Obama Gets Tough on Health Care Fraud
ST. CHARLES, Mo. — President Obama continued his drive for a health care overhaul on Wednesday, ordering a crackdown on Medicare and Medicaid waste and fraud, while in Washington, House leaders said they hoped to have a completed bill to present to rank and file members Thursday morning. New York Times - March 10, 2010
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/11/health/policy/11health.html
Obama to Lay Out Final Push for Health Care Reform
... will launch his final push to get a bill passed and will indicate that he is willing to work with Republicans on some issues. But the president will suggest that if it is necessary, Democrats will use the controversial "reconciliation" rules to send a bill to his desk. ABC News - March 3, 2010
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/president-obama-democrats-reconciliation-rules-needed/story?id=9995953
Obama to push healthcare overhaul into final act
... arguing that his retooled plan, incorporating more ideas from rival Republicans, is essential for the good of the country. Democrats ... to use a procedure called reconciliation that allows approval by a simple majority vote to get the measure through. Reuters - March 3, 2010
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE61O4NV20100303?type=politicsNews
Senate Confirms 2 Dozen Obama Nominees
The Senate on Thursday night confirmed more than two dozen of President Obama’s nominees to federal positions after the threat of using the holiday week to make recess appointments. New York Times - Feb. 12, 2010
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/12/us/politics/12confirm.html
Obama overhauls NASA's agenda in budget request
Nearly half a century ago, President John F. Kennedy challenged America to put a man on the moon. Earlier this month, by killing NASA's Constellation program, President Obama essentially challenged the space agency to do something other than put a man back on the moon. Washington Post - February 11, 2010
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/10/AR2010021003533.html
Obama Calls for End to NASA's Moon Program
President Obama is calling on NASA to cancel the program that was to return humans to the Moon by 2020, and focus instead on radically new space technologies. New York Times - Feb. 2, 2010
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/02/science/02nasa.html
Obama to Party: Don’t ‘Run for the Hills’
President Obama used his first State of the Union address to try to convince Americans he was focused on issues that concern them most: jobs and the economy. New York Times - Jan. 28, 2010
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/28/us/politics/28obama.html
Obama’s State of the Union Address - January 27, 2010
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/28/us/politics/28obama.text.html
Obama Vows to Keep Up Fight on Health Care
Conceding his health care overhaul had run into “a little bit of a buzz saw,’’ President Obama said on Friday that he was not giving up on his top domestic priority. New York Times - Jan. 22, 2010
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/22/in-ohio-obama-vows-to-keep-fighting-on-health-care
Obama enlists Bush, Clinton to help Haiti
President Barack Obama pledged $100 million for Haiti quake relief on Thursday and enlisted two former US presidents to help raise more, vowing to the Haitian people: "You will not be forsaken." Reuters - Jan. 14, 2010
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE60D5JO20100114?type=politicsNews
Obama Says Benefits From Health Care Overhaul Would Be Immediate
President Obama said Saturday that Americans would see immediate benefits from a landmark overhaul of the nation's health insurance system and he urged Congress to swiftly reconcile differences over the legislation. . . New York Times - Jan. 9, 2010
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/10/health/policy/10webaddress.html
Obama Orders Improvements in Security Policies
President Obama ordered a series of steps to improve the government’s ability to act on terrorist threats, saying a review of the attempted airline bombing on Christmas Day revealed shortcomings in national security. New York Times - Jan. 8, 2010
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/08/us/politics/08terror.html
Obama Says Al Qaeda in Yemen Planned Bombing Plot...
