President Barack Obama and President François Hollande of France walk together to the 70th French-American Commemoration D-Day Ceremony at the Normandy American Cemetery and
Memorial in Colleville-sur-Mer , France , June 6 , 2014 .
Barack Obama A Great American President Daytona Beach , Florida May 2015
President Barack Obama stops to talk with visiting school children outside the West Wing of the White House , April 29 , 2015 . The President was returning from a walk with Shanna Peeples , the
2015 National Teacher of the Year , when he met the children and their chaperones . build moon base in favor of support for private-sector lowearth orbit ventures , research on new rocket technologies for long-distance manned flight missions , and unmanned space exploration , including the largest interplanetary rover ever launched , which will investigate Mars ’ s potential to support life .
36 .
Invested Heavily in Renewable Technology :
As part of the 2009 stimulus , invested $ 90 billion , more than any previous administration , in research on smart grids , energy efficiency , electric cars , renewable electricity generation , cleaner coal , and biofuels .
37 .
Crafting Next-Generation School Tests :
Devoted $ 330 million in stimulus money to pay two consortia of states and universities to create competing versions of new K-12 student performance tests based on latest psychometric research . New tests could transform the learning environment in vast majority of public school classrooms beginning in 2014 .
38 .
Cracked Down on Bad For-Profit Colleges :
In effort to fight predatory practices of some for-profit colleges , Department of Education issued “ gainful employment ” regulations in 2011 cutting off commercially focused schools from federal student aid funding if more than 35 percent of former students aren ’ t paying off their loans and / or if the average former student spends more than 12 percent of his or her total earnings servicing student loans .
39 .
Improved School Nutrition :
In coordination with Michelle Obama , signed Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act in 2010 mandating $ 4.5 billion spending boost and higher nutritional and health standards for school lunches . New rules based on the law , released in January , double the amount of fruits and vegetables and require only whole grains in food served to students .
40 .
Expanded Hate Crimes Protections :
Signed Hate Crimes Prevention Act ( 2009 ), which expands existing hate crime protections to include crimes based on a victim ’ s sexual orientation , gender , or disability , in addition to race , color , religion , or national origin .
41 .
Avoided Scandal :
As of November 2011 , served longer than any president in decades without a scandal , as measured by the appearance of the word “ scandal ” ( or lack thereof ) on the front page of the Washington Post .
President Barack Obama talks with 4-H Science , Technology , Engineering and Math ( STEM ) students during their visit , with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack , to the Oval Office , April 13 2015 .
42 .
Brokered Agreement for Speedy Compensation to Victims of Gulf Oil Spill :
Though lacking statutory power to compel British Petroleum to act , used moral authority of his office to convince oil company to agree in 2010 to a $ 20 billion fund to compensate victims of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico ; $ 6.5 billion already paid out without lawsuits . By comparison , it took nearly two decades for plaintiffs in the Exxon Valdez Alaska oil spill case to receive $ 1.3 billion .
43 .
Created Recovery . gov :
Web site run by independent board of inspectors general looking for fraud and abuse in stimulus spending , provides public with detailed information on every contract funded by $ 787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act . Thanks partly to this transparency , board has uncovered very little fraud , and Web site has become national model : “ The stimulus has done more to promote transparency at almost all levels of government than any piece of legislation in recent memory ,” reports Governing magazine .
PROGRAM SUCCESS MAGAZINE PAGE : 20 | MAY 2015