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138-729: Secure Flight is intended to prevent individuals on the No Fly List from boarding an aircraft, as well as to subject individuals on the Selectee List to enhanced screening to determine if they are permitted to board an aircraft. The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act (IRTPA) of 2004 requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to assume from aircraft operators the function of conducting pre-flight comparisons of airline passenger information to federal government watch lists for international and domestic flights. The final report of

276-524: A new executive order that would have protected another four million illegal immigrants from deportation, but the order was blocked by the Supreme Court in a 4–4 tie vote that upheld a lower court's ruling. Despite executive actions to protect some individuals, deportations of illegal immigrants continued under Obama. A record high of 400,000 deportations occurred in 2012, though the number of deportations fell during Obama's second term. In continuation of

414-589: A second bailout of US automakers, possibly saving General Motors and Chrysler from bankruptcy at the cost of $ 9.3 billion. For homeowners in danger of defaulting on their mortgage due to the subprime mortgage crisis , Obama launched several programs, including HARP and HAMP . Obama re-appointed Ben Bernanke as Chair of the Federal Reserve Board in 2009, and appointed Janet Yellen to succeed Bernanke in 2013. Short-term interest rates remained near zero for much of Obama's presidency, and

552-529: A 5–4 majority upheld the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, even though it made state Medicaid expansion voluntary. In King v. Burwell , a 6–3 majority allowed the use of tax credits in state-operated exchanges. The October 2013 launch of HealthCare.gov , a health insurance exchange website created under the provisions of the ACA, was widely criticized, even though many of the problems were fixed by

690-496: A Redress Control Number to enter it when making their reservation. DHS TRIP may make it easier for an airline to confirm a traveler's identity. False-positive travelers, whose names match or are similar to the names of persons on the No Fly List, will continue to match that name even after using DHS TRIP, so it will not restore a traveler's ability to use Internet or curbside check-in or to use an automated kiosk. It does usually help

828-616: A Senate filibuster in a 55–41 vote in favor of the bill. In 2013, the Senate passed an immigration bill with a path to citizenship, but the House did not vote on the bill. In 2012, Obama implemented the DACA policy, which protected roughly 700,000 illegal immigrants from deportation; the policy applies only to those who were brought to the United States before their 16th birthday. In 2014, Obama announced

966-600: A ban on denying coverage based on pre-existing conditions . However, the House bill included a tax increase on families making more than $ 1 million per year and a public health insurance option , while the Senate plan included an excise tax on high-cost health plans . The 2010 Massachusetts Senate special election victory of Scott Brown seriously imperiled the prospects of a health care reform bill, as Democrats lost their 60-seat Senate super-majority . The White House and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi engaged in an extensive campaign to convince both centrists and liberals in

1104-600: A bipartisan basis by the National Governors Association , and the Council of Chief State School Officers . The criteria were not mandatory, they were incentives to improve opportunities to get a grant. Most states revised their laws accordingly, even though they realized it was unlikely they would when a highly competitive new grant. Race to the Top had strong bipartisan support, with centrist elements from both parties. It

1242-620: A boarding pass and entering the departures terminal, so a person on the No Fly List can simply travel under a different name. A " false positive " occurs when a passenger who is not on the No Fly List has a name that matches or is similar to a name on the list. False positive passengers will not be allowed to board a flight unless they can differentiate themselves from the actual person on the list, usually by presenting ID showing their middle name or date of birth. In some cases, false positive passengers have been denied boarding or have missed flights because they could not easily prove that they were not

1380-536: A budget. House Republicans passed a budget that would defund Obamacare , but Senate Democrats refused to pass any budget that defunded Obamacare. Meanwhile, the country faced another debt ceiling crisis . Ultimately the two sides agreed to a continuing resolution that re-opened the government and suspended the debt ceiling. Months after passing the continuing resolution, Congress passed the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 and an omnibus spending bill to fund

1518-723: A consular aid. It was repurposed and expanded after 9/11, and again in 2016. The names in Tuscan come from the US Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment (Tide), which is vetted by the FBI's Terrorist Screening Center and populates various US traveller databases, Canada's Tuscan and the Australian equivalent, "Tactics". In a 2010 report, the Government Accountability Office noted that "Membership in

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1656-600: A cut in military spending , a scaling back of tax deductions for mortgages and employer-provided health insurance, a raise of the Social Security retirement age, and reduced spending on Medicare, Medicaid, and federal employees. The proposal never received a vote in Congress, but it served as a template for future plans to reduce the national debt. After taking control of the House in the 2010 elections , Congressional Republicans demanded spending cuts in return for raising

1794-559: A gun and it could become a permanent ban if a judge determines there is probable cause during that time window." The measure, too, failed, on a 55-45 vote (60 votes were required to proceed). The votes on both the Feinstein measure and the Cornyn measure were largely along party lines . With the aim of preventing individuals on the No Fly List from flying in commercial airliners, U.S. airports require all passengers to show valid picture ID (e.g.

1932-478: A major bill addressing the issue, in part because many Republicans and some Democrats questioned whether global warming is occurring and whether human activity contributes to it. Following his inauguration, Obama asked that Congress pass a bill to put a cap on domestic carbon emissions. After the House passed the American Clean Energy and Security Act in 2009, Obama sought to convince the Senate to pass

2070-573: A one-year reduction in the FICA payroll tax , and other measures. Obama ultimately persuaded many wary Democrats to support the bill, though many liberals such as Bernie Sanders continued to oppose it. The $ 858 billion Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 passed with bipartisan majorities in both houses of Congress and was signed into law by Obama on December 17, 2010. Shortly after Obama's 2012 re-election, Congressional Republicans and Obama again faced off over

2208-518: A passport or driver's license) along with their boarding pass before entering the boarding terminal. At this checkpoint, the name on the ID is matched to that on the boarding pass, but is not recorded. In order to be effective, this practice must assume that 1) the ticket was bought under the passenger's real name (at which point the name was recorded and checked against the No Fly List), 2) the boarding pass shown

2346-447: A peak of 12.2 million in 2007. The nation's immigrant population hit a record 42.2 million in 2014. In November 2015, Obama announced a plan to resettle at least 10,000 Syrian refugees in the United States. Energy production boomed during the Obama administration. An increase in oil production was driven largely by a fracking boom spurred by private investment on private land, and

