Why Democrats?

Democrats get stuff done!

Here are a few of the things our Party has accomplished in the past, as we always continue to work for a better future.

Democrat Woodrow Wilson (who served as president from 1912 to 1920):

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Created the Labor Department in the Cabinet and the workers’ compensation program.

Signed the Clayton Anti-Trust Act and the Farm Loan Bank Act into law.

Credited with the establishment of the Federal Reserve Bank.

Signed into law the 19th Amendment, granting women the right to vote.

Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt

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Renowned for the New Deal, which lifted the U.S. out of a six-year depression by creating jobs through the Civilian Conservation Corps and other employment programs.

Signed minimum wage and unemployment compensation legislation into law and is responsible for the National Labor Relations Act.

Signed the Social Security Act into law, allowing some level of income security for elderly Americans.

Signed the Securities Exchange Act, which requires companies to file detailed annual reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission in order to have their securities publicly traded on the stock exchanges.

Established the Farmers Home Administration and the Rural Electrification Administration.

Was one of the principal parties in the establishment of the United Nations after World War II.

Signed the GI Bill of Rights, which established low-interest home loan programs and college benefits for veterans.

Democrat Harry Truman

Signed the Federal Loan Housing Act.

Established the Fulbright-Hughes Scholarship program.

Signed the Rural Telephone Act, ensuring that Americans all across the country had access to the telephone.

Was one of the signatories of the Marshall Plan, an aid package to European nations that had been devastated by World War II.

Was one of the national leaders who established NATO, a mutual protection pact between nations who were threatened by the expansion of Soviet Communism.

Democrat John F. Kennedy

Established the Peace Corps, whose mission was to combat communism by bringing young adults from America to developing nations to engage in tasks ranging from teaching English to building homes and wells.

Created VISTA (Volunteers In Service to America) program, which was “the domestic Peace Corps,” working toward educational equality and resource availability for underserved urban and rural communities.

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Democrat Lyndon B. Johnson

Signed the Civil Rights Act, outlawing discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

Signed the Voting Rights Act, making it illegal to discriminate against people of color in the voting process.

Established the Head Start program.

Established the Medicare and Medicaid programs to ensure that the elderly and the poor could receive adequate medical care.

Democrat Jimmy Carter

Established the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Created the Department of Education.

Created the Department of Energy.

Negotiated the Camp David Accords, which led to the signing of a peace treaty between Egypt and Israel.

Renegotiated the Panama Canal treaty in ways that were favorable for America.

Democrat Bill Clinton

Signed the Family and Medical Leave Act.

Signed the Earned Income Tax Credit.

Established the National Voter Registration Act (also known as the “Motor Voter” act), which requires state governments to offer voter registration to people who apply for or renew their driver’s license or apply for public assistance.

Democrat Barack Obama

Signed the Affordable Care Act, which required insurance companies to cover people with pre-existing conditions and established “exchanges” where individuals could purchase high-quality health insurance at an affordable price.

Signed the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009.

Signed the Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act.

Signed a nuclear arms reduction pact with Russia.

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Democrat Joseph R. Biden

President Biden’s first year was the greatest year of job creation in American history, with more than 6.6 million jobs created.
Unemployment Rate: The unemployment rate dropped from 6.2% when Biden took office to 3.9%, the biggest single year drop in American history.

Cabinet: First majority non-white Cabinet in history, with most women in the Cabinet, including first woman Treasury Secretary, first LGBTQ+ and Native American Cabinet officials, and first woman Director of National Intelligence.

Helped get more than 500 million life-saving COVID-19 vaccinations in the arms of Americans through the American Rescue Plan.

Reauthorized and strengthened the Violence Against Women Act.

Signed the first major gun legislation in 30 years.

Signed the CHIPS Act.

Signed the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.

Imposed a 15% minimum corporate tax on some of the largest corporations in the country, ensuring that they pay their fair share, as part of the historic Inflation Reduction Act.

Recommitted America to the global fight against climate change by rejoining the Paris Agreement.

Signed legislation allowing Medicare to negotiate 100 drugs over the next decade, and requires drug companies to rebate price increases higher than inflation.

Established the Moonshot Style Effort to Cure Cancer.

Held Vladimir Putin accountable for his invasion of Ukraine by imposing stiff economic sanctions.

Strengthened the NATO alliance in support of Ukraine after the Russian invasion by endorsing the inclusion of world military powers Sweden and Finland.

Reduced healthcare premiums under the Affordable Care Act by $800 a year as part of the American Rescue Plan.

Signed the PACT Act to address service members’ exposure to burn pits and other toxins.

Signed the PAWS Act: Requires zoos, commercial animal dealers, and research facilities to have contingency plans in place to evacuate and care for animals in an emergency or disaster situation.

Brokered deal with 13 Indo-Pacific countries to coordinate supply chains to reduce dependence on China.

Created Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument - One million acres.

Launched the American Climate Corps.

Initiated the Student Loan Forgiveness Program.

Halted all federal executions after the previous administration reinstated them after a 17-year freeze.

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