ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
1. Appointed a diverse and highly qualified Cabinet and staff, despite the truncated transition time. African-Americans: Colin Powell (Secretary of State), Rod Paige (Secretary of Education), Condoleezza Rice (National Security Advisor) Hispanics: Mel Martinez (Housing and Urban Development), Alberto Gonzales (President's Counsel) Asian-Americans: Elaine Chao (Secretary of Labor), the Democrat (Transportation) Arab-American: Spencer Abrahams (Secretary of Energy) Lots of women, including Gale Norton at Interior and Christie Whitman at E.P.A. and Ann Veneman at Agriculture and Karen Hughes as Counselor to the President.
2. Brought honor and integrity back to the White House and steam cleaned the Oval Office.
3. First bill introduced, as promised, was the EDUCATION BILL and it has passed by good margins in both the House and Senate. Despite being held up by Senators Kennedy and Clinton due to pressure from teacher's unions, it was signed into law in January of 2002
4. The second bill he introduced, as promised, was his "immediate helping hands" measure for quick help to low income seniors with prescription drug costs. It went nowhere. So, he will by executive order and Tommy Thompson's help at Health, Education and Welfare be sending Drug Discount Cards to all Medicare recipients after the first of the year.
5. PASSED a TAX CUT. Tax rebate checks have been mailed or will be mailed by end of September to every income tax payer who filed a return last year. These checks are already being spend and helping to keep consumer confidence up and slow the economic downturn that started over a year ago. Increasing cuts in the amount of money withheld from paychecks will occur over the next several years.
6. We have an Energy Policy, 80% of which has been started by executive order and the rest of which in a bill before Congress has passed the House of Representatives, including the measure to drill in ANWR. The energy plan also has eleven of twelve suggestions that the Sierra Club proposed. The Teamster Union has come out in favor of drilling in ANWR due to the 700,000 jobs nationwide that would be created or saved. Senator Daschle is currently refusing to bring it to a vote.
7. Signed into law an emergency spending measure giving a pay raise to our armed service personnel. And more help is on the way with increased benefits money in next year's budget. Second pay raise recently signed.
8. ABM is on the way, too. Got Putin talking about how the Russians might allow it as part of a Bush proposal package to reduce significantly our nuclear arsenals and got European leaders saying, well if it's okay with Putin, it's okay with us. Got good tests of an ABM and also an anti-cruise missile missile, granted they're still in early stage development. Land is already cleared in Alaska ready to install next year after the ice breaks the first stages of the detection equipment that would work with the ABM. In the end Bush had to unilaterally pull out of the ABM treaty, but Putin is still his friend, and the world is going on.
9. Got the EP-3 crew back and the plane (in pieces) without having to start a nuclear war with China during his first two months in office.
10. Got three American residents taken political prisoners by China released; three more to go, probably before Bush goes to China in the Fall.
11. Nixed the Kyoto Treaty to the relief of many Americans and the dismay of the Greens in Europe where only Romania had signed the thing.
12. Let stand a lot of last minute executive orders signed by X42 that the former president didn't have to guts to take the heat over while he was in office. Stuff most people haven't heard about, like diesel fuel clean up and GE having to clean up PCB's out of the silt in the Hudson River, tougher lead standards, and later even the new arsenic in water standards, etc.
13. A Patient Bill of Rights that President Bush would sign has passed the House. The Senate version is still being worked on because Bush would veto it. Both bills will raise the cost of premiums for HMO health insurance, but the Senate version would raise costs considerably more. This was shelved with 911 but may have a rebirth with Enron.
14. Signed four executive orders based on the principles of fair and open competition, neutrality in government contracting, effective and efficient use of tax dollars and the legal right of workers to be notified of how their dues may be used. In other words, stopped favoring union shops in government contracting.
15. EO establishing Office of Faith Based Services, and has been fighting mightily for backing of the Faith Based Initiative to allow faith based charities to provide services in areas in which they have been shown to be superior to existing services, like drug rehabilitation. This past week he signed a bill that assists families to stay together and establishes mentoring programs for children of prisoners, and faith based charities will be allowed to bid on the contracts to provide this service.
16. Signed an EO disallowing government funding for foreign women to have abortions overseas.
17. Law Enforcement is starting to work again. FBI outed an agent working as a Russian spy and an FBI agent that was working for the mob and started doing lie detector tests on its people. Mexico cooperated in taking down a huge cocaine drug ring operating in the Southwest. FBI came clean on withholding information on the McVeigh case, no cover-up under Bush. Another big take down in the Midwest of a drug ring last month. And with the 911 War, the FBI, CIA, and DOJ are being shifted away from PC to defense of the U.S.
18. The continuing auditing of all the government agencies, finding out where the money went or what is unaccounted for, in effect, rooting out the graft and corruption. Recently an executive order establishing a chief operations officer at each government agency charged with increasing cost efficiency and increasing satisfaction by the public with the service they receive from the agency.
19. Decided not to allowing taxpayer money to fund killing human embryos for medical experimentation. Decided to allow medical experimentation only on currently existing stem cell lines where the embryo had already been killed.
20. Signed into law emergency spending for Agriculture after getting 2 billion in pork cut from the bill.
And this was before 911..
And while accomplishing all of that, he also has elevated the dialogue of Americans about matters of faith, and spirituality; proclaimed a human embryo a
living being on national TV, without fear, and without reservation, and was responded to with respect, even by media pundits.
He has, along with his lovely wife, Laura, provided a positive role model for commitment in marriage, and love of family, and has encouraged all Americans to care about and for each other, regardless of color or creed.
As magnificent as his list of accomplishments will be at the end of his eight years in office, the impact he has made on the American soul will be immeasurable.