Alan Simpson Praises Paul Ryan As ‘Spokesman Of Hard Truth Against Fakery'

The Huffington Post  |  By Mollie Reilly Posted: 08/19/2012 8:09 pm Updated: 08/19/2012 10:26 pm

Former Sen. Alan Simpson (R-Wyo.) praised Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan on Friday, lauding the Wisconsin congressman as a "spokesman of hard truth against fakery."

Simpson, who co-chaired President Obama's commission on debt and deficit reduction with Erskine Bowles, said during an appearance on Fox News that Ryan "encourages" him.

"Erskine [Bowles] and I felt he was one of the sharpest guys we dealt with," Simpson said. "He doesn’t have to have a staff member there feeding him stuff and little memos. He can go a half an hour without a note. He knows the issues.”

“He also said to us -- I think a year and a half ago -- you know, 'If we can’t get something done in America, there’s no need for me to smash my head into the wall around here, I have things to do back in Wisconsin,'" Simpson said. "And now, this thing comes to him, I don’t think he was seeking it, but let me tell you, he becomes a spokesman of hard truth against fakery."

Simpson, who is known for his colorful political commentary, also had some choice words for his former congressional colleagues. The former senator expressed doubts that Congress would reach compromise on the looming "fiscal cliff" before November's election.

"These guys will do nothing, either party, nothing, just B.S. and mush, the whole way through," he said. "Then, between the Nov. 6 and Dec. 31, they’re going to be really mucking around in 5 to 7 trillion bucks of quicksand. And it will have to be discussed."

How Todd Akin And Paul Ryan Partnered To Redefine Rape

By Ian Millhiser on Aug 19, 2012 at 5:11 pm

Earlier today, Missouri U.S. Senate candidate Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO) claimed that “legitimate rape” does not often lead to pregnancy because “the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.” This is not the first time the biologically challenged senate candidate tried to minimize the impact of rape. Last year, Akin joined with GOP vice presidential candidate Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) as two of the original co-sponsors of the “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act,” a bill which, among other things, introduced the country to the bizarre term “forcible rape.”

Federal law prevents federal Medicaid funds and similar programs from paying for abortions. Yet the law also contains an exception for women who are raped. The bill Akin and Ryan cosponsored would have narrowed this exception, providing that only pregnancies arising from “forcible rape” may be terminated. Because the primary target of Akin and Ryan’s effort are Medicaid recipients — patients who are unlikely to be able to afford an abortion absent Medicaid funding — the likely impact of this bill would have been forcing many rape survivors to carry their rapist’s baby to term. Michelle Goldberg explains who Akin and Ryan would likely target:

Under H.R. 3, only victims of “forcible rape” would qualify for federally funded abortions. Victims of statutory rape—say, a 13-year-old girl impregnated by a 30-year-old man—would be on their own. So would victims of incest if they’re over 18. And while “forcible rape” isn’t defined in the criminal code, the addition of the adjective seems certain to exclude acts of rape that don’t involve overt violence—say, cases where a woman is drugged or has a limited mental capacity. “It’s basically putting more restrictions on what was defined historically as rape,” says Keenan.

Although a version of this bill passed the GOP-controlled House, the “forcible rape” language was eventually removed due to widespread public outcry. Paul Ryan, however, believes that the “forcible rape” language does not actually go far enough to force women to carry their rapist’s baby. Ryan believes that abortion should be illegal in all cases except for “cases in which a doctor deems an abortion necessary to save the mother’s life.” So rape survivors are out of luck.

And, of course, as we learned today, Akin isn’t even sure that “legitimate” rape survivors can get pregnant in the first place.

UPDATE

The Romney-Ryan campaign just released a statement distancing itself from the Akin-Ryan position on abortion in the case of rape: “Gov. Romney and Cong. Ryan disagree with Mr. Akin’s statement, and a Romney-Ryan administration would not oppose abortion in instances of rape.”

Todd Akin, GOP Senate candidate: ‘Legitimate rape’ rarely causes pregnancy

Posted by Aaron Blake on August 19, 2012 at 3:28 pm

Last updated at 9:02 p.m. with the Romney campaign’s response.

At a mock hearing on Feb. 23, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) invited Fluke to testify in support of the Obama administration’s decision to have insurance companies pay for contraceptives for employees at religious-affiliated institutions. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), who chaired the earlier hearing, said Fluke was not qualified to speak because she was not a member of the clergy. 

Alex Wong / Getty Images

Rep. Todd Akin, the newly-christened GOP Senate nominee in Missouri, said in an interview airing Sunday that “legitimate rape” rarely causes pregnancy.

Explaining his no-exceptions policy on abortions, Akin was asked why he opposes abortion even when the pregnancy is the result of rape.

“First of all, from what I understand from doctors, (pregnancy from rape) is really rare,” Akin told KTVI-TV in a clip posted to YouTube by the Democratic super PAC American Bridge. “If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.”

Akin added: “But let’s assume that maybe that didn’t work or something. I think there should be some punishment, but the punishment ought to be on the rapist and not attacking the child.”

House Republicans faced heavy criticism for holding a hearing on contraceptive health-care coverage that included a panel of all-male religious leaders. A Georgetown Law School student named Sandra Fluke, who was invited by Democrats, was not permitted to testify.

AP

Akin issued a statement Sunday afternoon saying he misspoke.

“In reviewing my off-the-cuff remarks, it’s clear that I misspoke in this interview and it does not reflect the deep empathy I hold for the thousands of women who are raped and abused every year,” he said. “I recognize that abortion, and particularly in the case of rape, is a very emotionally charged issue. But I believe deeply in the protection of all life and I do not believe that harming another innocent victim is the right course of action.”

Akin’s statement threatens to recast a Senate race in which he starts as the favorite, but national Republicans are concerned about his ability to execute a winning strategy. Akin won the GOP nomination two weeks ago — a result that Democrats hailed as a potential game-changer in a tough race for them.

Rep. Todd Akin, the social conservative seeking to unseat Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), found himself at the center of controversy in August when he told an interviewer that "legitimate rape" rarely causes pregnancy, adding that "the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.” A 1996 study found that more than 32,000 pregnancies result from rape every year in the United States.

