20 15 On August 3rd, Obama launched the ultimate clean power plan in the East Room of the White House, proposing that by 2030, the carbon emission target of power plants will be reduced by 32% compared with 2005. Compared with the draft plan issued by the US Environmental Protection Agency the year before last, it slightly raised the emission reduction standards, expanded the flexibility of state implementation plans, and increased the support for renewable energy. The White House believes that the new clean power plan will provide new impetus for the success of the Paris Climate Change Summit at the end of this year.
20 15, 1 1 year1October, Obama attended the Paris Climate Change Conference. At the summit, Obama tried to achieve substantial results in tackling climate change, so as to fulfill his election promise seven years ago and make relevant policies his political legacy. 65438+February 65438+March, 196 negotiators adopted the Paris Agreement, which lasted for 6 years. This agreement is regarded as the most important agreement reached by the international community in the field of dealing with global climate change after 1997 Kyoto Protocol, and will make arrangements for global actions to deal with climate change after 2020.
Beukes, a presidential historian at Rice University, said that Obama was the first president to establish "moral authority" on climate change. If Obama successfully promotes the climate agenda at home and abroad, climate policy will become the core and soul of his political legacy. From the beginning of his presidential campaign, Obama has always stressed the need to completely reform the medical system. After taking office, medical reform is regarded as one of the major projects of China's "New Deal". In the process of carrying out the reform, Obama learned the lessons of the failure of medical reform during Clinton's administration in the 1990s and adopted some new strategies.
Obama's health care reform plan should achieve three goals and provide more protection for those who already have insurance; Provide the uninsured with choices within their economic ability to pay; Alleviate the increase in expenses brought by the health care system to American families, businesses and governments.
20 10 on February 22nd, Obama announced the new medical reform plan. The new medical reform plan will make more than 3 1 10,000 uninsured Americans have medical insurance. The plan will reduce the U.S. government budget deficit by 10 billion dollars in the first 10 year, and by about 1 trillion dollars in the second10 year. On March 3, Obama announced the final version of the revised medical reform proposal. On March 23rd, Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
2065438+On June 25th, 2005, the Supreme Court of the United States decided to support Obama's health care bill by 6 votes to 3 votes. In announcing the ruling, Justice john roberts of the US Supreme Court said that the health care reform bill passed by Congress aims at improving the health insurance market, not destroying it. According to the Obamacare Reform Act passed on 20 10, each state can establish its own medical insurance trading platform or use the online medical insurance trading system provided by the federal government.
Health care reform has been a key policy since Obama took office. It was blocked by the party, and the Supreme Court rejected the legal challenge to the health care reform bill twice in three years, and successfully preserved this political legacy.
After the announcement of the Supreme Court ruling, Obama said in a speech at the White House that the ruling will allow the health care reform bill to continue and will help every ordinary American to obtain medical insurance, without making medical insurance a privilege for a few people.
According to the data of 20 15, * * 1 1.7 million people signed up for Obamacare reform. The number of people enrolled in the Medicaid program soared to 70 million, an increase of 20% since the middle of 20 13. The uninsured proportion of Americans has dropped to a historical low of 10%, and the growth of medical insurance price has slowed down, which shows the sustainability of medical reform. In March 2009, in his speech on education reform, Obama explained that the prosperity of the United States lies not in how much material wealth it has, but in a good education for future generations. He believes that education is "the root of American prosperity" and a prerequisite for success.
In education, Obama basically followed the existing education framework of the Bush administration, but put forward two new ideas, namely, the 0-to-5-year-old education plan and the American opportunity tax preferential plan. The former means that the federal government allocates US$ 654.38+000 billion each year to help states popularize preschool education and provide equal educational opportunities for all school-age children. The latter aims to reduce the tuition fees of college students and provide them with tuition subsidies, but the subsidized college students must engage in free community service as a condition. The Bush administration's education bill No child left behind act (20001year) has been improved in many aspects, emphasizing the link between students' education quality and teachers' performance, reforming the disadvantages of exam-oriented education, advocating that education subjects should be comprehensive, paying more attention to failed students and increasing education funds. Greatly reduce the influence of the federal government on school education policy, and hand over the right to formulate evaluation standards to state governments or local governments; He is not satisfied with the current situation of public schools, and asks the states to increase the funding for charter schools to support their development, but its effectiveness remains to be tested in time. The allocation of federal education funds will change from allocation according to evaluation criteria to competitive allocation. In addition, he believes that in order to improve the long-term competitiveness of the United States in the world, it is necessary to strengthen national education, improve the quality of school education, and take reducing the dropout rate of high school students as an important task of the country. Regarding the treatment of teachers, he advocated the implementation of performance-based pay system and proposed a preferential scheme to strengthen the employment, training, retention and reward of teachers.