2484-572: A portion of a bill to be unconstitutional, and he subsequently issued several signing statements. Obama also signed the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 , which added 2 million acres (8,100 km ) of land to the National Wilderness Preservation System , as well as a law raising the cigarette pack tax by 62 cents (equivalent to $ 0.88 in 2023). On February 17, 2009, Obama signed

2622-500: A reasonable estimation range that approaches $ 1 billion, and he questioned whether the benefits of the list outweigh the costs. The 2023 leak re-ignited criticisms that the No-Fly list is insufficiently secure. Critics note that if it is not possible to abolish the No-Fly list or make placement on it appealable, Congress should at least review and improve the federal government's data security to prevent any future leaks. On April 6, 2004,

2760-603: A specific known or suspected threat to aviation." The list grew in the immediate aftermath of the September 11 attacks, reaching more than 400 names by November 2001, when responsibility for keeping it was transferred to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). In mid-December 2001, two lists were created: the "No Fly List" of 594 people to be denied air transport, and the " Selectee " list of 365 people who were to be more carefully searched at airports. By 2002,

2898-562: A strategy of letting Congress drive the process, with the House and Senate writing their own bills. In the Senate, a bipartisan group of senators on the Finance Committee known as the Gang of Six began meeting with the hope of creating a bipartisan healthcare reform bill, even though the Republican senators involved with the crafting of the bill ultimately came to oppose it. In November 2009,

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3036-539: A terrorist organization does not prohibit a person from possessing firearms or explosives under current federal law," and individuals on the No Fly List are not barred from purchasing guns. According to GAO data, between 2004 and 2010, people on terrorism watch lists—including the No Fly List as well as other separate lists—attempted to buy guns and explosives more than 1,400 times, and succeeded 1,321 times (more than 90% of cases). Senator Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey repeatedly introduced legislation to bar individuals on

3174-450: A transition away from coal as an energy source, but the falling price of wind, solar, and natural gas energy sources also contributed to coal's decline. Obama encouraged this successful transition away from coal in large part due to the fact that coal emits more carbon than other sources of power, including natural gas. Obama's campaign to fight global warming found more success at the international level than in Congress. Obama attended

3312-459: A trend that began with the passage of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 , the percentage of foreign-born people living in the United States reached 13.7% in 2015, higher than at any point since the early 20th century. After having risen since 1990, the number of illegal immigrants living in the United States stabilized at around 11.5 million individuals during Obama's presidency, down from

3450-623: A universal accounting system for emissions, required each country to monitor its emissions, and required each country to create a plan to reduce its emissions. Several climate negotiators noted that the US-China climate deal and the EPA's emission limits helped make the deal possible. In 2016, the international community agreed to the Kigali accord, an amendment to the Montreal Protocol which sought to reduce

3588-534: Is a "sacred" liberty protected by the U.S. Constitution and ordered the government to change its system for challenging inclusion. A Malaysian academic has been the first to successfully bring a suit involving the No Fly List to trial. On August 18, 2008, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco issued a ruling on behalf of Rahinah Ibrahim, who was a Stanford University graduate student when she

3726-475: Is different from the Terrorist Watch List, a much longer list of people said to be suspected of some involvement with terrorism. As of June 2014, the Terrorist Watch List is estimated to contain over 2,484,446 records, consisting of 1,877,139 individual identities. Before the attacks of September 11, 2001 , the U.S. federal government had a list of 16 people deemed "no transport" because they "presented

3864-428: Is real, and 3) the ID shown is real. However, the rise of print-at-home boarding passes, which can be easily forged, allows a potential attacker to buy a ticket under someone else's name, to go into the boarding terminal using a real ID and a fake boarding pass, and then to fly on the ticket that has someone else's name on it. Additionally, a 2007 investigation showed that obviously false IDs could be used when claiming

4002-494: Is the first African American president, the first multiracial president, the first non-white president, and the first president born in Hawaii. Obama was succeeded by Republican Donald Trump , who won the 2016 presidential election . Historians and political scientists rank him among the upper tier in historical rankings of American presidents . Obama's accomplishments during the first 100 days of his presidency included signing

4140-533: The 2008 Democratic National Convention , Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel , and Defense Secretary Robert Gates , whom Obama chose to retain from the previous administration. An early list of suggestions came from Michael Froman , then an executive at Citigroup . Obama described his Cabinet choices as a " team of rivals ", and Obama chose several prominent public officials for Cabinet positions, including defeated rival Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State. Obama nominated several former Clinton administration officials to

4278-515: The 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference , which drafted the non-binding Copenhagen Accord as a successor to the Kyoto Protocol . The deal provided for the monitoring of carbon emissions among developing countries , but it did not include Obama's proposal to commit to cutting greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2050. In 2014, Obama reached an agreement with China in which China pledged to reach peak carbon emission levels by 2030, while

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4416-404: The 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. Obama, a Democrat from Illinois , took office following his victory over Republican nominee John McCain in the 2008 presidential election . Four years later, in the 2012 presidential election , he defeated Republican nominee Mitt Romney , to win re-election. Obama

4554-547: The American Civil Liberties Union "filed a nationwide class-action challenge to the government's No Fly List", in which they charge that "many innocent travelers who pose no security risk whatsoever are discovering that their government considers them terrorists – and find that they have no way to find out why they are on the list, and no way to clear their names." The case was settled in 2006, when "the federal government agreed to pay $ 200,000 in attorneys' fees to

4692-521: The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to address the Great Recession . The ARRA had been passed, after much debate, by both the House and Senate four days earlier. While it was originally intended to be a bipartisan bill, Congressional passage of the bill relied largely on Democratic votes, though three Republican senators voted for it. The lack of Republican support for the bill, and

4830-481: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau , which was charged with protecting consumers against abusive financial practices. On signing the bill, Obama stated that the bill would "empower consumers and investors," "bring the shadowy deals that caused the crisis to the light of day," and "put a stop to taxpayer bailouts once and for all." Some liberals were disappointed that the law did not break up

4968-402: The D.C. Circuit to fill Scalia's seat. However, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell , Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley , and other Senate Republicans argued that Supreme Court nominations should not be made during a presidential election year, and that the winner of the 2016 presidential election should instead appoint Scalia's replacement. Garland's nomination remained before

