Yesterday, President Obama celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) at the White House.

In the East Room, President Obama honored those who made the ADA the law of the land – the activists, congressional representatives, and stakeholders who worked tirelessly to ensure that millions of Americans with disabilities had the chance to make their contributions to the world.

"Thanks to the ADA, the places that comprise our shared American life — schools, workplaces, movie theaters, courthouses, buses, baseball stadiums, national parks — they truly belong to everyone."

— President Obama

President Obama outlined the commitments that the government has made to be more responsive to people with disabilities since the passage of the ADA — and reiterated his own commitment to continuing the legacy set in place by President George H.W. Bush when the ADA was signed in 1990.

The Obama administration created the first office within FEMA dedicated to disabilities – so that if and when a disaster strikes we are prepared to help everyone – and created the first special advisor for international disabilities at the State Department. The Administration has also worked to make sure that federal contractors have plans in place for hiring people with disabilities, and has encouraged all others to do the same.

The President lauded the contributions of the ADA, and highlighted that more people with disabilities are in the workforce today than at any point in the last 30 years because of this legislation. He also explained how the ADA was personal to him – his father-in-law, Fraser Robinson, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in his early 30s, before the passage of the ADA, and could have benefited from its provisions.

“And just through the power of his example, he opened a lot of people’s eyes, including mine, to some of the obstacles that folks with disabilities faced and how important it is that the rest of us do our part to remove those obstacles,” the President said.

Read the President’s full remarks from yesterday's ADA reception here.

See more on what the Obama administration has done to help people with disabilities here.

Five years ago today, President Obama signed the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act into law. (It's commonly called "Dodd-Frank," or simply "Wall Street Reform," and you can read more about what it's doing here.)

Here are a couple numbers that help show exactly what the law has done these past years.

$11 billion

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)—the new cop on the beat created by Wall Street Reform—has provided nearly $11 billion in relief for over 26 million consumers harmed by financial institutions—including a new action announced today.

>$141 billion

In all, $141 billion has been paid by 14 of the biggest banks for mortgage-related violations in the lead-up to the crisis, including $50 billion in gross consumer relief to distressed homeowners through the National Mortgage Servicing Settlement.

>$600 billion

Banks have added more than $600 billion of additional capital, which is money they can lend and which increases resiliency. At the same time, banks have reduced their leverage, making them more stable and less reliant on borrowed money.

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“Dodd-Frank” is shorthand for the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, whose chief co-sponsors on Capitol Hill were Senator Chris Dodd and Representative Barney Frank. These reforms — that the President signed into law exactly five years ago today — and others the Administration has put in place since the crisis represent the most sweeping set of financial reforms since the Great Depression.

Why does it matter and why should you care? Let’s take a walk down memory lane.

(And if you just want a quick breakdown of the numbers behind five years of Wall Street reform, take a look here.)

1. Remember the CFPB? Wall Street reform created it.

“CFPB” stands for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: an independent watchdog responsible for writing and enforcing rules to protect you as you borrow and save. And Wall Street reform made it happen.

Here's why that's a big deal:

You’d be surprised at exactly what lenders were able to get away with during the housing bubble — including loading up a mortgage with extra costs to jack up their own compensation in the short term before shuffling that loan over to a third party, making it their problem. With these bad incentives, lenders steered borrowers toward bad products they couldn’t afford (even when they qualified for better, lower-cost options), often burying the terms of made-to-explode mortgages in the fine print.

Dodd-Frank fixed that. Today, lenders have to assess borrowers’ ability to pay a mortgage first. They have to take responsibility for the risks of the loans they make, giving them “skin in the game” to encourage responsible lending. And they will have to present them to the borrowers in clearer, easier-to-understand terms. And the CFPB is keeping all kinds of consumer lenders honest — from credit card companies, to mortgage lenders, to debt collectors, to student loan servicers. Since 2011, the CFPB’s enforcement actions have delivered nearly $11 billion in relief to more than 26 million consumers harmed by illegal practices — including a new action announced today.

(Those practices include deceptive marketing, unfair billing, and discriminatory practices by big banks and other financial institutions — and a whole lot more. Learn more about them here.)

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