Top 10 democratic accomplishments during the 111th congress

[CRAZYDOLFAN305]

During the past two years, President Obama and Congressional Democrats have been fighting hard on behalf of the American people. Working to secure economic stability, fairness, and opportunity and overcoming challenges largely inherited when President Obama took office.

As 2010 and the 111th Congress near a close, Democrats can reflect on the past two years with pride. In keeping with America’s age-old, year-end tradition to list the “best of,” today’s post marks the first in a series of year-end superlatives.

Due to the vigorous productivity of the 111th Congress, this list is not comprehensive and may differ for different people – this is only one version.

Without further ado, Democrats' Top 10 Accomplishments of the past two years.

10. Passing Credit Card Reform (CARD Act)
Protects Americans from unfair and misleading credit card practices

9. Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act
Ensures that all workers in America are paid what they deserve, regardless of race, gender, or age

8. Supreme Court Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan
President Obama nominated and the Senate confirmed Associate Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court

7. Student Loan Reform
Helps make college more affordable for students and families

6. Wall Street Reform
Holds Wall Street accountable, ends "too big to fail" bailouts, and enacts the strongest consumer protections in history

5. The New START Treaty
Keeps America safe and strengthens our global leadership on nuclear weapons issues

4. ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Repeal
Ends the discriminatory policy preventing gays and lesbians from serving in America’s armed forces

3. Ending combat operations in Iraq
Effectively ends Operation Iraqi Freedom and withdraws 100,000 troops

2. The Recovery Act
Saves and creates millions of jobs, investing unprecedented resources in building a new foundation for our country, and preventing a second Great Depression

1. The Affordable Care Act
Reforms our country’s broken health care system by holding insurance companies accountable, lowering costs, ensuring greater choice, and improving the quality of care for all Americans
America is making steady progress toward recovery. Although our country still has a long way to go, President Obama and Democrats in the 111th Congress have enacted essential changes that pulled America from the brink of economic and financial meltdown and invested in a new economic foundation for the long run.

[Tetragrammaton]

The health care bill and the Supreme Court Justices are negatives, not positives. The Iraq withdrawal was in place from the Bush Administration before Obama was elected.

[CRAZYDOLFAN305]

The health care bill and the Supreme Court Justices are negatives, not positives. The Iraq withdrawal was in place from the Bush Administration before Obama was elected.

Of course they are. But Mc Cain said if he won we would have remain in Iraq for 100 years, and Mitt said he didn't agree with ending the war.

And mandating healthcare for all is a negative? Really, So I guess Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Car Insurance. and a slew of other thing are negative as well.

1) Access to health insurance for 30 million Americans and lower premiums. More than 30 million uninsured Americans will find coverage under the law. Middle-class families who buy health care coverage through the exchanges will be eligible for refundable and advanceable premium credits and cost-sharing subsidies to ensure that the coverage they have is affordable.

2) The ability of businesses and individuals to purchase comprehensive coverage from a regulated marketplace. The law creates new marketplaces for individuals and small businesses to compare and purchase comprehensive coverage. Insurers will have to meet quality measures to ensure that Americans can access comprehensive coverage when they need it.

3) Insurers’ inability to discriminate against people with pre-existing conditions. Beginning in 2014, insurers can no longer deny insurance to families or individuals with pre-existing conditions. Insurers are also prohibited from placing lifetime limits on the dollar value of coverage and rescinding insurers except in cases of fraud. Insurers are already prohibited from discriminating against children with pre-existing conditions.

4) Tax credits for small businesses that offer insurance. Small employers that purchase health insurance for employees are already receiving tax credits to encourage them to continue providing coverage.

5) Assistance for businesses that provide health benefits to early retirees.The law created a temporary reinsurance program for employers providing health insurance coverage to retirees over age 55 who are not eligible for Medicare, reimbursing employers or insurers for 80% of retiree claims. The program has offered at least $4.73 billion in reinsurance payments to more than 2,800 employers and other sponsors of retiree plans, with an average cumulative reimbursement per plan sponsor of approximately $189,700.

6) Affordable health care for lower-income Americans. Obamacare extends Medicaid to individuals with incomes up to 138% of the federal poverty line, guaranteeing that the nation’ most vulnerable population has access to affordable, comprehensive coverage.

7) Investments in women’s health. Obamacare prohibits insurers from charging women substantially more than men and requires insurers to offer preventive services — including contraception — at no additional cost.

8) Young adults’ ability to stay on their parents’ health care plans. More than 3.1 million young people have already benefited from dependent coverage, which allows children up to age 26 to remain insured on their parents’ plans.

9) Discounts for seniors on brand-name drugs. Pharmaceutical manufacturers are required to provide a 50% discount on prescriptions filled in the Medicare Part D coverage gap. Seniors have already saved $3.5 billion on prescription drug costs thanks to the Affordable Care Act provision.