5106-500: The Department of Homeland Security website, print and sign the application, and then submit it with copies of several identifying documents. After reviewing their records, DHS notifies the traveler that if any corrections of data about them were warranted, they will be made. Travelers who apply for redress through TRIP are assigned a record identifier called a "Redress Control Number". Airline reservations systems allow passengers who have

5244-556: The Government Accountability Office of the U.S. Congress produced a report critical of the CAPPS II system. It characterized the proposal as incomplete and seriously behind schedule, and noted that the TSA had failed to address "developmental, operational, and privacy issues identified by Congress". On July 14, 2004, TSA officials announced that CAPPS II was being pulled from consideration without proceeding to full testing. Critics have alleged that

5382-734: The Great Recession . After a lengthy debate over the national debt limit , he signed the Budget Control Act of 2011 and the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 . In foreign policy, he increased US troop levels in Afghanistan , reduced nuclear weapons with the United States–Russia New START treaty, and ended military involvement in the Iraq War . He gained widespread praise for ordering Operation Neptune Spear ,

5520-872: The Guantanamo Bay detention camp , in Cuba , though it remains open. He lifted some travel and money restrictions to the island. Obama signed many landmark bills into law during his first two years in office. The main reforms include: the Affordable Care Act , sometimes referred to as "the ACA" or "Obamacare", the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act , and the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010 . The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act served as economic stimuli amidst

5658-698: The Gulf of Mexico . Because the pipeline crossed international boundaries, its construction required the approval of the US federal government, and the US State Department engaged in a lengthy review process. President Obama vetoed a bill to construct the Keystone Pipeline in February 2015, arguing that the decision of approval should rest with the executive branch. It was the first major veto of his presidency, and Congress

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5796-623: The House of Representatives and the Senate , and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid both remained in their posts. Republicans John Boehner and Mitch McConnell continued to serve as House Minority Leader and Senate Minority Leader, respectively. The presidential transition period began following Obama's victory in the 2008 U.S. presidential election , though Obama had chosen Chris Lu to begin planning for

5934-483: The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 relaxing the statute of limitations for equal-pay lawsuits; signing into law the expanded Children's Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP); winning approval of a congressional budget resolution that put Congress on record as dedicated to dealing with major health care reform legislation in 2009; implementing new ethics guidelines designed to significantly curtail

6072-669: The New Deal . The act increased regulation and reporting requirements on derivatives (particularly credit default swaps ), and took steps to limit systemic risks to the US economy with policies such as higher capital requirements , the creation of the Orderly Liquidation Authority to help wind down large, failing financial institutions, and the creation of the Financial Stability Oversight Council to monitor systemic risks. Dodd-Frank also established

6210-540: The Supreme Court of the United States during Obama's tenure, but Obama made only two successful appointments. During the 111th Congress , when Democrats held a majority in the Senate, Obama successfully nominated two Supreme Court Justices: Justice Antonin Scalia died in February 2016, during the 114th Congress , which had a Republican majority in the Senate. In March 2016, Obama nominated Chief Judge Merrick Garland of

6348-665: The United States debt ceiling , the statutory limit on the total amount of debt that the Treasury Department can issue. The 2011 debt-ceiling crisis developed as Obama and Congressional Democrats demanded a "clean" debt-ceiling increase that did not include spending cuts. Though some Democrats argued that Obama could unilaterally raise the debt ceiling under the terms of the Fourteenth Amendment , Obama chose to negotiate with Congressional Republicans. Obama and Speaker of

6486-506: The United States federal government 's Terrorist Screening Center (TSC), is one of several lists included in algorithmic rulesets used by government agencies and airlines to decide who to allow to board airline flights. The TSC's No Fly List is a list of people who are prohibited from boarding commercial aircraft for travel within, into, or out of the United States . This list has also been used to divert aircraft away from U.S. airspace that do not have start- or end-point destinations within

6624-498: The airlines themselves , who collect the sensitive (birth date, etc.) information, may do with this. Secure Flight has many similarities with CAPPS II and the No Fly List , and therefore raises the same validated concerns about civil liberties and due process . Specifically, civil libertarians argue that under the Secure Flight program, there are insufficient redress mechanisms for innocent citizens on watch lists. Additionally,

6762-407: The electricity grid , repair public housing, and weatherize modest-income homes. Obama also promoted the use of plug-in electric vehicles , and 400,000 electric cars had been sold by the end of 2015. According to a report by The American Lung Association, there was a "major improvement" in air quality under Obama. Upon entering office, Obama focused on handling the global financial crisis and

6900-783: The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill , which was the worst oil spill in US history. In December 2016, President Obama invoked the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to ban offshore oil and gas exploration in large parts of the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans. During Obama's tenure, the battle over the Keystone XL Pipeline became a major issue, with advocates arguing that it would contribute to economic growth and environmentalists arguing that its approval would contribute to global warming. The proposed 1,000-mile (1,600 km) pipeline would have connected Canada's oil sands with

7038-563: The 2011 withdrawal from Iraq, promoted discussions that led to the 2015 Paris Agreement on global climate change, drew down US troops in Afghanistan in 2016, initiated sanctions against Russia following its annexation of Crimea and again after interference in the 2016 US elections , brokered the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action nuclear deal with Iran, and normalized US relations with Cuba . Obama nominated three justices to

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7176-452: The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the government's motion to dismiss Mohamed's lawsuit. On January 22, 2014, Judge Anthony J. Trenga denied most of another government motion to dismiss the lawsuit, allowing the case to proceed toward trial. In 2015 Yonas Fikre of Oregon sued the FBI for harm to his reputation and violation of his due process rights to travel, after he was placed on the No Fly List and then removed. In September 2023,

7314-480: The ACLU of Northern California" and to "[make] public, for the first time, hundreds of records about the government's secret 'no fly' list used to screen airline passengers after September 11, 2001." On August 5, 2010, the ACLU filed a lawsuit on behalf of 14 plaintiffs challenging their placement on the No Fly List. and on June 24, 2014, U.S. District Judge Anna J. Brown ruled in favor of the plaintiffs saying that air travel

