President Barack Obama's Top Accomplishments for Texas

Thanks, Obama!

President Obama is in Austin, Texas this week to open up SXSW.

Austin has long been considered a "home away from home" for the President, ever since a February 2007 rally at Auditorium Shores that brought out 20,000 people. Since then, he's returned to Austin numerous times - to speak in front of the Texas Capitol, at the University of Texas at Austin, and even to enjoy some of Franklin's BBQ.

As he visits Texas again, we’ve put together a list showcasing some of the many great things he’s achieved during his time in office.

  1. Twenty Million Americans Have Health Coverage Thanks to the Affordable Care Act
    Twenty. Million. Thanks to President Obama, the uninsured rate is decreasing all over the country. In Texas over 1.7 million people have obtained coverage through the ACA, despite Republican opposition to the law.
  2. 14.3 Million Jobs in Six Years - The Longest Streak on Record
    Beyond saving the auto industry, Obama has overseen the creation of 5.6 million new jobs in the last two years - the most since 1999. Overall, there have been 65 consectuive months of private sector job growth.
  3. Promoted Equal Pay for Equal Work
    The first bill Obama signed into law was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which makes it easier to seek justice in cases of wage discrimination. He continues to call for the passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would further strengthen protections against wage discrimination.
  4. Bent the Curve on Climate Change
    Clean energy production has doubled, thanks to his strong support of renewable energy companies. We're on pace for historic CAFE standards - 54.5MPG by 2025. Obama helped put the climate back on the global agenda. And the rulemaking under the EPA has made him the #1 enemy of the coal industry.
  5. Immigration Reform - Creating DACA and DAPA
    When Congress refused to act, President Obama issued executive orders in 2012 and 2014 to create programs allowing undocumented children and parents to legally stay in America. To date, over 900,000 Texans have benefitted.
  6. Stood up for LGBTQ rights
    The repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell and the end of DOMA. An expansion of the definition of a hate crime to include crimes based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Time and again, President Obama has come through for the LGBTQ community.
  7. Appointed Two Amazing Supreme Court Justices
    Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan have helped safeguard progressive policies - including marriage equality and the ACA. They recently joined Justice Ginsberg in challenging HB2, demonstrating, once again, why courts matter. And if the American people had their way, he'd add a third justice to the Supreme Court.
  8. Helped Make Higher Education More Affordable
    President Obama has aggressively worked to reduce student loan debt, and has increased funding for Pell Grants by 70%.
  9. Support of Scientific Research
    From reversing the ban on stem cell research to making it easier to study medical marijuana, President Obama supports science - a trait that many GOP elected officials cannot say with a straight face.
  10. The Deficit Has Shrunk By $1 Trillion. That Is Not a Typo.
    From MSNBC: "As a percentage of the economy, the deficit is now down to just 2.5%, which is below the average of the past half-century, and down from 9.8% when the president took office.