HONOLULU — President Obama declared for the first time on Saturday that a branch of Al Qaeda based in Yemen sponsored the attempted Christmas Day bombing of an American passenger jet, and he vowed that those behind the failed attack “will be held to account.” New York Times - Jan. 2, 2010
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/03/us/politics/03address.html
Obama, Dems on track for pre-Christmas health bill
President Barack Obama cheered a crucial health care vote in the Senate on Monday that put historic legislation well on its way to pre-Christmas passage and which sharpened already edgy partisan tensions. Associated Press - Dec. 21, 2009
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jlMpJGn28kqCcgU-aGcYE_ZHW-ywD9CNTCF83
Obama Pushes New Stimulus
President Barack Obama pressed forward with an expansion of his $787 billion stimulus plan Tuesday, unveiling job-creation proposals that largely build on the initial package, including a hiring tax credit that his own party ... Wall Street Journal - Dec. 9, 2009
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126028857157682051.html
Obama's Nobel Speech
... we should savor a sophisticated and brave statement by an American president about when and when not to use force. That may not be “news,” but it is exactly what the occasion demanded. New York Times - December 11, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/12/opinion/12iht-edwidmer.html
Obama’s War Speech Wins Over Some Skeptics
While opinions on the war in Afghanistan remained diverse, President Obama managed to persuade a significant number of people on both sides of the political aisle. New York Times - Dec. 3, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/03/us/politics/03poll.html
Obama pushes math, science education
President Obama greets Washington-area students at an event Monday designed to promote science and math education... CNN - Nov. 23, 2009
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/11/23/obama.science/
Obama Walks a Delicate Tightrope on His 1st Trip as President to China
Against the backdrop of a tentative global recovery, President Obama and China’s leaders will meet in Beijing next week to discuss how to improve relations between the world’s reigning economic superpower and its greatest challenger. New York Times - November 13, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/14/business/global/14yuan.html
Obama Seeks Revision of Plan’s Abortion Limits
The president said he wanted to make sure a health bill amendment was not “restricting women’s insurance choices.” New York Times - Nov. 11, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/10/health/policy/10health.html
White House: 650000 jobs created or saved through stimulus spending
About 650000 jobs have been created or saved through federal stimulus spending so far, and the program is on track to reach 3.5 million jobs by the end of next year, the White House reported Friday. Atlanta Journal Constitution - Oct. 30, 2009
http://www.ajc.com/news/white-house-650-000-179014.html
Obama signs hate crimes bill into law
President Obama on Wednesday signed a law that makes it a federal crime to assault an individual because of his or her sexual orientation or gender identity. CNN - October 28, 2009
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/10/28/hate.crimes/index.html
Obama Unveils $3.4B Plan to Update US Energy Grid
U.S. President Barack Obama says the government will spend $3.4 billion to update the nation's energy infrastructure with new technologies. The president made the announcement Tuesday at a solar power facility in Florida. Voice of America - 27 October 2009
http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-10-27-voa44.cfm
Obama Pushes For Passage Of Energy Bill
US President Barack Obama is calling on Congress to pass legislation to support clean-energy research and fight climate change. The president issued the challenge Friday at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology ... Voice of America - Oct. 23, 2009
http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-10-23-voa57.cfm
Obama signs veterans spending bill
WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama on Thursday signed into law a measure designed to keep funding for veterans' medical care steady amid future budget negotiations. The Associated Press - Oct. 22, 2009
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hc8qtQjB9Pg7OhmOkoQcKC12kB5wD9BGB6RO1
Obama Consumer Agency Passes Key Hurdle
A House panel voted Thursday in favor of a new consumer financial protection agency, giving the Obama administration an early boost in its effort to overhaul regulation of the financial-services ... Wall Street Journal - Oct. 22, 2009
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125622338671401423.html
Obama steps up push for consumer protection agency
President Barack Obama fought to keep his proposed banking overhaul on track Friday, casting the political struggle ahead as one between big financial interests and average Americans victimized by complex or unscrupulous financial transactions. Associated Press - October 9, 2009
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Obama-steps-up-push-for-apf-4073751026.html?x=0
Obama Awarded Nobel Peace Prize
President Obama is the 2009 winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for "extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples." CNN - Oct. 9, 2009
http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2009/obama.peace.prize/
Nobel Peace Prize Announcement:
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2009/press.html
Obama to announce $5 billion in research grants
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Obama, in an effort to stimulate the economy and support critical research, will announce $5 billion in grants when he visits the National Institutes of Health on Wednesday, according to an administration official. CNN - Sept. 30, 2009
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/09/30/obama.health.grants/
Obama presides as U.N. calls for nuclear disarmament
UNITED NATIONS - The U.N. Security Council, at a summit chaired by U.S. President Barack Obama, unanimously approved a resolution on Thursday that envisaged a world without nuclear weapons. Reuters - Sep 24, 2009
http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE58M0VN20090924
Obama Speaks on Climate at the U.N.