Jeff Roberson / AP 

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) and national Democrats actually spent money in the GOP primary to help get Akin through it. That strategy, at least in this case, appears to be paying dividends.

McCaskill said she was outraged by Akin’s claim.

“It is beyond comprehension that someone can be so ignorant about the emotional and physical trauma brought on by rape,” McCaskill said in a statment. “The ideas that Todd Akin has expressed about the serious crime of rape and the impact on its victims are offensive.”

Akin’s claim is one that pops up occasionally in social conservative circles. A federal judge nominated by President Bush in the early 2000s had said similar things, as have state lawmakers in North Carolina and Pennsylvania.

Citing an investigation by an anti-abortion House Republican, breast cancer charity Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation announced in late January that it was cutting off funding to Planned Parenthood for mammograms. The decision brought the abortion issue once again to the forefront of the national debate.

Michael Goulding / AP

Politicians and activists who espouse this view often suggest that women who haven’t been raped will claim to have been raped in order to obtain an abortion. An Idaho state lawmaker apologized earlier this year after urging doctors to make sure women who claimed they had been raped were sure of that fact.

Akin himself has suggested in the past that women may claim to be raped as a strategy during divorce proceedings.

Needless to say, this is territory that GOP leaders would rather not have Akin wander into. Getting into the particulars of “legitimate rape” (as opposed to what?) and the female reproductive system has the potential to make this a headache for the GOP and take the focus off of McCaskill and President Obama, who is unpopular in Missouri.

The Romney campaign issued the following statement late Sunday distancing itself from Akin’s comments:

Governor Romney and Congressman Ryan disagree with Mr. Akin’s statement, and a Romney-Ryan administration would not oppose abortion in instances of rape.

According to a 1996 study, approximately 32,000 pregnancies result from rape annually in the United States, and about 5 percent of rape victims are impregnated.

Byron York of the Washington Examiner drew boos from the audience during an Aug. 12 Republican debate when he asked Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) whether she would be a "submissive wife" to her husband if she became president. York was citing a 2006 speech in which the Minnesota Republican said she had pursued a career as a tax attorney, even though it didn't interest her, in order to be "submissive" to her husband. Bachmann was the only woman in the GOP presidential race until she dropped out in January. Eric Gay / AP

“Rape-related pregnancy occurs with significant frequency,” the study says, according to an abstract. “It is a cause of many unwanted pregnancies and is closely linked with family and domestic violence.”

Akin is also staking out some of the most socially conservative territory possible on this issue. Missouri is pretty socially conservative, but even many Republicans believe in abortion exceptions for rape and incest. A recent Gallup poll showed just 20 percent of Americans believe in no exceptions for abortion.

"I don't think we've seen in the history of this country the kind of attack on religious conscience, religious freedom, religious tolerance that we've seen under Barack Obama," Romney said during a Feb. 22 Republican presidential debate. "Most recently, of course … requiring the Catholic Church to provide for its employees and its various enterprises health care insurance that would include birth control, sterilization and the morning-after pill. Unbelievable."

Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

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'Dirty oil' pipeline to cut into US heartland Canada is now largest US oil supplier, but activists fear the heavy environmental costs of tar sands crude. Chris Arsenault Last Modified: 27 Aug 2011 16:37 This was a year ago, and still we have not In Washington, at least 275 protesters have been arrested oppossing a pipeline which they say will damage ecosystems, increase oil dependency and worsen global warming [GALLO/GETTY] David Daniel had never been to an environmental protest before this week, but as hundreds converge in Washington for civil disobedience against a massive oil pipeline, the retired carpenter from Texas is spearheading opposition against what he calls "dirty Canadian tar sands oil". Some 275 environmentalists have been arrested since protests began August 20 against TransCanada's proposed 2,700 km Keystone XL pipeline. Currently, TransCanada operates the Keystone line which can carry 591,000 barrels of tar sands oil to Oklahoma and Illinois. The $7bn project aims to expand daily capacity to 1.1 million barrels of crude oil travelling from Alberta, Canada, through America's heartland, to refineries on the Gulf coast. "For me, from day one, it has always been about safety issues," Daniel said, as he drove to Washington to rally opposition. "They are disrespecting the safety of our water supplies. They lied to me about permitting, payments and damage systems," Daniel told Al Jazeera in reference to TransCanada. "I don't want my family to be a lab rat for a foreign oil company." The Calgary-based multinational did not respond to Al Jazeera's interview request. Leaky lines Although only operational for a year, the Keystone pipeline has already had 11 leaks in the US – including one that sent a geyser of oil shooting 20 meters into the air in South Dakota, spilling 79,000 liters. "Obviously, we don't want any spills and what happened [during the BP disaster] in the Gulf [of Mexico] last year was a horrible accident and we have learned a lot from that," said Sabrina Fang, spokesperson for the American Petroleum Institute, an industry lobby group. "This pipeline will have thousands of censors. If a spill was to happen it would be detected quickly," Fang told Al Jazeera. "TransCanada is making every effort to make this the safest pipeline out there." The proposed pipeline will cross the Ogallala Aquifer which provides crucial water for crops and drinking [Credit: National Resources Defense Council] Barack Obama, the US president, must decide if the pipeline can proceed by November 1, a ruling that may pit jobs against the environment. On Friday, the state department gave the project a positive review, meaning it is likely to proceed. Supporters say the pipeline will create 20,000 jobs, while opponents fear it will will leak and expand production from the Canadian tar sands, some of the world's most environmentally destructive oil. "With an unemployment rate of 9.2 per cent, the president has the opportunity to sign off on this shovel ready project," Fang said. "While we welcome the views of everyone, we think the rallies going on right now are rallies against jobs," she said of the ongoing protests in Washington. Opposition to the mega-project does not cut evenly across party lines. Unions representing pipefitters and tradespeople – usually backers of Obama's Democrats support the pipeline as a "shovel ready" job creation programme. Some back-to-the land rural Republicans – including Nebraska senator Mike Johanns, have voiced concerns about the pipeline's route and possible environmental damage. TransCanada's assessment of the project estimates less than 11 spills discharging more than 50 barrels over the pipeline's 50 year lifespan. But a recent study from John Stainsbury, professor of water resources and engineering at the University of Nebraska, finds the company underestimates possible dangers. His independent analysis, the first on the proposed pipeline, finds that Keystone XL could spill as much as 29.9 million liters of oil above the Ogallala Aquifer and more than 26 million liters of raw tar sands crude at the Yellowstone River crossing. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which warned of possible risks from the project, had its budget slashed by 16 per cent or $1.6bn in April as part of a budget deal between Democrats and Republicans. The move deliberately weakens enforcement of clean air and water legislation in favour of big business, environmentalists say. 'Nasty crude' Tar sands oil - or bitumen - is a thick, goopy substance which is often mined, rather than pumped like traditional crude. To force sludgy bitumen through a pipeline, operators mix it with other chemicals. Given leaks from the first TransCanada pipeline, Daniel asked representatives of the company if bitumen would lead to faster pipe corrosion and thus more spills. The company told him the issue had not been studied. Canada is the largest foreign supplier of oil to the US, sending 2.4 million barrels – more than 20 per cent of imports - to its southern neighbor every day. Because of the tar sands, Canada has the world's second largest oil reserves after Saudi Arabia, according to 2010 figures from the CIA. Extracting one barrel of oil from the tar sands requires three barrels of water and produces three times more greenhouse gas emissions than conventional crude, environmentalists say. Industry contends that most emissions are created when oil is burned in a car or power plant and the extra emissions from tar sands, given the full lifecycle of oil, are comparatively small, only about 15 per cent above conventional oil. Lakes full of toxic water, polluted during the extraction process, cover 170 square kilometers in Alberta and they are growing with increased demand. "Oil sands crude is nasty, and the sooner the world stops burning it, the better," The Washington Post wrote in an editorial. "But that's actually not much of a reason to kill the pipeline." The Keystone XL is crucial for broader tar sands expansion. Stephen Harper, Canada's conservative prime minister who hails from the oil patch, wants to create an "energy super power". The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, an industry lobby group, hopes production from the tar sands will rise from 1.5 million barrels per day to 3.5 million by 2025. Eastern passages But hundreds of environmentalists are willing to risk arrest to stop this from happening. "The Keystone XL is one of the keys to opening the Alberta tar sands," Erich Pica, president of Friends of the Earth, told Al Jazeera. "That is why the Canadian government is pushing it so vigorously." If the US pipeline is not built, Canadian officials might aim for a Pacific route to accommodate expanded production. Enbridge, TransCanada's rival pipeline builder, dreams of a Pacific gateway line, allowing heavy oil to be marketed to energy hungry China. "China is a big player in the world market and is definitely looking at investing in Canadian oil," Fang said. "Canada is going to produce this resource no matter what we do." But the proposed Enbridge line must cross the traditional territory of dozens of indigenous groups, many of which oppose the plan on environmental grounds. "The opposition is not going away," Brant Olson, oil campaign director for the Rainforest Action Network, told Al Jazeera. He thinks the threat of China usurping Canadian oil is just a "politically expedient argument to try and evoke nationalist concerns in the US," as the nominally communist giant does "not have heavy oil refining capacity". Governments and oil barons have eyed the Alberta's tar sands sludge for decades, but only in the last 15 years have high prices and new technologies made it cost-effective to extract. A barrel of oil must cost around $50 for new developments to be viable, according to figures from Shell. "The sands rank with the US shale deposits as the world’s most extensive known, largely untapped oil source," said a 1972 declassified memo from the CIA, which forecasted the environmental damage of the project. "The pollution issue and opposition to defacing Alberta's landscape may arise but has not as yet," the CIA wrote. Some American politicians consider the new pipeline a matter of energy security – a way to reduce dependency on "unstable, undemocratic countries" including Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. But military planners are increasingly viewing global warming as a security threat. The US Army War College has hosted conferences with names like "The National Security Implications of Global Climate Change" where global warming is considered a "threat multiplier for instability". Worrying about the safety of his land, David Daniel has a different take on national security. "The regulatory authorities are looking at the short term interests of the oil industry, not our long term interests," he said. "We need to be considering our air and water as national interests."

Canada mulls China's massive oil takeover bid

State oil firm offers $15.1bn for Nexen, worrying US politicians as China aims to increase hard assets, not buy US debt. Chris Arsenault Last Modified: 15 Aug 2012 12:13

China is looking to convert more of its $3.1tn in foreign reserves into hard assets, including western oil firms [Reuters]