7452-679: The Cabinet and to other positions. On April 28, 2009, the Senate confirmed former Kansas governor Kathleen Sebelius as Secretary of Health and Human Services, completing Obama's initial Cabinet. During Obama's presidency, four Republicans served in Obama's Cabinet: Ray LaHood as Secretary of Transportation, Robert McDonald as Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and Gates and Chuck Hagel as Secretaries of Defense. Security and international affairs Economic affairs †Appointed by President Bush ‡Originally appointed by President Bush, reappointed by President Obama There were three vacancies on

7590-544: The Democratic primary. Several other candidates, including Senator Joe Biden of Delaware and former senator John Edwards of North Carolina , also ran for the nomination, but these candidates dropped out after the initial primaries. In June, on the day of the final primaries, Obama clinched the nomination by winning a majority of the delegates, including both pledged delegates and superdelegates . Obama selected Biden as his running mate, and they were officially nominated as

7728-513: The Democratic ticket at the 2008 Democratic National Convention . With Republican president George W. Bush term-limited, the Republicans nominated Senator John McCain of Arizona for president and Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska for vice president. Obama won the presidential election with 365 of the total 538 electoral votes and 52.9% of the popular vote. In the concurrent congressional elections , Democrats added to their majorities in both

7866-647: The FBI, Alsup ruled on January 14, 2014 "that Ibrahim did have the right to sue and ordered the government to tell Ibrahim whether she is still on the list." Ibrahim was represented by the San Jose-based law firm of McManis Faulkner. Ibrahim was awarded $ 400,000 in court costs; in January 2019 the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that she was entitled to the "vast majority" of the millions of dollars in costs her lawyers were requesting, and ordered Alsup to rule on whether

8004-549: The Federal Reserve did not raise interest rates during Obama's presidency until December 2015. There was a sustained increase of the US unemployment rate during the early months of the administration, as multi-year economic stimulus efforts continued. The unemployment rate reached a peak in October 2009 at 10.0%. However, the economy added non-farm jobs for a record 75 straight months between October 2010 and December 2016, and

8142-482: The House John Boehner attempted to negotiate a "grand bargain" to cut the deficit, reform entitlement programs , and re-write the tax code, but the negotiations eventually collapsed due to ideological differences between the Democratic and Republican leaders. Congress instead passed the Budget Control Act of 2011 , which raised the debt ceiling, provided for domestic and military spending cuts, and established

8280-495: The House Paul Ryan oppose this measure, citing due process concerns and efficacy, respectively. Republicans have blocked attempts by Democrats to attach these provisions to Republican-backed measures. The American Civil Liberties Union has voiced opposition to barring weapons sales to individuals listed on the current form of the No Fly List, stating that: "There is no constitutional bar to reasonable regulation of guns, and

8418-563: The House passed the Affordable Health Care for America Act on a 220–215 vote, with only one Republican voting for the bill. In December 2009, the Senate passed its own health care reform bill, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA or ACA), on a party-line, 60–39 vote. Both bills expanded Medicaid and provided health care subsidies; they also established an individual mandate , health insurance exchanges , and

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8556-460: The House to pass the Senate's health care bill, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. In March 2010, after Obama announced an executive order reinforcing the current law against spending federal funds for elective abortion services, the House passed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The bill, which had passed the Senate in December 2009, did not receive a single Republican vote in either house. On March 23, 2010, Obama signed

8694-617: The National Commission on the Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (9/11 Commission Report) recommends that this watch list matching function "should be performed by TSA and it should utilize the larger set of watch lists maintained by the Federal Government" (See 9/11 Commission Report p. 393). To fulfill this recommendation, TSA published the Secure Flight Final Rule on October 28, 2008. The Final Rule went into effect on December 29, 2008. Previously, individual aircraft operators conducted watch list matching using lists provided by TSA. By assuming watch list matching responsibilities from

8832-469: The No Fly List contained only 2,500 names, with an additional 16,000 "selectees" who "represent a less specific security threat and receive extra scrutiny, but are allowed to fly." As of 2011, the list contained about 10,000 names. In 2012, the list more than doubled in size, to about 21,000 names. In August 2013, a leak revealed that more than 47,000 people were on the list. In 2016, California Senator Dianne Feinstein disclosed that 81,000 people were on

8970-427: The No Fly List could serve as one tool for it, but only with major reform." Specifically, the ACLU's position is that the government's current redress process—the procedure by which listed individuals can petition for removal from the list—does not meet the requirements of the Constitution's Due Process Clause because the process does not "provide meaningful notice of the reasons our clients are blacklisted,

9108-422: The No Fly List is the use of credit reports in calculating the risk score. In response to the controversy, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officials said in 2005 that they would not use credit scores to determine passengers' risk score and that they would comply with all rights guaranteed by the First and Fourth amendments to the United States Constitution . In the midst of this controversy,

9246-400: The No Fly List of 1.56 million entries and Selectee List of 250,000 entries posted by CommuteAir on an unsecured Amazon Web Services cloud server. An analysis published in 2024 concerns over-representation of ethno-religious groups in the list, based on a redacted copy of the leak. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has long criticized the No Fly List and similar lists because of

9384-404: The No Fly List. There is a huge, secretive US anti-terrorism database for Canada specifically, "Tuscan" (Tipoff US/Canada), revealed by Canada's access to information system. The database is used by both the US and Canada, and applies to all borders, not just airports. It is believed to contain information on about 680,000 people thought to be linked with terrorism. The list was created in 1997 as

9522-430: The No Fly List. Laura K. Donohue would later write in The Cost of Counterterrorism: Power, Politics, and Liberty that "antiwar activists, such as Jan Adams and Rebecca Gordan, and political opponents of the Bush administration, such as Senator Edward Kennedy and civil rights attorney David Cole , found themselves included." In June 2016, Timothy Healy, the former director of the FBI Terrorist Screening Center , disputed

9660-404: The Obama administration highlighted as a major problem. The federal minimum wage increased during Obama's presidency to $ 7.25 per hour; in his second term, Obama advocated for another increase to $ 12 per hour. GDP growth returned in the third quarter of 2009, expanding at a 1.6% pace, followed by a 5.0% increase in the fourth quarter. Growth continued in 2010, posting an increase of 3.7% in

