Making Home Affordable home refinancing plan. http://1.usa.gov/goy6zlIn 2010, more jobs were created than had been created during Bush’s eight years.http://bit.ly/hrrnjYHe pushed through and implemented an auto industry rescue plan that saved as many as 1 million jobs and possibly the entire auto industry.http://bit.ly/ibhpxrhttp://bit.ly/gj7mt5Through his investment in GM, returned to the company to its place as the premiere car company in the world. http://lat.ms/zIJuQxIn February 2016, GM was in such good financial shape, they gave a share of the profit to each worker, with checks up to $11,000. http://detne.ws/1mk7JryDoubled funding for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership, to improve manufacturing efficiency. http://bit.ly/eYD4nfIncreased infrastructure spending after years of neglect. http://bit.ly/f77aOwSigned the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act, which helped millions of Americans avoid preventable foreclosures and provided $2.2 billion to combat homelessness and stabilize the housing market. http://bit.ly/eEpLFnSigned 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/GHxaYtThrough 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://bit.ly/dZgXXw http://bit.ly/gORYfLPlayed 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/gHlgp5Through 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/ez30DWith 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://bit.ly/g0IKWRChina’s largest manufacturer, Foxconn, is building a large plant in Pennsylvaniahttp://cnnmon.ie/1k7LT4SWorked with Apple Computer to get them to build more product here, and thecompany is building two large plants to manufacture products here; one in Texashttp://zd.net/1nkpt2O and one in Arizona http://bit.ly/1mXY5VgCreated an institute to invest in more manufacturing jobs in the technology fields of the future. http://nyti.ms/1egyXrVOrdered all federal contractors to pay a minimum wage of $10.10 per hour, leading the way to a national increase. http://wapo.st/1iaU5kdOrdered the completion of the International Trade Data System, a digital trade record book, by 2016. This move will streamline and simplify the process through which small- and medium-sized businesses set up the export of US goods. http://bit.ly/1nwSRF4Specific Examples of Economic ImprovementAs of January 2016, a record 64 consecutive months of overall job growth.http://on.msnbc.com/1TKFCPQAs of January 2016, Unemployment drops below 5% for the first time in eight years and without a significant bubble. 4.9% http://on.msnbc.com/1TKFCPQAs of January 2016, there have been 71 consecutive months of private sector job growth. http://on.msnbc.com/1TKFCPQSince February 2010, when job numbers hit their lowest point, 13.7 non-farm jobs have been created. http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/C... (Republican budget cuts reduced public employment by about 700,000)Oversaw a reduction in the federal budget deficit by two-thirds since taking office.http://bit.ly/1xKMmjYReduced the federal budget deficit from 9.8% of GDP in Fiscal Year 2009 under Bush, to 2.9% of GDP in FY 2014. http://www.cbo.gov/publication/4...Scolds Congress and gets passed a $305 billion highways bill, which will have the added benefit of created hundreds of thousands of new jobs and creating incentives for green cars. http://bit.ly/1NsL2ZqAddressed Wrongdoing in the Financial SectorSigned the 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/g18Fe7Ordered 65 executives who took bailout money to cut their own pay until they paid back all bailout money. http://huff.to/eAi9QqAlong 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://bit.ly/hWCPg0http://bit.ly/geHpcDCreated and implemented rules to reduce the influence of speculators in the oil market.http://bit.ly/MDnA1tCreated and implemented rules so banks can no longer use depositors’ money to invest in high-risk financial instruments that work against depositors’ interests. http://bit.ly/fnTayjSupported the concept of allowing stockholders to vote on executive compensation.http://bit.ly/fnTayjEndorsed and supported the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act of 2009 that would close offshore tax avoidance loopholes. http://bit.ly/esOdfB http://bit.ly/eG4DPMNegotiated a deal with Swiss banks permitting the US government to gain access to bank records of criminals and tax evaders. http://bit.ly/htfDgwSigned the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act, closing many of the loopholes that allowed companies to send jobs overseas, and avoid paying US taxes by moving money offshore. http://1.usa.gov/bd1RTqThanks to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, inflation in the healthcare sector dropped to its lowest point in 50 years. http://on.wsj.com/1E6cYjFImproved Conditions for Consumers and Small BusinessesSigned the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act, to protect consumers from unfair and deceptive credit card practices.http://1.usa.gov/gIaNcSGuided the housing market all the way back from total collapse, which led to a rally for housing starts. http://reut.rs/1NTAOVU http://reut.rs/1NTAOVUBrought airline industry back to their highest profitability since before the recession. http://lat.ms/1O8H1iEBlocked a monopolistic merger of Staples and Office Depot, to preserve at least some competition. http://bit.ly/1kcY2KvStock market has reached record highs, restoring most of the economic losses felt during the Bush Recession. http://bit.ly/1z4FAtLCreated