Backed by a massive trade surplus and bulging overseas currency reserves, and fuelled by a voracious appetite for commodities, China has launched one of its largest foreign takeover bids to date, aiming to control a Canadian oil giant. China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) wants to buy Calgary-based Nexen for $15.1bn, a premium 60 per cent above the company's listed value, in a deal analysts say Canadian regulators are likely to approve, despite opposition from some US politicians. James Inhofe, a Republican from Oklahoma, has "serious national security concerns" over the bid, while Charles Schumer, a Democrat from New York, said China's "blatant disregard for US intellectual property rights makes this transaction even more concerning". Canada is the largest foreign supplier of oil to the US and Nexen has operations in the Alberta tar sands, one of the world's largest petroleum deposits, along with international investments in Africa, the Gulf of Mexico, the North Sea and the Middle East. Regulators from the Canadian government, led by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, a Conservative who hails from Alberta and has close ties to the oil industry, are currently mulling whether the takeover deal represents a "net benefit" to Canada. It is unclear when exactly a decision will be announced. In search of stability China is the world's second largest oil consumer, according to the CIA, burning about 9.4 million barrels per day in 2011. "Over the past couple of years, the boom in unconventional extraction has made North America the centre of the mergers and acquisitions world," Erica Downs, a former CIA energy analyst, now with the Brookings Institute, told Al Jazeera. "Canada and the US are increasingly where these companies want to be." Canada's oil ambitions could jeopardise nature reserve In the short-term, China needs energy - and Nexen, one of Canada’s ten largest oil companies, has an ample supply, producing some 213,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. The deal would increase CNOOC's reserves by 30 per cent, company officials told the Reuters news agency when the takeover plan was announced in late July. Nexen's Canadian assets in the tar sands, where oil is often mined rather than pumped, are far more expensive to access than conventional crude. But companies such as CNOCC are willing to pay an extra premium for energy which comes from a politically stable western country such as Canada. "It's no secret that geostrategic instability affects most oil exporters," Gordon Houlden, director of the University of Alberta's China Institute, told Al Jazeera. "The Chinese got burned in Libya [after rebels ousted Gaddafi’s government and the Chinese lost their contracts]." "They got badly burned in Sudan with the break-up of the country [most of the oil is in South Sudan while China had signed deals with the former government in the north] and there are questions over Iranian production because of sanctions and the risks of war," he said. "The premium for security is reasonable." With 175 billion barrels of recoverable crude, Canada has the world's third largest proven oil reserves, behind Saudi Arabia and Venezuela, according to the CIA. Producing oil from Canada's tar sands requires an oil price of more than $50 per barrel to be profitable, according to Shell and other energy companies. Extracting one barrel of oil from the tar sands produces three times more greenhouse gas emissions than conventional crude, leading conservationists to oppose the China takeover plan, as it is likely to mean increased production and investment in one of the world's most environmentally harmful fuel sources. "A Chinese owned company is going to want pipelines [to the Pacific coast]," said Gordon Laxer, director of the Parkland Institute, a left-leaning think-tank in Edmonton. "I don't think Canada should be increasing tar sands production, we should be capping and phasing it out," he told Al Jazeera. Two controversial pipeline proposals - the Northern Gateway spearheaded by the energy giant Enbridge and the Kinder Morgan pipeline - are hoping to bring Canadian oil to Asia, but environmentalists and some indigenous groups are battling to stop them. "As a world power, much like the Americans, the Chinese want diversity in their energy sources," Laxer said. China's ocean ambitions "China controls more than $3.1tn in official currency reserves, an unprecedented amount for any country" - The Financial Times  Over the longer term, some analysts believe Beijing is eyeing Nexen's deep water drilling technology in order to cement its claims to prospective offshore oil deposits in the disputed South China Sea. The region could contain as much as 213 billion barrels of oil, according to Chinese studies, making it a geopolitical prize comparable with Saudi Arabia. Most of this potential for oil is deep under water. In May, China's first deep-water drilling rig, CNOOC 981, began operations in the South China Sea. It can operate at a maximum water depth of 3,000 metres, which is a significant improvement over past Chinese technology, but still less than the capacity of major western energy firms. "The deep sea component is one of many attractive components of Nexen to CNOOC," Houlden said, calling the acquisition "one of the ways" for the Chinese to add to their capacity. The US government will review if China's ownership of Nexen's offshore assets in the Gulf of Mexico - accounting for 14,000 barrels of oil per day, or 6.6 per cent of the company's production - poses a national security risk. Above and beyond any particular concerns about technology, some politicians are worried about firms backed by the Chinese state going after hard assets. US debt conundrum China controls more than $3.1tn in official currency reserves, an "unprecedented amount for any country" The Financial Times reported earlier this year. With a trade surplus of $160bn in 2011, the country has money to spend. Previously, this money had been invested in US treasury bonds - buying US government debt - but Chinese officials have repeatedly warned that increasing US debt levels and political paralysis in Washington are making debt investments less appealing. But China cannot sell its investments in US Treasury Bonds without causing the value to drop. As the biggest holder of the asset, any moves away from US debt would hurt China, which would be left holding a bag of worthless paper. "Just a few words from China that they wished to divest or even to stop purcashing T-Bills would hurt them [both China and the US] very much," Houlden said. For the time being, China is likely to keep buying US debt, while attempting to slowly shift reserves into other properties. Trying to convert investments in treasury bills into hard assets in western countries hasn't always been easy. Canadian officials blocked a takeover attempt by an Australian firm on mining giant Potash Co last year, saying it would not be beneficial to Canadians. In 2005, CNOOC attempted to buy the US oil company Unocal for $18.5bn, but regulators blocked it on national security grounds. State and corporate power CNOOC's operating structure is considered murky by some analysts. Its divisions are traded on international stock markets and the company has pledged to keep Nexen listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX). The firm traded on the TSX is apparently a subsidiary of a bigger corporation which is owned largely by China's government, allowing the company to secure financing with low interest rates often unavailable to its competitors. "There are lots of state owned companies operating in the tar sands, none of them are Canadian" - Gordon Laxer, Parkland Institute "Chinese companies have a lower cost of capital and a lower cost of inputs," Downs, the former CIA analyst, said. "Secondly, they do not pay anywhere near the same amount of money in terms of dividends to shareholders as western publicly traded companies." With Chinese state firms, it is often unclear where national interests end and corporate interests begin, worrying some western capitalists. "In the past 10-15 years we have seen these companies emerge as increasingly powerful actors vis-à-vis the Chinese government," Downs said. "There has been a devolution of power away from the state to these powerful firms," she said, adding that top executives in major companies are still appointed by the Chinese state. The majority of the world's oil and gas reserves, some 75 per cent of total global production, are controlled by state owned companies. The big names of the oil game: Shell, Exxon, BP and Total are small players compared with Saudi Aramco, Russia's Gazprom and Petroleos de Venezuela. Canada and the US are some of the only places where foreign firms can directly buy upstream petroleum access. "There are lots of state owned companies operating in the tar sands," Laxer said. "None of them are Canadian." If anything, the power of Chinese state capitalism should give Canadian policy makers pause in how they govern their own oil sector, where critics say finite and highly polluting resources are not managed for the public good.

