So how has DC done fulfilling promises made?
Consider these 118 broken political promises so far:
Eliminate all oil and gas tax loopholes
"Eliminating
special tax breaks for oil and gas companies: including repealing
special expensing rules, foreign tax credit benefits, and manufacturing
deductions for oil and gas firms."
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Expand the child and dependent care credit
Expand and make refundable the child and dependent care credit.
>> More
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Require publicly traded financial partnerships to pay the corporate income tax
Require publicly traded financial partnerships to pay the corporate income tax.
>> More
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Close loopholes in the corporate tax deductibility of CEO pay
Congress has set
rules regarding the tax deductibility of the salaries of CEOs, but forms
of non-salary compensation have become popular. Obama would look at
revamping definitions of compensation.
>> More
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Create a foreclosure prevention fund for homeowners
Create a $10
billion fund to help homeowners refinance or sell their homes. "The Fund
will not help speculators, people who bought vacation homes or people
who falsely represented their incomes."
>> More
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Provide option for a pre-filled-out tax form
Will direct the
Internal Revenue Service to "give taxpayers the option of a pre-filled
tax form to verify, sign and return to the IRS or online. This will
eliminate the need for Americans to hire expensive tax preparers and to
gather information that the federal government already has on file."
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Create a mortgage interest tax credit for non-itemizers
Create a refundable tax credit equal to 10 percent of mortgage interest for nonitemizers, up to a maximum credit of $800.
>> More
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Require automatic enrollment in 401(k) plans
Automatic enrollment in 401(k) plans for workers whose employers offer retirement plans.
>> More
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Require automatic enrollment in IRA plans
Require employers
who do not offer retirement plans to offer their workers access to
automatic IRAs and contribute via payroll deduction.
>> More
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Create a retirement savings tax credit for low incomes
A tax credit for
retirement savings up to $500 (couples) or $250 (singles). Phases out
when incomes exceed $65,000 (couples) or $32,500 (single). Indexed for
inflation.
>> More
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End income tax for seniors making less than $50,000
"Will eliminate all income
taxation of seniors making less than $50,000 per year. This will
eliminate taxes for 7 million seniors -- saving them an average of
$1,400 a year-- and will also mean that 27 million seniors will not need
to file an income tax return at all."
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End no-bid contracts above $25,000
"Will ensure that federal contracts over $25,000 are competitively bid."
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Create a $60 billion bank to fund roads and bridges
"Will address the
infrastructure challenge by creating a National Infrastructure
Reinvestment Bank to expand and enhance, not supplant, existing federal
transportation investments. This independent entity will be directed to
invest in our nation's most challenging transportation infrastructure
needs. The Bank will receive an infusion of federal money, $60 billion
over 10 years, to provide financing to transportation infrastructure
projects across the nation. These projects will create up to two million
new direct and indirect jobs and stimulate approximately $35 billion
per year in new economic activity."
>> More
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Tax carried interest as ordinary income
Carried interest
is a way of compensating executives by giving them ownership stakes, or
"interest," in a business. Carried interest is taxed as a capital gain,
which has a lower tax rate than ordinary income. Obama proposes taxing
carried interest at the same rate as regular income.
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Sign the Employee Free Choice Act, making it easier for workers to unionize
"Obama is a
cosponsor and strong advocate of the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), a
bipartisan effort to make the unionization process more transparent and
increase penalties on companies that violate employee rights. He will
sign EFCA into law as president."
>> More
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Lift the payroll tax cap on earnings above $250,000
"Barack Obama
believes that the first place to look to strengthen Social Security is
the payroll tax system. Obama believes that one strong option is
increasing the maximum amount of earnings covered by Social Security by
lifting the payroll tax cap on only earnings above $250,000."
>> More
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Forbid companies in bankruptcy from giving executives bonuses
"Protect the jobs
and benefits of workers and retirees when corporations file for
bankruptcy by telling companies that they cannot issue bonuses for
executives during bankruptcy while their workers watch their pensions
disappear."
>> More
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Allow workers to claim more in unpaid wages and benefits in bankruptcy court
"Increase the amount of unpaid wages and benefits workers can claim in bankruptcy court against their employer."
