[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 145 (Tuesday, August 10, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E883-E884]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





          HONORING PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA ON HIS 60TH BIRTHDAY

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, August 10, 2021

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to one of 
the nation's greatest presidents, Barack Obama, who turns 60 years old. 
It is fitting and proper that we take a moment to recount and 
appreciate the extraordinary accomplishments of President Barack Obama, 
the 44th president and one of the singular figures in American history. 
Madam Speaker, I remember that cold morning of January 20, 2009, one of 
the coldest days on record in Washington, D.C. But it was nothing 
compared to the chill wind blowing through the American economy and 
body politic.
  The nation was facing economic challenges unseen since the Great 
Depression: Americans were losing their jobs at a frightening rate of 
800,000 per month; the national unemployment rate had risen to 7.8 
percent and would continue to climb until reaching its peak of 10.0 
percent in October 2009. For African Americans, the numbers were much 
grimmer, a jobless rate of 13.5 percent in January 2009 which would 
grow to 16.5 percent by the end of the year. And on top of this, tens 
of thousands of American families each month were losing their health 
insurance and their homes to foreclosure.
  The United States was still bogged down in the quagmire that was the 
Iraq War and young people by the thousands were being forced to defer 
or drop out of college because of lack of financial aid. And the 
average price of gas exceeded $4 per gallon. It was against this 
backdrop that I watched from the inaugural platform as Barack Obama, 
surrounded by his radiant and beautiful wife, Michelle, and their two 
adorable daughters, rose to take the oath of office. After being sworn 
in as the nation's 44th President of the United States, President Obama 
reassured an anxious but hopeful nation, saying:
  ``Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are 
serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short 
span of time. But know this America: They will be met.''
  Watching Barack Obama address the nation that day, spectators in 
attendance and viewers across the country and around the world 
understood they were witnessing a historic president, the first African 
American ever to hold the nation's highest office.
  But more than being a historic president, Barack Obama's actions and 
leadership over the ensuing eight years would demonstrate his would be 
a consequential presidency that changed America for the better. His 
first and most pressing task was to rescue an economy on the brink of 
collapse. Working with the Democratic-controlled Congress, the American 
Recovery and Reinvestment Act was passed, which created 3.7 million 
jobs and saved the jobs of millions of teachers, firefighters, police 
officers, and social service providers. The Recovery Act also cut taxes 
for working families, extended unemployment insurance, and expanded the 
Earned Income and Child tax credits, which disproportionately benefit 
African American families. The verdict is in on the economic plan put 
in place by President Obama and the Democratic Congress and it is 
undeniable.
  The Recovery Act ended the Great Recession, transformed the economy 
from one hemorrhaging jobs to one that created over 16 million new jobs 
over a record 71 consecutive months. The national unemployment rate 
dipped under 5 percent for the first time since President Clinton left 
office, the deficit was cut by 71 percent, and the Dow Jones stock 
market index set 118 record closing highs and stood at 19,732 on 
January 20, 2017, a three-fold over its nadir of 6,547 at the depths of 
the Great Recession. And, as an added benefit, the average price of 
gasoline fell from more than $4.11 per gallon to $1.80, the lowest 
price since before the tragedy of September 11.
  The Obama years also effected policy changes in the areas of criminal 
justice reform, health and education, national security, and foreign 
affairs. A partial listing of these achievements is substantial, 
impressive, and varied. President Obama signed the Fair Sentencing Act 
in August 2010, which reduces the disparity in the amounts of powder 
cocaine and crack cocaine required for the imposition of mandatory 
minimum sentences and eliminates the mandatory minimum sentence for 
simple possession of crack cocaine. In July 2015, President Obama 
became the first president ever to tour a federal prison when he 
visited the El Reno Federal Correctional Institution outside of 
Oklahoma City. President Obama launched the Smart on Crime initiative 
through which the Department of Justice modified its charging policies 
certain federal low-level drug-related offenses, improved diversion and 
re-entry policies, and strengthened protections for the most 
vulnerable.
  President Obama established Smart on Juvenile Justice grant program 
to expand the use of effective community-based alternatives to youth 
detention and launched the Second Chance Pell Pilot Program for 
Incarcerated Individuals to test new models to allow incarcerated 
Americans to receive Pell Grants and pursue the postsecondary education 
with the goal of helping them get jobs, support their families, and 
turn their lives around.
  President Obama directed the Office of Personnel Management to act 
where it can to ``ban the box'' by modifying its rules to delay 
inquiries into criminal history until later in the hiring process and 
called on Congress. to enact legislation ''banning the box'' on job 
applications in the private sector. President Obama increased the use 
of body-worn cameras through $20 million in grants to state and local 
law enforcement. President Obama issued an Executive Order to increase 
the capacity of VA mental-health programs by hiring 1,600 more mental-
health professionals and expanding the capacity of the Veterans Crisis 
Line. President Obama provided nearly $60 billion in benefit payments 
under the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill to over 1.5 million individuals and 
relaxed the evidence requirements for veterans seeking disability pay 
for post-traumatic stress disorder with the Department of Veterans 
Affairs.
  President Obama acted to reduce gun violence by issuing executive 
orders requiring background checks for people trying to buy some of the 
most dangerous weapons and other items through a trust or corporation 
and an overhaul of the background check system to make it more 
efficient and effective. President Obama signed into law the Affordable 
Care Act passed by the Democratic Congress which has provided access to 
quality, affordable health insurance to nearly 20 million previously 
uninsured Americans.
  President Obama launched the ``My Brother's Keeper'' Initiative in 
2014 to address persistent opportunity gaps faced by boys and young men 
of color and ensure that all young people can reach their full 
potential. In October 2009, Congress passed, and President Obama signed 
the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, 
historic legislation extending coverage of federal hate-crime law to 
include attacks based on the victim's race, religion, nationality, or 
actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity.
  President Obama established the new Deferred Action for Childhood 
Arrivals (DACA) policy for young undocumented people who came to the 
U.S. as children in an effort to better focus enforcement resources. 
President Obama expanded opportunity for America's children by 
strengthening Head Start. President Obama made college more affordable 
by increasing Pell grants, keeping interest rates on student loans low, 
and helping students manageably repay their loans. President Obama 
signed the Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act, which made historic 
investments: in improved child nutrition and health for the 31 million 
children who rely on school meals and updated science-based school meal 
standards to increase fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean protein 
and low-fat dairy, while reducing fats and sodium.
  In December 2010, the Congress passed, and President Obama signed the 
Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010 into law, allowing gay men and 
women to serve openly and with integrity in the U.S. military. 
President Obama also made history by appointing two women to the U.S. 
Supreme Court, including the first Hispanic American to serve on the 
Court. President Obama appointed the first African American man and 
woman to serve as Attorney General and the first woman to Chair the 
Federal Reserve Board. In the area of foreign affairs and national 
security, President Obama ended the Iraq War, assembled and led an 
international coalition to impose sanctions so crippling on Iran that 
it was forced to