and Implemented the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau http://1.usa.gov/j5onG http://bit.ly/fnTayjConsumer confidence continues to inch up to its highest level more than a decade.http://bit.ly/1PZLRcKInitiated a $15 billion plan designed to encourage increased lending to small businesses. http://1.usa.gov/eu0u0bCreated BusinessUSA, to allow online collaboration between small businesses and experts re managing a business. (The program has since merged with U.S. Small Business Administration.) http://www.business.govTook steps to improve minority access to capital. http://bit.ly/f9xVE7Used recovered TARP money to fund programs at local housing finance agencies in California, Florida, Nevada, Arizona and Michigan. http://on.msnbc.com/i1i8eVCrafted and signed an executive order establishing the President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability to assist in financial education for all Americans. http://bit.ly/eyqsNEOversaw the most sweeping food safety legislation since the Great Depression.http://thedc.com/gxkCtPThrough the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act, extended the False Claims Act to combat fraud by companies and individuals using money from TARP and Stimulus programs. http://bit.ly/SLTcSaSet up rules for banks in handling legal marijuana money. http://nyti.ms/1b80o2KAdded greater protections to consumer financial transactions to reduce identity theft.http://1.usa.gov/1pjfUFqTook steps to prevent pirate fishing and protect fish populations, and ordered stricter labeling requirements on labeling of seafood products in stores. http://1.usa.gov/1BYhTUnSigned the RAISE Act, which should encourage more people to open small businesses and help improve the economy. http://bit.ly/1QhTqkFSigned a bill that allows low-volume vehicle manufacturers that will increase entrepreneurship among small car manufacturers, who often build replicas of classics but who often build green vehicles. http://bit.ly/1QhTqkFStrengthened the Middle Class and Fought PovertyWorked to provide affordable, high-quality child care to working families.http://bit.ly/fNfidSThrough the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, cut taxes for 95% of America’s working families. http://bit.ly/eSEI4FTax rates for average working families are the lowest since 1950. http://bit.ly/f74pD8Extended and fully funded the patch for the Alternative Minimum Tax for 10 years.http://bit.ly/eFeSdPExtended discounted health coverage under the COBRA health insurance law for the unemployed from 9 months to 15 months, and he’s also extended unemployment benefits more than a few times. http://aol.it/evtVxDhttp://nyti.ms/emrqKJhttp://bit.ly/hOtIpg http://bit.ly/fTT7kzProvided a $20 billion increase for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Food Stamps). http://nyti.ms/gfLqyMSigned an Executive Order that established the White House Office of Urban Affairs.http://wapo.st/eWECA8Included the Buffet Rule in his 2014 budget proposal, in order to fulfill a campaign promise to make sure tax rates are fair between the rich and the middle class. http://1.usa.gov/19PkdQoUsed the fiscal cliff negotiations to extend for five additional years the American Opportunity Tax Credit, which provides tax credits to families for college-related expenses, thus saving those families up to $10,000. http://onforb.es/17zYg3uIncreased protections for the unemployed who are seeking a government job.http://1.usa.gov/1jgXATuUpdated and modernized overtime regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) http://1.usa.gov/1iGDO8eSigned and implemented the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act, to improve nutrition in schools and make children healthier. http://1.usa.gov/GAXkSkTo make college more affordable and accountable, will begin rating colleges with regard to affordability and value. http://bit.ly/14Dn7ULInitiated a reform of federal job training programs, to make them more relevant to the current economy and the job market. http://1.usa.gov/1kZLQHGUnder Obama, the bottom 95% of taxpayers pay lower federal income taxes than at any time in the last 50 years, including under Reagan, or either Bush. http://bit.ly/1w1W8NsSigned a presidential memorandum authorizing six weeks paid leave for all federal employees with a new baby and encouraged Congress to do the same for all workers. http://bit.ly/18613XA2014 marked the first time since 1984 that unemployment dropped in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. 1.usa.gov/1E25u0CTook steps to improve workplace safety by creating an Advisory Board to study workers’ exposure to toxic substances. http://1.usa.gov/1M4s8IGChanged overtime rules to make it far more difficult for employers to avoid paying overtime to workers. http://politi.co/1KHfiBeChanged rules for federal contractors, guaranteeing that all workers earn paid leave; this should affect about 300,000 workers. http://1.usa.gov/1LcHZWlNegotiated a law to finally replace “No Child Left Behind” and remove much of the onerous government “oversight” that caused children to stagnate, not improve, academically. http://bit.ly/1Up9pMlAddressed Civil Rights and EqualityFormed a commission to examine and make recommendations for fixing the broken voting system. http://wapo.st/16K0DAt a press conference August 9, 2013, gave up a small measure of executive power, promising to create adversarial process in FISA regarding NSA surveillance.http://1.usa.gov/1dQmnyQProposed rules to