>> More
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Require full disclosure of company pension investments to employees
"When companies
fund their pensions, many do not disclose their investments with the
employee's pension dollars. This lack of transparency can make it easier
for fund managers to make imprudent or even fraudulent investment
decisions. Obama will ensure that all employees who have company
pensions receive annual disclosures about their pension fund's
investments, including full details about which projects have been
invested in, the performance of those investments and appropriate
details about probable future investments strategies."
>> More
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Allow imported prescription drugs
"Allow Americans to
buy their medicines from other developed countries if the drugs are
safe and prices are lower outside the U.S."
>> More
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Prevent drug companies from blocking generic drugs
"Prevent drug companies from blocking generic drugs from consumers."
>> More
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Allow Medicare to negotiate for cheaper drug prices
"Allow Medicare to negotiate for cheaper drug prices."
>> More
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Appoint federal-level coordinator to oversee all federal autism efforts
"They will appoint
a Federal ASD Coordinator to oversee federal ASD research and federal
efforts to improve awareness of ASD and improve the training of medical
professionals to identify and treat ASD. By establishing one top-level
point person to coordinate ASD efforts in the White House, they will
ensure that ASD receives the recognition and priority it deserves in the
federal government. The Federal ASD Coordinator will also be tasked
with eliminating bureaucratic obstacles that may be delaying
implementation of important ASD measures and ensuring that all federal
ASD dollars are being spent in a manner that prioritizes results. The
Coordinator will work with state task forces on ASD to ensure effective
communication and collaboration among federal, state, and local
agencies."
>> More
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Double federal funding for cancer research
"Will double federal funding for cancer research within 5 years, focusing on NIH (National Institutes of Health) and NCI (National Cancer Institute)."
>> More
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Direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct a comprehensive study of federal cancer initiatives
"As president, Barack
Obama will immediately direct his Secretary of Health and Human
Services, in collaboration with agency officials, academic researchers,
cancer survivors and advocates for people with cancer, and state public
health officials, to comprehensively examine the various cancer-related
efforts of federal agencies, and provide recommendations to eliminate
barriers to effective coordination across federal agencies and between
the federal government and other stakeholders."
>> More
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Provide the CDC $50 million in new funding to determine the most effective approaches for cancer patient care
"Will provide the
CDC $50 million in new funding to determine the most effective
approaches that assist not only navigation of cancer patients through
diagnosis and treatment processes, but also provide easy-to-understand
information on the necessary follow-up steps to ensure continued
lifelong health."
>> More
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Sign the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
"As president,
Barack Obama will renew America's leadership by making the United States
a signatory to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities; the first human rights treaty approved by the UN in the 21st
century and a vital foundation for respecting the rights of people with
disabilities worldwide He will urge the U.S. Senate to ratify the
Convention expeditiously."
>> More
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Fully fund the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
"Barack Obama has
been a strong and consistent advocate for fully funding the Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Congress promised to shoulder 40
percent of each state's "excess cost" of educating children with
disabilities, but it has never lived up to this obligation. Currently,
the federal government provides less than half of the promised funding
(17 percent)."
>> More
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Create a National Commission on People with Disabilities, Employment, and Social Security
Create a national
commission charged with "examining and proposing solutions to work
disincentives in the SSDI, SSI, Medicare, and Medicaid," among other
things.
>> More
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Change federal rules so small businesses owned by people with disabilities can get preferential treatment for federal contracts.
"Barack Obama and
Joe Biden would direct the Small Business Administration to amend
regulations under the Small Business Act that provide preferences in
federal contracting to small businesses owned by members of socially and
economically disadvantaged groups to include individuals with
disabilities."
>> More
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Reduce the threshhold for the Family and Medical Leave Act from companies with 50 employees to companies with 25 employees
"The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides eligible employees of larger employers (i.e.,
50 or more employees) with 12 weeks of unpaid leave to care for a
family member's or their own serious health condition. Barack Obama and
Joe Biden will guarantee that millions more workers have access to FMLA
leave by reducing the threshold for which employers are covered from
companies with 50 or more employees to those with 25 or more."
>> More
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Provide a $1.5 billion fund to help states launch programs for paid family and medical leave
"As president,
Barack Obama and Joe Biden will initiate a 50-state strategy to
encourage all of the states to adopt paid-leave systems (as part of the
Family and Medical Leave Act). Barack Obama and Joe Biden will provide a
$1.5 billion fund to assist states with start-up costs and to help
states offset the costs for employees and employers. Obama's Department
of Labor will also provide technical information to the states on how to
craft paid-leave programs consistent with their local needs."
