ok, no more crap about "obama caving". it's called a trial balloon. COMPLAIN TO CONGRESS.

[NYC Liberal]

80. I'll play:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2012/02/24/what-do-americans-think-of-obamas-performance-as-a-president

Many Americans take it for granted that President Obama has been one of the most effective Presidents since FDR. It’s important to remember just how bad things were when he took office and how much he’s accomplished since he’s been in office.

We were hemorrhaging jobs when this President took office and now we’ve gone from 10% unemployment down to around 8.5%. If the recovery continues on this path, we’ll be back to around 5% unemployment by 2016.

It’s not just about jobs though, President Obama has also worked to restore America’s image around the world. When President Bush was in office we were invading countries for no reason, now we’ve left Iraq and are in the process of leaving Afghanistan.

In case you needed a few other examples of what President Obama has accomplished I put together a list below:

1. Extended child tax credits and marriage-penalty fixes
2. Created an Advanced Manufacturing Fund to invest in peer-reviewed manufacturing processes
3. Required economic justification for tax changes
4. Implemented “Women Owned Business” contracting program
5. Changed standards for determining broadband access
6. Established a credit card bill of rights
7. Expanded loan programs for small businesses
8. Extended the Bush tax cuts for lower incomes
9. Extended the 2007 Alternative MinimumTax patch
10. Closed the “doughnut hole” in Medicare prescription drug plan
11. Expanded the Senior Corps volunteer program
12. Required insurance companies to cover pre-existing conditions
13. Gave tax credits to those who need help to pay health premiums
14. Required large employers to contribute to a national health plan
15. Required children to have health insurance coverage
16. Expanded eligibility for Medicaid
17. Expanded eligibility for State Children’s Health Insurance Fund (SCHIP)
18. Required health plans to disclose how much of the premium goes to patient care
19. Established an independent health institute to provide accurate and objective information
20. In non-competitive markets, forced insurers to pay out a reasonable share of their premiums for patient care
21. Eliminated the higher subsidies to Medicare Advantage plans
22. Expanded funding to train primary care providers and public health practitioners
23. Increased funding to expand community based prevention programs
24. Reinstated executive order to hire an additional 100,000 federal employees with disabilities within five years.
25. Increased the Veterans Administration budget to recruit and retain more mental health professionals
26. Expanded the Veterans Administration’s number of “centers of excellence” in specialty care
27. Appointed a special adviser to the president on violence against women
28. Fully funded the Violence Against Women Act
29. Directed military leaders to end war in Iraq
30. Began removing combat brigades from Iraq
31. Created a military families advisory board
32. Ended the abuse of supplemental budgets for war
33. Made U.S. military aid to Pakistan conditional on anti-terror efforts
34. Opened “America Houses” in Islamic cities around the globe
35. Allocated Homeland Security funding according to risk
36. Created a real National Infrastructure Protection Plan
37. Increased funding for local emergency planning
38. Extended monitoring and verification provisions of the START I Treaty
39. Appointed a White House Coordinator for Nuclear Security
40. Initiated a grant and training program for law enforcement to deter cyber crime
41. Improved relations with Turkey, and its relations with Iraqi Kurds
42. Launched an international Add Value to Agriculture Initiative (AVTA)
43. Created a rapid response fund for emerging democracies
44. Granted Americans unrestricted rights to visit family and send money to Cuba
45. Restored funding for the Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (Byrne/JAG) program
46. Established an Energy Partnership for the Americas
47. Expanded the Nurse-Family Partnership to all low-income, first-time mothers
48. Required new hires to sign a form affirming their hiring was not due to political affiliation or contributions.
49. Provided affordable, high-quality child care
50. Recruited math and science degree graduates to the teaching profession
51. Reduced subsidies to private student lenders and protect student borrowers
52. Encouraged water-conservation efforts in the West
53. Increased funding for national parks and forests
54. Increased funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund
55. Encouraged farmers to use more renewable energy and be more energy efficient
56. Expanded Pell grants for low-income students
57. Pursued a wildfire management plan
58. Removed more brush, small trees and vegetation that fuel wildfires
59. Expanded access to places to hunt and fish
60. Pushed for enactment of Matthew Shepard Act, which expands hate crime law to include sexual orientation and other factors
