when congress reversed course when obama agreed with them

How unproductive has Congress been during the Obama administration?

May 01, 2017 · Enacted in 1996, the Congressional Review Act gives Congress 60 legislative days to revoke rules with the help of the president. Before this year, it had only been used once; since Mr. Trump took...

Why has Congress been so polarized under Obama?

Feb 24, 2014 · What's notable about the Obama-Congress relationship is how steeply it declined. In 2009, the newly elected president of hope and change had the highest presidential success rate with Congress in ...

Will Obama remake the Democratic Party from the bottom up?

Jan 14, 2017 · In the end, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, as the stimulus was formally known, passed Congress in February 2009 with three Republican votes in the Senate and none in the House. Mutual...

Was the Obama Presidency’s response to the Great Recession an original sin?

May 13, 2009 · The Justice Department had already agreed to release the photos by May 28 in response to a lawsuit, but Obama is shifting course. ... effort to reverse course is that the Justice Department sent U ...

Why is Obama being forced to act on his own?

More broadly, Obama has said he's being forced to act on his own because he can't get cooperation from Congress.

When did the GOP take control of the Senate?

For their part, political scientists tracing the origins of the White House-Congress feud look back even further – to the "Republican Revolution" of 1994 that made Newt Gingrich speaker and gave the GOP control of both the House and Senate for the first time in 40 years. It launched today's era of polarization, playing out in President Clinton 's impeachment and under President George W. Bush, says Stephen Wayne, an expert on the American presidency at Georgetown University in Washington.

What did John Boehner say about immigration?

Relations between the White House and Congress reached a low in February when House Speaker John Boehner (R) of Ohio said it would be tough for the House to move on immigration reform this year. He cited a lack of trust in President Obama to implement a new immigration law, saying he's not enforcing current ones.

How many meetings did Snowe have with the President?

In her book "Fighting for Common Ground," Snowe recounts the president's many attempts to reach out to her during the health-care debate – at least eight meetings with him and more than a dozen phone calls.

How many Republican votes did the stimulus bill get?

Less than a month after Obama took office in 2009, the $787 billion stimulus bill passed with only three Republican votes (including the moderate Senator Snowe's). In 2010, the mammoth Affordable Care Act passed with no GOP support. Wall Street reform went through later that year.

When did Obama and Snowe meet?

He made one last attempt shortly before Christmas in 2009, when they met at the White House during a snowstorm, Snowe recalls. With a fire roaring in the fireplace, Obama urged her to support the final vote on the legislation. She regretfully declined, explaining that despite all their exchanges and her meetings with Senate Democrats, there had been no headway on any of the issues she had discussed – such as her objection to the way penalties would be assessed for failure to adhere to the so-called individual mandate. It was "all windup and no pitch," she writes.

What was Obama's success rate in 2012?

Even in Obama's worst legislative year so far – 2012, when his presidential success rate was 54 percent – he outperformed Richard Nixon's lowest score from 1973 (50.6 percent), when the Watergate hearings were in full swing on the Hill. Obama also scored higher than Mr. Clinton's nadir in 1995 (36.2 percent), the first year of the Republican takeover of Congress, and he surpassed the score of his Republican predecessor, Mr. Bush, in 2007 (38.3 percent), after a war-weary public returned control of Congress to Democrats.

Where did Obama play golf?

Obama and Boehner play golf at Andrews Air Force Base, Md. , in June 2011. (Charles Dharapak / Associated Press) In the end, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, as the stimulus was formally known, passed Congress in February 2009 with three Republican votes in the Senate and none in the House.

When did Obama give Boehner his policy proposals?

Obama holds a document containing Republican policy proposals given to him by Boehner in January 2010. (Charles Dharapak / Associated Press)

What was the original sin of Obama?

Obama’s handling of the stimulus bill was “the original sin” of his young administration, “setting the course of partisanship and confrontation,” former Boehner spokesman Michael Steel said.

What was Obama's regret?

Last January, in his final State of the Union address, Obama cited the increase in partisanship during his presidency as among his greatest regrets.

What happened to immigration reform in 2013?

In 2013, the opposite occurred for immigration reform. It narrowly passed the Senate, but died without a vote in the House. After that, Obama increasingly used executive authority to order rule changes for the environment, immigration, unemployment and other issues.

Where was Obama sitting in August?

It was early August. They sat in the Oval Office, Obama cross-legged in an armchair, Grassley sitting back on a beige couch.

When did Obama sign the Affordable Care Act?