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Government > Executive Branch > Obama Administration > Accomplishments Add Liberal Content Obama Administration Forum Accomplishments Cabinet Articles Media 149 Obama Administration Accomplishments Listed Beta Version - List still in progress with many more accomplishments to be added FULL VIEW - LIST - ISSUE - DEMOGRAPHIC - GOAL - INDUSTRY - PHOTO ALL BIAS - LIBERAL - BIPARTISAN - NONPARTISAN Agriculture (1) Banking & Investment (19) Construction (2) Credit & Loan (6) Defense (10) Energy (1) Financial (21) Food & Beverage (3) Health Care (11) Health Insurance (8) Industries (48) Manufacturing (1) Mortgage (3) Transportation & Logistics (1)

Tracked Metric	Type	Start Date	Start Value	Latest Value	Improvement	Years
NASDAQ Composite	Stock Index	1/20/2009	1,520.76	2,927.23	% 92.48	0
S&P 500	Stock Index	1/20/2009	849.64	1,351.95	% 59.12	0
Dow Jones Industrial Average	Stock Index	1/20/2009	8,279.63	12,890.46	% 55.69	0

Date	Accomplishment	Category	Beneficiary	Rank
01/21/09	Use of torture by CIA and military to interrogate prisoners prohibited.	Torture
01/29/09	Employers prompted to review, develop and update their criteria on employee compensation to ensure they are applied consistently and uniformly.	Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act	Women & Women's Rights
01/29/09	Statute of limitations on filing equal-pay lawsuits eased by setting period to start from the date of the most recent paycheck.	Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act	Women & Women's Rights
01/29/09	Pay discrimination based on gender, race, color, national origin, age and disability prohibited.	Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act	Women & Women's Rights
02/04/09	4 million more children insured under SCHIP in addition to the 6.6 million already covered	Children's Health Insurance Progra...	Children
02/17/09	2010 real GDP increased by about 3.4% due to stimulus spending	2009 Stimulus Bill	Businesses & Improving the Economy
02/17/09	Tax credit of $400 per worker ($800 per couple) for middle income workers for 2009 & 2010 totaling $116 billion	2009 Stimulus Bill	Middle Class & Workers
02/17/09	$82.2 billion in aid for low income workers, unemployed and retirees (including job training)	2009 Stimulus Bill	Poor & Unemployed
02/17/09	$70 billion in tax relief for middle class workers by patching the Alternative Minimum Tax for one year	2009 Stimulus Bill	Middle Class
02/17/09	$155 billion in health care assistance for the poor & unemployed primarily for Medicaid, health information technology and insurance premium subsidies	2009 Stimulus Bill	Poor & Unemployed
02/17/09	$100 billion in education aid to prevent lay-offs, modernize schools, award Pell grants and help low income children & special education programs	2009 Stimulus Bill	Middle Class & Poor
02/17/09	$48.1 billion in investments for highway, bridge, high-speed rail & other transportation projects	2009 Stimulus Bill	Improving Infrastructure
04/01/09	Deeper recession or depression averted in 2009 and beyond with the help of stimulus bill provisions	2009 Stimulus Bill	Improving Economic Stability
04/01/09	Approximately 2.7 million jobs added to US payrolls and unemployment rate kept 1½ percentage points lower due to Stimulus spending	2009 Stimulus Bill	Workers & Businesses
04/11/09	Maersk Alabama Capt. Richard Phillips rescued during operation in which U.S. Navy Seal snipers kill three Somali Pirates holding him for ransom aboard lifeboat	Somali Civil War	Combating Terrorism
04/13/09	Restrictions eased on Cuba travel, money transfers, and cellular telephone/satellite service.	International Relations
04/21/09	250,000 volunteers by 2017 for community service programs in low income neighborhoods	Serve America Act	Volunteering & Community Organizers
04/21/09	Community volunteer program expanded to address the education, health care, energy and veterans needs of low income communities	Serve America Act	Volunteering & Community Organizers
04/21/09	Disadvantaged youth job opportunites enhanced by community service to gain skills/experience and earn education grants and stipends	Serve America Act	Volunteering & Community Organizers
05/20/09	Homeowners' foreclosures avoided by improved terms for loan modification and restructuring of their debt	Helping Families Save Their Homes	Home Owners
05/20/09	Lenders incentivized to reduce foreclosures by loss mitigation guarantees, compensation and lender protection from lawsuits by investors holding the loans	Helping Families Save Their Homes	Home Owners
05/20/09	$2.2 billion appropriated to help communities address the homeless crisis.	Helping Families Save Their Homes	Homeless
05/20/09	Financial Crisis Inquiry commission created to examine and report on the domestic and global causes of the 2008 - 2009 financial and economic crisis	Fraud Enforcement Act	Consumers
05/20/09	Mortgage lending businesses added to list of financial institutions subject to Federal criminal law in fraudulent lending practices	Fraud Enforcement Act	Home Owners
05/20/09	Crime of major fraud against the United States amended to include Federal grants made to stimulate economic recovery for fiscal years 2009 and 2010	Fraud Enforcement Act	Consumers
05/20/09	Securities fraud definition amended to include fraud related to commodities futures and derivatives fraud	Fraud Enforcement Act	Consumers
05/20/09	$140 million in special funding for the Federal Bureau of Investigation to investigate fraud in financial institutions	Fraud Enforcement Act	Consumers
05/20/09	$100 million in special funding for the offices of the United States Attorneys to investigate and prosecute fraud in financial institutions	Fraud Enforcement Act	Consumers
05/20/09	$80 million in special funding to the criminal, civil and tax divisions of the Dept of Justice to investigate and prosecute fraud in financial institutions	Fraud Enforcement Act	Consumers
05/20/09	$60 million in special funding for the Postal Inspection Service to investigate financial institutions for fraud	Fraud Enforcement Act	Consumers
05/20/09	$60 million in special funding for Inspector General's Office at the U S Dept of Housing and Urban Development to investigate financial institutions for fraud	Fraud Enforcement Act	Consumers
