[Radar]

ECONOMY
Progress

• The President signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

• The President announced the "Making Home Affordable" home refinancing plan.
• The President launched a $15 billion plan to boost lending to small businesses.
• The President and Secretary Geithner announced the details of the Financial Stability Plan.
• President Obama played a lead role in G-20 Summit that produced a $1.1 trillion deal to combat the global financial crisis.
• The President signed the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act which gives the federal government more tools to investigate and prosecute fraud, from lending to the financial system, and creates a bipartisan Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission to investigate the financial practices that brought us to this point.
• The President signed the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act, expanding on the Making Home Affordable Program to help millions of Americans avoid preventable foreclosures, providing $2.2 billion to help combat homelessness , and helping to stabilize the housing market for everybody.

• The President signed the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure (CARD) Act to protect Americans from unfair and deceptive credit card practices.

DEFENSE
Progress

• Renewed dialogue with NATO and other allies and partners on strategic issues.

• Announced a plan to responsibly end the war in Iraq.
• Developed a comprehensive new strategy on Afghanistan and Pakistan and authorized deployment of more than 21,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan.
• Announced creation of a Joint Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record for members of the U.S. Armed Forces to improve quality of medical care.

DISABILITY
Progress


The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act included a number of provisions of particular concern to people with disabilities.

• The Act included $500 million to help the Social Security Administration reduce its backlog in processing disability applications.
• The Act supplied $12.2 billion in funding to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA);
• The Act also provided $87 billion to states to bolster their Medicaid programs during the downturn; and,
• The Act provided over $500 million in funding for vocational rehabilitation services to help with job training, education and placement.

CIVIL RIGHTS
Progress

• The President signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, restoring basic protections against pay discrimination for women and other workers.

EDUCATION
Progress
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act invested heavily in education both as a way to provide jobs now and lay the foundation for long-term prosperity.

• The Act includes $5 billion for early learning programs, including Head Start, Early Head Start, child care, and programs for children with special needs.
• The Act also provides $77 billion for reforms to strengthen elementary and secondary education, including $48.6 billion to stabilize state education budgets (of which $8.8 billion may be used for other government services) and to encourage states to:

• • Make improvements in teacher effectiveness and ensure that all schools have highly-qualified teachers;
  • Make progress toward college and career-ready standards and rigorous assessments that will improve both teaching and learning;
  • Improve achievement in low-performing schools, through intensive support and effective interventions; and
  • Gather information to improve student learning, teacher performance, and college and career readiness through enhanced data systems.

• The Act provides $5 billion in competitive funds to spur innovation and chart ambitious reform to close the achievement gap.
• The Act includes over $30 billion to address college affordability and improve access to higher education.