>> More
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Require employers to provide seven paid sick days per year
"Require that
employers provide seven paid sick days per year – which may be taken on
an hourly basis – so that Americans with disabilities can take the time
off they need without fear of losing their jobs or a paycheck."
>> More
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Amend the Medicare "homebound" rule to allow some travel without loss of benefits
Amend the Medicare
'homebound' rule, which requires severely disabled recipients to stay
in their homes to retain benefits, so that they have the freedom to
leave their homes without fear of having their home-health benefits
taken away.
>> More
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Reduce the Veterans Benefits Administration claims backlog
"There are
currently over 400,000 claims pending within the Veterans Benefits
Administration, and over 800,000 claims receipts are expected in 2008
alone. … Obama will hire additional claims workers and convene our
nation's leading veterans groups, employees and managers to develop an
updated training and management model that will ensure that VA benefit
decisions are rated fairly and consistently, and stem from adequate
training and accountability for each claims adjudicator."
>> More
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Expand the Family Medical Leave Act to include leave for domestic violence or sexual assault
"Expand the
purposes for which leave can be taken under the Family Medical Leave Act
to include reasons related to domestic violence or sexual assault."
>> More
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Form international group to help Iraq refugees
"Will form an
international working group to address" the problem of "more than five
million Iraqis (who) are refugees or are displaced inside their own
country."
>> More
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Provide at least $2 billion for services to Iraqi refugees
"Provide at least $2 billion to expand services to Iraqi refugees in neighboring countries."
>> More
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Work with Russia to move nuclear weapons off hair-trigger alert
"The United States
and Russia have thousands of nuclear weapons on hair-trigger alert.
Barack Obama believes that we should take our nuclear weapons off
hair-trigger alert -- something that George W. Bush promised to do when
he was campaigning for president in 2000. Maintaining this Cold War
stance today is unnecessary and increases the risk of an accidental or
unauthorized nuclear launch. As president, Obama will work with Russia
to find common ground and bring significantly more weapons off
hair-trigger alert."
>> More
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Clarify legal status for defense contractor personnel
"Establish the
legal status of contractor personnel, making possible prosecution of any
abuses committed by private military contractors."
>> More
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Double U.S. spending on foreign aid to $50 billion a year by 2012
"Barack Obama
would target this new spending towards strategic goals, including
helping the world's weakest states to build democratic institutions,
foster healthy and educated communities, reduce poverty and generate
wealth."
>> More
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Establish a Global Education Fund
Barack Obama would
use part of increased U.S. assistance to establish a $2 billion Global
Education Fund to "offer an alternative to extremist schools."
>> More
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Launch a new 'America's Voice Corps'
"Obama also would
launch a new 'America's Voice Corps' to rapidly recruit and train fluent
speakers of local languages (Arabic, Bahasa Melayu, Bahasa,
Farsi, Urdu, and Turkish) with public diplomacy skills, who can ensure
our voice is heard in the mass media and in our efforts on the ground."
>> More
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Close the Guantanamo Bay Detention Center
"As president, Barack Obama will close the detention facility at Guantanamo."
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Develop an alternative to President Bush's Military Commissions Act on handling detainees
"He will reject the Military Commissions Act, which allowed the U.S.
to circumvent Geneva Conventions in the handling of detainees. He will
develop a fair and thorough process based on the Uniform Code of
Military Justice to distinguish between those prisoners who should be
prosecuted for their crimes, those who can't be prosecuted but who can
be held in a manner consistent with the laws of war, and those who
should be released or transferred to their home countries."
>> More
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Restore habeas corpus rights for "enemy combatants"
"The right of
habeas corpus allows prisoners to ask a court to determine whether they
are being lawfully imprisoned. Recently, this right has been denied to
those deemed enemy combatants. Barack Obama strongly supports bipartisan
efforts to restore habeas rights. He firmly believes that those who
pose a danger to this country should be swiftly tried and brought to
justice, but those who do not should have sufficient due process to
ensure that we are not wrongfully denying them their liberty."
