27 .
Achieved New START Treaty :
Signed with Russia ( 2010 ) and won ratification in Congress ( 2011 ) of treaty that limits each country to 1,550 strategic warheads ( down from 2,200 ) and 700 launchers ( down from more than 1,400 ), and reestablished and strengthened a monitoring and transparency program that had lapsed in 2009 , through which each country can monitor the other .
28 .
Expanded National Service :
Signed Serve America Act in 2009 , which authorized a tripling of the size of AmeriCorps . Program grew 13 percent to 85,000 members across the country by 2012 , when new House GOP majority refused to appropriate more funds for further expansion .
29 .
Expanded Wilderness and Watershed Protection :
Signed Omnibus Public Lands Management Act ( 2009 ), which designated more than 2 million acres as wilderness , created thousands of miles of recreational and historic trails , and protected more than 1,000 miles of rivers .
30 .
Gave the FDA Power to Regulate Tobacco :
Signed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act ( 2009 ). Nine years in the making and long resisted by the tobacco industry , the law mandates that tobacco manufacturers disclose all ingredients , obtain FDA approval for new tobacco products , and expand the size and prominence of cigarette warning labels , and bans the sale of misleadingly labeled “ light ” cigarette brands and tobacco sponsorship of entertainment events .
President Barack Obama waits with Sergeants at Arms and Members of Congress before entering the House Chamber to deliver the State of the Union address at the U . S . Capitol in Washington , D . C ., Jan . 28 , 2014 Standing with the President are , from left : Paul Irving , House Sergeant at Arms ; House Majority Leader Eric Cantor , R-Va .; Sen . John Thune , R-S . D .; and Terrance Gainer , Senate Sergeant at Arms .
Barack Obama A Great American President Daytona Beach , Florida May 2015
President Barack Obama delivers the State of the Union address in the House Chamber at the U . S . Capitol in Washington , D . C ., Jan . 28 , 2014 .
31 .
Pushed Federal Agencies to Be Green Leaders :
Issued executive order in 2009 requiring all federal agencies to make plans to soften their environmental impacts by 2020 . Goals include 30 percent reduction in fleet gasoline use , 26 percent boost in water efficiency , and sustainability requirements for 95 percent of all federal contracts . Because federal government is the country ’ s single biggest purchaser of goods and services , likely to have ripple effects throughout the economy for years to come .
32 .
Passed Fair Sentencing Act :
Signed 2010 legislation that reduces sentencing disparity between crack versus powder cocaine possessionfrom100 to1 to 18 to1 .
33 .
Trimmed and Reoriented Missile Defense :
Cut the Reagan-era “ Star Wars ” missile defense budget , saving $ 1.4 billion in 2010 , and canceled plans to station antiballistic missile systems in Poland and the Czech Republic in favor of sea-based defense plan focused on Iran and North Korea .
President Barack Obama passes an honor guard as he walks to Marine One at Caen-Carpiquet Airport for departure to Omaha Beach in Normandy , France , June 6 , 2014 .
34 .
Began Post-Post-9 / 11 Military Builddown :
After winning agreement from congressional Republicans and Democrats in summer 2011 budget deal to reduce projected defense spending by $ 450 billion , proposed new DoD budget this year with cuts of that size and a new national defense strategy that would shrink ground forces from 570,000 to 490,000 over the next ten years while increasing programs in intelligence gathering and cyberwarfare .
35 .
Let Space Shuttle Die / Killed Planned Moon Mission : Allowed the expensive ($ 1 billion per launch ), badly designed , dangerous shuttle program to make its final launch on July 8 , 2011 . Cut off funding for even more bloated and problem-plagued Bush-era Constellation program to
PROGRAM SUCCESS MAGAZINE PAGE : 19 | MAY 2015