Obama signs the Affordable Care Act in the East Room of the White House on March 23, 2010. (J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press) For Obama, who believed in universal healthcare — or something close to it — the issue was simple.

How did the 2010 midterm election affect Obama's legislative agenda?

The 2010 midterm election, where Republicans and ultra-conservative Tea Party politicians seized control of the House of Representatives,5 significantly slowed down President Obama’s legislative agenda. For example, the 111th Congress (2009-2010) had Democratic majorities in both Congressional chambers.6 The 111th Congress passed 861 bills-the eighth lowest number of bills passed by any Congress since the 80th Congress (1947-1948).7 Congressional productivity was even worse once Republicans controlled the House of Representatives. The Republican majority 112th Congress (2011-2012) passed 561 bills, the least since the statistic has been recorded.8 This fact alone makes Congressional activity, or lack thereof, during the Obama presidency historically significant.

How many times did Congress vote to repeal the Affordable Care Act?

The aforementioned ambition difference between Congress and President Obama is exemplified by Congress voting 41 times (as of Sept. 13, 2013) to repeal the Affordable Care Act.3 This difference of ambitions is one of the main reasons why Congress during the Obama presidency has been especially inactive and polarized.

How productive was the 113th Congress?

Congress during the Obama administration (111th, 112th and current 113th Congress) has been and continues to be particularly unproductive, especially compared to other Congresses throughout history. As previously mentioned, the Democratic dominated 111th Congress was the sixth least productive since the 80th Congress (1947-1948),9 the 112th was the least productive Congress ever and the 113th Congress is on pace to pass just 72 bills.10 That 1,494 total is the lowest number of passed bills during all presidents’ first one and a half terms since the number of passed bills began being recorded in 1947.11 This is significant because it shows the necessity of the executive and legislative branches working together. This has not been the case during the Obama presidency, as evidenced by the historically low number of bills passed, and the forty-plus Congressional attempts to undermine President Obama’s signature health care reform law. What we can learn from this is the importance of compromise between the president and Congress. However, this necessary compromise has been rare because of Congressional Republicans determination against all things President Obama. This is evidenced by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell saying “The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president.”12 The extreme Congressional polarization is evidenced by Congressional action, too. President Obama’s nominees have been blocked 79 times-eleven times more than all previous presidential nominees combined.13 In response Senate Democrats have changed a Senate rule which allows for a simple majority to approve executive and judicial nominees rather than the previously necessary 60 votes for approval. This has further intensified polarization, as Congressional Republicans expressed strong disagreement with the rule change.14 This is one case where Democrats have contributed to the problem of Congressional polarization. Despite the rule change increasing political polarization, it aims to combat Congressional inactivity. This hyper-polarization is significant because Congress’s main function is to pass laws. If Congress is severely slacking with passing laws, then the federal government is severely limited on its abilities to address national issues.

How many bills did the 104th Congress pass?

The number of bills passed were lackluster during both the Republican-controlled Congresses (104, 105,106) during the Clinton administration, like the Republican-controlled House of Representatives during the Obama administration. The 104th Congress (1995-1996) passed 611 bills, the third least productive Congress ever, behind only the 112th (2011-2012) and current 113th Congress (2013-2014). The 105th Congress (1997-1998) passed 710 bills, the fifth least productive Congress ever.43 However, the 106th Congress did pass 957 bills, which was the 22nd most productive of the 62 Congressional sessions since the statistic has been kept. 44

What were the problems of the Obama administration?

One of these problems is the lack of term limits for Congress. Many congressmen and congresswomen are career politicians.

How many bills have been passed in the 113th Congress?

For example, as of Nov. 27, 2013, the 113th Congress has passed 55 bills that have been enacted. Eight of those bills are renaming national monuments (renaming a highway bridge), celebrating accomplishments (awarding Congressional Medals of Honor), and other petty measures (specifying the size of Baseball Hall of Fame commemorative coins).15 In other words, 14 percent of all legislation passed into law through the 113th Congress have failed to address any national issues whatsoever.

What did Harry Truman call the 80th Congress?