>> More
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Establish regulations to secure chemical plants
"Barack Obama will
establish a clear set of federal regulations that all plants must
follow, including improving barriers, containment, mitigation, and
safety training, and, where possible, using safer technology, such as
less toxic chemicals."
>> More
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Improve port security through better radiation detection
"Will redouble our
efforts to develop technology that can detect radiation and determine
the danger it poses, and he will work with the maritime transportation
industry to integrate this technology into their operations so as to
maximize security without causing economic disruption."
>> More
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Strengthen the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and double its budget in the next four years
"The IAEA
is understaffed and underresourced at a time when demand for its
expertise are growing. Barack Obama and Joe Biden will seek to ensure
that the Agency gets the authority, information, people, and technology
it needs to do its job. They will work to double the IAEA
budget in the next four years (increasing the U.S. annual share to
about $225 million). They will press countries to adopt the "Additional
Protocol," -- which grants the IAEA
the right to conduct more intrusive inspections, including at
undeclared facilities — and seek agreement among members of the Nuclear
Suppliers Group not to transfer nuclear technology to NPT
countries that have not adopted the Additional Protocol. They will work
to gain agreement on effective global standards for nuclear safety and
security. And they will call for establishing IAEA
verification procedures that go beyond the Additional Protocol to
strengthen the agency's ability to detect clandestine facilities and
activities."
>> More
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Secure ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT)
"The United States has maintained a moratorium on testing since 1992. It signed the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) in 1996, but it has not been ratified yet. Since the U.S.
Senate last considered the treaty in 1999, significant progress has
been made in our verification capability to detect nuclear explosions,
even at extremely low yields, and to ensure confidence in the
reliability of our nuclear stockpile without nuclear testing."
>> More
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Require companies to disclose personal information data breaches
"California and
other states have laws requiring a company that may have disclosed a
resident's personal information without authorization to inform the
victim of the disclosure. Barack Obama and Joe Biden believe that all
Americans deserve the same right to know and will push for comparable
federal legislation."
>> More
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Seek to negotiate a political agreement on Cyprus
"As president,
Barack Obama will show U.S. leadership in seeking to negotiate a
political settlement on Cyprus. He believes strongly that Cyprus should
remain a single, sovereign country in which each of the two communities
on the island is able to exercise substantial political authority within
a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation."
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With the G-8, launch Health Infrastructure 2020
"Barack Obama and
Joe Biden will take the lead at the G-8, working with and leveraging the
engagement of the private sector and private philanthropy, to launch
Health Infrastructure 2020 – a global effort to work with developing
countries to invest in the full range of infrastructure needed to
improve and protect both American and global health."
>> More
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Reinstate special envoy for the Americas
"In the past,
American presidents have filled the position of special envoy to bring
senior-level attention to hemispheric matters that might otherwise get
buried in the normal diplomatic process. Unfortunately, the position was
eliminated after the post was vacated in June of 2004. As president
Barack Obama will reinstate the position."
>> More
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Double the Peace Corps
"Barack Obama will
double the Peace Corps to 16,000 by its 50th anniversary in 2011 and
push Congress to fully fund this expansion, with a focus on Latin
America and the Caribbean."
>> More
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Seek independent watchdog agency to investigate congressional ethics violations
"Will use the
power of the presidency to fight for an independent watchdog agency to
oversee the investigation of congressional ethics violations so that the
public can be assured that ethics complaints will be investigated."
>> More
>> More
Create a public "Contracts and Influence" database
"Will create a
'contracts and influence' database that will disclose how much federal
contractors spend on lobbying, and what contracts they are getting and
how well they complete them."
>> More
>> More
Expose Special Interest Tax Breaks to Public Scrutiny
"Will ensure that
any tax breaks for corporate recipients — or tax earmarks — are also
publicly available on the Internet in an easily searchable format."
>> More
>> More
Allow five days of public comment before signing bills
To reduce bills
rushed through Congress and to the president before the public has the
opportunity to review them, Obama "will not sign any non-emergency bill
without giving the American public an opportunity to review and comment
on the White House website for five days."
>> More
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Tougher rules against revolving door for lobbyists and former officials
"No political appointees
in an Obama-Biden administration will be permitted to work on
regulations or contracts directly and substantially related to their
prior employer for two years. And no political appointee will be able to
lobby the executive branch after leaving government service during the
remainder of the administration."
