Change At A Glance
1/21/09
Obama Sent an Order Throughout the Federal Government to Compile Recommendations For An Open Government Directive On Transparency, Participation, And Collaboration In Government.
President Obama Overturned A Controversial Bush Executive Order Limiting Public Access To Presidential Records.
President Obama Signed a Memorandum on the Freedom of Information Act To Improve Responsiveness To FOIA Requests.
President Obama Issued an Executive Order Laying Out Stringent Ethics Rules For Presidential Appointees That Experts Said "Could Usher In An Era Of Openness In Federal Government."
1/22/09
President Obama Issued An Executive Order Requiring The Closure Of The Guantanamo Bay Detention Center Within One Year.
President Obama Named Former Sen. George Mitchell As Special Envoy To The Middle East And Former U.N. Ambassador Richard Holbrooke As Envoy To The Afghanistan-Pakistan Region.
President Obama Signed the Executive Order Creating a Special Task Force to Conduct a Review of Detainee Policies on January 22, 2009.
President Obama Signed An Executive Order Requiring That All Detainee Interrogations Comply With The Army Field Manual's Guidelines, Closure Of CIA Detention Facilities, And Prohibiting Reliance On Any Interrogation Policy Guidelines Issued During The Bush Administration.
1/26/09
President Obama Ordered New Federal Rules Directing Automakers To Start Making More Fuel-Efficient Cars And Ended Bush-Era Policy Of Blocking States From Imposing Tougher Auto Emissions Standards.
1/29/09
President Obama Signed The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, Restoring Basic Protections Against Pay Discrimination For Women And Other Workers.
1/30/09
President Obama Signed an Executive Order on Economy in Government Contracting to Fight Waste and Abuse.
2/04/09
President Obama Signed The SCHIP Reauthorization Bill, Providing Health Insurance Coverage for Four Million More Children.
2/10/09
Obama Administration Launched the Financial Stability Plan To Unclog The Nation's Credit System.
2/17/09
President Obama Signed The American Recovery And Reinvestment Act, Which Will Save or Create 3.5 Million Jobs Over The Next Two Years, Cut Taxes For Middle Class Families, And Make Historic Investments In Education, Clean Energy, Health Care And Infrastructure.
2/18/09
President Obama Launched The Making Home Affordable Plan, Which Will Help Up To 9 Million Homeowners Avoid Foreclosure.
2/27/09
President Obama Announced His Plan To Responsibly End The War In Iraq By August 2010.
3/04/09
President Obama Ordered An Overhaul Of Government Contracting Policies to Promote Competition and Curtail No-Bid Awards, and Endorsed a Bipartisan Effort to Reform Defense Procurement.
3/05/09
The President Held The White House Forum on Health Reform With Members of Congress And Stakeholders From All Sides Of The Issue, With Five Breakout Sessions Streamed Simultaneously to Provide Transparency.
3/09/09
Obama Signed A Presidential Memorandum Restoring Scientific Integrity and Issued an Executive Order Lifting Restrictions on Stem Cell Research.
3/10/09
President Obama Called For Comprehensive Education Reforms and Investment In A Major Policy Address to the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
3/16/09
President Obama Launched Plan To Boost Lending To Small Businesses During The Economic Crisis.
3/18/09
Obama Administration Ended "Stop-Loss" Practice That Requires Soldiers To Stay In The Military Beyond Their Service Obligation.
3/23/09
The President and Secretary Geithner Announced the Details of the Financial Stability Plan on March 23, 2009.
3/24/09
DOJ And DHS Launched New Plan To Combat Drug-Related Violence Along The U.S.-Mexico Border.
3/26/09
President Obama Held the First Ever Online Townhall From The White House, Answering Top Questions Submitted And Voted On By The Public.
3/27/09
President Obama Gave His Speech Announcing the New Strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan.
3/30/09
President Obama Signed Into Law The Most Significant Conservation Legislation In Fifteen Years, the Omnibus Lands Act.
4/04/09
NATO Allies Strongly Endorsed President Obama's Plan For Afghanistan And Pledged To Send Thousands Of Soldiers And Police To Train Afghan Army And Police Forces.
4/01/09
President Obama And Russian President Dmitry Medvedev Held Meeting That Produced Joint Statements Pledging Cooperation On A Range Of Issues, Including Iran's Nuclear Program And Negotiations On A New Strategic Arms Control Treaty.
4/02/09
President Obama Played Lead Role In G-20 Summit That Produced A $1.1 Trillion Deal To Combat The Global Financial Crisis.
4/13/09
President Obama Lifted Travel And Gift Restrictions For Cuban Americans In The Most Significant Diplomatic Overture Towards Cuba In Decades.
4/17/09
EPA At Last Recognized That Greenhouse Gas Emissions Pose A Danger To The Public Health And Welfare And Proposed Regulation, Marking "A Major Shift In The Federal Government's Approach To Global Warming."
4/21/09
President Obama Signed The Serve America Act, Greatly Expanding Opportunities For Service And Issuing A Call For All Americans To Help Change Their Country Where Government Cannot.
4/24/09
President Obama Proposed Taking Banks Out As Middlemen In Student Lending To Save $50 Billion Over 10 Years.