I'm taking it back!! Embracing an avatar.

WonderGrunion

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Mon Aug-09-10 07:28 AM
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I'm taking it back!! Embracing an avatar.

I’m proud to be a woodchuck. Pragmatic Democrats have been able to accomplish a huge number of positive changes to America under the stewardship of President Obama. He has restored my faith that government can be used to demonstrate how liberal values can restore hope to an America left in shambles by the Repukes.

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/promise/6/create-an-advanced-manufacturing-fund-to-invest-in/

White House provides funding for advanced manufacturing technologies
Updated: Friday, December 4th, 2009 | By Louis Jacobson
It goes by a different name, but the White House on Aug. 5, 2009, announced $2.4 billion in high-tech manufacturing grants that sound a lot like the "Advanced Manufacturing Fund" Barack Obama promised during the campaign. The grants are geared toward keeping American companies at the forefront of emerging manufacturing technologies.

The 48 grants announced in August, which were authorized under the economic stimulus package passed in February, will fund "the manufacturing and deployment of electric vehicles, batteries and components" in the United States, according to the White House. The winners were selected through "a highly competitive process by the Department of Energy" and represent "the single largest investment in advanced battery technology for hybrid and electric-drive vehicles ever made." The federal funds must be matched on a dollar-for-dollar basis by the recipients.

The grants include $1.5 billion for making batteries, battery components and expanding battery recycling capacity; $500 million for electric drive components for vehicles, including electric motors, power electronics and other drive train components; and $400 million to purchase thousands of plug-in hybrid and all-electric vehicles for test demonstrations, deployment, evaluation, and infrastructure installation, as well as work force training to support the shift to electric transportation systems.

We consider this a Promise Kept.

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/promise/16/increase-minority-access-to-capital/

Economic stimulus sends money to minority-owned business
Updated: Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009 | By Angie Drobnic Holan
The Small Business Administration is one of several federal agencies that has seen its mission expanded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Officials with the SBA said the stimulus has provided $14.7 billion in small business loans as of Nov. 13, 2009. Twenty percent of that has gone to minority-owned firms. (Just FYI, rural firms received 26 percent, women-owned firms received 19 percent and veteran-owned firms have received 9 percent.)

Additionally, on Aug. 18, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and Small Business administrator Karen Mills announced a public outreach to small businesses owned by minorities, women and veterans to tell them about contracts available through the economic stimulus. Officials said their goal was to host or participate in 200 events over 90 days to share information on government contracting opportunities.

This is not to say that advocates for minority-owned businesses are entirely pleased with the administration. Time magazine reported that in some cases, stimulus money is bypassing low-income communities and going to more affluent areas where there are fewer minority-owned businesses. The Obama administration has said it's working to make sure stimulus money goes to disadvantaged business enterprises.

Still, it's hard not to see the stimulus as increasing access to capital, and the Obama administration is specifically targeting minority-owned businesses. We rate it Promise Kept.

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/promise/17/require-economic-justification-for-tax-cuts/

Law sets rule to prevent tax dodges
Updated: Thursday, June 10th, 2010 | By Angie Drobnic Holan
It's called the "economic substance doctrine." What it means is that people aren't allowed to find creative ways to avoid paying their taxes.

Here's how the U.S. Treasury Department defines it: "The common-law 'economic substance' doctrine generally denies tax benefits from a transaction that does not meaningfully change a taxpayer’s economic position, other than tax consequences, even if the transaction literally satisfies the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code."

In practice, the economic substance doctrine applies in court cases when tax filers, usually companies, are being sued for tax evasion. Tax filers have to prove that financial transactions that appear to be simple tax dodges actually benefit them.

The measure is expected to generate a relatively small amount of new tax revenue, about $4.5 billion over 10 years, according to the the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation.

The economic substance doctrine was put into law as little-noticed part of the health care overhaul. We rate this Promise Kept.

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/promise/27/change-standards-for-determining-broadband-access/

Broadband map started
Updated: Tuesday, June 29th, 2010 | By Lukas Pleva
It's been over a year and a half since we last reviewed President Barack Obama's campaign pledge to direct the Federal Communications Commission to provide an accurate map of broadband availability. In January 2009, we rated the promise In the Works, since the stimulus bill that Congress was considering at the time included a proposal for a "comprehensive, nationwide broadband inventory map." Obama signed the stimulus into law on Feb. 17, 2010, so we wanted to see how things have unfolded since then.

