Accomplishments Of Barack Obama No One Told You About!

President Barack Obama Was the 44th President of the United States and the first black president.

As an American, his life story is grounded in values and a wholesome background in a middle-class family. His life also highlights the importance of education and hard work as building blocks for success and prosperity in life, along with the belief that such a life rich in blessings should be dedicated to the welfare of humanity.

He attended Occidental College before transferring to Columbia University to earn a B.A. in political science in 1983. He graduated from Harvard University's Law School with a magna cum laude in 1991.

Barack Obama got married to his wife Michelle in 1992, As an accomplished lawyer, Michelle also attended Harvard Law School. The couple has two daughters, Malia born in 1998, and Sasha born in 2001. When Barack Obama became the nation's first African American president in the year 2008, he made history.

Some of the important legislation that President Obama spearheaded was the Hate Crimes Prevention Act, the $787 billion Economic Stimulus Bill to deal with the 2008 financial crisis, Fair Sentencing Act, and several others.

His policies helped in achieving numerous federal objectives like reducing the federal prison population, reduction in discrimination in federal hiring, Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) to cover health care for children through a tax on tobacco products, prohibiting federal contractors from sexual discrimination against the workers to be eligible for federal contracts, stopping credit card companies from increasing interest rates without advance notification, the revival of the US auto industry and several others.

After reading about President Obama's accomplishments, also check facts on Obama's kids and Barack Obama facts.

Reform-Related Accomplishments Of Barak Obama

Healthcare Reform was Passed by Obama, The Affordable Care Act was signed by President Obama in 2010 after five presidents failed to create universal health insurance over the course of a century.

Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, which provides subsidies for Americans to buy health insurance, expands Medicaid eligibility, and prevents insurers from denying health coverage to people with pre-existing conditions, more than twenty million Americans now have health insurance coverage. A 16% uninsured rate in 2010 decreased to 9% in 2015.

In addition to free preventive care, the law grants young people the option to remain on their parent's insurance policy for up to age 26 years, and it bans annual and lifetime benefit caps.

Reforms to Wall Street enacted by Obama In 2010, President Obama signed Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, re-regulating the financial sector after its practices caused the Great Recession.

Under the law, large banks and other financial institutions have tighter capital requirements, as well as the authority to be taken into receivership by the government in case they pose a threat to the economy.

Furthermore, the law limits the ability of banks to trade with customers' money for personal gain. This new law limits large financial institutions' ability to trade with customers' funds for their own profit and tightens capital requirements. To curb abusive lending and financial practices, Dodd-Frank also created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Over the course of the fiscal year 2016, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau handled nearly one million complaints, providing more than 27 million consumers with relief amounting to $11.7 billion.

Reforms Passed Regarding Credit Cards.

Under the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure Act, signed into law in 2009, a credit card company cannot raise rates without notifying consumers, requires a grace period for interest rate increases, and imposes a hefty limit on overdraft fees.

Reforms enacted concerning government surveillance.

He signed the 2015 USA Freedom Act, which bans the governmental collection of bulk data, establishes an advisory panel to provide legal and technical advice to the FISA court, and makes FISA court opinions more transparent. As noted by the ACLU, Congress was restricting rather than expanding its surveillance authority for the first time since 1978.

A supporter of same-sex marriage recognition by the federal government.

Rather than defend the Defense of Marriage Act, which only recognized opposite-sex marriages, the federal government decided to end its support for it in 2011. It was in June 2013, that the U.S. Supreme Court struck down key portions of the law as unconstitutional, allowing same-sex married couples to receive benefits like Social Security and veterans' benefits.

There is now a policy that allows gays and lesbians to serve in the military openly for the first time since the '90s.

After assuming office, President Obama signed an executive order banning "enhanced interrogation" techniques/methods employed by the CIA under President Bush and deemed inhumane under the Geneva Conventions. Additionally, released the legal opinions of the Bush administration that supported the use of these techniques.

He Revived the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice.