9798-408: The Obama administration played only a small role in this development. The Obama administration promoted the growth of renewable energy , and solar power generation tripled during Obama's presidency. Obama also issued numerous energy efficiency standards, contributing to a flattening of growth of the total US energy demand. In May 2010, Obama extended a moratorium on offshore drilling permits after

9936-526: The PPACA into law. The New York Times described the PPACA as "the most expansive social legislation enacted in decades," while the Washington Post noted that it was the biggest expansion of health insurance coverage since the creation of Medicare and Medicaid in 1965. Both houses of Congress also passed a reconciliation measure to make significant changes and corrections to the PPACA; this second bill

10074-851: The Selectee List, and the Terrorist Watch List were created by George W. Bush's administration and have continued through the administrations of Barack Obama , Donald Trump and Joe Biden . Former U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee chair Dianne Feinstein said in May 2010: "The no-fly list itself is one of our best lines of defense." However, the list has been criticized on civil liberties and due process grounds, due in part to its potential for ethnic, religious, economic, political, or racial profiling and discrimination . It has raised concerns about privacy and government secrecy and has been criticized as prone to false positives . The No Fly List

10212-622: The Senate for longer than any other Supreme Court nomination in history, and the nomination expired with the end of the 114th Congress. President Donald Trump later nominated Neil Gorsuch to Scalia's former seat on the Supreme Court, and Gorsuch was confirmed by the Senate in April 2017. Obama's presidency saw the continuation of battles between both parties over the confirmation of judicial nominees. Democrats continually accused Republicans of stalling nominees throughout Obama's tenure. After several nomination battles, Senate Democrats in 2013 reformed

10350-630: The Supreme Court : Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan were confirmed as justices, while Merrick Garland was denied hearings or a vote from the Republican-majority Senate . Economic policy actions Other domestic policy actions Foreign policy actions Supreme Court nominations Barack Obama announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination in the 2008 presidential election on February 10, 2007. Obama faced senator and former first lady Hillary Clinton in

10488-572: The Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution guarantees same-sex couples the right to marry in the case of Obergefell v. Hodges . The Obama Administration filed an amicus brief in support of gay marriage and Obama personally congratulated the plaintiff. Obama also issued dozens of executive orders intended to help LGBT Americans, including a 2010 order that extended full benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees. A 2014 order prohibited discrimination against employees of federal contractors on

10626-434: The TSA has merely chosen to start with a less controversial entry point that they are calling the " Registered Traveler " program. TSA has also begun testing of another program called " Secure Flight ", which is supposed to solve some of the problems of CAPPS I while avoiding the privacy issues of CAPPS II. In January 2009, Marcus Holmes conservatively estimated the total cost of the program to be $ 536 million since 9/11, with

10764-539: The U.S., but the airline denied him boarding, presumably because he was on the U.S. No Fly List, and he was returned to prison. While he was imprisoned in Kuwait, a lawsuit was filed on his behalf in the Eastern District of Virginia by the Council on American–Islamic Relations . After the lawsuit was filed, he was allowed to return to the U.S.; the U.S. government then moved to dismiss the lawsuit as moot. On May 28, 2013,

10902-549: The US "Tuscan" (Tipoff US/Canada) database is provided to every Canadian border guard and immigration officer; they have the power to detain, interrogate, arrest and deny entry to anyone listed on it. Unlike the no-fly list, which only applies to airports, Tuscan is used for every Canadian land and sea border, and visa and immigration application. In Pakistan , the no fly list is known as the Exit Control List . Presidency of Barack Obama Barack Obama 's tenure as

11040-476: The US Supreme Court agreed to hear the FBI's appeal against the litigation. Canada's federal government has created its own no fly list as part of a program called Passenger Protect . The Canadian list incorporates data from domestic and foreign intelligence sources, including the U.S. No Fly List. It contains between 500 and 2,000 names. In addition, Canada's access to information system revealed that

11178-524: The US pledged to cut its emissions by 26–28 percent compared to its 2005 levels. The deal provided momentum for a potential multilateral global warming agreement among the world's largest carbon emitters. Many Republicans criticized Obama's climate goals as a potential drain on the economy. At the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference , nearly every country in the world agreed to a landmark climate deal in which each nation committed lowering their greenhouse gas emissions. The Paris Agreement created

11316-530: The United States. The number of people on the list rises and falls according to threat and intelligence reporting. There were reportedly 16,000 names on the list in 2011, 21,000 in 2012, and 47,000 in 2013. The list—along with the Secondary Security Screening Selection , which tags would-be passengers for extra inspection—was created after the September 11 attacks of 2001. The No Fly List,

11454-878: The White House, and rescinded the Mexico City Policy , which banned federal grants to international groups that provide abortion services or counseling. On January 29, Obama signed a bill for the first time in his presidency; the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 revised the statute of limitations for filing pay discrimination lawsuits. On February 3, he signed the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (CHIP), expanding CHIP's health care coverage from 7 million children to 11 million children. On March 9, 2009, Obama lifted restrictions on federal funding of embryonic stem cell research . Obama stated that, like Bush, he would employ signing statements if he deems

11592-636: The agency can differentiate the individual from others who may be on the list.'" In April 2007, the U.S. federal government's "terrorist watch list" administered by the Terrorist Screening Center (which is managed principally by the FBI) contained 700,000 records. A year later, the ACLU estimated the list to have grown to over 1,000,000 names and to be continually expanding. However, according to Homeland Security secretary Michael Chertoff , in October 2008

11730-492: The airline identify the traveler as not being the actual person on the No Fly List, after an airline agent has reviewed their identity documents at check-in. However, DHS TRIP has not been very helpful to travelers who accidentally end up on the No Fly List, as their efforts to clear their names are often futile to the extent that they are not told why they are on the list. On January 19, 2023, Swiss hacker maia arson crimew reported that she had gained access to 2019 versions of

11868-480: The airlines, TSA will: Secure Flight began implementation with select domestic aircraft operators at the beginning of 2009 and completed implementation for all covered domestic and international airlines in December 2010. TSA's Office of Threat Assessment and Credentialing is the lead for the program. Contractors supporting the program have included IBM, Accenture, ESR, InfoZen, and Deloitte. Infoglide Software provided

