by, Tim Kaine
THIS has been an historic week for our nation.
In the face of unceasing Republican attacks and a united front of opposition, President Obama and Democrats in Congress have accomplished something that the American people have been waiting a century for—health insurance reform. Presidents since Teddy Roosevelt have tried and failed, and now President Obama has succeeded in signing this legislation into law—legislation that will deliver relief to millions of American families and businesses with far-reaching health reform.
As a result of health reform, every American will be able to get the care they need. Individuals and children with pre-existing conditions will no longer be denied insurance. Seniors will be able to purchase life-saving medications. Young adults will be able to obtain care through their parents’ insurance until age 26. And even as more Americans receive needed health insurance coverage, overall health care costs will come down – cutting expenses for families, businesses, and taxpayers, and reducing the deficit by over a trillion dollars over the next twenty years.
This is a monumental accomplishment. It is something that Americans have yearned for decades, and that leaders of both major political parties have advocated for, until this year. This historic legislation is further evidence of the change President Obama has been able to bring to our nation. When people look back at landmark legislation of the 20th and the 21st century, they will think of Social Security, Medicare—and now health reform. This accomplishment is truly a part of history.
You’d think that would have been enough. But for a President working hard to get us out of the worst recession in a generation, there was more to do. So after signing historic health reform legislation into law, President Obama offered hope to millions of American homeowners with a new plan to prevent unnecessary foreclosures.
As a result of new housing programs, as many as four million American families will have a second-chance to keep their homes.
Unemployed Americans can get temporary relief from burdensome mortgage payments. Underwater homeowners – Americans who owe more than their home is worth – can receive new loan modifications that will lower their payments to affordable levels.
But that still wasn’t all. Last week, the President injected new momentum into much-needed efforts to reform the way Wall Street does business. America is closer than ever to reigning in the type of risky, free-wheeling, anything goes type activity that bans and financial institutions participated in that nearly brought our economy to its knees. That regulation will help shield American families from risk-taking on Wall Street and ensure that the American people never again foot the bill for Wall Street gambles.
And yesterday, President Obama signed into law the most far reaching changes to our nation’s student loan system in more than 40 years, eliminating subsidies to banks to provide student loans and plowing the nearly $70 billion in savings into additional Pell Grants, investments in community colleges and deficit reduction. These reforms were opposed vigorously by Republicans who worked with banks to preserve their place as middlemen in an arrangement that only cost taxpayers and students more money. President Obama pledges to enact these reforms as a candidate and with the support of Congressional Democrats they are now the law of the land.
The results of those efforts are clear: American workers, families, and children are fundamentally better off today than they were just a week ago. Taken together, they are a giant leap forward for the American people. And they are examples of the kind of change President Obama and Democrats were elected to bring about.
All of this has been accomplished despite uniform, united obstruction from the Republican Party—obstruction that was planned even before President Obama was sworn in to office. Republicans have fought tooth and nail to block progress, and they made a conscious decision to stand with Wall Street banks and insurance companies instead of the American people.
Democrats, on the other hand, listened and took action.
We know we still have a long road ahead of us. Unemployment is still unacceptably high and many families are still suffering.
But the American people can be confident that Democrats will continue to stand up for those families and to move our country forward.
Voters wants leaders who get results instead of politicians who stand in the way of progress for short term political gain. And President Obama and Congressional Democrats are achieving those results in historic fashion. I’m confident that as voters continue to see that Democrats are governing and solving big problems and improving the lives of working families, we’ll continue to enjoy their support at the polls.
Tim Kaine is Chairman of the Democratic National Committee and the former Governor of Virginiahttp://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/politics/89965-democrats-the-party-of-actionhttp://www.democrats.org/
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