61. Repealed “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy
62. Restored funding to the EEOC and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs
63. Reformed mandatory minimum sentences
64. Created a White House Office on Urban Policy
65. Fully funded the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG)
66. Established program to convert manufacturing centers into clean technology leaders
67. Established ‘Promise Neighborhoods’ for areas of concentrated poverty
68. Worked toward deploying a global climate change research and monitoring system
69. Funded a major expansion of AmeriCorps
70. Created a Social Investment Fund Network
71. Bolstered the military’s ability to speak differentlanguages
72. Appointed the nation’s first Chief Technology Officer
73. Provided grants to early-career researchers
74. Worked to overturn Ledbetter vs. Goodyear
75. Created a national declassification center
76. Appointed an American Indian policy adviser
77. Created new financial regulations
78. Increased funding for land-grant colleges
79. Banned lobbyist gifts to executive employees
80. Signed a “universal” health care bill
81. Created new criminal penalties for mortgage fraud
82. Required 10 percent renewable energy by 2012
83. Released oil from Strategic Petroleum Reserve
84. Raised fuel economy standards
85. Invested in all types of alternative energy
86. Enacted tax credit for consumers for plug-in hybrid cars
87. Asked people and businesses to conserve electricity
88. Required more energy-efficient appliances
89. Created a ‘Green Vet Initiative’ to promote environmental jobs for veterans
90. Created job training programs for clean technologies
91. Required states to provide incentives for utilities to reduce energy consumption
92. Supported high-speed rail
93. Supported airline service in small towns
94. Invested in public transportation
95. Equalized tax breaks for driving and public transit
96. Considered “smart growth” in transportation funding
97. Shared environmental technology with other countries
98. Doubled federal spending for research on clean fuels
99. Provided grants to encourage energy-efficient building codes
100. Increased funding for the Environmental Protection Agency
101. Raised the small business investment expensing limit to $250,000 through the end of 2009
102. Extended unemployment insurance benefits and
103. temporarily suspend taxes on these benefits
104. Supported network neutrality on the Internet
105. Reversed restrictions on stem cell research
106. Killed Osama bin Laden
107. Doubled funding for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership, a program that encourages manufacturing efficiency
108. Included environmental and labor standards in trade agreements
109. Created an international tax haven watch list
110. Made permanent the Research & Development tax credit
111. Required automatic enrollment in 401(k) plans
112. Required automatic enrollment in IRA plans
113. Created a consumer-friendly credit card rating system
114. Created a $60 billion bank to fund roads and bridges
115. Required full disclosure of company pension investments to employees
116. Provided easy-to-understand comparisons of the Medicare prescription drug plans
117. Invested in electronic health information systems
118. Phased in requirements for health information technology
119. Required that health plans utilize disease management programs
120. Required providers to report measures of health care costs and quality
121. Held hospitals and health plans accountable for disparities in care
122. Implemented and funded proven health intervention programs
123. Prevented drug companies from blocking generic drugs
124. Allowed Medicare to negotiate for cheaper drug prices
125. Worked with schools to create more healthful environments for children
126. Improved recruitment of public health workers
127. Mandated insurance coverage of autism treatment
128. Fully funded the Combating Autism Act and Federal Autism Research Initiatives
129. Doubled federal funding for cancer research
130. Increased participation in cancer-related clinical trials
131. Fully funded the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
132. Set a national goal to provide re-screening for all 2-year-olds for developmental disorders
133. Commissioned a study on students with disabilities and their transition to jobs or higher education
134. Set goals and timetables for implementing Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act
135. Created a best practices list for private businesses in accommodating workers with disabilities
136. Launched educational initiative for employers on tax benefits of hiring employees with disabilities
137. Reduced the threshhold for the Family and Medical Leave Act from companies with 50 employees to companies with 25 employees
138. Provided a $1.5 billion fund to help states launch programs for paid family and medical leave
139. Required employers to provide seven paid sick days per year
140. Streamlined the Social Security disability approval process
141. Expanded Veterans Centers in rural areas