05/20/09	$40 million in special funding for the Secret Service to investigate financial institutions for fraud	Fraud Enforcement Act	Consumers
05/20/09	$42 million in special funding for the Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate securites fraud in financial institutions	Fraud Enforcement Act	Consumers
05/22/09	Dept of Defense systems analysis, engineering and developmental testing processes overhauled to reduce high rates of failure on defense acquisitions	Weapons Systems Acquisition Reform	Improving Govt Efficiency
05/22/09	Defense Dept ordered to evaluate the technological maturity and product knowledge of critical weapons' technologies before letting defense contracts	Weapons Systems Acquisition Reform	Improving Govt Efficiency
05/22/09	Independent cost assesessment director initiated to ensure that cost estimates for major Defense contracts are fair, reliable, and unbiased	Weapons Systems Acquisition Reform	Improving Govt Efficiency
05/22/09	Defense oversight council required to seek input from combat commanders in evaluating proposed weapons system capabilities and needs	Weapons Systems Acquisition Reform	Improving Govt Efficiency
05/22/09	Defense contractors prohibited from participating in both the systems engineering and the development /construction phases of the weapon systems	Weapons Systems Acquisition Reform	Improving Govt Efficiency
05/22/09	Oversight and audit required of those major defense programs experiencing cost overruns to determine if the programs are essential and cost-effective	Weapons Systems Acquisition Reform	Improving Govt Efficiency
05/22/09	Funding provided to hire and retain highly skilled specialists to assess the cost, schedule and applicability of proposed Defense Dept weapons systems	Weapons Systems Acquisition Reform	Improving Govt Efficiency
05/22/09	Annual awards program established to recognize individuals and teams making significant contributions to improving efficiency of defense aquisition programs	Weapons Systems Acquisition Reform	Improving Govt Efficiency
05/22/09	Credit cardholders protected against arbitrary interest rate increases, hidden and excessive fees, and due date gimmicks	Credit Card Act	Consumers
05/25/09	Sonya Sotomayor nominated and approved as Supreme Court justice		Women & Hispanics
06/29/09	First-ever reception at the White House honoring Lesbian, Gay, Transgendered, Bisexual Pride Month hosted by the President and First lady	Discrimination	LGBT
08/05/09	U.S. drone attack killed Tehrik e-Taliban Pakistan leader Baitullah Mahsud in Pakistan	Pakistani Taliban	Combating Terrorism
08/29/09	Co-founder of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan Tohir Yo‘ldosh killed by U.S. drone attacks	Terrorism	Combating Terrorism
09/04/09	White House voluntary disclosure of visitor logs		Improving Govt Transparency
09/14/09	Operation Celestial Balance: Navy Seals Kill Somalian Al-Qaeda leader Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan in raid	Al-Qaeda
09/14/09	Somalian Al-Qaeda leader Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan killed by U.S. raid	Al-Qaeda	Defeating Al Qaeda
10/28/09	Federal hate crime law expanded to include crimes motivated by gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and disability.	Matthew Shepard Act	LGBT
10/28/09	Existing hate crime laws strengthened with funding to investigate and prosecute those crimes	Matthew Shepard Act	LGBT
10/30/09	People with HIV/AIDS no longer prohibited from entering the United States	Discrimination	Immigrants & LGBT
12/08/09	Al-Qaeda Operational Commander Saleh al-Somali killed in U.S. drone attack	Al-Qaeda	Defeating Al Qaeda
12/17/09	Al-Qaeda Operational Commander Abdallah Sa’id killed in U.S. drone attack	Al-Qaeda	Defeating Al Qaeda
2009	Liquidation of General Motors and Chrysler avoided through government mandated restructuring plans and conditional investment and loan programs	Business & Economy	Businesses & Workers
2009	115,000 jobs created at General Motors and Chrysler since government financing and restructuring implemented	Jobs	Workers & Creating Jobs
2009	1.45 million American jobs saved overall by government financing and restructuring of GM and Chrysler to avoid liquidation	Jobs	Workers & Saving Jobs
2009	$96 billion in personal income losses avoided by government financing and restructuring of GM and Chrysler to avoid liquidation	Labor	Workers & Improving the Economy
2009	$28.6 billion net public benefit in income taxes and social security taxes paid because liquidation of GM and Chrysler avoided	Taxes	Businesses & Improving the Economy
01/01/10	Discrimination based on gender identity banned in federal workplaces	Discrimination	LGBT
2010 FEB	Militant commander Muhammad Haqqani killed by U.S. drone attacks	Terrorism	Combating Terrorism
02/24/10	Al-Qaeda and Taliban-linked Fedayeen-i-Islam leader Qari Zafar killed in US airstrike	Al-Qaeda	Defeating Al Qaeda
2010 MAR	Al-Qaeda operative Hussein al-Yemeni killed by U.S. drone attack in Pakistan	Al-Qaeda	Defeating Al Qaeda
03/18/10	Social Security payroll tax credits in 2010 for employers that hired people who have been unemployed for 60+ days	Hire Act	Unemployed & Businesses
03/18/10	Tax credits to employers who keep new hires for 52 weeks to encourage retention of new hires	Hire Act	Unemployed & Businesses
03/18/10	$17.5 billion in tax cuts, business credits and subsidies for state and local construction bonds to stimulate business investment and hiring	Hire Act	Unemployed & Businesses
03/18/10	$20 billion to the highway trust fund for spending on highway and transit programs.	Hire Act	Unemployed & Improving Infrastructure
03/18/10	Encourages job creation by expanding investments in schools and clean energy projects	Hire Act	Unemployed
03/18/10	Offsets costs through a 30 percent withholding tax on income from certain U.S. financial assets held by foreign banks who have not agreed to disclosures.	Hire Act	Unemployed
03/23/10	People with a pre-existing condition cannot be denied health coverge by an insurance company starting in 2014	2010 Health Care Reform Act	Consumers & Improving Health & Wellness
03/23/10	$143 billion in deficit reduction estimated between 2010-2019 from health care reform law provisions	2010 Health Care Reform Act	Reducing Debt\Deficits
03/23/10	People denied coverage for a pre-existing condition given access to a temporary high risk health insurance plan	2010 Health Care Reform Act	Consumers & Improving Health & Wellness