On 20 15 12 10, Obama signed the Every Student Success Act (ESSA) at the White House, replacing the previous No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). Obama said that the new "every student succeeds" bill reduces the dependence on standardized tests and unified tasks, and ensures that the American education system is ready for every child's further study or employment after graduating from high school. The new law retains the basic examination requirements, but deletes the reward and punishment measures based on students' grades. The new bill is conducive to promoting the progress of the laggards and reducing the degree of "differentiation"; Adapting to different places, communities and schools will be more flexible; English learners will also have more projects and resources available. After Obama took office as president, he asked the CIA to make the pursuit of Osama bin Laden, the leader of Al Qaeda, a top priority.
20 11at the early morning of may 2130 (local time), Obama ordered navy seals to raid bin laden's residence and kill him, and seized a large number of important documents. After bin Laden was killed, Obama's popular support rate in the United States soared by 6 percentage points, but this phenomenon failed to last, but it gradually fell back. 20 15 On June 26th, the United States Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriage was constitutional by a vote of 5 to 4. Justice Kennedy, who supports same-sex marriage, wrote in his main opinion that marriage is the highest form of marriage between two people, which represents love, loyalty, dedication, sacrifice and family. The combination of same-sex couples will make them greater. He said that some people think that same-sex marriage is disrespectful to marriage. This concept is a misunderstanding, and same-sex couples respect marriage.
After the Supreme Court ruled, Obama called Ogfield and said, "I want to congratulate you. Your efforts have changed this country. " That night, the White House staged a rainbow light show to celebrate, and the Empire State Building in New York also lit up rainbow lights. Obama made a speech in the White House Rose Garden at noon that day and welcomed the ruling. Obama said that this ruling is not only a victory for Oberfer and other plaintiffs, but also a victory for all same-sex couples and their children, even for the United States. This has also become another victory of the Obama administration, and may have an impact on the Democratic candidates in the 20 16 US election. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton supported gay marriage rights in her official election speech on June 15.
According to the data of April 20 15 in Washington post, 6 1% of Americans support same-sex marriage. The Wall Street Journal believes that the development of technology, media and social networks, as well as the understanding of relatives and friends, have made Americans re-examine their attitudes towards homosexuality. On July 30th, 20 14, the US House of Representatives passed the bill with 225 votes in favor and 20 1 against, officially authorizing Speaker of the House of Representatives Boehner to file a lawsuit against President Obama for abusing administrative power.
On October 201411October 2 1, the speaker of the U.S. house of representatives announced that the Obama administration had "overstepped the power conferred by the constitution" in the process of implementing the health care reform bill, and the house of representatives had formally filed a lawsuit with the court. Boehner said that the House of Representatives formally sued the Obama administration in the federal court in Washington, D.C. that morning, and named Health and Human Services Secretary Burwell and Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew as defendants. The indictment lists "two charges", including the clause in the Obama administration's "twice postponing" health care reform bill that employers must buy medical insurance for employees, and the Obama administration's illegal use of federal account funds to pay $654.38+075 billion to insurance companies, both of which are "illegal". Bona said that this move is to defend the authority of the US Constitution, not out of one-party self-interest. Sasens, one of the sponsors of the bill and chairman of the House Law Committee, said that Obama "went too far" and ignored the constitutional requirements and selectively enforced the law.
Nancy pelosi, the minority leader of the House of Representatives, reacted strongly to this accusation. She said that the American people want Congress to help increase employment and support the middle class, but the Republican Party chooses to spend $500 an hour to sue the president, and the lawsuit will encounter "embarrassing failure." 20 15 12 18, the annual year-end press conference was held in the white house. In his New Year speech, US President Barack Obama vowed to solve the problem of gun violence in 20 16, and scheduled to summon Attorney General Lolita Lynch on the first day of the New Year on the 4th to discuss how to bypass Congress to deal with the thorny problem of gun violence.
On 20 16 1.5, US President Barack Obama held a press conference on gun control measures at the White House. Obama announced a series of gun control measures, hoping to curb the frequent gun violence crimes in the United States through administrative means. He also urged the US Congress to take measures to control guns. Obama announced that all gun sellers will be required to obtain business licenses and conduct background checks on gun buyers, otherwise they will be criminally punished. The US government will hire more inspectors to participate in the background investigation of gun buyers, increase 200 agents to strengthen the enforcement of laws and regulations related to gun safety, and invest 500 million US dollars in the treatment of mental illness. Obama said that the United States is the only developed country in the world with frequent gun violence cases. Every year, more than 30,000 people die under guns, so it is urgent to control guns. On the evening of 2065 438+06 65438+ 10/2, US President Barack Obama delivered his last State of the Union address during his presidency, which was also his seventh State of the Union address. Obama said that the foreign policy of the United States must focus on combating the threat of "Islamic State" and "Al Qaeda", but at the same time stressed that the United States should avoid becoming a "world policeman" and mobilize the forces of the world to cooperate.