Like President Obama has called on Congress to act, former President Harry Truman called out the 80th Congress on their inactivity, labeling the 80th Congress the “Do-Nothing” Congress.33 Truman called to date the most recent special session of Congress in an attempts to increase Congressional productivity. Truman, a Democrat, challenged the Republican-majority Congress to act on civil rights, Social Security and establishing a national health care program. 80th Congressional Republicans criticized Truman for abusing his power, and Republican Senator Robert Taft (an Ohio representative like Boehner) blocked voting.34 In terms of legislative quantity, the 80th Congress was the sixth most productive Congress since the statistic has been recorded, which actually began with the 80th Congress.35 The relationship between Congress and the President may not have been as polarized as one would expect with a President who infamously labeled Congress do nothing’s. The 80th Congress passed a bill which empowered President Truman to give aid to Greece and Turkey36, an action consistent with the Truman Doctrine. The Truman Doctrine stated that the United States “would provide political, military and economic assistance to all democratic nations under threat from external or internal authoritarian forces.”37

What did Obama say in 2014?

In January of 2014, President Barack Obama sat down at his first cabinet meeting of the year and outlined his strategy for governing his final few years in office. “I’ve got a pen, and I’ve got a phone,” he famously said laying out his plan to circumvent Congress and use executive orders to push his policies onto the American people.

Who said "Oh my.".?

As George Takei might say, “Oh my.”. “Obama has built almost his entire legacy on executive orders (pen and phone) rather than to go through Congress, only to have them rescinded by the next president,” writes political cartoonist A.F. Branco.

Did Trump withdraw from the Trans Pacific Partnership?

Using his own executive orders, or reversing those already in effect, Trump has withdrawn the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, reversed government overreach in interpreting the Civil Rights Act to extend to transgender workers, rescinded an Obama favorite in reducing mandatory sentences for criminals, reversed a ban on drilling for oil in the Arctic, and rolled back his predecessor’s diplomatic efforts with communist Cuba.

Did Obama have a pen and phone?

As Nancy Benac of the Associated Press surmised, “President Barack Obama had a ‘pen and phone’ strategy” but “President Donald Trump has an eraser.”. Now that pen and phone are in the same place Obama’s legacy is going to end up – where the sun doesn’t shine.

When did Obama say chemical weapons would cross the red line?

President Obama pauses while speaking in the White House briefing room on Aug. 20, 2012. In his remarks, the president said use of chemical weapons in Syria would cross a "red line." (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

What did Obama say about Assad's chemical weapons?

One year earlier, President Barack Obama had described Assad’s potential use of chemical weapons as “a red line” that would have “enormous consequences” and “change my calculus” on American military intervention in Syria’s civil war. When Assad appeared to cross that line, Obama ordered the Pentagon to prepare to attack.

Who ordered the Pentagon to attack?

When Assad appeared to cross that line, Obama ordered the Pentagon to prepare to attack. “Our finger was on the trigger,” Gen. Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, tells veteran FRONTLINE correspondent Martin Smith in tomorrow’s new documentary, Obama at War.

Did Obama have second thoughts?

But as FRONTLINE details in the below excerpt from Obama at War, the president had second thoughts.

Did Obama seek airstrike authorization?

As the documentary details, wary of involving America in a potentially long-term military engagement, Obama decided to seek airstrike authorization from a Congress he knew to be opposed rather than proceed with his initial plan.

What was Obama trying to do in 2010?

In the summer of 2010, for example, Obama tried to pass a comprehensive cap-and-trade bill to combat climate change. It failed miserably, and after that, climate change legislation “fell off the political radar,” according to Meg Jacobs.

What happened to Obama in 2010?

By 2010 Obama’s fate was sealed. In the midterm elections, Republicans ran on the slow recovery, the perception that the stimulus package favored Wall Street, not Main Street, and the Democrats’ tone-deaf obsession with the health care bill. They easily took control of the House, picking up sixty-three seats—the biggest midterm election gains for the out party since 1938. And from then on, the Obama presidency struggled under a radicalized Republican Party. As Paul Starr writes in the collection, “Obama repeatedly chose substance over politics, which hardly seems like a fault in a president—except that the failure to get credit later limited what he was able to do.”

How many seats did Obama take in the House?

They easily took control of the House, picking up sixty-three seats—the biggest midterm election gains for the out party since 1938. And from then on, the Obama presidency struggled under a radicalized Republican Party.

What is Obama's legacy?

With only one major legislative achievement (Obamacare)—and a fragile one at that—the legacy of Obama’s presidency mainly rests on its tremendous symbolic importance and the fate of a patchwork of executive actions. How much of that was due to fate and how much was due to Obama’s own shortcomings as a politician is up for debate ...

What is meaningful sustained progress on policy?

Meaningful, sustained progress on policy requires some continuity in the political base. Rather than remake the Democratic Party from top to bottom, Obama opted to focus his political hopes on the continued success of his campaign, Obama for America.

What was Obama's most significant executive action?

