 |
President Obama Has Earned Pat on Back for First 100
By Carol Fowler, Chair, South Carolina Democratic Party
May 4, 2009
On Tuesday, November 4, 2008, thousands of South Carolina Democrats, Independents and frustrated Republicans stood up and rejoiced as Barack Obama was declared the 44th president of the United States. We knew that after eight years of poor presidential leadership change had finally come.We also knew that many of the positive changes President Obama promised to bring to our country would not be immediate. He inherited a cornucopia of problems from the previous administration including a $1.3 trillion deficit, two wars, rising unemployment and unprecedented crises in our banking system. In spite of all this, the Obama Administration has made significant progress in just three months. These accomplishments are worthy of recognition.
Since his inauguration, President Obama has gained Congressional approval of an economic recovery package that gives a tax cut to 95 percent of Americans and will save or create three to four million American jobs including 50,000 in South Carolina. He signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, a law that makes it illegal for men and women to be paid differently for the same job. He put responsible science and technological innovation ahead of ideology by lifting the ban on potentially life-saving stem cell research.
President Obama also signed legislation to enhance the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) and expand coverage to an additional 4 million children, bringing to 11 million the number of children covered under SCHIP. And he worked with Congress to pass a budget blueprint that makes investments in America's future through health care, education and renewable energy.
The Obama Administration's economic recovery efforts are having very real effects across the U.S. The benefits of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act are already being seen in states using the money to fund projects that will improve their quality of life. California will use $32 million in stimulus funding to support the Allied Health Initiative, which will reduce the state's healthcare worker shortage. Delaware will use $2.9 million of the money it receives from the ARRA to fund the COPS Hiring Recovery Program which provides funding to law enforcement agencies to preserve jobs and hire new officers.
South Carolinians are also reaping the benefits of President Obama's economic recovery efforts. Our state was allocated $8 billion under the ARRA. An estimated $280 million of these funds will be used for infrastructure projects. More than $700 million of these stimulus funds has been allocated for education funding for our state. South Carolina has also received funding for energy and conservation and environmental clean-up projects.
Although these projects will make a difference to many working families, there is still a lot of work to be done. Unemployment is still at 11.4 percent statewide, many communities have been devastated by the mortgage crisis, and thousands of South Carolinians still live without health insurance. The progress the Obama Administration and Congressional Democrats have already made is only a down payment on the substantive changes to come.
South Carolina desperately needs for Governor Mark Sanford to get on board with the president's initiatives. For months, the governor has been playing politics with the remaining $700 million in stimulus funds set aside for South Carolina. But in the grand scheme of things, the governor's actions can be seen as just a road block on our country's road to recovery under the Obama Administration. The president's Democratic policies are starting to bring about meaningful change and turn our economy around in spite of Governor Sanford.
The South Carolina Democratic Party will continue to support President Obama's agenda for change. We know the work won't be easy, but it will get done with or without Mark Sanford.