enhance Fair Housing Laws, to give HUD and other enforcement agencies more enforcement power. http://bit.ly/1qkz4uQOrdered a review of capital punishment policies after several botched executions.http://nyti.ms/RDJp58Appointed Kareem Dale as the first ever Special Assistant to the President for Disability Policy. http://1.usa.gov/fi5IY0Concentrated immigration enforcement on those who commit crimes, and vowed to stop breaking up families. http://1.usa.gov/1uTZ8gVStreamlined the visa process, to make it more responsive and humane for those who want to be here legally. http://1.usa.gov/1tgDRtiTook steps to tighten the reins when it comes to providing local law enforcement agencies with military-style equipment and exercising more control over the equipment they receive. http://1.usa.gov/1ATWV3KChanged fair housing rules to make more affordable housing available to more people. http://cnn.it/1JcR3qBHelped Democrats in Congress pass and signed the Civil Rights History Act.http://bit.ly/th0JC8Established the White House Council of Native American Affairs, to improve government-to-government relations with Native American nations. http://1.usa.gov/1cIEeEvLimited local police acquisitions of military-style equipment, to reduce the likelihood of overkill. http://n.pr/1NGkBjTSigned Blue Alert Law, which provides police officers with more information when they are threatened. http://bit.ly/1NGksgaImproved Workers’ RightsHe issued final rules that require all employers to prominently post employees’ rights where all employees or prospective employees can see it, including all websites and intranets.http://1.usa.gov/qu2EhQObama’s Equal Employment Opportunity Commission clarified and strengthened rules prohibiting discrimination against pregnant workers. http://alj.am/1mo0kjVRequired companies who bid on federal contracts larger than $500,000 to publicly disclose all previous violations of labor law, including unpaid claims for back wages. http://1.usa.gov/V54qY3Made it illegal for federal contractors with more than $1 million in contracts to force employees into arbitration in workplace discrimination accusations. http://1.usa.gov/V54qY3Vetoed Republican bill that would have blocked new NLRB rules that were designed to speed up the time it takes workers to unionize. http://reut.rs/1agujMO He also added a Memorandum of Disagreement to make his reasons for the veto clear and made a major statement in support of unions. http://1.usa.gov/1NG7RuACracked 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/fOGLcjProtected the Rights of Gay PeopleSigned and implemented 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://bit.ly/gsMSJ7Oversaw and implemented the repeal of the reprehensible “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy.http://bit.ly/fdahuHhttp://bit.ly/mZV4PzExtended benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees. http://1.usa.gov/g2RLCjAppointed more openly gay officials than anyone in history. http://bit.ly/g1lA7DAppointed first openly transgender Cabinet Official in History. http://bit.ly/58zUp7Advocated that United Nations adopt a policy supporting gay rights worldwide.http://lat.ms/pQe1RSAs soon as the Supreme Court invalidated the Defense of Marriage Act, he moved to extend federal benefits to same-sex couples. http://wapo.st/1avDjueIssued an order requiring hospitals to allow visitation by same-sex couples.http://reut.rs/llNJekChanged HUD rules to prohibit gender and sexual orientation-based discrimination in housing bit.ly/9RxEnPChanged his mind and publicly expressed support for same-sex marriage.http://bit.ly/JsiFKpIssued a Presidential Memorandum reaffirming the rights of gay couples to make medical decisions for each other. http://1.usa.gov/aUueGTAppointed several prominent gay athletes and others, and plans to show US government’s commitment to gay rights to anti-gay Russia. http://on.cpsj.com/1fckN9hDepartment of Agriculture propagated new rules to better enforce non-discrimination when it comes to USDA investigations and to extend non-discrimination to gender identity. http://bit.ly/1yChJhiBanned all federal contractors from discriminating against gay workers. http://1.usa.gov/1ok1gfHPersevered with his campaign to turn “gay marriage” into “marriage” and won in the Supreme Court. http://cbsloc.al/1M4qLKbImproved Conditions for WomenEstablishing the White House Council on Women and Girls to ensure that all Cabinet and Cabinet-level agencies consider the effect of their policies and programs on women and families. http://bit.ly/e1puTk http://1.usa.gov/rFfqMMImplemented the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which restored basic protections against pay discrimination for women and other workers. http://bit.ly/fT3CxgEliminated federal funding for abstinence-only education, and rescinded the global gag rule. http://bit.ly/eCFAI1 http://bit.ly/f92drFImproved the Paycheck Fairness Act, making it possible for employees to talk about their salaries without retaliation, and ordering salary data collection, so as to make it harder for employers to pay women less. http://huff.to/1nwVOWfSigned an Executive Order pledging support for efforts to end the global problem of violence against women and girls. http://1.usa.gov/MHTRVUShattered another glass ceiling by naming Janet Yellen chair of the Federal Reserve beginning Feb. 1, 2014. http://usat.ly/1gqMBfkExpanded funding for the Violence Against Women Act. http://1.usa.gov/dSbI0xOrdered companies with 100 employees or more to