>> More
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Double funding for Federal Charter School Program and require more accountability
"Will double
funding for the Federal Charter School Program to support the creation
of more successful charter schools. An Obama-Biden administration will
provide this expanded charter school funding only to states that improve
accountability for charter schools, allow for interventions in
struggling charter schools and have a clear process for closing down
chronically underperforming charter schools. An Obama-Biden
administration will also prioritize supporting states that help the most
successful charter schools to expand to serve more students."
>> More
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Double funding for afterschool programs
"Will double funding for
the main federal support for afterschool programs, the 21st Century
Learning Centers program, to serve one million more children."
>> More
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Create scholarships to recruit new teachers
"Will create new
Teacher Service Scholarships that will cover four years of undergraduate
or two years of graduate teacher education, including high-quality
alternative programs for mid-career recruits in exchange for teaching
for at least four years in a high-need field or location."
>> More
>> More
Regulate pollution from major livestock operations
"In the Obama
Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency will strictly
monitor and regulate pollution from large Concentrated Animal Feeding
Operations (CAFOs)
- which raise more than 40 percent of U.S. livestock - with fines for
those who violate tough air and water quality standards."
>> More
>> More
Expand the Employment Non-Discrimination Act to include sexual orientation and gender identity
Will "place the weight of (his) administration behind...a
fully inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act to outlaw workplace
discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity."
>> More
>> More
Urge states to treat same-sex couples with full equality in their family and adoption laws
As president, "will
use the bully pulpit to urge states to treat same-sex couples with full
equality in their family and adoption laws."
>> More
>> More
Sign the Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act into law
"Will sign the
Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act into law and
charge the Voting Rights Section with vigorously enforcing that law and
the provisions of the Voting Rights Act. The act will will enable
investigations into deceptive and fraudulent practices. It establishes
significant, harsh penalties for those who have engaged in fraud, and it
provides voters who have been misinformed with accurate and full
information so they can vote."
>> More
>> More
Eliminate caps on damages for discrimination cases
Will sign into law
the Equal Remedies Act of 2007 "to do away with the caps on
compensatory and punitive damages under Title VII that presently impede
the ability of victims of racial and gender discrimination to fully
recover for the wrongs they have suffered."
>> More
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Ban racial profiling by federal law enforcement agencies
"Will sign
legislation that will ban the practice of racial profiling by federal
law enforcement agencies and provide federal funding to state and local
police departments if they adopt policies to prohibit the practice."
>> More
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Allow bankruptcy judges to modify terms of a home mortgage
Will repeal provisions of
the Chapter 13 law that prohibit bankruptcy judges from modifying the
original terms of home mortgages for ordinary families -- regardless of
whether the loan was predatory or unfair or is otherwise unaffordable --
"so that ordinary families can also get relief that bankruptcy laws
were intended to provide."
>> More
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Increase the supply of affordable housing throughout metropolitan regions
Will support
"efforts to create an Affordable Housing Trust Fund to develop
affordable housing in mixed-income neighborhoods. The Affordable Housing
Trust Fund would use a small percentage of the profits of two
government-sponsored housing agencies, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, to
create thousands of new units of affordable housing every year...Will
also restore cuts to public housing operating subsidies, and ensure that
all Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) programs are
restored to their original purpose."
>> More
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Increase the minimum wage to $9.50 an hour
"Will further
raise the minimum wage to $9.50 an hour by 2011, index it to inflation
and increase the Earned Income Tax Credit to make sure that full-time
workers can earn a living wage that allows them to raise their families
and pay for basic needs such as food, transportation, and housing."
>> More
>> More
Restore Superfund program so that polluters pay for clean-ups
"Will restore the
strength of the Superfund program by requiring polluters to pay for the
cleanup of contaminated sites they created."
>> More
>> More
Fully fund the COPS program
Will fully funding
the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program "to combat
crime and help address police brutality and accountability issues in
local communities."
>> More
>> More
Support tax deduction for artists
Will "ensure tax
fairness for artists" by supporting the Artist-Museum Partnership Act,
introduced by Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. "The Act amends the Internal
Revenue Code to allow artists to deduct the fair market value of their
work, rather than just the costs of the materials, when they make
charitable contributions."