In 2009, Eric Holder, then-Attorney General of the Department of Justice, announced a major overhaul of the Civil Rights Division to restore federal civil rights enforcement that had atrophied under President Bush. A key priority of the division was to intensify efforts against housing and employment discrimination, strengthen enforcement of the Voting Rights Act, and eradicate discriminatory police practices.

National Growth Related Accomplishments Of Barak Obama

Restored economic stability.

To boost economic growth during the most severe recession since the Great Depression, he signed into law the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. With 15.5 million new jobs added since 2010, the economy has set a record for a prolonged period of job growth in the private sector.

As of November 2016, the unemployment rate was 4.6%, down from a sustained peak of about 10% in 2009.

Changing Trends in the U.S. Automobile Industry.

In addition to the $13.4 billion in loans from the Bush administration, the government made a $62 billion investment (on top of the $13.4 billion in loans) into ailing GM and Chrysler in exchange for equity stakes and agreements for massive restructuring.

A Center for Automotive Research study estimates 2.5 million jobs were saved as a result of the car companies repaying $70.4 billion of the funds in December 2014.

Increased the health care trust fund's solvency until 2028 by enacting cost-saving measures as part of the Affordable Care Act.

In June 2012, he issued an executive order protecting undocumented young people brought to the United States as children.

Preventing deportation of these young people and allowing them to work permits.

The Federal Communications Commission was directed to issue a rule classifying internet service providers as a public utility and requiring them to treat all web traffic equally, regardless of origin. As a result of years of litigation, a federal court upheld the FCC's rule, meaning no websites can be blocked or favored.

In 2011, the EPA released new fuel efficiency standards that will increase fuel efficiency by 54.5 MPG (miles per gallon) by the year 2025 for vehicles such as cars and light-duty trucks.

Bans banks from Federal Student Loan Program expands Pell Grant funding

Stopped the decades-old practice of subsidizing banks to provide college loans as part of the 2010 healthcare reform legislation. Due to this, all federal student loans are now sourced directly from the federal government. The bulk of the savings ($36 billion over ten years) will go toward extending Pell Grants to students from low-income families.

Having signed the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act of 2009, he designated over two million acres as wilderness, created thousands of miles of trails, and protected over 1,000 mi (1609.3 km) of rivers. Establishes new national monuments and takes other measures to permanently protect over 548 million acres, more than any other president.

Regulating tobacco under the jurisdiction of the FDA.

In 2009, President Obama signed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. Tobacco manufacturers must disclose all ingredients, receive FDA approval for new products, and enlarge warning labels for cigarettes.

Nine years in the making, the law has long been resisted by the tobacco industry. This law also bans the sale of 'light' cigarettes and the sponsorship of entertainment events by tobacco companies.

Invested in clean energy from the beginning.

The 2009 stimulus allocated $90 billion for research into smart grids, energy-efficient electric cars, renewable electricity generation, cleaner coal, and biofuels. Argonne National Laboratory established a clean energy incubator and encouraged foundations, institutional investors, and other stakeholders to invest $4 billion in clean energy technology.

Reduce veteran homelessness by half.

Opening Doors, the nation's first comprehensive program aimed at preventing and ending homelessness, was announced in 2010 and has resulted in a 47% decline in veteran homelessness since 2010 and a goal of ending youth homelessness by 2020.

Developed and signed the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act in 2010, championed by First Lady Michelle Obama, which mandated $4.5 billion in new spending and higher nutritional standards for school lunches. Food served to students must have twice as much fruit and vegetables as before, and only whole grains.

The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act was signed into law in 2009, allowing women who are underpaid to sue their employers upon discovering discrimination even if it took place years ago.

In the days before Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., the statute of limitations for discrimination lawsuits ran out 180 days after the alleged discrimination occurred, even if the victims were unaware of it.

War-Related Accomplishments Of Barak Obama

Negotiated a deal with Iran to prevent it from becoming a nuclear power.

President Obama led six countries to reach a nuclear weapons deal with Iran that requires the country to terminate its nuclear weapons program and submit to regular inspections by the IAEA in return for lifting global sanctions. In addition to blocking Iran's paths to building a bomb, the deal resulted from first toughening sanctions against Iran.