disclose pay data based on race and gender, to address the pay gap. http://theatln.tc/1Q04XPLAddressed Criminal Justice Failings and the Gun CultureMade significant reductions in drug sentencing guidelines for current prisoners. http://n.pr/1mWBLkMOversaw the first drop in the federal prison population in 32 years. http://bit.ly/1B5h8rWIncreased his use of clemency to release thousands of non-violent drug offenders from prison. http://nyti.ms/1KE8DJGOrdered a ban on solitary confinement for juvenile offenders in federal prisons.http://bit.ly/20ObRzATook executive action to promote smart gun technology, to make them safer.http://1.usa.gov/1RhK1tUAfter a failure by Congress to act, proposed executive orders to create more background checks and to fully staff the background check system. http://cnn.it/1JXmUg6Relaxed HIPAA rules enough to allow for more information to be available to the background check system. http://on.wsj.com/SX9xaZOrdered the tracing of guns as part of criminal investigations to provide data to researchers. http://on.wsj.com/SX9xaZOrder the Justice Department to look at the categories of mental health problems prohibited from owning guns to make sure people aren’t falling through the cracks, getting guns. http://onforb.es/1nUAGw3Expanded the definitions of gun dealers and expanded the information available and required in background checks for firearm purchases. http://bit.ly/1K5aXeeSet up a task force to figure out what other measures can be taken to limit gun violence in the wake of Congressional inaction. http://1.usa.gov/1QjYMGJImproved Treatment of Soldiers and VeteransProvided active combat troops with better body armor. http://bit.ly/hzSv2hCreated a Joint Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record program for military personnel, in order http://abcn.ws/1ghLrEshttp://abcn.ws/1ghLrEs to improve the quality of their medical care. http://1.usa.gov/f4yaxWPut an end to the Bush-era stop-loss policy that kept soldiers in Iraq/Afghanistan beyond their enlistment date. http://nyti.ms/e2YQ7QSigned and implemented Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act, making more money available to enable better medical care for veterans.http://1.usa.gov/fN4ur1With Congressional Democrats, oversaw largest spending increase in 30 years for Department of Veterans Affairs, for improved medical and extended care facilities for veterans. http://1.usa.gov/gY8O3xImplemented the Green Vet Initiative, which provides special funding to provide veterans with training in green jobs. http://bit.ly/epwUQYInitiated and signed a recruitment and employment plan to get more veterans into government jobs. http://bit.ly/b48coiOversaw a $4.6 billion expansion of the Veterans Administration budget to pay for more mental health professionals. http://bit.ly/gjzTxXSigned 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 can avoid state taxes in their temporary residence. http://bit.ly/1Gh0NXOrdered improvements to access to mental health care for veterans, military personnel and their families. http://1.usa.gov/TP7PVZGot Syria to dismantle its chemical weapons without military firing a single shot or dropping a single bomb. http://nyti.ms/1lVEkU7Along 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. Pentagon Will Help Families Travel to Dover http://bbc.in/gWSSkAFunded Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) with an extra $1.4 billion to improve veterans’ services. http://1.usa.gov/huhqfoSigned into law a bill that provides support, counseling, and breastfeeding supplies to military moms who are covered under TRICARE, the health insurance provided to veterans. http://bit.ly/1yNxL8OSigned into law a bill that makes it easier for military dogs to retire at home with their handlers. http://bit.ly/1J78Y2UImproved America’s Reputation Around the WorldVisited more countries and met with more world leaders than any previous president during his first six months in office. http://bit.ly/hZycdaAs he promised, he gave a speech at a major Islamic forum in Cairo early in his administration. http://nyti.ms/dKvY4gMade a speech at a US mosque to demonstrate his commitment to religious rights and send a message to Muslims around the world. http://cnn.it/1PGU1uIRestored America’s reputation around the world as a global leader.http://bit.ly/h743y7http://bit.ly/ho4TCrRe-established and reinforced our partnership with NATO and other allies on strategic international issues. http://1.usa.gov/e7QuDjClosed a number of secret detention facilities. http://nyti.ms/rpUc9lImproved relations with Middle East countries by appointing special envoys.http://1.usa.gov/tiGAGePushed forward the first realistic Middle East peace strategy in more than a decade, without abandoning the two-state solution. http://wapo.st/1avystePushed for military to emphasize greater development of foreign language skills. http://bit.ly/AxUCLVOffered $400 million to the people living in Gaza, while calling on both Israel and the Palestinians to stop inciting violence. http://bit.ly/9axfWhRefused to give Israel the green light to attack Iran over their possible nuclear program.http://bit.ly/xVmSZKOrdered the closure of the prison at Guantanamo Bay, although blocked by Congress.http://bit.ly/eW6CVFOrdered a review of our detention and interrogation policy and prohibited the use of “enhanced interrogation.” http://bit.ly/g6MTuCOrdered all secret detention facilities in Eastern Europe and elsewhere to be closed.http://bbc.in/h6N9axReleased the Bush