Domestic policy

Domestic policy
Presidental styles of
Barack Obama


Reference style The Honorable Barack Obama, President of the United States
Spoken style President Obama
Alternative style Mr. President
On January 29, 2009, Obama signed his first bill into law, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, which overruled the Supreme Court's decision in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. and so eased the requirements for filing employment discrimination lawsuits.[113] Five days later, he signed the reauthorization of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) to cover an additional 4 million children currently uninsured.[114]

In March 2009, Obama repealed a Bush-era policy that prevented federal tax dollars from being used to fund research on new lines of embryonic stem cells. Although such research had been a matter of debate, Obama stated that he believed "sound science and moral values...are not inconsistent," and that we have "the humanity and conscience" to pursue this research responsibly, pledging to develop "strict guidelines" to ensure that.[115]

On May 26, 2009, Obama nominated Sonia Sotomayor to replace retiring Associate Justice David Souter. Sotomayor was confirmed on August 6, 2009 by a vote of 68-31,[116] becoming the first Hispanic to be a Supreme Court Justice. She joins Ruth Bader Ginsburg as one of two women on the Court and is the third woman ever to be a Justice.[117]

On September 30, 2009, the Obama administration proposed new regulations on power plants, factories and oil refineries in an attempt to limit greenhouse gas emissions and to curb global warming.[118][119][120]