List of Laws Passed by the 111th Congress and President Obama
We've been hearing that we have a "do nothing" Congress from the GOP for some time now (even as they have tried to obstruct most of the legislation passed).
Despite our disappointments, Democrats in the Congress and Obama have actually achieved quite a bit of change since 2008!
Below is a list of the 43 major laws passed so far in 2009-10 (excluding resolutions, appropriations bills and minor bills renaming post offices, etc.).
In just two years, we began health care reform, started an overhaul of the finance sector (credit cards, derivatives, banks), expanded FDA oversight to include tobacco, took back our national parks from mining and forestry, passed the first Iran sanctions since 2003 (Bush and Cheney opposed expanding Iran sanctions) and implemented programs to stimulate the economy and save jobs. We have more work to do, but that's a great deal to be proud of!
Did we get everything we had hoped? No, of course not with only 55 reliable Senate votes and a GOP that used the Filibuster more than any time in history.
I want us to do more to help our economy, fix health care and hold people accountable.
We've made a decent start, and if we don't get out there, we could lose much of what we have gained and lose our ability to improve on what we've started.
Don't let anyone take that progress away.
| CONGRESS | MAJOR BILLS PASSED |
| 111th (Dem House/Dem Senate/Dem Pres.) | 43 (with four months left) |
| 110th (Dem House/Dem Senate/GOP Pres.) | 30 |
| 109th (GOP House/GOP Senate/GOP Pres.) | 45 |
| Public Laws, 111th Congress (selected) |
| Banking and financial services regulation package | H.R.4173 | P.L.111-203 |
| Cash for clunkers | H.R.2346 | Title XIII, P.L.111-32 |
| Cash for clunkers, supplemental appropriations | H.R.3435 | P.L.111-47 |
| COBRA, extend benefits period; extend termination date eligibility to Feb. 28, 2010 | H.R.3326 | Div. B, P.L.111-118 |
| COBRA, extend benefits period; extend termination date of eligibility to Mar. 31, 2010 | H.R.4691 | Sec. 3, P.L.111-144 |
| COBRA, extend benefits period; extend termination date of eligibility to May 31, 2010 | H.R.4851 | Sec. 3, P.L.111-157 |
| Congressional pay raise, none for 2010 | H.R.1105 | Div. J, P.L.111-8 |
| Congressional pay raise, none for 2011 | H.R.5146 | P.L.111-165 |
| Credit card regulations, tighten | H.R.627 | P.L.111-24 |
| Debt limit, increase to 12.394 trillion | H.R.4314 | P.L.111-123 |
| Debt limit, increase to 14.294 trillion | H.J.Res.45 | P.L.111-139 |
| Deepwater Horizon oil spill, authorize advances from Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund (For additional oil spill legislation, see: Oil spills, liability and costs) |
S.3473 | P.L.111-191 |
| Derivatives, government regulation of over-the-counter markets | H.R.4173 | Title VII, P.L.111-203 |
| Digital TV, delay transition until June 12 | S.352 | P.L.111-4 |
| Economic Stimulus | H.R.1 | P.L.111-5 |
| Executive compensation, expand regulatory oversight | H.R.4173 | Title IX, P.L.111-203 |
| Haiti, accelerate income tax benefits | H.R.4462 | P.L.111-126 |
| Haiti, debt relief | H.R.4573 | P.L.111-158 |
| Haiti, increase emergency aid available to Americans returning after earthquake | S.2949 | P.L.111-127 |
| Hate crimes, expand federal definition to include gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and disability | H.R.2647 | Div. E, P.L.111-84 |
| Health care reform (Also included in: Reconciliation Act) |
H.R.3590 | P.L.111-148 |
| Homebuyer tax credit, extend and modify | H.R.3548 | Sec. 11-13, P.L.111-92 |
| Homebuyer tax credit, extend through Sept. 30, 2010 | H.R.5623 | P.L.111-198 |
| Iran, broad range of sanctions and penalties | H.R.2194 | P.L.111-195 |
| Jobs package | H.R.2847 | P.L.111-147 |
| Lands bill, omnibus | H.R.146 | P.L.111-11 |
| Medicare "doc fix", through Mar. 31, 2010 | H.R.4691 | Sec. 5, P.L.111-144 |
| Medicare "doc fix", through May 31, 2010 | H.R.4851 | Sec. 4, P.L.111-157 |
| Medicare "doc fix", through Nov. 30, 2010 | H.R.3962 | P.L.111-192 |
| Mortgages, allow bankruptcy judges to modify terms | S.896 | P.L.111-22 |
| National service, expand programs | H.R.1388 | P.L.111-13 |
| PATRIOT Act, extend certain provisions | H.R.3961 | P.L.111-141 |
| Reconciliation Act (SEE ALSO: Health care reform) |
H.R.4872 | P.L.111-152 |
| Student aid, modify loan programs (Included in: Reconciliation Act) |
H.R.4872 | Title II, P.L.111-152 |
| Tobacco, give FDA the authority to regulate | H.R.1256 | P.L.111-31 |
| Unemployment benefits, extend | H.R.3548 | P.L.111-92 |
| Unemployment benefits, extend to Feb. 28, 2010 | H.R.3326 | Div. B, P.L.111-118 |
| Unemployment benefits, extend to Apr. 05, 2010 | H.R.4691 | Sec. 2, P.L.111-144 |
| Unemployment benefits, extend to Jun. 02, 2010 | H.R.4851 | P.L.111-157 |
| Unemployment benefits, extend to Nov. 30, 2010 | H.R.4213 | P.L.111-205 |
source: US Senate website
first published by Andrew Lachman-California Democratic Party-Democratic National Committeeman