torture memos. http://bit.ly/hWJ5z0On his second day in office, banned torture, reversed all Bush torture policies and put the US in full compliance with the Geneva Convention.http://1.usa.gov/dL6Zvehttp://nyti.ms/hzWWysIn 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://bit.ly/zfmGv9Ended the F-22 program, saving $4 billion. Though the 187 aircraft cost $358 million each to build, it had never flown a combat mission. http://slate.me/PYzmzTPassed the Iran Sanctions Act, to prevent war and encourage the Iranian government to give up their nuclear program. http://1.usa.gov/wLtNjbEnded the Iraq War. http://tgr.ph/ru0tySWorked to keep our withdrawal from Afghanistan on track, despite GOP opposition.http://reut.rs/1cIOsF1 Reiterated that commitment in 2014.http://nyti.ms/1exnmRFConducted a secret mission by SEAL Team Six to rescue two hostages held by Somali pirates. http://bit.ly/y8c9FzThrough United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice, helped negotiate a peaceful split of Sudan into two countries, creating an independent South Sudan. http://reut.rs/qzE0TjHelped make donations to Haiti tax deductible in 2009. http://huff.to/6YkAVYEstablished a new U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue. http://1.usa.gov/eX28DPIssued Executive Order blocking interference and helping to stabilize Somalia.http://1.usa.gov/hxdf8UEstablished 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 http://nyti.ms/emQBdeThe new policies in Cuba led to thawed relations and the first US Embassy in Cuba in more than 55 years. http://abcn.ws/1ghLrEsNegotiated a deal with Iran that will prevent them from getting a nuclear weapon anytime soon, without firing a shot or invading the country. http://cnn.it/1M3HpvvAs a result of the Iran agreement, Iran shipped pretty much all of it nuclear material to Russia. http://nyti.ms/1PrzLtyBecame the first US President to visit Jamaica in more than 30 years, worked to restore relations with the country and signed a natural gas distribution agreement with the country. http://bit.ly/1JtpFqiChanged US Approach to “Defense” and National SecurityCreated a comprehensive new strategy for dealing with the international nuclear threat.http://1.usa.gov/gDX1nEAuthorized a $1.4 billion reduction in Star Wars program in 2010. http://1.usa.gov/gLFZl2Restarted nuclear nonproliferation talks and built up the nuclear inspection infrastructure/protocols to where they had been before Bush. http://lat.ms/gkcl3iSigned and got ratification of a new SALT Treaty. http://bit.ly/f3JVtwNegotiated and signed a new START Treaty that will stay in force until at least 2021.http://1.usa.gov/cI1bC4Committed the US to no permanent military bases in Iraq. http://bit.ly/hk73OJDeveloped a comprehensive strategy with regard to Afghanistan and Pakistan designed to facilitate the defeat of al Qaeda, the withdrawal of most troops and the rebuilding of Afghanistan. http://wapo.st/ee4XcsRe-focused on Afghanistan, stabilized the country, and began the process of withdrawing troops from the country. http://bit.ly/lNXUnaNegotiated a deal with Afghan government, to withdraw troops and military support, while assisting in rebuilding and modernizing of the country. http://bit.ly/K362anTook steps to severely weaken al Qaeda and limited their ability to terrorize the world.http://yhoo.it/n5lXs6Negotiated and signed a nuclear nonproliferation treaty with India.http://1.usa.gov/aHp0CnWorked with NATO to limit the slaughter of innocents in Libya, so that Libyans could topple the despotic Khadaffy government and determine their own fate.http://aje.me/qAh4SjGot Egyptian President/dictator Mubarak to leave the Egyptian government to the people, to determine their own fate. http://f24.my/efvgNZIn 2011, reoriented American focus from the Middle East to the Asian-Pacific region by simultaneously engaging China and crafting new alliances with Asian countries uncomfortable with Chinese behavior. http://bit.ly/RGlMDiRestored federal agencies such as FEMA to the point that they have been able to manage a huge number of natural disasters successfully. http://bit.ly/h8Xj7zIncreased border security http://bit.ly/1JQDGz9Ordered and oversaw the Navy SEALS operation that killed Osama bin Laden.http://bit.ly/jChpgwEstablished the Homeland Security Partnership Council, to enhance the nation’s ability to “address homeland security priorities, from responding to natural disasters to preventing terrorism, by utilizing diverse perspectives, skills, tools, and resources.”http://1.usa.gov/VJjLXOSigned agreement with Afghanistan to end war, turn security over to Afghans.http://nyti.ms/1xSjgBdBreaking with recent presidential tradition, instead of just attacking Syria in the wake of chemical weapons attacks on Syrians, Obama ordered a full report on the decision-making process. http://cbsn.ws/184RFguInstead of holding hearings and creating a political football, he quietly captured a suspect who actually committed the Benghazi terrorist attack. http://wapo.st/1jFlmzv He is also getting a lot of useful information from the suspect. http://nyti.ms/UfE2KaInstituted rules to order sanctions against individuals and groups that threaten national cybersecurity. http://1.usa.gov/1HWcGMGImproved Education and Educational OpportunitiesThrough the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, invested heavily in elementary, secondary and post-secondary education. http://1.usa.gov/gGRIArCreated the Race to the Top program, which encouraged states to come