It turns out that the FCC voted to change the standards for how broadband access is measured back in March 2008. Before then, 200 kilobits per second was considered "high speed." Following the vote, the low end for "basic broadband" is 768 Kbps. The FCC also now requires Internet service providers to report both the data upload and download speeds and the number of subscribers, among other detailed metrics.

The money that comes from the grants will be used for broadband data collection and mapping activities. "Awardees will collect and verify the availability, speed, and location of broadband across the state. This activity is to be conducted on a semi-annual basis in the next two years, with the data to be presented in a clear and accessible format to the public, government, and the research community," according to the NTIA. Ultimately, the government plans to compile all of the state-level data to create and publish a national map of broadband availability by Feb. 17, 2011.

Critics of the program charge that it's too expensive and that the federal government is already distributing grants for broadband expansion projects, despite the map not being scheduled for release until early next year. Still, President Obama promised to direct the creation of a broadband availability map under new standards. Our research shows that the project is well under way. We rate this Promise Kept.

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/promise/33/establish-a-credit-card-bill-of-rights/

Obama signs credit card bill of rights
Updated: Friday, May 22nd, 2009 | By Catharine Richert
On the campaign trail, President Barack Obama promised to clean up the credit card industry by establishing a consumers bill of rights. No more "any time, any reason" rate increases, no more confusing contracts, he said.

Once in office, Obama wasted little time weaving that promise into speeches and town hall meetings, saying that "it’s time for reform that is built on transparency, accountability, and mutual responsibility — values fundamental to the new foundation we seek to build for our economy." On April 23, 2009, he told credit card company executives that he was supporting the consumer credit card bill of rights already inching its way through Congress.

The bill passed and Obama signed it on May 22, 2009, despite worries from the banking industry that it would reduce credit availability during the economic crisis. In large part, the law fulfills Obama's campaign pledge: It prevents creditors from imposing arbitrary rate increases on customers, it prohibits most rate increases meant to penalize consumers for late payments on unrelated accounts, and it requires companies to post credit agreements on the Internet, among other things.

Obama promised voters a credit card bill of rights that prevents arbitrary rate hikes and makes contracts clear, and nearly every line of the new law matches Obama's pledge. Even though the law does not prohibit interest on fees, consumer advocates who have spent years lobbying on the issue say the bill represents a major step forward for consumers. As a result, we give Obama a Promise Kept.

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/promise/36/expand-loan-programs-for-small-businesses/

Obama announces incentives for small business loans
Updated: Wednesday, March 18th, 2009 | By Angie Drobnic Holan
President Obama gave small business some love when he announced he was expanding programs for the Small Business Administration on March 16, 2009.
"Our recovery in the present and our prosperity in the future depend upon the success of America's small businesses and entrepreneurs," he said.

The Obama administration announced it was increasing the amount it would guarantee to private lenders making loans under Small Business Administration (SBA) programs. Previously, the federal government would guarantee 85 percent for loans at or below $150,000 and up to 75 percent for larger loans. Under the new program, the government will guarantee up to 90 percent of all loans for a limited time.

Obama promised he would expand Small Business Administration loan programs. The SBA does not lend money directly, so these moves have the effect of expanding the program by increasing incentives for private lenders. These efforts are temporary, but Obama specifically said he would be outlining further steps on behalf of small businesses in the weeks and months ahead. For now, the Obameter moves to Promise Kept.

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/promise/40/extend-and-index-the-2007-alternative-minimum-tax-/

Alternative Minimum Tax patch is in the stimulus bill
Updated: Tuesday, February 17th, 2009 | By Angie Drobnic Holan
During the presidential campaign, Barack Obama and Republican nominee John McCain promised they would extend and index for inflation a "patch" to fix the Alternative Minimum Tax.

Commonly called the AMT, it is a separate income tax that was intended to ensure that wealthy people did not use loopholes to avoid paying taxes. If you reach a certain minimum income level, you have to pay this tax regardless of your deductions and exemptions.

The trouble is that the AMT, unlike the standard system, is not indexed for inflation. More and more people have hit the threshold, and when they do they end up paying higher taxes. Increasingly, the AMT is becoming a burden for the middle class.

During negotiations on the bill that would become The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the AMT patch was added in the Senate, where the bill needed Republican support to overcome a threat of filibuster. (Three Republican senators ultimately joined Democrats in voting for the bill.)
The AMT patch may not have been as high-profile as some of Obama's other promises, but he made the pledge, and it was in the bill. Promise Kept.

More at the following link: http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/