03/23/10	Children under 19 can no longer be denied coverage or benefits for a pre-existing condition	2010 Health Care Reform Act	Consumers & Children
03/23/10	Young adults can stay on parent's insurance plan up until age 26	2010 Health Care Reform Act	Young Adults & Consumers
03/23/10	$250 rebate for those in the Medicare Prescription drug "donut hole" during 2010	2010 Health Care Reform Act	Senior Citizens & Improving Health & Wellness
03/23/10	50% discount on prescription drug costs for seniors in the Medicare "donut hole" starting in 2011	2010 Health Care Reform Act	Senior Citizens & Improving Health & Wellness
03/23/10	Health care insurance plans prohibited from putting a lifetime limit on the benefits you receive	2010 Health Care Reform Act	Consumers
03/23/10	Annual dollar limits on health benefits restricted and phased out by 2014	2010 Health Care Reform Act	Consumers & Improving Health & Wellness
03/23/10	Insurers selling to groups of 50 or more employees must spend 85% of premiums on medical care and quality improvement	2010 Health Care Reform Act	Consumers & Improving Health & Wellness
03/23/10	Consumers guaranteed the right to choose the primary care doctor or pediatrician from their health plan’s provider network	2010 Health Care Reform Act	Consumers & Improving Health & Wellness
03/30/10	$68 billion to expand Pell grants & make it easier for students to repay outstanding loans after graduation through savings in the federal student loan program	Student Aid Act	College Students & Improving Education
03/30/10	$2 billion investment to laid off workers for education and career training programs in community colleges over four years starting in 2010	Student Aid Act	Unemployed & Improving Education
04/18/10	Joint American and Iraqi operation killed Al-Qaeda leaders Abu Ayyub al-Masri and Abu Omar al-Baghdadi	Al-Qaeda	Defeating Al Qaeda
05/05/10	Family caregivers of veterans granted eligibility to VA counseling and mental health services	Caregivers & Veterans Health Servi...	Veterans & Women
05/05/10	Health care services improved and expanded for women veterans at Veterans care facilities	Caregivers & Veterans Health Servi...	Veterans & Women
05/05/10	Counseling and care enhanced for military women victims of sexual trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)	Caregivers & Veterans Health Servi...	Veterans & Women
05/05/10	Care options expanded for veterans living in rural areas that lack the necessary VA medical facilities	Caregivers & Veterans Health Servi...	Veterans & Improving Health & Wellness
05/05/10	Housing and care options expanded for homeless veterans living in care shelters	Caregivers & Veterans Health Servi...	Veterans
05/21/10	Al-Qaeda’s number three commander Sheik Saeed al-Masri killed in U.S. drone attack	Al-Qaeda	Defeating Al Qaeda
06/02/10	Federal benefits extended to same sex partners of workers through memorandum by Obama administration	Gay Rights	LGBT & Federal Employees
06/29/10	U.S. drone attack killed 7 known terrorists, most notable Al-Qaeda operative from Egypt Hawza al Jawfi	Al-Qaeda	Defeating Al Qaeda
07/22/10	Financial Stability Oversight Council established to identify and monitor excessive risks to the U.S. financial system	Wall Street Reform Act	Improving Economic Stability
07/22/10	Future economic downturns minimized with new rules and transparency regarding bank trading in credit default swaps and derivatives including the "Volker Rule"	Wall Street Reform Act	Improving Economic Stability
07/22/10	Risk in the financial system reduced with new SEC Office of Credit Ratings (OCR) to monitor credit rating agencies for conflict of interests & inaccuracies	Wall Street Reform Act	Improving Economic Stability
07/22/10	FDIC bank deposit insurance increased from $100,000 to $250,000	Wall Street Reform Act	Consumers & Improving Economic Stability
07/22/10	Transparency of Federal Reserve improved with additional government oversight and new audits to be performed by the GAO	Wall Street Reform Act	Improving Govt Transparency
07/22/10	Consumer Financial Protection Bureau established to promote fairness and transparency for mortgages, credit cards, and other consumer financial products	Wall Street Reform Act	Consumers
07/22/10	Borrowers protected from bad loans with rules and penalties requiring that lenders verify that they are able to repay the loans that they issue	Wall Street Reform Act	Home Owners & Consumers
07/22/10	Long-term economic stability improved through new FDIC powers to liquidate failing financial firms such as insurance companies and non-bank financial companies	Wall Street Reform Act	Improving Economic Stability
08/03/10	Large disparity in jail sentences reduced for crack cocaine related offenses that disproportionately affected African Americans	Fair Sentencing Act	African Americans
09/27/10	$12 billion in assistance for small businesses through eight separate tax cuts	Small Business Jobs Act	Small Businesses
09/27/10	$30 billion lending program created for community banks with incentives to increase small business lending	Small Business Jobs Act	Small Businesses & Improving the Economy
10/14/10	$10 million in job training, counseling, placement services, and child care services for homeless women veterans and homeless veterans with children	Veterans' Benefit Act	Veterans & Women
10/14/10	Disabled veterans provided improved independent assisted living services, automobile adaptive equipment and allowances for automobile purchase	Veterans' Benefit Act	Veterans
10/14/10	Service members receiving relocation orders protected from early termination fees for certain contracts and residential leases	Veterans' Benefit Act	Military Personnel
10/14/10	On-the-job training opportunities expanded for veterans by reimbursing energy sector employers for training costs.	Veterans' Benefit Act	Veterans & Creating Jobs
10/14/10	Insurance policy amounts and terms enhanced for severely disabled veterans	Veterans' Benefit Act	Veterans & Improving Health & Wellness
10/14/10	Veteran work-study programs expanded to include congressional offices, state agencies and institutions of higher learning	Veterans' Benefit Act	Veterans & Creating Jobs
12/08/10	$1.5 billion awarded to some 75,000 black farmers who were victims of discrimination in applying for farm loans from 1983 to 1997	Claims Resolution Act	African Americans & Farmers