up with effective school reforms and rewards the best of them. http://bit.ly/NHtZ7LOversaw major expansion of broadband availability in K-12 schools nationwide.http://bit.ly/fNDcj3Oversaw major expansion in school construction. http://bit.ly/fYwNrVThrough the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, put $5 billion into early education, including Head Start. http://1.usa.gov/tzT2RrSigned the Democratic-sponsored Post-9/11 GI Bill, also known as GI Bill 2.0, to improve veterans’ access to education. http://bit.ly/hPhG7JOversaw expansion of the Pell Grants program, to expand opportunity for low and middle income students to go to college. http://bit.ly/hI6tXzSigned and implemented the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which provided an extra $12.2 billion in funds. http://1.usa.gov/dQvtUeTook major new steps to protect 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/jkzQe2Repeatedly increased funding for student financial aid, and at the same time cut the banks completely out of the process, thus us creating greater accountability.http://bit.ly/gYWd30 http://bit.ly/e9c7Dr http://bit.ly/eEzTNqReformed student loan program, to make it possible for students to refinance at a lower rate. http://nyti.ms/dMvHOtCreated a rating system for colleges, so that those applying for student financial aid know better what they’re paying for. http://bit.ly/14Dn7ULRestored the Adult View on Science and TechnologyCreated a Presidential Memorandum to restore scientific integrity in government decision-making. http://1.usa.gov/g2SDuwOpened up the process for fast-tracking patent approval for green energy projects.http://bit.ly/j0KV2UThrough the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, committed more federal funding, about $18 billion, to support non-defense science and research labs. http://nyti.ms/fTs9t7Obama EPA reversed research ethics standards which allowed humans to be used as “guinea pigs” in tests of the effects of chemicals, to comply with numerous codes of medical ethics. http://bit.ly/bKgqdSConducted a cyberspace policy review. http://1.usa.gov/gmbdvCProvided financial support for private sector space programs. http://bit.ly/fn8ucrOversaw enhanced earth mapping, to provide valuable data for agricultural, educational, scientific, and government use. http://bit.ly/dNTRyPThrough American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, provided $500 million for Health Professions Training Programs. http://bit.ly/ecQSgAIncreased funding for community-based prevention programs. http://bit.ly/frMPG3Expanded space exploration and discovery options to include more players.http://1.usa.gov/13qmZpmThrough 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 http://bit.ly/129V3SYIn the wake of the West Fertilizer tragedy, formed the Chemical Safety and Security Working Group, to work on measures to prevent another such events.http://1.usa.gov/18kHSlAEstablished a Cyber Threat Intelligence Integration Center, a recommendation made by the 9/11 Commission, to coordinate efforts to fight cyber-crime and terrorism. http://1.usa.gov/1A0aEoSThe Obama FCC, with his leadership, adopted strong net neutrality rules, to keep the Internet open and equal for everyone. http://fcc.us/1MhTlIAOrdered rules to speed up deployment of a more comprehensive broadband infrastructure.http://1.usa.gov/M7rVpeSet up a National Strategic Computing Initiative, to “maximize benefits of high-performance computing (HPC) research, development, and deployment.” http://1.usa.gov/1IN3FZaOrdered a federal level change in national earthquake standards.http://1.usa.gov/1T5wGoRImproved Our HealthEliminated Bush-era restrictions on embryonic stem cell research, and provided increased federal support for biomedical and stem cell research. http://bit.ly/h36SSOhttp://ti.me/edezgeSigned Democratic-sponsored Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Act, the first comprehensive attempt to improve the lives of Americans living with paralysis.http://bit.ly/fOi2rbExpanded 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://bit.ly/jRRRJc\Along with Democrats in Congress, ushered through and signed a bill authorizing FDA to regulate tobacco and order tobacco companies to disclose their ingredients and to ban cigarettes falsely labeled as “light.” http://on.msnbc.com/fiKViBHas overseen a 50% decrease in cost of prescription drugs for seniors.http://bit.ly/e5b1iq http://1.usa.gov/fVNkt9Eliminated the Bush-era practice of forbidding Medicare from negotiating with drug companies on price. http://bit.ly/fOkG5bTwo 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://bit.ly/fDEzGvUrged Congress to investigate Anthem Blue Cross for raising premiums 39% without explanation. http://yhoo.it/e8Tj9CPushed through and signed Affordable Care Act, which expanded health insurance coverage greatly and ended many detrimental insurance company practices. He also established Get 2016 health coverage. Health Insurance Marketplace . http://www.healthcare.gov/Through ACA, allowed children to be covered under their parents’ policy until they turned 26. http://nyti.ms/fNB26VThrough the ACA, provided tax breaks to allow 3.5 million small businesses to provide health insurance to their employees. http://nyti.ms/fNB26VThrough the ACA, millions of people receive help in paying their health insurance company premiums. http://nyti.ms/fNB26VThrough the ACA, expanded Medicaid to those making up to 133% of the federal poverty level. http://nyti.ms/ekMWpo (Note: except for those states whose Republicans refused to take the extra money.)By 2014, the Affordable Care Act dropped the number of uninsured Americans by 22.3%, which amounts to more than 10.3 million people with insurance who didn’t have it before. Only 13.9% of Americans are uninsured, a drop from 18.9% in 2013. http://on.msnbc.com/1r4kjGnThe Affordable Care Act has increased the life expectancy of Medicare greatly.http://on.wsj.com/1yuNco6Through the ACA, health insurance companies now have to disclose how much of your premium actually goes to pay for patient care. http://nyti.ms/fNB26VMedicare costs actually declined slightly, for the first time in decades in 2011, according to the Congressional Budget Office. http://1.usa.gov/oMxpThSince passage of the ACA, health care inflation is at its lowest level since 1960.http://1.usa.gov/1vXR0LdCreated the HIV Care Continuum Initiative, to strengthen the government’s ability to respond to the continuing domestic HIV epidemic, after years of Republicans weakening the government’s ability to deal with the crisis. http://1.usa.gov/1iLED0tSigned bill that will provide health insurance premium support to workers who lose their health insurance due to foreign competition. http://bit.ly/1evvVDFIn response to the confusion triggered by the asinine Hobby Lobby decision, which essentially declared that corporations could have “religious rights” and lord them over employees, created new rules to give all women with insurance the right to free birth control. http://on.wsj.com/1O44a1tImplemented the National HIV/AIDS Strategy for 2015-2020, which is a follow-up to the first such strategy in US history, which he implemented in 2010. http://1.usa.gov/1IXknHmSigned and will implement new child safety standards for e-cigarettes.http://bit.ly/1XaFCISSet up a White House Cancer Moonshot Task Force, in order to implement ways to develop a cure for cancer. http://1.usa.gov/20AeKY4Addressed the Environment While Dealing with Energy NeedsDoubled federal spending on clean energy research. http://bit.ly/iN0sCEPushed through a tax credit to help people buy plug-in hybrid cars. http://bit.ly/j8UP5YCreated 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/fgfRWqReengaged 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://bit.ly/dX6Vj3 http://bit.ly/fE2PxK http://nyti.ms/hfeqvvFully supported the initial phase of the creation of a legally-binding treaty to reduce mercury emissions worldwide. http://bit.ly/eJ6QOORequired states to provide incentives to utilities to reduce their energy consumption. http://bit.ly/lBhk7PUnder Obama, our dependence on foreign oil has dropped to its lowest rate since 1985, and continues to drop. http://1.usa.gov/1p6kTUyMeanwhile, oil consumption is way down because of reduced driving and higher mileage standards. http://ti.me/1z4HFG8Improved siting, review and permitting stations for power plants, in an attempt to seriously improve the nation’s electric grid. http://1.usa.gov/1l8zNqnReengaged in a number of treaties and agreements designed to protect the Antarctic.http://bit.ly/fzQUFOCreated tax write-offs for purchases of hybrid and electric vehicles. http://bit.ly/glCukVEstablished a quadrennial review of our energy infrastructure, to encourage a modernization of the grid, and to encourage the transition away from fossil fuel use. http://1.usa.gov/1nx2oMoMandated that federal government fleet purchases be for fuel-efficient American vehicles, and encouraged that federal agencies support experimental, fuel-efficient vehicles.http://1.usa.gov/hmUSbk http://1.usa.gov/fLWq5chttp://bit.ly/h5KZqyEncouraged BP to pay $20 billion to establish Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, to reduce the need for taxpayer funds to be used for compensation and clean up.http://wapo.st/ds2BxT (Note: it took 20 years to get $1.3 billion for the Exxon Valdez spill. )Oversaw and pushed through an 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/yTRYVoActively 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/bxjDi3Became the first President to simply say “Climate Change is a fact,” and set up the first federal government protocols for dealing with the impacts of climate change. http://1.usa.gov/1b7V67BInitiated Criminal and Civil inquiries into the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.http://nyti.ms/bVuB7aAsserted federal legal supremacy to bar Texas from authorizing new refinery permits on its own.http://bit.ly/ww8eMdSet up new, stricter standards limiting power plant emissions. http://1.usa.gov/1mML2M3Strengthened the Endangered Species Act. http://bit.ly/hscjsHStrengthened protection for wildlife, and expanded enforcement of laws against wildlife trafficking. http://1.usa.gov/1fce1AiObama EPA improved boiler safety standards to improve air quality, and save 6500 lives per year. http://bit.ly/jYH7ntThrough the EPA, attemped to take steps to severely limit the use of antibiotics in livestock feed, to increase their efficacy in humans. http://bit.ly/fBuWd2Through 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://bit.ly/rQCIgAIncreased funding for National Parks and Forests by 10% http://bit.ly/fbJPjYAnnounced greatly improved commercial fuel efficiency standards.http://1.usa.gov/oQiC1KAnnounced 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/qtghsWFacilitated investment in industrial energy efficiency to create jobs and strengthen US manufacturing while saving businesses $100 billion over a decade.http://1.usa.gov/WsIgbxSet up