In his second Inaugural Address, Barack Obama outlined several issues that he plans to focus on during his final term. Some other policy areas went largely unmentioned, but were first-term priorities that might receive more attention over the next four years. As a follow-up to a post from November, here’s a look at the President’s record on twelve key issues: what he’s said (featuring audio clips from his second Inaugural Address), what he’s accomplished so far, and what he might be planning. For further details, read Ryan Lizza’s 2012 inside account of the debates over the President’s second-term agenda.
What he’s said:
“I believe the United States has a unique responsibility to act—indeed, we have a moral obligation. I say this as President of the only nation ever to use nuclear weapons.”
March 26, 2012; Seoul, South Korea.
What he’s accomplished:
The Administration oversaw the ratification of a new Strategic Arms-Reduction Treaty with Russia in April, 2010, which will significantly reduce the number of deployed strategic weapons. It coöperated with Israel in the development of Stuxnet, a computer virus aimed at sabotaging Iran’s nuclear program. The U.S. also led a coalition to initiate harsh sanctions against Iran in order to pressure the country to abandon its program. The President hosted the Nuclear Security Summit in April, 2010.
Possible second-term goal:
Ratify the 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty. Contain Iran’s nuclear program. Pressure China and Russia to more aggressively oppose Iran and North Korea’s nuclear programs.
What he’s said:
“We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations.”
January 21, 2013; second Inaugural Address, Washington, D.C.
What he’s accomplished:
After clinching the Democratic nomination for President in 2008, Obama declared that his victory marked “the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal.” During his first term, he strengthened fuel-efficiency standards and increased funding for energy-efficiency and alternative-energy projects through the stimulus. But his major climate legislation died in the Senate, and he has had few signature climate-change accomplishments since. After barely mentioning the issue during the 2012 campaign, he devoted significant attention to it in his second Inaugural Address.
Possible second-term goal:
Pass legislation that promotes clean energy, lowers carbon emissions, and reduces dependence on foreign fuels. Obama could also act unilaterally, through executive action, to shrink the federal government’s carbon footprint and strengthen the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to regulate power-plant emissions and home-appliance efficiency.
What he’s said:
“We must make the hard choices to reduce the cost of health care and the size of our deficit. But we reject the belief that America must choose between caring for the generation that built this country and investing in the generation that will build its future.”
January 21, 2013; second Inaugural Address, Washington, D.C.
What he’s accomplished:
The Budget Control Act, along with other legislation in 2011, trimmed $1.5 trillion off the ten-year deficit. The President signed the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 into law on January 2nd. The legislation increased the ten-year revenue forecast by $600 billion by allowing the Bush tax cuts to expire for the richest Americans. Along with other savings, the President’s first-term plan reduced the ten-year deficit by about $2.4 trillion.
Possible second-term goal:
Increase the ten-year deficit reduction to $4 trillion through further spending cuts and revenue increases. Strike deals with Republicans on budget sequestration in March and on the debt ceiling in May.
What he’s said:
“We will show the courage to try and resolve our differences with other nations peacefully—not because we are naïve about the dangers we face, but because engagement can more durably lift suspicion and fear.”
January 21, 2013; second Inaugural Address, Washington, D.C.
What he’s accomplished:
Several Al Qaeda leaders, including Osama bin Laden, have been eliminated. The U.S. supported rebel forces in Libya, helping to end the rule of Muammar Qaddafi. The war in Iraq came to an official end in December, 2011. In Afghanistan, the American presence ramped up in 2009, followed by a drawdown in 2011, and the President is contemplating a plan to have no troops left in the country after 2014. The U.S. also strengthened economic and military ties with several Southeast Asian countries.
Possible second-term goal:
End the American troop presence in Afghanistan. Renew a push for peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Focus on evolving relations with China. Provide additional foreign aid for developing nations.
What he’s said:
“We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths—that all of us are created equal—is the star that guides us still; just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall…. Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law—for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well.”
January 21, 2013; second Inaugural Address, Washington, D.C.
What he’s accomplished:
In 2010, the President won passage of a law repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (the policy officially ended in 2011). In 2012, he publicly announced his support for gay marriage.
Possible second-term goal:
Pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which would make it illegal to discriminate in hiring and employment because of sexual orientation. (The bill has been stuck in Congress since 1994.) End the Defense of Marriage Act, which was enacted in 1996 and officially defines marriage as between one man and one woman. (The Administration is not defending DOMA against Court challenges. The Supreme Court will rule on its constitutionality in 2013, a year that will also see a decision on California’s Proposition 8.)
What he’s said:
“It is now our generation’s task to carry on what those pioneers began. For our journey is not complete until our wives, our mothers, and daughters can earn a living equal to their efforts.”
January 21, 2013; second Inaugural Address, Washington, D.C.
What he’s accomplished:
The first bill that President Obama signed into law was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which expanded the statue of limitations under which pay-discrimination lawsuits can be filed. Formerly, it was a hundred and eighty days after the first paycheck. Now it resets with every new paycheck. On January 23rd, the Pentagon lifted a 1994 ban on women in combat.