>> More
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Re-establish the National Aeronautics and Space Council
Will re-establish
an organizational authority in the federal government with a
sufficiently broad mandate to oversee a comprehensive and integrated
strategy and policy dealing with all aspects of the government's
space-related programs, including those being managed by NASA, the
Department of Defense, the National Reconnaissance Office, the Commerce
Department, the Transportation Department, and other federal agencies.
This Council reporting to the president "will oversee and coordinate
civilian, military, commercial and national security space activities.
It will solicit public participation, engage the international
community, and work toward a 21st
century vision of space that constantly pushes the envelope on new
technologies as it pursues a balanced national portfolio that expands
our reach into the heavens and improves life here on Earth."
>> More
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Support human mission to moon by 2020
Will "endorse the
goal of sending human missions to the Moon by 2020, as a precursor in an
orderly progression to missions to more distant destinations, including
Mars."
>> More
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Direct revenues from offshore oil and gas drilling to increased coastal hurricane protection
"Will also direct revenues from offshore oil and gas drilling to increased coastal hurricane protection."
>> More
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Create a national catastrophe insurance reserve
"Will create a
National Catastrophe Insurance Reserve that would be funded by private
insurers contributing a portion of the premiums they collect from
policyholders. Such a framework would neither distort the insurance
market nor discourage risk avoidance and risk mitigation investments
because insurers would not be forced out of high-risk markets for fear
of bankruptcy in the event of a disaster. With this program in place,
disaster victims would no longer have to depend solely on taxpayerfunded federal disaster aid loans."
>> More
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Establish a Global Energy Corps to promote green energy in developing countries
"Will extend
opportunities for older individuals such as teachers, engineers, and
doctors to serve overseas. This effort will include a Global Energy
Corps to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions overseas and promote
low-carbon and affordable energy solutions in developing nations. One of
this century's great challenges will be promoting the use of green
energy in developing countries, which will face exponential increases in
energy demand. This Corps will be composed of scientists and engineers
who will work with local partners overseas."
>> More
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Expand service-learning in schools
Will tie a plan to
give schools a substantial infusion of funds to support teachers and
principals and improve student learning to the condition that school
districts develop programs to engage students in service opportunities.
"Obama and Biden believe that middle and high school students should be
expected to engage in community service for 50 hours annually during the
school year or summer months. They will develop national guidelines for
service-learning and community service programs, and will give schools
better tools both to develop successful programs and to document the
experience of students at all levels. They will encourage programs that
engage with community partners to expand opportunities for community
service and service-learning opportunities, so that students can apply
what they learn in the classroom to authentic situations that help the
community. These programs will also involve citizens from the community
engaging students in service opportunities through the Classroom Corps."
>> More
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Pay for the national service plan without increasing the deficit
"Will maintain
fiscal responsibility and prevent any increase in the deficit by
offsetting cuts and revenue sources in other parts of the government (to
pay for a national service plan that will cost about $3.5 billion per
year when it is fully implemented). This plan will be paid for in part
by cancelling tax provisions that would otherwise help multinational
corporations pay less in U.S. taxes starting in 2008 by reallocating tax
deductions for interest expenses between income earned in the U.S. and
income earned abroad. The rest of the plan will be funded using a small
portion of the savings associated with ending the war in Iraq."
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Seek treaty to control fissile materials
"Will lead a global effort to negotiate a verifiable treaty ending the production of fissile materials for weapons purposes."
>> More
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Encourage diversity in media ownership
"Will encourage
diversity in the ownership of broadcast media, promote the development
of new media outlets for expression of diverse viewpoints, and clarify
the public interest obligations of broadcasters who occupy the nation's
spectrum."
>> More
>> More
Improve and prioritize student science assessments
"Will work with
governors and educators to ensure that state assessments measure…a
student's higher order thinking skills including inference, logic, data
analysis, interpretation, forming questions and communicating these
skills."
>> More
>> More
Reduce the number of middle managers in the federal workforce
"Barack Obama will
thin the ranks of Washington middle managers, freeing up resources both
for deficit reduction and for increasing the number of frontline
workers."
>> More
>> More
Limit subsidies for agribusiness
"Obama will
implement a $250,000 [farm commodity] payment limitation so that we help
family farmers, not large corporate agribusiness. Obama will close the
loopholes that allow megafarms to get around the limits by subdividing their operations into multiple paper corporations."