the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council to oversee Gulf Coast restoration efforts after the 2010 BP oil spill. The money to fund the restoration efforts comes from fines against BP. http://1.usa.gov/Rxjb29Engaged in the most comprehensive plan to combat climate change in a generation.http://bit.ly/13lXhETOrdered energy plants to prepare to produce at least 15% of all energy through renewable resources like wind and solar, by 2021. http://reut.rs/fV155pOversaw the creation of an initiative that converts old factories and manufacturing centers into new clean technology centers. http://bit.ly/mjnq2RGuided a 418% increase in solar power capacity between 2010 and 2014. http://bit.ly/1rHkWJCAs of May 2015, 74% of new electrical capacity was provided by solar and wind power. http://bit.ly/1T5r0LCBypassed Congress and ordered EPA to begin regulating and measuring carbon emissions.http://bit.ly/froaP5Oversaw a tripling in the use of wind power to generate electricity. The US now leads the world in increased wind power capacity. http://www.worldwatch.org/node/5448Ordered the federal government to incorporate climate resilience and climate science into all international development in which the United States engages. http://1.usa.gov/YV1EpWFast-tracked regulations to allow states to enact fuel efficiency standards that exceeded federal standards. http://nyti.ms/e8e94xFast-tracked increased fuel economy standards for vehicles beginning with the 2011 model year. It was the first time such standards had been increased in more than a decade.http://politi.co/hiaPKMOversaw establishment of an Energy Partnership for the Americas, to create more markets for American-made biofuels and green energy technologies. http://bit.ly/lZp73yObama EPA reversed a Bush-era decision to allow the largest mountaintop removal project in US history. http://bit.ly/lP3yELOrdered the Department of Energy to implement more aggressive efficiency standards for common household appliances. http://1.usa.gov/g3MTbuObama EPA ruled that excess CO2 is a pollutant. http://bit.ly/iQTSNNClosed a deal with China to limit carbon emissions to slow down climate change. http://nyti.ms/1xzyS8KBlocked all oil and gas drilling in Bristol Bay, Alaska, one of the most pristine environments in North America http://lat.ms/13xUVFDSigned an Executive Order to improve environmental efforts in the Arctic region and to combat climate change by better coordinating the efforts of the 23 federal agencies operating in the area. http://usat.ly/ZEzLzEVetoed a bill to fast track construction of the parallel Keystone XL pipeline.http://nbcnews.to/1DVDFo7Expanded clean water regulations to more stringently protect all of the nation’s waterways, even when states fail in their duty. http://bit.ly/1RdQpTcSigned an Executive Order committing the federal government to lead the way in building a sustainable economy. It’s his fifth doing just that. http://1.usa.gov/1EzO2neBanned the use of antibiotics in food served in US Government-run cafeterias and ordered agencies to only use antibiotic-free meat. http://bit.ly/1G1vUxi http://bit.ly/1KHkl4NDeveloped new rules to address climate change and to create a significant boost to clean energy. http://bit.ly/1UnQcuRNegotiated and signed a virtually Republican-Proof global agreement on climate change, with 190 countries signing on. http://bit.ly/1RkjVG8Became one of 196 countries that signed onto a UN Framework on Climate Change.http://unfccc.int/2860.phpOrdered a moratorium on new coal leasing on federal land, and they will examine the whole leasing process. http://wapo.st/23Q6en8There’s a Lot More!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/eOChg6http://bit.ly/i02wgPAppointed the most diverse Cabinet in history, including more women than any other incoming president. http://bit.ly/dX6vNBLoosened the rules and allowed the 14 states that legalized medical marijuana to regulate themselves without federal interference. http://huff.to/eQfa7jSigned national service legislation, increasing funding for national service groups, including triple the size of the Americorps program. http://bit.ly/idgQH5Signed a bill that provided $4.3 billion in additional assistance to 9/11 first responders.http://bit.ly/o7cWYSSigned the Claims Resolution Act, which provided $4.6 billion in funding for a legal settlement with black and Native American farmers who had been cheated out of government loans and natural resource royalties in the past. http://1.usa.gov/dGppUaTo help those communities devastated by Hurricane Sandy, issued an executive order setting up the Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force, and asked Congress to approve $60 billion in supplemental assistance to aid in storm recovery. http://1.usa.gov/134L7hlProduced 23 Executive actions designed to make it easier for law enforcement to identify those who shouldn’t have guns, thus helping them enforce the law.http://on.wsj.com/SX9xaZExpanded trade agreements to include stricter labor and environmental agreements in trade pacts like NAFTA. http://bit.ly/etznpYOversaw 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 budget negotiations.http://on.fb.me/fD0EVO http://bit.ly/ff5LuvOversaw and passed increased funding for the National Endowment for the Arts.http://bit.ly/dFb8qF”And Did You Know?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/i3d7cYAnd of course…Despite the odds, became the first black president, and then was reelected by a wide margin of the population.