142. Established standards of care for traumatic brain injury treatment
143. Made the Veterans Administration a national leader in health reform
144. Reduced the Veterans Benefits Administration claims backlog
145. Instituted electronic record-keeping for the Veterans Benefits Administration
146. Expanded housing vouchers program for homeless veterans
147. Launched a supportive services-housing program for veterans to prevent homelessness
148. Expanded the Family Medical Leave Act to include leave for domestic violence or sexual assault
149. Fully funded debt cancellation for heavily indebted poor countries
150. Created a fund for international small and medium enterprises (SME)
151. Launched robust diplomatic effort with Iraq and its neighbors
152. Provided $30 billion over 10 years to Israel
153. Limited Guard and Reserve deployments to one year for every six years
154. Ended the “Stop-Loss” program of forcing troops to stay in service beyond their expected commitments
155. Fully and properly equipped troops
156. Created a Civilian Assistance Corps that would organize private sector professionals to help in times of need
157. Included humanitarian international missions in long-term budgeting
158. Reviewed weapons programs
159. Modernized ships and invested more in small vessels
160. Set standards for when the government should hire defense contractors
161. Restored the government’s ability to manage contracts by rebuilding our contract officer corps
162. Created a system of incentives and penalties for defense contracts
163. Establish a Global Education Fund
164. Strengthened the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) aimed at stopping spread of weapons of mass destruction
165. Organized successful Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference in 2010
166. Expanded federal bioforensics program for tracking biological weapons
167. Developed a comprehensive cyber security and response strategy
168. Mandated standards for securing personal data
169. Required companies to disclose personal information data breaches
170. Worked to persuade the European Union to end credit guarantees to Iran
171. Seek to negotiate a political agreement on Cyprus
172. Restructured and streamlined USAID
173. Increased the size of the foreign service
174. Urged China to stop manipulation of its currency value
175. Pressed China to end its support for regimes in Sudan, Burma, Iran and Zimbabwe
176. Created a public “Contracts and Influence” database
177. Required Cabinet officials to host Internet town hall meetings
178. Conducted regulatory agency business in public
179. Promoted more pre-school education
180. Expanded Early Head Start and Head Start
181. Reformed No Child Left Behind
182. Doubled funding for Federal Charter School Program and require more accountability
183. Addressed the dropout crisis by giving schools incentives for more dropout prevention
184. Created Teacher Residency Programs that will send teachers to high-need schools
185. Expanded teacher mentoring programs and provide incentives for more planning time
186. Promoted innovative ways to reward good teachers
187. Simplified the application process for financial aid
188. Increased the number of high school students taking college-level courses
189. Created incentives for tree planting and promote carbon sequestration
190. Improved water quality
191. Regulated pollution from major livestock operations
192. Strengthened federal environmental justice programs
193. Increased funding for organic and sustainable agriculture
194. Partnered with landowners to conserve private lands
195. Created a community college partnership program
196. Increased funding for progams that conserve lands and habitat for select species such as the Osceola turkey
197. Supported wetlands protection
198. Promoted economic development in Mexico
199. Supported repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)
200. Vigorously pursued hate crimes and civil rights abuses
201. Signed the Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act into law
202. Supported regional innovation clusters
203. Helped low-income areas get phone and Internet service
204. Created a Homeowner Obligation Made Explicit (HOME) score for mortgage comparisons
205. Increased the supply of affordable housing throughout metropolitan regions
206. Invested in transitional jobs and career pathway programs
207. Fully funded the COPS program
208. Improved emergency response plans
209. Capped interest rates on payday loans and improve disclosure
210. Expanded public/private partnerships between schools and arts organizations
211. Improved climate change data records
212. Supported improved weather prediction program
213. Offered prizes for advances in consumer technology
214. Encouraged contests and programs to interest students in science
215. Increased research opportunities for college students
216. Strengthened the levees in New Orleans
217. Directed revenues from offshore oil and gas drilling to increased coastal hurricane protection
218. Shook loose federal money for rebuilding the Gulf Coast