12006-431: The basis for those reasons, and a hearing before a neutral decision-maker." In December 2015, Feinstein's amendment to bar individuals on the terror watch list from purchasing firearms failed in the Senate on a 45-54 vote. Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn of Texas put forth a competing proposal to "give the attorney general the power to impose a 72-hour delay for individuals on the terror watch list seeking to purchase

12144-475: The basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. In 2015, Secretary of Defense Ash Carter ended the ban on women in combat roles, and in 2016, he ended the ban on transgender individuals openly serving in the military. On the international stage, Obama advocated for gay rights, particularly in Africa. The Great Recession of 2008–09 caused a sharp decline in tax revenues in all cities and states. The response

12282-477: The beginning of his presidency, Obama supported comprehensive immigration reform, including a pathway to citizenship for many immigrants illegally residing in the United States. However, Congress did not pass a comprehensive immigration bill during Obama's tenure, and Obama turned to executive actions. In the 2010 lame-duck session, Obama supported passage of the DREAM Act , which passed the House but failed to overcome

12420-682: The bill as well. The legislation would have required the US to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 17 percent by 2020 and by 83 percent by the middle of the 21st century. However, the bill was strongly opposed by Republicans and neither it nor a separate proposed bipartisan compromise ever came up for a vote in the Senate. In 2013, Obama announced that he would bypass Congress by ordering the EPA to implement new carbon emissions limits. The Clean Power Plan , unveiled in 2015, seeks to reduce US greenhouse gas emissions by 26 to 28 percent by 2025. Obama also imposed regulations on soot, sulfur, and mercury that encouraged

12558-464: The bipartisan Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction to propose further spending cuts. As the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction failed to reach an agreement on further cuts, domestic and military spending cuts known as the "sequester" took effect starting in 2013. In October 2013, the government shut down for two weeks as Republicans and Democrats were unable to agree on

12696-459: The claim that Kennedy had ever appeared on the list, saying that another person with a similar name—who had accidentally tried to bring ammunition on to a plane—was placed on an airline's watch list and Kennedy was mistakenly detained by the airline, not based on the No Fly List. In October 2006, CBS News ' 60 Minutes reported on the program after it obtained a March 2006 copy of the list containing 44,000 names. Many individuals were "caught in

12834-550: The content and quantity of the watch lists has fallen under scrutiny. The Secure Flight Programme applies to non-US flights overflying the United States. TSA uses a table of airport pairs to determine if a flight is overflying the United States. This article incorporates text verbatim from this website , a publication of the US Transportation Security Administration , in the public domain . No Fly List The No Fly List , maintained by

12972-502: The country's largest banks or reinstate the Glass-Steagall Act , while many conservatives criticized the bill as a government overreach that could make the country less competitive. Under the bill, the Federal Reserve and other regulatory agencies were required to propose and implement several new regulatory rules , and battles over these rules continued throughout Obama's presidency. Obama called for further Wall Street reform after

13110-569: The deal, the bill passed the Republican House in large part due to the fact that the failure to pass any bill would have resulted in the total expiration of the Bush tax cuts. US government debt grew substantially during the Great Recession , as government revenues fell. Obama largely rejected the austerity policies followed by many European countries. US government debt grew from 52% of GDP when Obama took office in 2009 to 74% in 2014, with most of

13248-453: The end of the year. The number of uninsured Americans dropped from 20.2% of the population in 2010 to 13.3% of the population in 2015, though Republicans continued to oppose Obamacare as an unwelcome expansion of government. Many liberals continued to push for a single-payer healthcare system or a public option, and Obama endorsed the latter proposal, as well as an expansion of health insurance tax credits, in 2016. Risky practices among

13386-432: The final fate of the Bush tax cuts. Republicans sought to make all tax cuts permanent, while Obama sought to extend the tax cuts only for those making under $ 250,000. Obama and Congressional Republicans came to an agreement on the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 , which made permanent the tax cuts for individuals making less than $ 400,000 a year (or less than $ 450,000 for couples). For earnings greater than that amount,

13524-662: The first actions of Obama's presidency focused on reversing measures taken by the Bush administration following the September 11 attacks . In his first week in office, Obama signed Executive Order 13492 suspending all ongoing proceedings of the Guantanamo military commissions and ordering the Guantanamo detention facility to be shut down within the year. Another order, Executive Order 13491 , banned torture and other coercive techniques, such as waterboarding . Obama also issued an executive order placing tighter restrictions on lobbying in

13662-427: The first quarter, with lesser gains throughout the rest of the year. The country's real GDP grew by about 2% in 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014, peaking at 2.9% in 2015. In the aftermath of the recession, median household income (adjusted for inflation) declined during Obama's first term, before recovering to a new record high in his final year. The poverty rate peaked at 15.1% in 2010 but declined to 12.7% in 2016, which

13800-469: The government had acted in bad faith. Gulet Mohamed , a U.S. citizen from Virginia, was placed on the no-fly list as a teenager in 2011 while he was visiting family in Kuwait. Because he was on the no-fly list, he was unable to return to the U.S. before his visa expired. He was taken into custody in Kuwait for overstaying his visa, where he alleges that he "was repeatedly beaten and tortured by his interrogators". Kuwaiti authorities tried to deport him to

13938-575: The government through 2014. In 2015, after John Boehner announced that he would resign as Speaker of the House, Congress passed a bill that set government spending targets and suspended the debt limit until after Obama left office. During his presidency, Obama, Congress, and the Supreme Court all contributed to a major expansion of LGBT rights. In 2009, Obama signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act , which expanded hate crime laws to cover crimes committed because of

14076-461: The growth in debt coming between 2009 and 2012. In 2010, Obama ordered the creation of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform (also known as the "Simpson-Bowles Commission") in order to find ways to reduce the country's debt. The commission ultimately released a report that called for a mix of spending cuts and tax increases. Notable recommendations of the report include

14214-582: The inability of Democrats to win that support, foreshadowed the gridlock and partisanship that continued throughout Obama's presidency. The $ 787 billion bill combined tax breaks with spending on infrastructure projects, extension of welfare benefits, and education. Following his inauguration, Obama and the Senate worked to confirm his nominees to the United States Cabinet . Three Cabinet-level officers did not require confirmation: Vice President Joe Biden , whom Obama had chosen as his running mate at

