CHAPTER I - HILLARY'S FIRST TERM
PART I - THE FIRST 100 HUNDRED DAYS
President Clinton arriving at Capitol Hill for the signing of the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and to address a joint session of Congress, January 28, 2009
President Clinton would swiftly take Washington and the United States like a lightning bolt. With massive Democratic majorities in Congress and an experienced, gender-balanced cabinet, she began to work as soon as she entered the White House. On January 24, Hillary Clinton signed an executive order banning torture on incarcerated terrorists. On January 26, Hillary would sign the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, a move befitting of the first female US President. The Act states that the 180-day statute of limitations for filing an equal-pay lawsuit regarding pay discrimination resets with each new paycheck affected by that discriminatory action. Moments later, she address the 111th Congress, stating, "moments ago, we passed landmark legislation enabling women to achieve equal pay with men. My fellow Americans, today and beyond, let this be a sign that we must always make sure that everyone gets an equal chance to prosper and offer their talents to our beloved country."
President Hillary Clinton introduces the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
That night, she introduced the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The bill entailed two trillion dollars of spending until 2016. One trillion dollars would be spent renovating Northeastern Corridor as a high-speed system, Amtrak improvements, roads, improving water and sewage systems, government facilities, telecommunications, IT, technology, energy infrastructure (esp. clean energy), housing construction, public health and health research, education (tax breaks for low-income children to enter preschool, increased tuition and public university funding, job training programs), scientific research projects, NASA improvements, and others. 400 billion dollars would be spent on filling the gap in all state budgets. 210 billion dollars would be spent on welfare, 200 billion dollars for unemployment benefits and other benefits, 120 billion dollars for tax incentives, and 70 billion dollars for business tax incentives. The Congressional Budget Office estimated that the bill would raise four to five million jobs in 2009 alone. Republican leaders decried the plan as "big-bloated government action that will not help the American economy recover", as House Minority Leader John Boehner lamented. However, President Clinton was not willing to negotiate with Republicans on the stimulus bill. Without fears of a filibuster in the Senate with a 62-38 supermajority, the Democrats and Hillaryland carefully crafted the bill to be palatable to their caucus only. On January 31, 2009, the ARRA passes the House, 234-201, with all 178 Republicans and 23 Democrats voting against the bill. On February 9, the bill passes the Senate on a party-line vote and with Republican Senator Arlen Specter's (R-PA) vote, and was signed by President Clinton on February 17 as her first major piece of legislation since the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. Hillary Clinton addressed supporters of the law that day. "This act will ensure that Americans will be able to quickly recover and rise out of the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression, and we ought to make it equitable for each American."
President Hillary Clinton addresses supporters at the signing of the ARRA in her former campaign headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, February 17, 2009
Afterwards, pollsters put her approval rating at 65% following the passage of the ARRA. Her political honeymoon was not about to stop.
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I expect that ATL President Hillary Clinton would be able to negotiate a much larger stimulus than Obama given her Congressional experience, and this is very much incredibly boosted and sealed by the fact that Democrats hold a 62-38 supermajority + Arlen Specter's vote in the Senate ITTL, so they won't water down the bill over fears of Republican filibusters.
PART I - THE FIRST 100 HUNDRED DAYS
Excerpt from
Yes We Will: The Hillary Clinton Presidency
by Joe Manson
Yes We Will: The Hillary Clinton Presidency
by Joe Manson
President Clinton arriving at Capitol Hill for the signing of the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and to address a joint session of Congress, January 28, 2009
President Hillary Clinton introduces the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
That night, she introduced the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The bill entailed two trillion dollars of spending until 2016. One trillion dollars would be spent renovating Northeastern Corridor as a high-speed system, Amtrak improvements, roads, improving water and sewage systems, government facilities, telecommunications, IT, technology, energy infrastructure (esp. clean energy), housing construction, public health and health research, education (tax breaks for low-income children to enter preschool, increased tuition and public university funding, job training programs), scientific research projects, NASA improvements, and others. 400 billion dollars would be spent on filling the gap in all state budgets. 210 billion dollars would be spent on welfare, 200 billion dollars for unemployment benefits and other benefits, 120 billion dollars for tax incentives, and 70 billion dollars for business tax incentives. The Congressional Budget Office estimated that the bill would raise four to five million jobs in 2009 alone. Republican leaders decried the plan as "big-bloated government action that will not help the American economy recover", as House Minority Leader John Boehner lamented. However, President Clinton was not willing to negotiate with Republicans on the stimulus bill. Without fears of a filibuster in the Senate with a 62-38 supermajority, the Democrats and Hillaryland carefully crafted the bill to be palatable to their caucus only. On January 31, 2009, the ARRA passes the House, 234-201, with all 178 Republicans and 23 Democrats voting against the bill. On February 9, the bill passes the Senate on a party-line vote and with Republican Senator Arlen Specter's (R-PA) vote, and was signed by President Clinton on February 17 as her first major piece of legislation since the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. Hillary Clinton addressed supporters of the law that day. "This act will ensure that Americans will be able to quickly recover and rise out of the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression, and we ought to make it equitable for each American."
President Hillary Clinton addresses supporters at the signing of the ARRA in her former campaign headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, February 17, 2009
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I expect that ATL President Hillary Clinton would be able to negotiate a much larger stimulus than Obama given her Congressional experience, and this is very much incredibly boosted and sealed by the fact that Democrats hold a 62-38 supermajority + Arlen Specter's vote in the Senate ITTL, so they won't water down the bill over fears of Republican filibusters.
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