Obama's Second Term: Power, Progress and the Partisan Divide

With President Barack Obama's second term officially underway, what can we expect from the Administration from a legislative standpoint? Our panel of legal experts will examine the record and make predictions on several hot-button issues, including: immigration, tax, gun control, health care and energy. 

Immigration: Obama seeks to prioritise comprehensive immigration reform, including pushing for the Dream Act, which would create a path to citizenship for young immigrants brought to the US illegally by their parents, and encouraging foreign-born entrepreneurs to establish start-up businesses in the United States which would in turn contribute jobs, taxes, and innovation to the United States.

Tax reform: Obama seeks to lower corporate tax rates and close loopholes, which he thinks will garner bipartisan support. He expects it to help create one million manufacturing jobs.

Gun control: Obama plans to reinstate and strengthen the ban on assault weapons that was in place from 1994 to 2004, require criminal background checks for all gun sales, including those by private sellers that currently are exempt, and start a national safe and responsible gun ownership campaign.

Health care: Obama plans to continue to implement his health-care overhaul, which by 2014 is set to ensure Americans with pre-existing conditions can purchase health insurance, cut taxes for small businesses to help cover premiums and prohibit insurance companies from charging women more for policies than men.

Energy: Obama seeks to cut foreign oil imports in half by 2020. He says he will open up millions of acres for oil and gas exploration as well as invest in wind, solar, clean coal, nuclear and biofuels.

Co-sponsored by American Women Lawyers in London and the British Library Eccles Centre for American Studies. To be followed by a wine reception