The climate summit meeting organized at the United Nations by the secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, is under way... Below you can read the prepared text of President Obama’s speech. New York Times - Sept. 22, 2009
http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/22/obama-speaks-on-climate-at-the-un-summit/
Obama Seeks National Oversight of Waters
The nation’s marine and Great Lakes shores are administered by a hodgepodge of federal, state or other agencies with often-conflicting goals. New York Times - Sept. 18, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/18/science/earth/18oceans.html
Obama Vows to ‘Deliver on Health Care’
In a nationally televised address to Congress, President Obama asked critical lawmakers and a skeptical nation to reach consensus on legislation to expand health coverage. New York Times - Sept. 10, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/10/us/politics/10obama.html
Senate votes to confirm Sotomayor to the Supreme Court
Sonia Sotomayor will become the U.S. Supreme Court's first Hispanic justice as the Senate Wednesday confirmed the veteran federal appellate judge by a 68-to-31 vote. Miami Hearald - August 6, 2009
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics/AP/story/1174644.html
Obama Hails Post-9/11 GI Bill as Reward for Veterans
Under the Post-9/11 GI Bill, people with at least 90 days of military service on or after Sept. 11, 2001, can receive up to 100% of their tuition paid for. They also will receive a monthly housing allowance and a stipend for books and school supplies. Wall Street Journal - August 3, 2009
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124931728383401961.html
House Panel Reaches Deal on Health-Care Bill
WASHINGTON - The chairman of a pivotal House committee announced Friday that he had reached an agreement with other Democrats that would allow the panel to approve sweeping health legislation later in the day. Democrats defeated a Republican effort to eliminate a ... public health insurance option by 35 to 24. New York Times - July 31, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/01/health/policy/01health.html
After beers with Obama, professor, officer plan to meet again
The officer who arrested a top African-American professor said talks over beers Thursday evening at the White House were productive and the two men plan to meet again. CNN International - July 31, 2009
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/07/30/harvard.arrest.beers/?imw=Y
Obama: health plan 'closer than ever' but needs work
President Barack Obama said on Tuesday US healthcare reform was "closer than ever" but there was still work to do as his top policy initiative, already rejected by Republicans, ran into trouble ... Reuters - July 21, 2009
http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSN21221307
Senate Dodges Obama Veto Threat
Senators put the brakes on a controversial effort to buy seven pricey F-22 fighter jets today, avoiding a showdown that had promised to set the stage for President Obama's first potential veto. ABC News - July 21, 2009
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=8126691&page=1
New Policy Permits Asylum for Battered Women
The Obama administration reversed the Bush administration on an issue at the center of a legal battle, allows asylum to foreign women who are victims of severe domestic beatings and sexual abuse. New York Times - July 16, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/16/us/16asylum.html
Obama in Ghana on first sub-Saharan Africa visit
ACCRA (Reuters) - President Barack Obama flew into Ghana on Friday on his first visit to sub-Saharan Africa since taking office as the first African American president of the United States. Reuters - July 10, 2009
http://www.reuters.com/article/ObamaEconomy/idUSTRE56711G20090710
Obama: Troop pullout from Iraqi towns a milestone
President Barack Obama on Tuesday lauded the pullout of US forces from towns and cities in Iraq as an important step toward a full US troop withdrawal by 2012, but warned of "difficult days" ahead ... Washington Post - June 30, 2009
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/30/AR2009063002295.html
Obama Works to Address Concerns Among Gay Supporters
... hundreds of leaders from the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community gather in the East Room of the White House today to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the launch of the gay rights movement ... ABC News - June, 29, 2009
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=7956893&page=1
Obama Says Government Health Coverage Plan Would Not Hurt Private Insurers
Mr. Obama dismissed as “not logical” the suggestion that a public plan, which is intended to create more competition and therefore act as a brake on the rise of health insurance costs, would undermine the private insurance market. New York Times - June 24, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/24/health/policy/24health.html
Obama Condemns Iran’s Iron Fist Against Protests
The president hardened his tone toward the Iranian government, but he has limited tools for bringing pressure to bear on it. New York Times - June 23, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/24/us/politics/24webobama.html
Obama extends benefits, promises more for gays
President Barack Obama on Wednesday extended limited job benefits to gay partners of US government workers in what he called a first step to end discrimination against gays and lesbians. Reuters - June 17, 2009
http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE55G0OR20090617
Obama’s five-prong plan to oversee financial industry
The Federal Reserve would take on new responsibilities for monitoring risks, and a new agency would be created to enforce consumer safety in financial products. Christian Science Monitor - June 17, 2009