In his speech, Obama said that the top priority of the US government is to protect the American people and crack down on terrorist networks. Both "Islamic State" and "Al Qaeda" directly threaten the security of the American people. He said that Islamic State (IS) extremists are "killers and extremists who must be eradicated, arrested and destroyed". 2015 On July 14, the six Iranian nuclear issues (the United States, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany) finally reached a historic agreement with Iran. After more than a year and a half of negotiations, the parties reached a political understanding to solve the Iranian nuclear issue that lasted for 12 years. Obama said that the achievement of the Iranian nuclear deal shows that diplomacy can bring about real change. He thanked Britain, France, Germany, Russia, China and the European Union for their efforts to reach an agreement, saying that the agreement stopped the proliferation of nuclear weapons in the region and made the world safer. This historic agreement has also become an important diplomatic legacy of Obama.
The agreement consists of a text and five technical annexes, covering nuclear, sanctions, civil nuclear energy cooperation, joint commission and implementation. The agreement will ensure that Iran's nuclear program is used for peaceful purposes, and Iran confirms that it will never seek to develop or acquire any nuclear weapons. Iran will ensure that the extraction amount of uranium enrichment is less than 300 kg, the extraction concentration is less than 3.67%, and the number of centrifuges will be reduced from about 19000 to 6 104. The agreement also includes lifting the sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council, multilateral and unilateral countries on the Iranian nuclear issue. After the implementation of the agreement, the arms embargo on Iraq will last for five years at the longest, and the ban on the transfer of ballistic missile technology to Iraq will be lifted after eight years at the latest. International inspectors cannot be arbitrarily authorized to inspect sensitive Iranian facilities, including military bases. Iran has the right to oppose the verification requirements of international inspectors, and an arbitration institution composed of Iran and six countries will make a ruling on relevant disputes.
According to the phased agreement reached between Iran and the six countries on the Iranian nuclear issue in 2065438+2003+065438+2004 10, Iran agreed to make a compromise on its nuclear program before 2065438+July 20, 2004, while western countries relaxed sanctions against Iraq accordingly, and all parties sought to reach a comprehensive agreement through negotiations. Due to serious differences, the two sides extended the negotiation period to 20 14 1 1 month, and then extended it to the end of June this year. On April 2 this year, the six countries and Iran reached a framework solution on the Iranian nuclear issue, which laid the foundation for the final comprehensive agreement. On March 10, 2009, the US Senate passed a bill on partially lifting the US sanctions against Cuba and revised the controversial embargo law against Cuba. In April of the same year, Obama announced a series of measures to relax restrictions on Cuba;
20 13 12 10, Obama attended Mandela's official memorial service in Johannesburg, South Africa, and shook hands with Cuban leader Raul Castro. This is the second time that leaders of the United States and Cuba have shaken hands for more than half a century.
20 14 12 17, the top leaders of the United States and Cuba made speeches respectively, announcing the start of consultations on the resumption of diplomatic relations between the two countries;
20 15 on may 29th, the State Council announced that Cuba would be removed from the blacklist of "countries supporting terrorism" with immediate effect.
2065438+On July 20, 2005, the United States and Cuba reopened their embassies in their capitals;
2065438+On August 14, 2005, Secretary of State Kerry visited Cuba, which was the first visit to Cuba by a US Secretary of State since 1945.
2015121kloc-0/The United States and Cuba announced the resumption of direct postal services between the two countries, which had been interrupted for more than half a century.
On February 20 1616, the United States and Cuba formally signed a commercial flight agreement between the two countries, allowing American airlines to open direct commercial flights to Cuba;
On the afternoon of March 20th, 20 16, the Obamas and their two daughters arrived in Havana, the capital of Cuba, by special plane, accompanied by US Secretary of State Kerry, four ministers, 23 parliamentarians and many entrepreneurs, for a three-day visit, becoming the first incumbent US president to visit Cuba since 1928. During this period, Obama visited the old city of Havana; Meeting with Jaime Ortega, Archbishop of Cuba; Laying a wreath at the statue of Cuban national hero Jose Marti; Held formal talks with Cuban leader Raul Castro at the Revolution Palace and attended a Cuban state banquet; Address the Cuban people at the Havana National Grand Theatre; Meeting with Cuban human rights activists and representatives of civil society at the US Embassy in Cuba; Watch the friendly match between the light baseball team in Tampa Bay, Florida, USA and the Cuban national baseball team. Obama called for reconciliation between the United States and Cuba, "letting go of the past and looking forward to the future." Obama's visit means "burying the last trace of the Cold War".