President Obama on December 16, 2009 signed into law the Fiscal year 2010 Omnibus Appropriations bill legislation that includes several provisions for the District of Columbia.  The legislation includes the removal of a ban on financial aid for low-income women to receive abortions, expanded benefits for domestic partnerships and an end to D.C.’s school voucher program.

With his signature President Obama now allows funding for low-income women who want to have an abortion.  The appropriation bills also ends a popular and successful Community Based Abstinence Education program and lifts a ban on federal funds for needle-exchange programs – which means that drug addicts in D.C. can receive needles for free from the federal government.  The bill also legalizes the use of medical marijuana in D.C. by removing a federal ban.

Also taking a hit was the extremely successful School Voucher Program, which allow students from failing schools the ability to get monetary vouchers, which they could apply to any private school in D.C.