Again he said his views hadn't changed, but did not use the word "genocide." A few weeks later, he issued a proclamation on April 24, a day of memorial for the Armenian genocide. We ruled that the essence of the promise was to use the word "genocide," and Obama took a pass. But when he got to Turkey, he declined to use the word, though in a bit of legalistic phrasing, he did say his views hadn't changed. During the campaign, Obama said he considered that genocide and promised to recognize those events with that word. Obama visited Turkey and was asked about the period between 19, when historians say the actions of the Ottoman Empire resulted in the deaths of 1.5 million Armenians. We rated it Promise Broken right before 2008 taxes came due. It has little or no support in Congress and it shows no signs of life. We rated it Promise Broken when it failed to make the economic stimulus package in February.Īllow penalty-free hardship withdrawals from retirement accounts in 20 Lawmakers said the credit wasn't enough of an incentive, and tax policy analysts said it would be an administrative nightmare to implement. Obama talked about this proposal late in the campaign as a remedy to the economic collapse, but it had little or no support in Congress. And Obama didn't mention it in his Tax Day speech.Ĭreate a $3,000 tax credit for companies that add jobs (We're poised to move the meter if it ever is revived.) We rated it Promise Broken after Obama failed to include it in either the economic stimulus or his 2010 budget outline. This promise appears to have been quietly dropped. Seniors who rely primarily on Social Security already pay little or no taxes, they said, while other seniors have economic advantages - for example, pensions and paid-off homes - over younger Americans. When Obama made this promise back in 2008, tax experts criticized it as poor policy. The White House said it intends to keep the promise after working out "Įnd income tax for seniors making less than $50,000 But Obama still didn't wait five days to sign it. The law itself, which was intended to remedy some cases of pay discrimination, was retroactive, so there was no rush. Obama broke this promise on his 10th day in office when he signed his first piece of legislation, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. After looking at how waivers and recusals were handled over his first three months, we concluded the promise was broken.Īllow five days of public comment before signing bills There was also the less rigorous standard of "recusal," which the administration used to avoid issuing formal waivers. But the order also included a waiver clause that the administration could invoke whenever it deemed it necessary. Among his first acts in office, he signed an executive order banning former lobbyists from working on matters they had lobbied on during the previous two years. We realize Obama probably will argue that he kept this promise. Tougher rules against revolving door for lobbyists and former officials You can find more details and sources by clicking each promise. Here's a recap of the six broken promises and where they stand. We asked the White House press office for comments on them, but they have only made a statement about one, on the comment period for pending legislation. Three are about taxes, two about transparency and ethics, and one deals with international diplomacy.
That's a small portion of the 514 promises we're tracking, but the six represent some of Obama's key campaign themes. Today, we focus on the ones he's broken.Īs the 100-day mark of his presidency approaches, President Barack Obama has broken six promises, according to a PolitiFact analysis.