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The political and economic circumstances of the Clinton and Obama presidencies were vastly different.For one thing, there was not actually a recession during Clinton’s presidency — there was a recession in 1991 and 1992 which contributed greatly to Clinton’s election, but the economy was in recovery by 1993 when Clinton actually took office.For another, the early 1990s saw two rounds of significant tax increases — one in 1990 under President George H.W. Bush, the violation of his infamous “Read my lips, no new taxes” pledge, and the other in 1993 under Clinton, which may have helped cost Democrats control of both Houses of Congress in 1994. So the tax baseline was much higher for most of Clinton’s presidency as a result of these two tax hikes.But even then, no one was projecting a balanced budget, and certainly not a surplus. But by 1999, late in Clinton’s presidency, that’s exactly what we got. How?Well, the main driving factor was the tech boom of the 1990s.See, it’s a little-understood fact that government revenue is hugely impacted by economic growth. During a recession, a budget that was balanced in good times can suddenly begin running a huge deficit without any changes in taxes or spending, because tax receipts are lower when fewer people are working, corporate profits are lower and wages and salaries falling or remaining stagnant rather than rising. At the same time, however, an economic boom can significantly improve your budgetary outlook, again without changing tax rates or spending levels, because all of a sudden a lot more people are employed and/or making more money than they were before, and are therefore paying more in taxes.That’s what happened under Clinton. The early 1990s saw an increase in baseline tax rates, and the late 1990s saw a huge, unexpected surge in revenue under those higher tax rates as a result of higher-than-expected rates of economic growth.Bill Clinton had not actually been trying to balance the budget. Nobody had. And nobody expected it to happen. When it DID happen, both the Republicans who took control of Congress after the 1994 elections, and Clinton himself who was president, tried to claim credit for doing it. But none of them had been trying to make it happen — they had tried to reduce the deficit, but did not expect to actually balance the budget.It was a happy accident.So why couldn’t Obama pull off the same feat?Well, for one thing, the Great Recession of 2007–2009 was much deeper and more severe than the recession of the early 1990s. So the economy had to recover from a much deeper hole, and the Obama administration supported a stimulus package that added to an already-record-high deficit inherited from the Bush administration. The deep recession cut into government tax revenues in a reverse of the effect in the late 1990s that had led to a balancing of the budget. And then there was the lingering effect of the Bush Tax Cuts.In 2001 George W. Bush pushed through a massive series of tax cuts, arguing that the surplus he inherited from Clinton made it possible to undo the tax increases of the early 1990s and cut taxes even further. These tax cuts, combined with the end of the tech boom and a recession than began in late 2001, drove the budget from a projected $200 billion a year surplus to a $400 billion a year deficit in a little over a year, and the deficit rose steadily throughout Bush’s presidency, peaking at a projected rate of $1.2 trillion when Obama took office with the country in the midst of a major financial and economic crisis.This graph, from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities in 2004, shows what the deficit was projected to be from 2001 to 2014 without the Bush tax cuts (blue line) and what it was WITH the Bush tax cuts (red line). And this projection did NOT anticipate a major financial crisis in 2008.There would have been deficits either way because the boom that balanced the budget in the late 1990s had come to an end. But the Bush tax cuts created much, much deeper deficits, and everyone knew it was going to happen. When Bush’s Treasury Secretary, Paul O’Neil, tried to raise alarms that the tax cuts would explode the deficit, Vice President Dick Cheney said, “You know, Paul, Reagan proved deficits don’t matter.”Six Years After Cheney Said ‘Deficits Don’t Matter,’ The National Debt Hits A 50-Year HighSo, that was the baseline that Obama inherited. While Clinton’s predecessor had raised taxes, and Clinton was able to do so as well early in his presidency, Obama’s predecessor had pushed through deep tax cuts that produced deep deficits and then there was a major financial crisis and the deepest recession since the Great Depression which further depressed federal revenue. Obama supported temporary spending increases to stimulate the economy — his stimulus package only lasted for 2 years — but he was unable to completely undo the Bush tax cuts. Those cuts had included a “sunset provision” that required them to expire in 10 years so Republicans could pass them through the budget reconciliation process in 2001, avoiding a Democratic filibuster in the Senate. Reconciliation can only be used for bills that do not increase the deficit for a period of more than 10 years, so by having the cuts expire in 10 years they could claim it would not increase the deficit for longer than that, and thus fit into the reconciliation process; however, at the time it was widely assumed that the cuts would be made permanent in 2011 because it would be too unpopular to raise taxes (this is why the chart I posted above, made in 2004, assumed the cuts would still be in effect in 2014). Obama was able to use the expiration in 2011 to force the Republican-led Congress to accept the expiration of the Bush cuts, but only for people making more than $450,000 a year; the rest of the Bush cuts were actually made permanent as part of the budget deal of 2011.So Clinton had two consecutive tax hikes followed by an almost unprecedented (and wholly unanticipated) economic boom that led to an accidentally balanced budget.Obama had a predecessor who handed him massive deficits as a result of a huge unfunded tax cut and took office in the midst of a major economic crisis, and after his first two years in office was facing a hostile Congress that was opposed to any further tax increases. Spending levels WERE cut — and cut dramatically — during the Obama administration; the Budget Control Act of 2011 imposed the so-called “sequester” that automatically slashed both domestic and defense spending every year since 2011 (and which is still in effect.)So both the political and economic conditions which led to Clinton leaving office with budget surpluses did not exist for Obama. Clinton did not try to balance the budget but did so anyway for the reasons I’ve explained above; Obama would not have been able to do it even if he had wanted to, because the political will was not there for deeper budget cuts or tax increases, and because the relative weakness of the economy was holding down tax receipts.*Please note: there is a difference, which many people do not understand, between the deficit, which is the annual difference between how much the government takes in and how much it spends, and the national debt, which is the cumulative effect of the deficit over time. The national debt did reach record highs under Obama (and had previously reached record highs under Bush) but the annual deficit steadily decreased from 2011 to 2015 before rising somewhat again in 2016. We have cut 'our deficits by almost three-quarters,' Obama says in State of the UnionThat link, by the way, is to a fact-check of the claim that Obama reduced the deficit, not to the claim itself.

