Obameter

Tracking Obama's promises

"Will restore the strength of the Superfund program by requiring polluters to pay for the cleanup of contaminated sites they created."

Will fully funding the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program "to combat crime and help address police brutality and accountability issues in local communities."

Will "repeal the Tiahrt Amendment and give police officers across the nation the tools they need to solve gun crimes and fight the illegal arms trade."

"Will further improve coordination between all levels of government, create better evacuation plan guidelines, ensure prompt federal assistance to emergency zones, and increase medical surge capacity."

Will sign into law the Responsible Fatherhood and Healthy Families Act "to remove some of the government penalties on married families, crack down on men avoiding child support payments, ensure that support payments go to families instead of state bureaucracies, fund support services for fathers and their families, and support domestic violence prevention efforts."

Will limit interest rates on payday loans to 36 percent "because predatory lending continues to be a major problem for low and middle income families alike. Obama also believes that we need to ensure that all Americans have access to clear and simplified information about loan fees, payments and penalties, which is why he'll require lenders to provide this information during the loan application process"...And he "will work to empower more Americans in the fight against predatory lending by supporting initiatives to improve financial literacy and financial planning."

"Will increase resources for the U.S. Department of Education's Arts Education Model Development and Dissemination Grants, which develop public/private partnerships between schools and arts organizations; also will engage the foundation and corporate community to increase support for public/private partnerships."

Will "support the creation of an "Artists Corps" of young artists trained to work in low-income schools and their communities.

"Will use the bully pulpit and the example he will set in the White House to promote the importance of arts and arts education in America."

Will "support increased funding for the National Endowment for the Arts, the support of which enriches schools and neighborhoods all across the nation and helps to promote the economic development of countless communities."

Will "improve and expand public-private partnerships to expand cultural and arts exchanges throughout the world."

"Will streamline the visa process to return America to its rightful place as the world's top destination for artists and art students."

Will "ensure tax fairness for artists" by supporting the Artist-Museum Partnership Act, introduced by Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. "The Act amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow artists to deduct the fair market value of their work, rather than just the costs of the materials, when they make charitable contributions."

Will re-establish an organizational authority in the federal government with a sufficiently broad mandate to oversee a comprehensive and integrated strategy and policy dealing with all aspects of the government's space-related programs, including those being managed by NASA, the Department of Defense, the National Reconnaissance Office, the Commerce Department, the Transportation Department, and other federal agencies. This Council reporting to the president "will oversee and coordinate civilian, military, commercial and national security space activities. It will solicit public participation, engage the international community, and work toward a 21st century vision of space that constantly pushes the envelope on new technologies as it pursues a balanced national portfolio that expands our reach into the heavens and improves life here on Earth."

Obama "supports congressional efforts to add at least one additional Space Shuttle flight to fly a valuable mission and to keep the workforce engaged. He will work to ensure there is adequate funding to support that additional flight so that it does not interfere with developing the Shuttle's successor."

"Will expedite the development of the Shuttle's successor systems for carrying Americans to space so we can minimize the gap. This will be difficult; underfunding by the Bush administration has left NASA with limited flexibility to accelerate the development of the new systems."

"Will stimulate efforts within the private sector to develop and demonstrate spaceflight capabilities."

"Will enlist international partners to provide International Space Station (ISS) cargo re-supply and eventually alternate means for sending crews to the ISS."

"Will enlist other federal agencies, industry and academia to develop innovative scientific and technological research projects on the International Space Station."

"Will use the ISS for fundamental biological and physical research to understand the effects of long-term space travel on human health and to test emerging technologies to enable such travel."