>> More
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Strengthen anti-monopoly laws to favor independent farmers
"Obama will
strengthen anti-monopoly laws and strengthen producer protections to
ensure independent farmers have fair access to markets, control over
their production decisions, and fair prices for their goods."
>> More
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Give tax incentives to new farmers
Obama "will also
provide tax incentives to make it easier for new farmers to afford their
first farm. Obama will increase incentives for farmers and private
landowners to conduct sustainable agriculture and protect wetlands,
grasslands and forests."
>> More
>> More
Strengthen the Age Discrimination in Employment Act
"Obama will fight
job discrimination for aging employees by strengthening the Age
Discrimination in Employment Act and empowering the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission to prevent all forms of discrimination."
>> More
>> More
Limit term of director of national intelligence
"Will insulate the
Director of National Intelligence from political pressure by giving the
DNI a fixed term, like the Chairman of the Federal Reserve. Obama and
Biden will seek consistency and integrity at the top of our intelligence
community -- not just a political ally."
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Call for a consultative group of congressional leaders on national security
"I will call for a
standing, bipartisan consultative group of congressional leaders on
national security. I will meet with this consultative group every month
and consult with them before taking major military action."
>> More
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Give annual "State of the World" address
"I'll give an annual 'State of the World' address to the American people in which I lay out our national security policy."
>> More
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Reduce earmarks to 1994 levels
"Barack Obama is committed to returning earmarks to less than $7.8 billion a year, the level they were at before 1994."
>> More
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Work to ban the permanent replacement of striking workers
"He will work to
ban the permanent replacement of striking workers, so workers can stand
up for themselves without worrying about losing their livelihoods."
>> More
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Establish a low carbon fuel standard
"Will establish a National Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS)
to speed the introduction of low-carbon non-petroleum fuels. The
standard requires fuels suppliers in 2010 to begin to reduce the carbon
of their fuel by 5 percent within 5 years and 10 percent within 10
years. The Obama-Biden plan will incentivize
increased private sector investment in advanced low-carbon fuels and
has a sustainability provision to ensure that increased biofuels
production does not come at the expense of environmental conservation.
The LCFS is an important mechanism in ensuring that our efforts to reduce our oil dependence also reduce carbon emissions."
>> More
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Require 25 percent renewable energy by 2025
"Will create a federal Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS)
that will require 25 percent of American electricity be derived from
renewable sources by 2025, which has the potential to create hundreds of
thousands of new jobs on its own."
>> More
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Enact windfall profits tax for oil companies
"Will require oil
companies to take a reasonable share of their record-breaking windfall
profits and use it to provide direct relief worth $500 for an individual
and $1,000 for a married couple. The relief would be delivered as
quickly as possible to help families cope with the rising price of
gasoline, food and other necessities. The rebates would be fully paid
for with five years of a windfall profits tax on record oil company
profits."
>> More
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Create cap and trade system with interim goals to reduce global warming
"Will set a hard
cap on all carbon emissions at a level that scientists say is necessary
to curb global warming - an 80% reduction by 2050. To ensure this isn't
just talk, I will also commit to interim targets toward this goal in
2020, 2030, and 2040. These reductions will start immediately, and we'll
continue to follow the recommendations of top scientists to ensure that
our targets are strong enough to meet the challenge we face."
>> More
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Use revenue from cap and trade to support clean energy and environmental restoration
"A small portion
of the receipts generated by auctioning [cap and trade] allowances ($15
billion per year) will be used to support the development of clean
energy, invest in energy efficiency improvements, and help develop the
next generation of biofuels and clean energy vehicles – measures that
will help the economy and help meet the emissions reduction targets. It
will also be used to provide new funding to state and federal land and
wildlife managers to restore habitat, create wildlife migration
corridors, and assist fish and wildlife to adapt to the effects of a
warming climate. All remaining receipts will be used for rebates and
other transition relief to ensure that families and communities are not
adversely impacted by the transition to a new energy, low carbon
economy."
>> More
>> More
Require plug-in fleet at the White House
"Within one year of becoming President, the entire White House fleet will be converted to plug-ins as security permits."
>> More
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Require new federal fleet purchases to be half plug-in hybrids or electric vehicles
"Half of all cars purchased by the federal government will be plug-in hybrids or all-electric by 2012."