http://features.csmonitor.com/politics/2009/06/17/obamas-five-prong-plan-to-oversee-financial-industry/
Obama Sets Stage For Healthcare Sales Push
President Obama met at the White House with senators working on healthcare reform before leaving Washington for a town hall meeting in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and a speech in Chicago to sell the plan to the public. U.S. News & World Report - June 11, 2009
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/politics/bulletin/bulletin_090611.htm
Addressing Muslim World, Obama Calls for New Start
As President Obama spoke at Cairo University ... urging Americans and Muslims to drop their suspicions of one another and vigorously confront violent extremism, he pledged to pursue a two-state solution to Middle East peace “that is in Israel’s interest, Palestine’s interest.” New York Times - June 4, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/05/world/middleeast/05prexy.html
Obama picks Sotomayor for Supreme Court
President Barack Obama announced today he will nominate federal Judge Sonia Sotomayor for the US Supreme Court. If confirmed, Sotomayor would be the first Hispanic justice on the nation's highest court. Born in New York to Puerto Rican parents... Bizjournals.com - May 26, 2009
http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2009/05/25/daily2.html
Obama Signs Credit-Card Overhaul Legislation Into Law
President Barack Obama put his signature on legislation Friday clamping down on credit-card companies' ability to boost interest rates and slap higher fees on consumers, a measure long-sought by the White House but reviled by the banking sector. Wall Street Journal - May 22, 2009
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124302235634548041.html
Obama’s Speech on National Security
Following is a text of President Obama’s speech on Thursday on national security issues, as released by the White House. New York Times - May 21, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/21/us/politics/21obama.text.html
Obama to Toughen Rules on Emissions and Mileage
President Obama will announce tough new nationwide rules for automobile emissions and mileage standards on Tuesday, embracing standards that California has sought to enact for years over the objections of the auto industry and the Bush administration. New York Times - May 18, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/19/business/19emissions.html
Obama administration to expand housing plan
The Obama administration expanded its $50 billion mortgage aid program on Thursday, announcing new measures that would help homeowners avoid a foreclosure if they don't qualify for other assistance. AP - May 14, 2009
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Obama-administration-to-apf-15245450.html
Administration Plans to Strengthen Antitrust Rules
President Obama’s top antitrust official this week plans to restore an aggressive enforcement policy against corporations that use their market dominance to elbow out competitors or to keep them from gaining market share. The new enforcement policy would reverse the Bush administration’s approach, which strongly favored defendants against antitrust claims... New York Times - May 11, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/11/business/11antitrust.html
Souter’s Exit to Give Obama First Opening
Justice David H. Souter plans to retire at the end of the term in June, giving President Obama his first appointment to the Supreme Court, and has written to the president to tell him so, senior Democrats said on Friday. New York Times - May 1, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/02/us/02souter.html
Obama Emphasizes Sharp Departures From Bush Policies
One hundred days into his term, President Obama ... has steered the country from the course set by the Bush administration ... setting a timeline to end the U.S. combat role in Iraq -- a war he inherited from President George W. Bush -- and moving quickly to remake an economy suffering as a result of irresponsible borrowing during Bush's tenure. Washington Post - April 30, 2009
Obama Vows Record Outlays for Research
President Obama presented a vision of a new era in research financing comparable to the Sputnik-period space race, in which intensified scientific inquiry, and development of the intellectual capacity to pursue it, are a top national priority... New York Times - April 27, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/28/science/earth/28speech.html
Barack Obama: First 100 Days
http://www.reuters.com/news/politics/first100days
Obama Pushes Treaty on Gun Trafficking
President Obama, who landed in Mexico on Thursday, will work for the ratification of a decade-old arms treaty, an administration official said... New York Times - April 16, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/17/world/americas/17prexy.html
Obama pushes for high-speed rail
The United States will seek to develop high-speed rail nationally, President Barack Obama said on Thursday in emphasizing a broader commitment to U.S. infrastructure investment and a transportation alternative ignored or dismissed by previous administrations ... Reuters - April 16, 2009
http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSTRE53F4DJ20090416
Obama Stands Firm on a Sweeping Agenda
... he wants not only to revive the sagging economy but to virtually reinvent it with sweeping changes in health care, energy and education. Without deeper reform, he argued, the economy would only topple again later... New York Times - April 15, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/15/business/economy/15obama.html
Obama Offers Plan to Improve Care for Veterans