14352-451: The income tax increased from 35% to 39.6%, which was the top rate before the passage of the Bush tax cuts. The deal also permanently indexed the alternative minimum tax for inflation, limited deductions for individuals making more than $ 250,000 ($ 300,000 for couples), permanently set the estate tax exemption at $ 5.12 million (indexed to inflation), and increased the top estate tax rate from 35% to 40%. Though many Republicans did not like

14490-445: The influence of lobbyists on the executive branch; breaking from the Bush administration on a number of policy fronts, except for Iraq, in which he followed through on Bush's Iraq withdrawal of US troops; supporting the UN declaration on sexual orientation and gender identity ; and lifting the 7½-year ban on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research . Obama also ordered the closure of

14628-400: The lack of notification to persons included on such lists. The ACLU's stance is that the government has not provided a constitutionally adequate means of allowing individuals to challenge their inclusion on the list and that "constitutional rights are at stake when the government stigmatizes Americans as suspected terrorists and bans them from international travel." Among the complaints about

14766-405: The law, including a $ 116 billion income tax cut, temporarily reduced taxes for 98% of taxpayers, bringing tax rates to their lowest levels in 60 years. The Obama administration would later argue that the stimulus saved the United States from a "double-dip" recession. Obama asked for a second major stimulus package in December 2009, but no major second stimulus bill passed. Obama also launched

14904-399: The list. Under the settlement, the government paid $ 200,000 in the plaintiffs' attorneys' fees. A separate suit was brought as a class action "filed by people caught in the name game." In response, "TSA created an ombudsman process, whereby individuals now can download and print out a Passenger Identity Verification Form and mail it, along with certain notarized documents, to the TSA 'so

15042-400: The major financial institutions on Wall Street were widely seen as contributing to the subprime mortgage crisis , the financial crisis of 2007–08 , and the subsequent Great Recession , so Obama made Wall Street reform a priority in his first term. On July 21, 2010, Obama signed the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act , the largest financial regulatory overhaul since

15180-646: The move, as the plan raised national emission standards but provided the single national efficiency standard that auto industry officials group had long desired. In 2012, Obama set even higher standards, mandating an average fuel efficiency of 54.5 miles per US gallon (4.32 L/100 km). Obama also signed the "cash-for-clunkers" bill, which provided incentives to consumers to trade in older, less fuel-efficient cars for more efficient cars. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 provided $ 54 billion in funds to encourage domestic renewable energy production, make federal buildings more energy-efficient, improve

15318-472: The passage of Dodd-Frank, saying that banks should have a smaller role in the economy and less incentive to make risky trades. Obama also signed the Credit CARD Act of 2009 , which created new rules for credit card companies. During his presidency, Obama described global warming as the greatest long-term threat facing the world. Obama took several steps to combat global warming, but was unable to pass

15456-465: The permanent extension of most of the Bush tax cuts , which had been enacted between 2001 and 2003. Those tax cuts were set to expire during Obama's presidency since they were originally passed using a Congressional maneuver known as reconciliation , and had to fulfill the long-term deficit requirements of the "Byrd rule". During the lame duck session of the 111th Congress , Obama and Republicans wrangled over

15594-459: The person on the No Fly List. False positives and abuses that have been in the news include: The DHS Traveler Redress Inquiry Program (TRIP) is a procedure for travelers who are delayed or denied boarding of an aircraft, consistently receive excess scrutiny at security checkpoints, or are denied entry to the U.S. because they are believed to be or are told that they are on a government watch list. The traveler must complete an online application at

15732-744: The presidency at 12:00 pm, EST , and completed the oath of office at 12:05 pm, EST. He delivered his inaugural address immediately following his oath. Obama's transition team was highly complimentary of the Bush administration's outgoing transition team, particularly with regards to national security, and some elements of the Bush-Obama transition were later codified into law. [REDACTED] The full text of Barack Obama's First Inaugural Address at Wikisource. Within minutes of Obama's taking office, his chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel , issued an order suspending last-minute regulations and executive orders signed by his predecessor George W. Bush . Some of

15870-517: The proposals of advanced educational reformers. In the competition points were awarded for allowing charter schools to multiply, for compensating teachers on a merit basis including student test scores, and for adopting higher educational standards. There were incentives for states to establish college and career-ready standards, which in practice meant adopting the Common Core State Standards Initiative that had been developed on

16008-600: The raid that killed Osama bin Laden , who was responsible for the September 11 attacks . In 2011, Obama ordered the drone-strike killing in Yemen of al-Qaeda operative Anwar al-Awlaki , who was an American citizen. He ordered military involvement in Libya in order to implement UN Security Council Resolution 1973 , contributing to the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi . After winning re-election by defeating Republican opponent Mitt Romney, Obama

16146-427: The role of private banks in lending out federally insured student loans , created a new income-based loan repayment plan known as Pay as You Earn , and increased the amount of Pell Grant awards given each year. He also instituted new regulations on for-profit colleges , including a "gainful employment" rule that restricted federal funding from colleges that failed to adequately prepare graduates for careers. From

16284-540: The similar but more comprehensive Equality Act . Neither bill passed Congress. In May 2012, Obama became the first sitting president to support same-sex marriage , shortly after Vice President Joe Biden had also expressed support for the institution. The following year, Obama appointed Todd M. Hughes to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit , making Hughes the first openly gay federal judge in US history. In 2015,

16422-512: The stimulus bill was enacted in February 2009, health care reform became Obama's top domestic priority, and the 111th Congress passed a major bill that eventually became widely known as " Obamacare ". Health care reform had long been a top priority of the Democratic Party, and Democrats were eager to implement a new plan that would lower costs and increase coverage. In contrast to Bill Clinton 's 1993 plan to reform health care, Obama adopted

16560-472: The subsequent Great Recession that had begun before his election, which was generally regarded as the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression . On February 17, 2009, Obama signed into law a $ 787 billion economic stimulus bill that included spending for health care, infrastructure, education, various tax breaks and incentives , and direct assistance to individuals. The tax provisions of