12/08/10	$3.4 billion settlement for Native Americans against the US government arising from incorrect accounting for royalties on mineral leases	Claims Resolution Act	Native Americans & Improving Govt Efficiency
12/13/10	Number of eligible children enrolled in school meal programs increased by approximately 115,000 students	Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act	Children & Improving Health & Wellness
12/13/10	Schools and communities provided resources to utilize local farms and gardens to provide fresh produce for school food programs.	Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act	Children & Improving Health & Wellness
12/17/10	$186 billion in tax relief for all tax payers by extending the Bush income tax cuts for 2010 & 2011	2010 Tax & Jobs Compromise	Workers & Consumers
12/17/10	$136 billion in tax relief for 21 million middle class households through patch to the Alternative Minimum Tax for 2010 & 2011	2010 Tax & Jobs Compromise	Middle Class & Workers
12/17/10	$111 billion in tax relief for workers by a reducing social security payroll tax from 6.2% to 4.2% for 2011.	2010 Tax & Jobs Compromise	Workers & Improving the Economy
12/17/10	Unemployment benefits extended for 13 months at a cost of $56 billion	2010 Tax & Jobs Compromise	Unemployed & Improving the Economy
12/17/10	$40 billion in tax credits for college students and lower income families with children	2010 Tax & Jobs Compromise	Poor & Students
12/22/10	Gays and lesbians allowed to serve openly in the military	Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act	LGBT & Military Personnel
12/22/10	$193 million saved over five years by eliminating recruiting and retraining costs of replacing soldiers discharged due to DADT	Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act	Military Personnel & Reducing Debt\Deficits
12/22/10	US sponsored measure to include “sexual orientation” in the definition of human rights adopted by the UN General Assembly, 122- 0.	Discrimination	LGBT
01/04/11	Safety of imported food improved with new FSVP & VQIP programs that helps ensure it is safe, unadulterated and not misbranded	Food Safety Modernization Act	Consumers & Improving Govt Efficiency
01/04/11	Safety of U.S. grown food improved with requirements for large factory farms to register all food handlers and maintain records relating to food safety	Food Safety Modernization Act	Consumers
01/04/11	Small family farms selling locally exempted from federal regulations such as traceability and record keeping	Food Safety Modernization Act	Farmers & Improving Govt Efficiency
02/05/11	Number of US and Russian nuclear warheads deployed reduced by two-thirds by 2017	New START Treaty	Combating Nuclear Proliferation
02/05/11	Number of US and Russian strategic nuclear missile launchers reduced in half by 2017	New START Treaty	Combating Nuclear Proliferation
02/23/11	Defense of Marriage Act declared unconstitutional and no longer defended in federal courts by the Obama Administration	Defense of Marriage Act	LGBT
05/02/11	US Forces Kill Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan	Al-Qaeda	Defeating Al Qaeda
2011 JUN	6 senior Al-Qaeda figures killed in U.S. Air Strike	Al-Qaeda	Defeating Al Qaeda
06/03/11	Al-Qaeda Commander Ilyas Kashmiri Killed in U.S. Predator Strike	Al-Qaeda	Defeating Al Qaeda
06/07/11	East Africa's Al-Qaeda senior leader Harun Fazul killed at security checkpoint in Somalia	Al-Qaeda	Defeating Al Qaeda
08/22/11	Al-Qaeda No. 2 Atiyah Abd al-Rahman Killed in Pakistan by CIA predator drone strike	Al-Qaeda	Defeating Al Qaeda
09/06/11	U.S./Pakistani joint arrest of suspected Chief Al-Qaeda Younis al-Mauritani in Quetta	Al-Qaeda	Defeating Al Qaeda
09/11/11	Al-Qaeda's operations chief for Pakistan Abu Hafs al Shahri reported killed in U.S. Predator strike	Al-Qaeda	Defeating Al Qaeda
09/16/11	Entrepreneurs and businesses benefited by reduced average wait time for patent approvals from 3 years to 1 year.	America Invents Act	Entrepreneurs
09/16/11	Patent litigation costs reduced through tightened patent standards, quality and processes to expedite challenges.	America Invents Act	Entrepreneurs
09/30/11	Senior Al Qaeda leader Anwar al-Awlaki killed in Yemen by a CIA-led U.S. drone strike	Al-Qaeda	Defeating Al Qaeda
09/30/11	$700 million annual funding for child protection, child abuse prevention, family support and adoption promotion through 2016	Child and Family Services Improvem...	Foster Children & Orphans
12/06/11	US government international campaign initiated to build respect for the human rights of LGBT persons worldwide	Discrimination	LGBT
12/17/11	War in Iraq ended with last American troops crossing border into Kuwait	2003 Iraq War	U.S. Citizens
2012 JAN	Senior Al-Qaeda figure Aslam Awan killed in U.S. drone strike	Al-Qaeda	Defeating Al Qaeda
01/30/12	U.S. drone attack in Yemen killed 12-15 militants, including at least four Al-Qaeda leaders	Al-Qaeda	Defeating Al Qaeda
02/09/12	Pakistan Al-Qaeda leader Badar Mansoor killed by U.S. drone attacks	Al-Qaeda	Defeating Al Qaeda
02/22/12	Employee social security payroll tax reduction from 6.2% to 4.2 % extended through 2012	Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Cr...	Workers & Improving the Economy
02/22/12	Self-employed social security payroll tax reduction from 12.4% to 10.4 % extended through 2012	Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Cr...	Entrepreneurs & Improving the Economy
02/22/12	Federal unemployment benefits programs extended an additional 13 to 20 weeks	Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Cr...	Unemployed & Improving the Economy
02/22/12	Cuts in Medicare physician payment rates averted with extension of existing rates through 2012	Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Cr...	Doctors & Retirees
04/04/12	Members of Congress and certain government employees prohibited from using non-public information for personal profit, including insider trading.	STOCK Act	U.S. Citizens & Reducing Govt Fraud\Corruption
05/09/12	Barack Obama becomes the first President to publicly support the legalization of same sex marriage	Defense of Marriage Act	LGBT
05/19/12	Agreement negotiated and completed to allow blind Chinese dissident, Chen Guangcheng, to study in USA	International Relations	Compassion & Freedom of Speech