September 2010 Current Events: U.S. News

Updated August 5, 2020 | Infoplease Staff

World News | Business News | Disasters & Science News

Here are the key events in United States news for the month of September 2010.

• Obama Refuses to Extend Tax Breaks for the Wealthy (Sept. 7): President Obama announces that he will not approve an extension of the Bush-era law that gives a tax break for the wealthy, or those families who earn over $250,000 per year and individuals who earn over $200,000 annually. President George W. Bush passed the tax cuts for those in the higher income bracket in 2001.
• Senate Approves Small Business Aid Bill (Sept. 16): The Senate approves a multi-billion dollar package of tax breaks and government loans that will aid small businesses in the U.S. The House passed a similar bill previously; Congress expects the two bills will be easily merged.
• Poverty Rates Hit 15-Year High (Sept. 16): The percentages of American living below the poverty line, or $10,830 for an individual and $22,050 for a family of four, reached 15-year high in 2009, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Over 44 million people, or 14.3 percent of Americans, are considered living in poverty. The U.S. is experiencing its worst economic period since the Great Depression.
• Obama's Economic Chief, Lawrence Summers, Leaving Post (Sept. 21): Lawrence Summers, the chief architect of President Obama's economic policy and head of the National Economic Council, is leaving his position with the White House. Several of Obama's top advisors have recently left; the White House says Summers' exit was long planned and that he'll be returning to his tenured position at Harvard.
• Chief of Staff Emanuel Announces Plan to Leave White House (Sept. 30): Rahm Emanuel, President Obama's Chief of Staff and longtime friend announces his plan to leave his post at the White House and return to Chicago. Emanuel is expected run for mayor of Chicago, his hometown. Emanuel will be replaced by Pete Rouse, currently a senior advisor at the White House.