If Iran broke its commitments, the development time for a weapon would be reduced from three months to one year.

Osama bin Laden was killed.

Commanded the Special Forces raid on Abbottabad, Pakistan, in 2011,  during which Osama bin Laden was eliminated and a cache of Al-Qaeda documents was recovered.

U.S. combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan ended.

When he took office, he brought home almost 90% of the troops who were deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan. This left only a small contingent to assist Iraqi and Afghan militaries in countering insurgents and the Taliban.

ISIS has filled the vacuum left by the withdrawal from Iraq. Despite that, the U.S. has assisted the Iraqi military in reversing ISIS gains without redeploying ground forces.

Missile defenses were restructured and reoriented for National security.

The Reagan-era missile defense budget was cut by $1.4 billion in 2010, and antiballistic missile systems were scheduled to be stationed in Poland and the Czech Republic were scrapped in favor of an Iranian and North Korean sea-based defense plan.

Reduction in the nuclear threat.

With regard to the threat of nuclear terrorism and in order to advance a common approach to strengthening nuclear security, the biannual Nuclear Security Summit was established. 16 countries have therefore removed weapons-usable with highly enriched uranium.

A 2011 treaty was signed and ratified with Russia under which both countries were limited to 1,550 strategic warheads (compared to 2,200 previously) and 700 launchers (where they had over 1,400 previously). An earlier monitoring and transparency program lapsed in 2009 but was reinstituted through the treaty.

Assuring that Syria's chemical weapons are removed.

The Syrian leader Bashar Assad was forced by the Chemical Weapons Convention to destroy the country's chemical weapons stockpile in 2013. It was confirmed that thousands of tons of mustard gas and other toxic chemicals were destroyed during OPCW operations in 2016.

Foreign Affairs Related Accomplishments Of Barak Obama

In 2009, President Obama assumed office with the United States in the middle of two costly wars, dealing with a devastating economic crisis, and having a diminished standing with allies around the world.

The image of America abroad improved significantly. Throughout the course of this presidency, the President has refocused and reaffirmed American leadership in the world, recognizing that America's strength is not just its military power, but also its economic might, the depth and breadth of its global partnerships, and its values.

Throughout this process, the President has remained relentless and has taken action against terrorist networks while also focusing on important emerging regions and policies that will shape the 21st century.

The Obama administration reversed the sharp decline in world perception of the U.S. during the Bush administration and the resulting loss of 'soft power'.

Pew Global Attitudes Project surveys found that the United States became more popular in ten of fifteen countries President Obama visited in his first term, with an average gain of 26%.

Securing U.S. commitment to an international agreement on climate change and reducing carbon emissions.

Contributed to the development of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Under the Paris Agreement, signed by 197 nations, carbon emissions will be reduced and global temperatures will be lowered by 35.6 F (2 C).

Normalization of relations with Cuba.

Obama ended a failed Cold War policy of isolation by establishing diplomatic and commercial ties with Cuba in 2014. For the first time in fifty years, direct mail flights to Cuba resumed in March 2016. Now, Americans are also able to travel to Cuba freely.

What is Obama's net worth?

Obama's net worth is 30 times greater today than when he entered the White House in 2008.

Back in 2008, the Obamas were worth $1.3 million when they entered the White House. Their net worth has since increased to an estimated $40 million.

During President Obama’s tenure in the US Senate from 2005-2016, the couple earned a total of $20.5 million in government salaries, book royalties, investment income, and income Michelle Obama earned through her position at the University of Chicago Hospitals. During his eight years as president, Obama earned a salary of $400,000 a year.

Now that he is a former president, he earns an annual pension of about $200,000.

The majority of their wealth came from books. Among Obama's revenue sources are advances and royalties from 'The Audacity of Hope' and 'To Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters,' along with royalties from 'Dreams From My Father,' according to Forbes' analysis of Obama's tax returns and financial documents.

There is still a thriving writing career for Obama, though. Both he and Michelle signed book deals worth at least $60 million in 2017.

Additionally, Obama has received as much as $400,000 for speaking engagements since leaving office.

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