Obama’s most significant executive action came as the result of his failure to pass comprehensive immigration reform. As Sarah R. Coleman notes, “In the summer of 2012, under pressure from party activists to show some effort on immigration reform before the November election and unable to rise above the partisanship that dominated Washington as he had hoped, President Obama turned to his executive powers and announced the creation of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.” But again we see the weakness of executive action. As Coleman concludes, “President Obama ends his two terms with few successes and a mixed legacy on immigration and refugee policy.”

How can a president forge a legacy?

politics: accomplish things with bipartisan support, or nurture his political party so that people are elected who will carry on and protect his accomplishments. Obama’s legacy is in trouble because he did neither. For him, the first path was difficult—and some would say impossible. He faced a Republican Party controlled by extremists determined to undermine him at all costs. “It’s one of the few regrets of my presidency,” he said in his last State of the Union address, “that the rancor and suspicion between the parties has gotten worse instead of better. There’s no doubt a president with the gifts of Lincoln or Roosevelt might have better bridged the divide, and I guarantee I’ll keep trying to be better so long as I hold this office.”

When did the Pentagon return to its pre-2016 policy?

A month after the 140-character decree, Trump signed a memo formally directing the Pentagon to return to its pre-2016 policy by March 2018. "Further study" was needed, he said, to ensure transgender inclusion "would not hinder military effectiveness and lethality, disrupt unit cohesion, or tax military resources.".

When did Trump rescind the DACA?

On September 17, 2017 President Trump announced he was rescinding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, an Obama-era policy that granted legal status to “Dreamers,” childhood immigrants who were brought to the U.S. illegally and by no choice of their own.

What is the tax cut and reform bill?

President Donald Trump signs the Tax Cut and Reform Bill, a $1.5 trillion tax overhaul package, into law in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., Dec. 22, 2017.

What chemicals did Obama ban?

Under Obama, the agency proposed their plan to ban the chemicals, TCE, NMP, and methylene chloride, just a day before Trump took office. The Trump White House later reclassified the proposed rule as "long term," delaying adoption indefinitely.

Did the Affordable Care Act get scrapped?

But after intense, months-long debate, the Republican Congress failed to scrap the Affordable Care Act in its entirety, burning precious legislative time along the way. The president did manage by the end of the year to deal the law a devastating blow within the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which included a measure that did away with ...

Is Obamacare repealed?

After signing the tax bill into law the president erroneously claimed it "essentially repealed Obamacare.”. In fact, the healthcare law, however wounded, remains in place. Several popular provisions, like the prohibition against discriminating against pre-existing conditions and the medicare expansion, remain in effect.

What was the election of Barack Obama?

Many hailed the election of the first African-American president as evidence of a turning point in race relations in the United States. As part of the 2008 TFS, students were asked if they agreed with the following statement: Racial discrimination is no longer a major problem in America. Overall, only 20.1% of students agreed or strongly agreed that racial discrimination was no longer a problem. However, when examining differences in views by race, 22.1% of white students agreed or strongly agreed while 13.3% of black students agreed or strongly agreed. Thus, shortly before Barack Obama’s election as president, black students still were much more likely to feel that racial discrimination was a problem in America compared to their white peers. It is important to note that the TFS was administered and closed before the election took place.

What percentage of students agreed that racial discrimination was no longer a problem?

Overall, only 20.1% of students agreed or strongly agreed that racial discrimination was no longer a problem.

What were the college goals in 2007?

The top three goals in 2007 and 2008 were the same: “raising a family”, “being well of financially”, and “helping others who are in difficulty” (See Figure 1). There was a 3.7 percentage point increase in students reporting it was essential to be well off financially. On the other hand, there was a 0.6 percentage point decrease in students saying that raising a family was an “essential” goal for them. More than one-quarter of incoming students indicated that helping others in need was an “essential” goal. In sum, the overall trend of college goals was not affected, but we do see a slight bump in the proportion of students placing greater importance on being well off financially.

How did the endowment crisis affect higher education?

The impact of the crisis was felt in higher education. Endowment values decreased substantially, students’ ability to afford college was hampered as home values dropped, and many colleges tightened budgets by asking faculty and staff to reduce salaries , lay off personnel, or cut academic programs.

What happened in 2008?

In 2008, great changes occurred in the United States and globally, including the election of Barack Obama and the Great Recession. Most of the media attention regarding the great recession did not begin in earnest until the fall of 2008. There were several events that led to the financial crisis. The Federal Reserve continued lowering interest ...