79 Days

Someone named Independentvoice wrote in today's Chicago Sun-times: President Obama’s Promises Kept: Reverse restrictions on stem cell research Extend unemployment insurance benefits and temporarily suspend taxes on these benefits Create a foreclosure prevention fund for homeowners Expand loan programs for small businesses Extend and index the 2007 Alternative Minimum Tax patch Expand eligibility for State Children's Health Insurance Fund (SCHIP) Expand funding to train primary care providers and public health practitioners Direct military leaders to end war in Iraq Send two additional brigades to Afghanistan Restore funding for the Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (Byrne/JAG) program Release presidential records Require new hires to sign a form affirming their hiring was not due to political affiliation or contributions. Remove more brush, small trees and vegetation that fuel wildfires Create a White House Office on Urban Policy Support increased funding for the NEA Work to overturn Ledbetter vs. Goodyear Ban lobbyist gifts to executive employees Weatherize 1 million homes per year Invest in all types of alternative energy Enact tax credit for consumers for plug-in hybrid cars Support high-speed rail Appoint at least one Republican to the cabinet Promises that he kept but offered a compromise: Eliminate capital gains taxes for small businesses and start-ups Expand the earned income tax credit Create a tax credit of $500 for workers Create the American Opportunity Tax Credit to offset college costs Set a three-month moratorium on foreclosures Earmark reform No family making less than $250,000 will see "any form of tax increase."-Cigarette tax for SCHIP Stalled Promises: End income tax for seniors making less than $50,000 Call for repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy Enact windfall profits tax for oil companies Allow penalty-free hardship withdrawals from retirement accounts in 2008 and 2009 Promises in the works: Increase the capital gains and dividends taxes for higher-income taxpayers Eliminate all oil and gas tax loopholes Extend child tax credits and marriage-penalty fixes Require automatic enrollment in 401(k) plans Require automatic enrollment in IRA plans Change standards for determining broadband access Create a $60 billion bank to fund roads and bridges Extend the Bush tax cuts for lower incomes Repeal the Bush tax cuts for higher incomes Phase out exemptions and deductions for higher earners Invest in electronic health information systems Implement and fund proven health intervention programs Eliminate the higher subsidies to Medicare Advantage plans Prevent drug companies from blocking generic drugs Double federal funding for cancer research Reduce the Veterans Benefits Administration claims backlog Launch a supportive services-housing program for veterans to prevent homelessness Begin removing combat brigades from Iraq Launch robust diplomatic effort with Iraq and its neighbors Increase the size of the Army and Marine Corps End the "Stop-Loss" program of forcing troops to stay in service beyond their expected commitments Set standards for when the government should hire defense contractors End the abuse of supplemental budgets for war Double U.S. spending on foreign aid to $50 Billion a year by 2012 End the use of torture End the use of extreme rendition Close the Guantanamo Bay Detention Center Develop an alternative to President Bush's Military Commissions Act on handling detainees Extend monitoring and verification provisions of the START I Treaty Develop a comprehensive cyber security and response strategy Increase the size of the Foreign Service Grant Americans unrestricted rights to visit family and send money to Cuba Expand Early Head Start and Head Start Reduce subsidies to private student lenders and protect student borrowers Expand Pell grants for low-income students Secure the borders Push for a college football playoff system Allow bankruptcy judges to modify terms of a home mortgage Appoint experienced disaster official to head FEMA Encourage community service through online outreach and social networking Expand broadband's reach Double federal funding for basic science research over 10 years Create White House performance team and chief performance officer Limit subsidies for agribusiness Appoint an American Indian policy adviser Create new financial regulations Pressure Sudan to end violence in Darfur Create 5 million "green" jobs Raise fuel economy standards Work with UN on climate change Create cap and trade system with interim goals to reduce global warming Require more energy-efficient appliances Reduce energy consumption in federal buildings Require federal fleet to be half hybrids or electrical cars Modernize the nation's electricity grid and use "smart grid" practices Modernize air traffic system Ensure that stem cell research is conducted ethically and with vigorous oversight Broken Promises: Allow five days of public comment before signing bills Tougher rules against revolving door for lobbyists and former officials Create a $3,000 tax credit for companies that add jobs Recognize the Armenian genocide There are over 400 promises that President Obama has not given any action to. But give him time, he has only been in office 79 days. You think so?