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.

PLEASE SEE THE UPDATE FOR 2020 AT THE END OF THIS POST.Without having any statistics at hand I believe that this is more true than false.Of course, you do not get handed a job just because you have a master's degree, not in Germany or anywhere else I know of, so I assume you are asking whether foreigners have a good chance to find employment in Germany in their fields after completing their master's degree at a German university. You might be inclined to think so. With its booming economy, shrinking population, and dearth of qualified workers in all technical fields, Germany would seem well served to welcome any foreigner with enough smarts and motivation to get through one of its demanding MA programs in the sciences.This is not the case. Germany does not welcome foreigners from outside the EU who do not have a family connection to a German citizen, regardless of what they know or can do. Thus in Germany, the main problem for non-EU citizens is not so much finishing the MA as getting a visa that permits you to work legally. Having said this, however, once you do get such a visa, it is difficult for the German state to revoke it. And if you ever become unemployed, you will qualify for a monthly living allowance, so you don't ever actually have to work. This explains much of the unabashed lack of hospitality you will encounter at the immigration office, which they call the "Foreigners' Office" so you don't get the wrong impression that the government is somehow encouraging immigration.Non-EU foreigners can get a visa only if they resolve a very lovely catch-22 set up in German law: Without a visa, you won't get hired. But without a job, you can't get a visa. Students are allowed to stay 18 months after finishing their degree to try to square the circle. If you can convince a German company to make you a contingent job offer, you can go to your local "Foreigners' Office" to beg them for a visa. It is begging, as you have no legal rights at this juncture. The individual officer assigned to you then has absolute discretion and must decide if giving you a visa is normatively appropriate. The normative criteria set by the law are two-fold: 1) the officer deciding your case must be sure that no native German is out there, currently unemployed, who could do the job and 2) you getting the job must somehow improve the international competitiveness of Germany (i. e., you must somehow be serving Germans as a whole). As these criteria are fuzzy and hard for the officer (who will surely not have a university master's degree) to apply, the officer probably will rely on gut feeling, which is susceptible to God knows what bad experiences he or she has had with foreigners trying to game the system. So if you don't have an honest, pretty face, hire a lawyer. A better solution is to convince a global player corporation with good ties to the local Foreigners' Office to make you a job offer; visa officers are more likely to be awed if the name on the letterhead is Siemens, VW, or Bayer and not Joey's Pizza or Schmidt's Plumbing Service.There is a kind of king's highway to a work permit: "Highly qualified" individuals can get a visa without a job. The only problem is that if you don't have a job, you are not likely to be considered highly qualified by the officer looking at the application, for why in the world would a highly qualified person be unemployed? Before trying this track, become a white physician first.An elegant solution is to marry -- or procreate a child with -- a German citizen. This will get you your visa in a jiff. It will also vastly improve your German language skills, especially if you have kids together. And if you are lucky, you and your partner will be so in love that job issues will cease to be important.One last remark: There are no general rules to this. Visa decisions are made locally and on a case-by-case basis by quirky individuals trying to uphold to murky laws. Some towns are liberal, some more stingy with their visas. I suppose that with those 18 months and a university degree in a highly prized technical field, most any young person from anywhere stands a fighting chance to get a job in Germany if their potential employer gives them legal and administrative support.UPDATEOn 7 June 2019, the German Bundestag passed a package of seven laws that will have the effect of making it slightly easier for non-EU foreigners with a degree from a German institution of higher education to seek and take a job. It takes effect on 1 January 2020.The most relevant law in the package is the Fachkräfteeinwanderungsgesetz. Its purpose is to make it easier for non-EU foreigners with a college degree or specialized training to enter the country to seek work and to stay here if employed. The motivation of German lawmakers in passing the law was to alleviate the current shortage of qualified labor and thus mitigate its consequences for the German economy, not to welcome foreigners permanently into the society. However, thanks to the Social Democrats, it opens the door a sliver more for work-motivated immigration, for two years beginning on 1 January 2020 at least.Generally speaking, the new law makes it easier for “Fachkräfte” to come to Germany to look for a job and to stay