Overcoming National Obstacles

Democrats are not the party of just saying no.  Since the party's beginning, Democrats have been actively thinking of solutions to problems facing all citizens in the United States. *continue writing about national issues*

Civil Rights

​Democrats have a long and proud history of defending Civil Rights and expanding opportunity for all Americans. From the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act in 2009 to including marriage equality in the party platform in 2012, Democrats have fought to end discrimination in all forms—including discrimination based on race, sex, ethnicity or national origin, language, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, or disability.

​For too many though, this ideal is still far from a reality. That’s why in our fight to stand up for civil rights for all Americans, we are committed to protecting voting rights, enacting the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, ensuring marriage equality and equal federal rights for LGBT couples and achieving equal pay for equal work.

Education

Democrats share with all parents the commitment to prepare our children to lead lives of happiness and success. That’s why we’re dedicated to ensuring the next generation has access to a first-rate education and the tools to drive our economy forward.

In 2010, President Obama signed into law student loan reform that ended government subsidies to big banks and made college more affordable to millions of Americans—a measure in size and scope second only to the G.I. Bill. The Obama administration is working to overhaul the “No Child Left Behind” program and provide teachers with more professional support and resources—while also holding them accountable. President Obama instituted “Race to the Top,” a revolutionary program designed to promote innovation and provide incentives for improvement in education. As a result, already over a dozen states have made changes to increase standards and implement reforms.

Energy Independence

President Obama knows we can’t just drill our way to lower gas prices or a quick-fix solution to our energy needs. That’s why he and Democrats are focused on developing all of America’s natural resources—domestic oil, gas, wind, solar and biofuels—and encouraging fuel efficiency so that we can reduce our dependence on foreign oil over time.
Already, this President has led the way to:

• Domestic oil production at an eight-year high, and our dependence on foreign oil at a 16-year low. In 2011, we cut net oil and petroleum imports by 1 million barrels a day.
• Expanded domestic oil production by speeding up the leasing process and improving safety measures to prevent future spills.
• Nearly doubling renewable wind, solar and geothermal energy since 2008.

• Agreeing with automakers to nearly double fuel efficiency standards for cars and trucks. That will help to save families more than $8,000 per vehicle at the pump and decrease our oil consumption by an estimated 2.2 million barrels a day.

Environment

From protecting endangered species to restoring our ecosystems and investing in clean-energy solutions, the Obama administration and Democrats are committed to working to address our biggest environmental challenges.

​Under the Obama administration, the Department of Transportation issued new fuel-economy standards, the first mandated increases in fuel economy for cars in decades. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has taken the first steps toward regulating carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants. For the first time, the U.S. will catalogue greenhouse gas emissions from large emission sources-—an important initial step toward measurable and transparent reductions.

Health Care

In March 2010, President Obama fulfilled a promise that Democrats have pursued for nearly a century: making health care available to all Americans. Despite unanimous opposition from Republicans, Democrats were finally able to pass comprehensive health reform into law.
In 2014, health reform eliminated all discrimination for pre-existing conditions, started the process of expanding health insurance coverage for an additional 32 million Americans, and provided the largest middle-class tax cut for health care in history.
The Affordable Care Act has already begun to end the worst insurance company abuses. Since 2010, children with pre-existing conditions can no longer be denied insurance.  The Affordable Care Act also provides tax cuts to small business to help offset the costs of employee coverage, and tax credits to help families pay for insurance. Health reform will also lower costs for families and for businesses and for the federal government, reducing our deficit by more than $1 trillion in the next two decades alone.

​And health reform strengthens Medicare by reducing fraud, improving quality of care, and closing the Medicare “donut hole” gap in seniors’ prescription drug coverage.  Like Medicare before it, the Affordable Care Act lays a new foundation for our country that will bring additional security and stability to the American people for generations to come.

Jobs and the Economy

President Obama inherited an economy in free fall, with huge deficits, skyrocketing health care costs, dwindling employment, and banking and housing markets on the brink of collapse. Working with the President, Democrats stabilized the financial system and helped to prevent a second Great Depression. An economy that was losing 700,000 jobs a month is now gaining jobs. We still have a long way to go, but we are now moving forward on the road to recovery.
President Obama and Democrats are fighting to strengthen our economy further and create jobs for American workers by ending tax loopholes for corporations, providing tax cuts to small businesses, investing in a clean-energy economy, and putting Americans to work rebuilding our infrastructure.

Retirement Security

In 1935, Democrats and President Franklin Roosevelt created Social Security. In 1965, Democrats and President Lyndon Johnson created Medicare. Ever since, Democrats have continually fought to defend these cornerstones of the American Dream in the face of attempts to dismantle or undermine both.

Strengthening Medicare
Recently enacted health reform strengthened the Medicare trust fund, expanding its life by more than a decade. The Affordable Care Act also will improve care across the board, reduce fraud, and finally close the hole in Medicare drug coverage known as the “donut hole.” As of 2011, seniors are eligible for free coverage for certain preventive services.

Helping Americans Save for Retirement
Democrats want to make it easier for all Americans to participate in retirement accounts at work and support a system where employees have pension portability, so workers don’t lose their pension if they change jobs.

​Protecting Social Security
In recent years, Democrats have beaten back Republican plans to privatize Social Security—plans that would have exposed the retirement funds of millions of American seniors to great risk on the eve of the financial crisis.

Voting Rights

​Democrats have a long and proud history of fighting for voting rights that continues to this day. And while we've made significant progress in securing the right to vote for all eligible Americans, many voters still face difficulties in the voting process, from registering to casting a ballot to having their votes counted. Those often disproportionately affected are communities of color, young people, the elderly, low-income individuals, and disabled voters, as well as military members and veterans. In many parts of the country, voters are underserved by a lack of polling places, outdated voting machines, and unnecessarily complicated laws.

As Republican politicians try to make it harder to vote, Democrats are working to expand access to the polls. And we won't stop working to promote a system of elections that is accessible, open, and fair — a system that ensures that every eligible person can cast a vote and that every lawfully cast vote is counted.