Possible second-term goal:
Pass the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would make it easier to prove pay discrimination in court. Republican opposition in the Senate has defeated the bill twice, in 2010 and 2012.
What he’s said:
“Our journey is not complete until all our children, from the streets of Detroit to the hills of Appalachia to the quiet lanes of Newtown, know that they are cared for, and cherished, and always safe from harm.”
January 21, 2013; second Inaugural Address, Washington, D.C.
What he’s accomplished:
During his first term, Obama mostly avoided addressing gun control, but did sign bills into law that allowed permitted guns in checked baggage on Amtrak and loaded firearms in some national parks. On January 16th, a little over a month after the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School, in Newtown, Connecticut, the President unveiled a new plan for gun control involving bans on military-style assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, and enhanced background checks and anti-trafficking laws. The plan includes four legislative proposals and twenty-three executive orders.
Possible second-term goal:
Ensure the passage of his proposals that require Congressional action, namely an assault-weapons ban, a ban on magazines containing more than ten rounds, and a strengthened background-check system.
What he’s said:
“We need to do everything in our power to repair the damage and make responsible families whole again. Everything we can.”
February 1, 2012; Virginia.
What he’s accomplished:
The Administration announced the Home Affordable Refinance Program in March, 2009, a seventy-five-billion-dollar plan to help homeowners with government-backed mortgages. Despite the big price tag, the program fell well short of its goals and has been widely derided as a failure. In his 2012 State of the Union address, the President proposed a new program to help homeowners with their mortgages, but it never made it through Congress.
Possible second-term goal:
Bring down the seven hundred billion dollars in negative equity held by homeowners who are stuck in houses worth less than their mortgages. Reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. If the housing market strengthens, gradually draw back government involvement.
What he’s said:
“Our journey is not complete until we find a better way to welcome the striving, hopeful immigrants who still see America as a land of opportunity; until bright young students and engineers are enlisted in our workforce rather than expelled from our country.”
January 21, 2013; second Inaugural Address, Washington, D.C.
What he’s accomplished:
More resources than ever have been dedicated to securing the nation’s land borders, and the Administration has achieved record-breaking immigration-enforcement statistics. Meanwhile, states like Arizona have passed their own laws, claiming that the federal government has not done enough (portions of Arizona’s law was later struck down by the Supreme Court). In June, 2012, the Administration enforced an executive order that halted deportations for young undocumented immigrants. Earlier this January, the White House signalled that immigration reform would be a top priority for 2013.
Possible second-term goal:
Make a deal with Republicans on a comprehensive immigration bill that includes a path to legalization for most of the eleven million illegal immigrants in the U.S.
What he’s said:
“No single person can train all the math and science teachers we’ll need to equip our children for the future, or build the roads and networks and research labs that will bring new jobs and businesses to our shores. Now, more than ever, we must do these things together, as one nation, and one people.”
January 21, 2013; second Inaugural Address, Washington, D.C.
What he’s accomplished:
The 2009 stimulus included billions of dollars for infrastructure projects, including $27.5 billion for highways and bridges, $9.3 billion for high-speed rail and Amtrak, and $11 billion for modernizing the electric grid. However, Obama was disappointed that the stimulus did not include a project on the scale of the Hoover Dam or the Interstate Highway System. In his 2011 legislative proposal, the American Jobs Act, Obama pressed for another $50 billion in spending for transportation infrastructure, but the bill died in Congress. The President tried to work infrastructure spending into the fiscal-cliff negotiations at the end of 2012, once again to no avail.
Possible second-term goal:
Spend an extra $150 billion on infrastructure, including a signature project, and reform the process by which projects are awarded.
What he’s said:
“We understand that outworn programs are inadequate to the needs of our time. We must harness new ideas and technology to remake our government, revamp our tax code, reform our schools, and empower our citizens with the skills they need to work harder, learn more, and reach higher.”
January 21, 2013; second Inaugural Address, Washington, D.C.
What he’s accomplished:
The 2009 stimulus allotted billions of dollars for tax cuts and tax incentives for individuals and businesses. In 2010, Obama compromised with Congress and extended the Bush tax cuts for two years. In January, Obama worked with Congress to make most of the Bush tax cuts permanent, except for the wealthiest Americans. However, this deal also allowed the payroll-tax holiday to expire.
Possible second-term goal:
Reform the tax code and pass further revenue increases as part of a larger deficit reduction deal.
What he’s said:
“Our journey is not complete until no citizen is forced to wait for hours to exercise the right to vote.”
January 21, 2013; second Inaugural Address, Washington, D.C.
What he’s accomplished:
The Administration has fought legal battles blocking or postponing implementation of voter I.D. laws in several states.
Possible second-term goal:
Promote reforms that expand early voting and reduce lines on Election Day. Push for same-day voter registration and automatic voter registration by the government. Implement national standards for the counting of provisional ballots.
Photograph by Win McNamee/Getty.