10) Temporary coverage for the sickest Americans. The law established temporary national high-risk pools that are providing health coverage to individuals with pre-existing medical conditions who cannot find insurance on the individual market. In 2014, they will be able to enroll in insurance through the exchanges. 67,482 individuals have already benefited from the program.

It's working so well in MA that 98% of their residents are insure.

If you make $45,501 or more and don't purchase health insurance, than you are asses a tax of $695 which is less then 10 Minutes in the ER. If you make less then that, you have access to subsidies to help you get health insurance which is probably the most important thing that you need in YOUR LIFE.

Conservatives love talking about self responsibility, they pick on welfare recipients for being lazy, food stamps, don't take my money to give to somebody else, yayayayayada. But they see a problem with paying for their own healthcare, which we all have to pay for if they visit the Emergency Room, which was a mandate on hospitals by Ronald Reagan. SMDH. You people..

[JackFinfan]

Of course they are. But Mc Cain said if he won we would have remain in Iraq for 100 years, and Mitt said he didn't agree with ending the war.

And mandating healthcare for all is a negative? Really, So I guess Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Car Insurance. and a slew of other thing are negative as well.

1) Access to health insurance for 30 million Americans and lower premiums. More than 30 million uninsured Americans will find coverage under the law. Middle-class families who buy health care coverage through the exchanges will be eligible for refundable and advanceable premium credits and cost-sharing subsidies to ensure that the coverage they have is affordable.

2) The ability of businesses and individuals to purchase comprehensive coverage from a regulated marketplace. The law creates new marketplaces for individuals and small businesses to compare and purchase comprehensive coverage. Insurers will have to meet quality measures to ensure that Americans can access comprehensive coverage when they need it.

3) Insurers’ inability to discriminate against people with pre-existing conditions. Beginning in 2014, insurers can no longer deny insurance to families or individuals with pre-existing conditions. Insurers are also prohibited from placing lifetime limits on the dollar value of coverage and rescinding insurers except in cases of fraud. Insurers are already prohibited from discriminating against children with pre-existing conditions.

4) Tax credits for small businesses that offer insurance. Small employers that purchase health insurance for employees are already receiving tax credits to encourage them to continue providing coverage.

5) Assistance for businesses that provide health benefits to early retirees.The law created a temporary reinsurance program for employers providing health insurance coverage to retirees over age 55 who are not eligible for Medicare, reimbursing employers or insurers for 80% of retiree claims. The program has offered at least $4.73 billion in reinsurance payments to more than 2,800 employers and other sponsors of retiree plans, with an average cumulative reimbursement per plan sponsor of approximately $189,700.

6) Affordable health care for lower-income Americans. Obamacare extends Medicaid to individuals with incomes up to 138% of the federal poverty line, guaranteeing that the nation’ most vulnerable population has access to affordable, comprehensive coverage.

7) Investments in women’s health. Obamacare prohibits insurers from charging women substantially more than men and requires insurers to offer preventive services — including contraception — at no additional cost.

8) Young adults’ ability to stay on their parents’ health care plans. More than 3.1 million young people have already benefited from dependent coverage, which allows children up to age 26 to remain insured on their parents’ plans.

9) Discounts for seniors on brand-name drugs. Pharmaceutical manufacturers are required to provide a 50% discount on prescriptions filled in the Medicare Part D coverage gap. Seniors have already saved $3.5 billion on prescription drug costs thanks to the Affordable Care Act provision.

10) Temporary coverage for the sickest Americans. The law established temporary national high-risk pools that are providing health coverage to individuals with pre-existing medical conditions who cannot find insurance on the individual market. In 2014, they will be able to enroll in insurance through the exchanges. 67,482 individuals have already benefited from the program.

It's working so well in MA that 98% of their residents are insure.

If you make $45,501 or more and don't purchase health insurance, than you are asses a tax of $695 which is less then 10 Minutes in the ER. If you make less then that, you have access to subsidies to help you get health insurance which is probably the most important thing that you need in YOUR LIFE.

Conservatives love talking about self responsibility, they pick on welfare recipients for being lazy, food stamps, don't take my money to give to somebody else, yayayayayada. But they see a problem with paying for their own healthcare, which we all have to pay for if they visit the Emergency Room, which was a mandate on hospitals by Ronald Reagan. SMDH. You people..

Obama repeatedly said he was anti mandate, especially in the primaries. That was one of the big differences between the two. It would have been nice if he fought for a public option, and not this watered down republican idea.

[Dolphins9954]

The health care bill and the Supreme Court Justices are negatives, not positives. The Iraq withdrawal was in place from the Bush Administration before Obama was elected.

Bingo. People always seem to forget that. Then again the headlines of that day was Bush getting shoes thrown at him.