16698-534: The system" as a result of sharing the exact or similar name of another person on the list; TSA officials said that, as of November 2005, 30,000 people in 2005 had complained that their names were matched to a name on the list via the name matching software used by airlines. In January 2006, the FBI and ACLU settled a federal lawsuit, Gordon v. FBI , brought by Gordon and Adams under the Freedom of Information Act in order to obtain information about how names were added to

16836-473: The terror watch lists (such as the No Fly List) from buying firearms or explosives, but these efforts have not succeeded. Senator Dianne Feinstein of California revived the legislation after the November 2015 Paris attacks and President Barack Obama has called for such legislation to be approved. Republicans in Congress such as Senate Homeland Security Committee chair Ron Johnson and former Speaker of

16974-511: The transition in May 2008. John Podesta , Valerie Jarrett , and Pete Rouse co-chaired the Obama-Biden Transition Project. During the transition period, Obama announced nominations for his cabinet and administration . In November 2008, Congressman Rahm Emanuel accepted Obama's offer to serve as White House Chief of Staff . Obama was inaugurated on January 20, 2009, succeeding George W. Bush . Obama officially assumed

17112-465: The two lists combined contained over a thousand names, and by April 2005 contained about 70,000 names. For the first two and a half years of the program, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) denied that the program existed. In 2004, then-U.S. Senator Edward Kennedy was denied boarding a flight because his name was similar to an alias found on

17250-506: The ultimate fate of the cuts. Obama wanted to extend the tax cuts for taxpayers making less than $ 250,000 a year, while Congressional Republicans wanted a total extension of the tax cuts, and refused to support any bill that did not extend tax cuts for top earners. Obama and the Republican Congressional leadership reached a deal that included a two-year extension of all the tax cuts, a 13-month extension of unemployment insurance ,

17388-445: The underlying identity resolution technology. TSA met its goal to vet 100 percent of all domestic commercial flights by early 2010 and 100 percent of all international commercial flights by the end of 2010. TSA has stated it will not collect or use "commercial data" to conduct Secure Flight watch list matching. It has also released a Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA). The TSA policy, however, makes no mention of any limitations on what

17526-473: The unemployment rate fell to 4.7% in December 2016. The recovery from the Great Recession was marked by a lower labor force participation rate, some economists attributing the lower participation rate partially to an aging population and people staying in school longer, as well as long-term structural demographic changes. The recovery also laid bare the growing income inequality in the United States , which

17664-511: The use of HFCs , organic compounds that contribute to global warming. From the beginning of his presidency, Obama took several actions to raise vehicle fuel efficiency in the United States. In 2009, Obama announced a plan to increase the Corporate Average Fuel Economy to 35 miles per US gallon (6.7 L/100 km)], a 40 percent increase from 2009 levels. Both environmentalists and auto industry officials largely welcomed

17802-585: The use of the filibuster so that it could no longer be used on executive or judicial nominations (excluding the Supreme Court). Republicans took over the Senate after the 2014 elections , giving them the power to block any judicial nominee, and the 114th Congress confirmed just 20 judicial nominees, the lowest number of confirmations since the 82nd Congress . Obama's judicial nominees were significantly more diverse than those of previous administrations, with more appointments going to women and minorities. Once

17940-504: The victim's sexual orientation. In December 2010, Obama signed the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010 , which ended the military's policy of disallowing openly gay and lesbian people from openly serving in the United States Armed Forces . Obama also supported the passage of ENDA , which would ban discrimination against employees on the basis of gender or sexual identity for all companies with 15 or more employees, and

18078-639: Was legalized nationwide in 2015 after the Court ruled so in Obergefell . He advocated for gun control in response to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting , indicating support for a ban on assault weapons , and issued wide-ranging executive actions concerning global warming and immigration. In foreign policy, he ordered military interventions in Iraq and Syria in response to gains made by ISIL after

18216-545: Was sworn in for a second term on January 20, 2013. During this term, he condemned the 2013 Snowden leaks as unpatriotic, but called for more restrictions on the National Security Agency (NSA) to address privacy issues. Obama also promoted inclusion for LGBT Americans . His administration filed briefs that urged the Supreme Court to strike down same-sex marriage bans as unconstitutional ( United States v. Windsor and Obergefell v. Hodges ); same-sex marriage

18354-502: Was arrested at the San Francisco-Oakland International Airport in 2005, overturning a lower court decision and allowing her case against inclusion in the No Fly List to proceed through the court system. A public trial began on December 2, 2013 in San Francisco in the courtroom of U.S. District Judge William Alsup . After the government revealed that Ibrahim had ended up on the list because of human error by

18492-758: Was opposed by the left wing of the Democratic Party, and by the right wing of the Republican Party, and criticized for centralizing too much power in Washington. Complaints also came from middle-class families, who were annoyed at the increasing emphasis on teaching to the test, rather than encouraging teachers to show creativity and stimulating students' imagination. Obama also advocated for universal pre-kindergarten programs, and two free years of community college for everyone. Through her Let's Move program and advocacy of healthier school lunches, First Lady Michelle Obama focused attention on childhood obesity , which

18630-443: Was signed into law on March 30, 2010. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act became widely known as the Affordable Care Act (ACA) or "Obamacare". The Affordable Care Act faced considerable challenges and opposition after its passage, and Republicans continually attempted to repeal the law. The law also survived two major challenges that went to the Supreme Court. In National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius ,

18768-408: Was still higher than the 12.5% pre-recession figure of 2007. The relatively small GDP growth rates in the United States and other developed countries following the Great Recession left economists and others wondering whether US growth rates would ever return to the levels seen in the second half of the twentieth century. Obama's presidency saw an extended battle over taxes that ultimately led to

18906-649: Was three times higher in 2008 than it had been in 1974. In December 2015, Obama signed the Every Student Succeeds Act , a bipartisan bill that reauthorized federally mandated testing but shrank the federal government's role in education, especially with regard to troubled schools. The law also ended the use of waivers by the Education Secretary. In post-secondary education, Obama signed the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 , which ended

19044-485: Was to cut education budgets. Obama's $ 800 billion stimulus package included $ 100 billion for public schools, which every state used to protect its educational budget. However, in terms of sponsoring innovation, Obama and his Education Secretary Arne Duncan pursued K-12 education reform through the Race to the Top grant program. With over $ 15 billion of grants at stake, 34 states quickly revised their education laws according to

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