>> More
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Require more flex-fuel cars for the federal government
"Government should
lead the way here. I showed up at this event in a government vehicle
that does not have a flexible-fuel tank. When I'm president, I will make
sure that every vehicle purchased by the federal government does."
>> More
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Mandate flexible fuel vehicles by 2012
"Will work with
Congress and auto companies to ensure that all new vehicles have
flexible fuel (FFV) capability . . . by the end of his first term in
office."
>> More
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Double federal program to help "reverse" commuters who go from city to suburbs
"Will double the federal Jobs Access and Reverse Commute (JARC)
program to ensure that additional federal public transportation dollars
flow to the highest-need communities and that urban planning
initiatives take this aspect of transportation policy into account. JARC funds have been used to connect low-income workers around the country with job opportunities."
>> More
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Require energy conservation in use of transportation dollars
"Will require
governors and local leaders in our metropolitan areas to make energy
conservation a required part of their planning for the expenditure of
federal transportation funds."
>> More
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Provide an annual report on "state of our energy future"
"I will report to the American people every year on the State of our Energy Future."
>> More
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Devote federal resources to promote cellulosic ethanol
"Will invest
federal resources, including tax incentives, cash prizes and government
contracts into developing the most promising technologies with the goal
of getting the first two billion gallons of cellulosic ethanol into the
system by 2013."
>> More
>> More
Sign the Freedom of Choice Act
"Throughout my
career, I've been a consistent and strong supporter of reproductive
justice, and have consistently had a 100% pro-choice rating with Planned
Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice America. ... And I will continue to
defend this right by passing the Freedom of Choice Act as president."
>> More
>> More
Allow penalty-free hardship withdrawals from retirement accounts in 2008 and 2009
"Obama and Biden are
calling for legislation that would allow withdrawals of 15% up to
$10,000 from retirement accounts without penalty (although subject to
the normal taxes). This would apply to withdrawals in 2008 (including
retroactively) and 2009."
>> More
>> More
Give the White House's Privacy and Civil Liberties Board subpoena power
"Strengthen the Privacy and Civil Liberties Board with subpoena powers and reporting responsibilities."
>> More
>> More
Recognize the Armenian genocide
"Two years ago, I
criticized the Secretary of State for the firing of U.S. Ambassador to
Armenia, John Evans, after he properly used the term 'genocide' to
describe Turkey's slaughter of thousands of Armenians starting in 1915. …
as President I will recognize the Armenian Genocide."
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No family making less than $250,000 will see "any form of tax increase."
"I can make a firm
pledge. Under my plan, no family making less than $250,000 a year will
see any form of tax increase. Not your income tax, not your payroll tax,
not your capital gains taxes, not any of your taxes."
>> More
>> More
Negotiate health care reform in public sessions televised on C-SPAN
To achieve health care
reform, "I'm going to have all the negotiations around a big table.
We'll have doctors and nurses and hospital administrators. Insurance
companies, drug companies -- they'll get a seat at the table, they just
won't be able to buy every chair. But what we will do is, we'll have the
negotiations televised on C-SPAN, so that people can see who is making
arguments on behalf of their constituents, and who are making arguments
on behalf of the drug companies or the insurance companies. And so, that
approach, I think is what is going to allow people to stay involved in
this process."
>> More
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Create a public option health plan for a new National Health Insurance Exchange.
"The exchange will
require that all the plans offered are at least as generous as the new
public plan and meet the same standards for quality and efficiency."
>> More
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Cut the cost of a typical family's health insurance premium by up to $2,500 a year
"I will sign a
universal health care bill into law by the end of my first term as
president that will cover every American and cut the cost of a typical
family's premium by up to $2,500 a year."
>> More
>> More
Bring Democrats and Republicans together to pass an agenda
Obama and Joe
Biden will "turn the page on the ugly partisanship in Washington, so we
can bring Democrats and Republicans together to pass an agenda that
works for the American people."
>> More
>> More
Introduce a comprehensive immigration bill in the first year
"I cannot
guarantee that it is going to be in the first 100 days. But what I can
guarantee is that we will have in the first year an immigration bill
that I strongly support and that I'm promoting. And I want to move that
forward as quickly as possible."
>> More
>> More
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http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/obameter/rulings/promise-broken/?page=6
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