Obama Achievements for Working Families?

        The president took office with America on the verge of a second Great Depression, a parting
gift from former President George W. Bush. President Obama’s policies averted the worst
possible outcome. But the economy remains weak. The response from Washington has not
been powerful enough to reverse the devastating job loss since the Great Recession began on
Bush’s watch in September 2007. Meanwhile, the Employee Free Choice Act was sidelined
while Democrats struggled to pass health care and Wall Street reform—and to find the 60 votes
necessary to overcome a Republican filibuster against labor law reform.

         At the same time, President Obama has established an impressive record fighting for working
families. He began by appointing strong pro-worker advocates to positions at the Department
of Labor, the National Labor Relations Board and other key departments and independent
boards. He aggressively used his authority to issue executive orders and initiate rulemaking
to reverse the anti-labor, anti-worker policies of the Bush administration. And he has pursued
a bold legislative agenda on Capitol Hill, passing the largest economic stimulus in history, a
health care reform bill that eluded previous Democratic presidents and the most sweeping
reform of Wall Street since the Great Depression.
 

      Some obstacles were beyond the president’s power to control. Republicans in Congress used a
record number of filibusters to bog down his legislative agenda, and they used the right-wing
media to stoke public fears about deficit spending and more government intervention in the
economy. To make things worse, a handful of conservative Democrats began withholding their
votes from critical measures needed to put America back to work.
Even so, President Obama and the 111th Congress have made substantial progress dismantling
the dangerous legacy left by George Bush and the Republican Party.  Please see  highlights about
the administration’s accomplishments for working families to date by downloading the document linked below:

 (Click Here Download in PDF format)

 
Leo W. Gerard
International President