President Obama announced plans on Thursday to computerize the medical records of veterans into a unified system, a move that is expected to ease the now-cumbersome process that results in confusion, lost records and bureaucratic delays... New York Times - April 10, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/10/us/politics/10vets.html
Obama in Baghdad, tells troops Iraq must take over
Flying unannounced into a still-dangerous war zone, President Barack Obama told U.S. troops and Iraqi officials alike Tuesday it is time to phase out America's combat role in a conflict he opposed as a candidate and has vowed to end as commander in chief. Associated Press - April 7, 2009
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090407/ap_on_go_pr_wh/ml_obama_iraq
Obama to Loosen Restrictions on Policy With Cuba
President Obama plans to abandon longstanding restrictions on family travel and remittances to Cuba, an administration official said Saturday, fulfilling a campaign promise in a pivotal swing state and signaling a possible warming of relations with the Castro government... New York Times - April 5, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/05/world/americas/05cuba.html
FDA told to reconsider morning-after pill
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration must reconsider its decision under the Bush Administration to limit access to emergency contraception, a U.S. court ruled on Monday, saying the agency allowed politics to interfere with its usual decision-making. Reuters - Mar 24, 2009
http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSTRE52M65V20090324
Obama administration backs UN anti-discrimination text on gay rights
... calling for the worldwide decriminalization of homosexuality, a measure that former President George W. Bush had refused to sign. The move was the administration's latest in reversing Bush-era decisions that have been heavily criticized by human rights and other groups. The United States was the only western nation not to sign ... Chicago Tribune - March 18, 2009
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/sns-ap-obama-gay-rights,0,6624124.story
Obama signs big spending bill despite earmarks
President Barack Obama on Wednesday signed a $410 billion bill to fund most government operations through September 30, but warned the U.S. Congress must stop jamming spending bills with lawmakers' pet projects... Reuters - Mar 12, 2009
http://www.reuters.com/article/GCA-BarackObama/idUSTRE52A4H020090312
Obama Says He’ll Cut Back on Tactic Bush Used to Sidestep New Laws
Calling into question the legitimacy of all the signing statements that former President George W. Bush used to challenge new laws, President Obama ordered executive officials on Monday to consult with Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. before relying on any of them to bypass a statute... New York Times - March 9, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/10/us/politics/10signing.html?_r=1
Obama: White House will no longer ignore established science
A memorandum published by the White House this morning made good on a campaign promise by President Obama to discontinue the Oval Office practice of disregarding or even suppressing certain scientific and technological information when crafting executive policy... March 10, 2009
http://www.betanews.com/article/Obama-White-House-will-no-longer-ignore-established-science/1236698210
Obama Lifts Bush’s Strict Limits on Stem Cell Research
Pledging that his administration will “make scientific decisions based on facts, not ideology,” President Obama on Monday lifted the Bush administration’s strict limits on human embryonic stem cell research... New York Times - March 9, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/10/us/politics/10stem.html
Obama's Remarks on Stem Cell Research
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/09/us/politics/09text-obama.html
Obama takes aim at costly U.S. defense contracts
WASHINGTON, March 4 (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Wednesday the U.S. government was paying too much for things it did not need and ordered a crackdown ... estimates reforms will save $40 bln annually ... would end unnecessary no bid, cost-plus contracts. Reuters - Mar 4, 2009
http://www.reuters.com/article/vcCandidateFeed7/idUSN04407906
Poll: Obama's rating at all-time high
NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll finds... Despite the country's struggling economy and vocal opposition to some of his policies, President Obama's favorability rating is at an all-time high. Two-thirds feel hopeful about his leadership and six in 10 approve of the job he's doing in the White House... NBC News - March. 3, 2009
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29493021/
Obama sets Iraq deadline, unveils new strategy
President Barack Obama said on Friday he would pull U.S. combat troops out of Iraq in 18 months as he unveiled a new strategy that stressed diplomacy and engagement with foes like Iran and Syria... Reuters - Feb 27, 2009
http://uk.reuters.com/article/asiaCrisis/idUKN27301945
Obama Administration to Reverse Bush Rule on 'Conscience' Regulation
The Office of Management and Budget announced this morning that it was reviewing a proposal to lift the controversial "conscience" regulation ... some have argued it could limit family planning counseling and even potentially blood transfusions and end-of-life care ... Washington Post - February 27, 2009
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/27/AR2009022701104.html
Obama strikes hopeful tone in address to Congress
President Barack Obama delivered a message of hope Tuesday night in his first address before a joint session of Congress, saying that America will rebound from the current economic crisis. The Business Review (Albany) - February 25, 2009
http://www.bizjournals.com/albany/stories/2009/02/23/daily28.html
Transcript of President Obama’s Address to Congress
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