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PolitiFact has compiled more than 500 promises that Barack Obama made during the campaign and is tracking their progress on our Obameter.
We rate their status as Not Yet Rated, In the Works or Stalled. Once we find action is completed, we rate them Promise Kept, Compromise or Promise Broken.
The report card at right provides an up-to-the-minute tally of all the promises.
Other ways to browse the Obameter
Promises we’ve rated recently
No. 73: Allow Medicare to negotiate for cheaper drug prices
The Promise:
"Allow Medicare to negotiate for cheaper drug prices."
No. 68: Strengthen antitrust laws to prevent overcharging for malpractice insurance
The Promise:
"Strengthen antitrust laws to prevent insurers from overcharging physicians for their malpractice insurance."
No. 71: Allow imported prescription drugs
The Promise:
"Allow Americans to buy their medicines from other developed countries if the drugs are safe and prices are lower outside the U.S."
No. 65: Establish an independent health institute to provide accurate and objective information
The Promise:
"Establish an independent institute to guide reviews and research on comparative effectiveness to provide accurate and objective information."
Update April 8th, 2010:
Comparative effectiveness institute makes it into final health care bill
No. 515: No family making less than $250,000 will see "any form of tax increase."
The Promise:
"I can make a firm pledge. Under my plan, no family making less than $250,000 a year will see any form of tax increase. Not your income tax, not your payroll tax, not your capital gains taxes, not any of your taxes."
Update April 8th, 2010:
Smokers, tanning aficionados, the happily uninsured: More taxes coming at ya!
No. 70: Eliminate the higher subsidies to Medicare Advantage plans
The Promise:
"Eliminate the excessive subsidies to Medicare Advantage plans and pay them the same amount it would cost to treat the same patients under regular Medicare."
No. 55: Require large employers to contribute to a national health plan
The Promise:
"Large employers that do not offer meaningful coverage or make a meaningful contribution to the cost of quality health coverage for their employees will be required to contribute a percentage of payroll toward the costs of the national plan. Small businesses will be exempt from this requirement."
Update April 8th, 2010:
Health care law targets large employers with penalties if they don't offer insurance
No. 523: Invest $50 billion in auto manufacturing facilities for fuel efficient vehicles
The Promise:
Will provide "support to domestic automakers to invest $50 billion to retool their manufacturing facilities in America to produce [fuel efficient] vehicles."
No. 440: Reduce dependence on foreign oil
The Promise:
"Will cut U.S. oil consumption of foreign oil by 2.5 million barrels of oil per day, take 50 million cars worth of pollution off the road, and save American consumers more than $50 billion at the gas pump." [No time frame given for that statement]
No. 105: Increase the Veterans Administration budget to recruit and retain more mental health professionals
The Promise:
Increase "the VA budget to recruit and retain more mental health professionals."
No. 259: Reduce subsidies to private student lenders and protect student borrowers
The Promise:
Will "eliminate wasteful subsidies to private student lenders, which will save nearly $6 billion dollars per year, and invest the savings in additional student aid."
No. 449: Raise fuel economy standards
The Promise:
"Will increase fuel economy standards 4 percent per year ... ."
No. 275: Expand Pell grants for low-income students
The Promise:
"Will continue to work to ensure that the maximum Pell Grant award is increased for low-income students. Specifically, he will ensure that the award keeps pace with the rising cost of college inflation."
No. 197: Stand down nuclear forces to be reduced under the Moscow Treaty
The Promise:
Obama will "immediately stand down all nuclear forces to be reduced under the Moscow Treaty and urge Russia to do the same."
No. 195: Seek verifiable reductions in nuclear stockpiles
The Promise:
"Barack Obama and Joe Biden will seek deep, verifiable reductions in all U.S. and Russian nuclear weapons — whether deployed or non-deployed, whether strategic or non-strategic — and work with other nuclear powers to reduce global stockpiles dramatically by the end of an Obama presidency."
Obama’s To-Do ListHere’s a random sampling of five of Obama's 504 promises:
No. 67:
Implement and fund proven health intervention programs
No. 321:
Improve emergency response plans
No. 304:
Encourage videotaping of interrogations in capital cases
No. 286:
Secure the borders
No. 12:
Create an international tax haven watch list
We want to hear your suggestions and comments. For tips or comments on our campaign promise database, please e-mail the Obameter. If you are commenting on a specific promise, please include the promise number. For comments about our Truth-O-Meter or Flip-O-Meter items, please e-mail the Truth-O-Meter. We’re especially interested in seeing any chain e-mails you receive that you would like us to check out. If you send us a comment, we'll assume you don't mind us publishing it unless you tell us otherwise.
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