PolitiFact | Tracking politicians' promises

The Promise:

"Obama will fight job discrimination for aging employees by strengthening the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and empowering the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to prevent all forms of discrimination."

Update February 10th, 2012:

Efforts to reverse Supreme Court ruling have fallen by wayside

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The Promise:

"As president, Barack Obama will show U.S. leadership in seeking to negotiate a political settlement on Cyprus. He believes strongly that Cyprus should remain a single, sovereign country in which each of the two communities on the island is able to exercise substantial political authority within a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation."

Update February 10th, 2012:

Settlement talks are continuing, but they're struggling

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The Promise:

Automatic enrollment in 401(k) plans for workers whose employers offer retirement plans.

Update February 10th, 2012:

Promise was overtaken by events

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The Promise:

Require employers who do not offer retirement plans to offer their workers access to automatic IRAs and contribute via payroll deduction.

Update February 10th, 2012:

Proposal hasn't fully reemerged after being overshadowed by health care debate

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The Promise:

Immediately approve pending free trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea.

Update February 9th, 2012:

All three agreements enacted

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The Promise:

"Will work with Congress and auto companies to ensure that all new vehicles have flexible fuel (FFV) capability . . . by the end of his first term in office."

Update February 8th, 2012:

Flex-fuel vehicles are nowhere near universal

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The Promise:

"Government should lead the way here. I showed up at this event in a government vehicle that does not have a flexible-fuel tank. When I'm president, I will make sure that every vehicle purchased by the federal government does."

Update February 7th, 2012:

Federal government's flex fuel vehicle purchases actually down since 2009

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The Promise:

"Will provide critical support to young children and their parents. Unlike other early childhood education plans...places key emphasis at early care and education for infants, which is essential for children to be ready to enter kindergarten. Obama and Biden will create Early Learning Challenge Grants to promote state "zero to five" efforts and help states move toward voluntary, universal pre-school."

Update February 2nd, 2012:

Money, guidelines dedicated to pre-school

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The Promise:

"Half of all cars purchased by the federal government will be plug-in hybrids or all-electric by 2012."

Update February 1st, 2012:

Big gains for alternative-fuel vehicles, but not for electric plug-ins

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The Promise:

Will work to launch "without further delay" the Global Precipitation Measurement mission, "an international effort to improve climate, weather, and hydrological predictions through more accurate and more frequent precipitation measurements."

Update February 1st, 2012:

Mission still under way, but one element is scrapped, and launch date has slipped

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The Promise:

"Implement a Memorandum of Understanding that provides $30 billion in assistance to Israel over the next decade -- investments to Israel's security that will not be tied to any other nation."

Update February 1st, 2012:

Administration is keeping to terms of agreement

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The Promise:

"Launch an innovative supportive services-housing program to prevent at-risk veterans and veteran families from falling into homelessness in the first place."

Update January 30th, 2012:

Homeless prevention program launched

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The Promise:

"Too often, top-level military decisions, which impact the National Guard, are made without its input. Obama cosponsored legislation to elevate the Chief of the National Guard to the rank of four-star general and make the chief a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the top military advisory panel to the president. As president, Obama will sign this legislation into law."

Update January 18th, 2012:

Now it's a fact

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The Promise:

"Will reinvigorate antitrust enforcement, which is how we ensure that capitalism works for consumers."

Update January 17th, 2012:

Antitrust enforcement has picked up

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The Promise:

Will "require his Cabinet officials to have periodic national broadband townhall meetings to discuss issues before their agencies."

Update January 11th, 2012:

Cabinet officials frequently talk to citizens online

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