in Germany if employed. A “Fachkraft” (plural “Fachkräfte”) is a person with an officially recognized professional qualification. Having a degree from a German institution of higher education makes you a Fachkraft.The new law brings the following improvements in the chances for foreign students to find and take a job in Germany after graduating from a German educational institution.1. For a trial period of a maximum of 5 years, non-EU Fachkräfte can be given a six-month Aufenthaltserlaubnis (temporary residence permit) for the purpose of looking for a job. Thus, those who finished a master’s program but then had to leave Germany can now return to try to find employment.2. Fachkräfte who get an employment contract will be issued a better visa, known as the Aufenthaltstitel zur Ausübung einer Beschäftigung (residence title for the pursuit of gainful employment) for the duration of their employment. At this point, the employee starts paying into the statutory pension scheme and this serves to reduce slightly the stigma that German law puts on foreigners. German law and most Germans assume that foreigners who stay for more than a few weeks are social welfare parasites, but if you demonstrate a personal net positive contribution to the welfare coffers, it has a disarming effect on most Germans as long as your skin is not too dark.3. The first major change the law brings is that the opportunity to stay in Germany used to apply only to persons qualified to work in professions specifically recognized as suffering from a labor shortage. Now it applies to ALL skilled professions (i.e. those you need a degree for). By the way, Fachkräfte are only allowed to work in the field for which they are formally qualified, but you can get a temporary residence permit for the purpose of qualifying yourself in another field.4. A second major change is that employers are no longer required to prove the absence of qualified German-resident applicants for jobs they offer to non-residents. This so-called Vorrangsprüfung can be reintroduced at any time in the future, however, and will be reintroduced when the German economy no longer needs foreign labor or if Germans decide to try out right-wing nationalist government again.5. If you can stay gainfully employed and pay into the statutory pension scheme for 48 months, you have a chance at advancing to the next status level by getting a Niederlassungserlaubnis (permanent residence permit) at which point you are pretty much “in”. This still doesn’t get you an automatic right to bring your family to Germany to live with you, but at least you can’t lose this status easily. The easiest way to do so is to join a terrorist organization, but this would entail a significant career change anyway.6. The third major change is that decisions regarding employment-motivated immigration are supposed to be made in the future by one centralized office, no longer by the local “Foreigners’ Offices” run by the municipalities. But the German federal states may not like this idea, so its implementation may be delayed or limited.In sum, these new rules could result in big changes to the situation I described in 2014 in the article above, where the highly qualified but highly stigmatized foreigner seeking employment has to interact with a skeptical and sometimes hapless bureaucrat at the local Foreigners’ Office. It should make these interactions quicker and friendlier for the applicant because there are fewer decision points for the bureaucrat to exercise discretion (cf. Points 3 and 4 above) and there is an explicit invitation to stay for six months in Germany to look for work (Point 1). And if the idea of a “centralized” Foreigners’ Office really gets implemented, it should make many interactions less personal. But the basic situation is unchanged: the stigmatized foreigner is requesting special dispensation to stay and has to perform well in an interview.Certaintly at the point where you ask for the permanent Niederlassungserlaubnis at the very latest, you will be very closely scrutinized in the way I originally described. There is a wondrous passage in the Fachkräfteeinwanderungsgesetz that gives the Foreigners’ Office bureaucrat very wide discretion: Paragraph 18c says that the local official can give you the permanent residence visa if you can demonstrate that you have become integrated into German “lifestyle conditions” (Gewährleistung der Integration in die Lebensverhältnisse der Bundesrepublik Deutschland). There is no definition of “lifestyle conditions” and so there is obviously major wiggle room for interpretation here, and it’s the local Foreigners’ Office guy who is left to decide how to apply it in your case. So study up on the German lifestyle and imitate it as best you can before going in for the permanent residence thing. Fortunately, the German lifestyle isn’t so bad: 5 weeks guaranteed vacation, loads of national holidays, 6 weeks paid sick leave if you need it, guaranteed paid maternity and paternity leave, pretty good housing conditions, universal health coverage, a general penchant for natural foods and high-quality alcohol, and finally (this is hard but important to imitate) a guilty feeling of general superiority to all other countries. If you can adapt to that and adopt it, then Willkommen!