[[Page E884]]

the negotiating table that yielded the Iran Nuclear Agreement that 
prevents Iran from ever attaining a nuclear weapon. And of course, as 
the world knows, because of President Obama's leadership, General 
Motors is alive, and Osama Bin Laden is dead.
  President Barack Obama represented our country with grace, integrity, 
honor, and distinction. He provided consolation, hope, and healing in 
the face of unspeakable tragedies such as the massacre of innocent 
children at Sandy Hook, worshippers at Mother Emanuel AME Church in 
Charleston, spectators at the Boston Marathon, and mass shootings in 
Aurora, Colorado and Tucson, Arizona. He expressed and symbolized our 
joy and pride in the progress made over the last half century--and the 
distance we still have to travel--when he marched across the Edmund 
Pettus Bridge and addressed the multitude from the spot on the steps 
where Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. shared his dream for America's 
future.
  It is clear beyond doubt that President Obama kept the promise he 
made to the nation seven years ago on that cold day in January when he 
said:
  ``Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real . . . . But 
know this America: They will be met.''
  They were more than just met; under his leadership they were overcome 
with amazing grace. And because of President Barack Obama, when he left 
office the United States was stronger, more prosperous, and better 
positioned than ever to win the future. As a presidential candidate in 
2008, then Senator Obama promised the America people ``change you can 
believe in.''
  In office, President Obama made good on that promise, delivering 
positive change that the American people can see and feel. And that is 
what makes his one of the most consequential presidencies in American 
history. I wish President Obama a happy birthday, and thank him for all 
he did in leading our country to a new era of greatness

                          ____________________