By the time his ambitious health care legislation was introduced and chopped up and cursed and left for dead and revived and compromised and passed and finally signed into law, the entire process had taken its toll on President Barack Obama.

Passing the Affordable Care Act would be his signature legislative achievement, but it propelled Republicans to a landslide midterm election victory and control of the House of Representatives. And Mr. Obama thought he might be the next to pay the price at the ballot box. “This will be a one-term presidency,” he told an aide in late 2010.

He turned out to be wrong, but the fatalism Obama expressed privately that day reflected the dire consequences of one of Washington’s most consequential legislative battles in modern times. A new series of oral histories released Fridayon the eve of its 14th anniversary on Saturday, documents the behind-the-scenes struggle to transform the nation’s health care system to cover tens of millions of Americans without insurance.

The interviews with key players in the drama were conducted by Incite, a social science research institute at Columbia University, and were made public as the second phase of a yearslong effort to document the eventful times under the country’s 44th president. The transcripts, posted online Friday, include recollections from 26 members of the White House staff, his Cabinet and Congress, as well as activists, advocacy group figures and a handful of Americans who made their voices heard, but not the former president himself or, for example, what matters, his Republican opponents.

The oral histories chronicle Obama’s journey from an uninformed candidate embarrassed by the banalities he uttered during his campaign to a beleaguered president who gambled his political future on all-or-nothing legislative mismanagement. They also paint a portrait of Mr. Obama as a steadfast, hyper-disciplined but not particularly warm policy man who searched the Brookings Institution website for ideas and had to overcome his own political mistakes.

The story of the Affordable Care Act, in a sense, began at a candidate forum on health care in 2007, when Obama faced off against Senators Hillary Clinton, John Edwards and Joseph R. Biden Jr., among others. for the Democratic presidential nomination. “Senator Obama was terrible,” recalls Neera Tanden, who worked for Clinton at the time. ‘He was faint. He had no experience with this issue, so he kept talking about, “This is why we need to come together.”

Obama knew he had done a bad job, and it made him take the issue more seriously, she said. “I honestly think if he hadn’t been kicked in the ass, he wouldn’t have put together such a detailed plan,” Ms. Tanden said.

After Mrs. Clinton lost and Mrs. Tanden joined the Obama campaign in 2008, she said, “A lot of his advisers said, ‘We should just drop this health care thing.’ He said very clearly, “I’ll do health care when I’m president. You have to figure out how we succeed in the campaign to build a mandate, but I will.’”

Upon taking office in January 2009, Obama tackled a challenge that had irked presidents of both parties, most recently Bill Clinton, whose first term nearly collapsed after he himself failed to pass sweeping health care legislation. Mr. Obama’s advisers were determined to learn from the mistakes of the past.

By developing their own plan publicly and involving major players with stakes in the issue, such as insurance companies and congressional leaders, the Obama administration hoped to build support rather than simply adopt a secretly crafted plan to Congress, as the Clintons had done in the 1990s.

“The Clinton administration was focused inward on the perfect policy — and I was part of that, so I don’t want to sound ‘alien’ about it,” says Nancy-Ann DeParle, a Clinton administration veteran turned director of the Clinton administration. Obama’s Office for Health Reform in the White House. “The Obama administration was the opposite. It focused much more on stakeholders and people and made Congress do the work of debating policy and passing a bill.”

But Mr. Obama made his own misjudgments. Ms. Tanden, who became a senior adviser at the Department of Health and Human Services and admired Mr. Obama’s determination to make sweeping reforms, said his team nevertheless spent “an inordinate amount of time” on smaller issues rather than systemic issues and that she didn’t. initially expected abortion to become a “big problem.”

Ezekiel J. Emanuel, a special adviser on health care who also appreciated that Mr. Obama “never wavered,” said the White House should have sent members of Congress home for their summer recess in 2009 with a slide deck to describe the plan components. “We didn’t do our job, and I think that was a big mistake,” recalled Dr. Emanuel himself. “They needed better tools to explain it to people.”

Peter R. Orszag, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, got a taste of the plan’s misunderstandings and distortions while vacationing in Maine that summer, where he saw signs in front of stores falsely warning of “death panels.” that would supposedly arise through the legislation.

“That was probably the first time it really hit me,” he said, “just seeing board after board after board about things that — you can see why people might think that’s where it would go.”

Hopes for Republican support then virtually evaporated, leaving Obama only able to work with the Democrats. He was deeply involved in negotiating. Kathleen Sebelius, then secretary of Health and Human Services, recalled a key meeting in January 2010 to reconcile different versions of the plan. “The president led these negotiations from start to finish,” she said. “He was the chief negotiator.”

It would eventually pass, but not without painful concessions and legislative machinations. Mrs. Sebelius talked about the champagne party on the Truman Balcony in the White House the night it passed. Mr. Biden, then vice president, told her: “This is the most important thing the president will do for the international community.”

She asked what he meant. “The world will now know when this young president says, ‘I will do something,’ he will do it,” Mr. Biden responded.

Yet Mr. Obama did not know how much time he would have to do anything else. Ms. DeParle was the aide who recalled Obama musing about just one term as he tried to persuade her to stay in the White House after health care.

“That’s fine with me,” he said of a possible four-year presidency, “as long as we can do the things that I think are important.” But Ms. DeParle found his comment “very surprising” and thought to herself, “Gosh, this is my fault.”

Mrs. DeParle made some of the most personal observations of the ascetic president. She said, among other things, that he refused to eat in public and only ate at his regular times every day. When he ate with his staff, you “eat with him in silence” while he read or prepared for his next event. And his meal was almost always the same: salmon or dry chicken breast, brown rice and broccoli.

“Trust me,” she said. “That was it.” His only nod to taste? “Add lemon juice, or some lemon.” And never dessert. “To him, eating is like putting a coin in the meter,” she said. He wouldn’t even eat cake even though he said he liked cake. “He has no weaknesses that I can see,” she said.

Ms. DeParle found him a mystery and only came to understand Mr. Obama when she accompanied him to his home state of Hawaii. “The waves come in and go out,” she said. “He has a calm demeanor, which is the same for me. He doesn’t worry about anything. And the fact that he was in a place that was as close to Tokyo as it was to New York – he has an international point of view,” she added. “He sees the world differently than many American presidents.”

It turned out that he obviously had two terms for that. And the Affordable Care Act, for all its birth pangs and flaws and Republican efforts to repeal it, remains the law of the land.

Tanya Dohoney has been working on sustainability initiatives for decades. She is a retired attorney from Texas and now lives in Paris. She has even started the recycling program for her workplace. When it comes to traveling, she also appreciates environmentally friendly and socially responsible companies, which led her to make this choice Travel fearlesslya certified B Corp company, for a tour of Morocco in 2019.

The sheer number of sustainability certifications for the travel and tourism industry is almost overwhelming and certainly confusing. Certified B Corp companies must meet the standards set by B Laboratorya Pennsylvania-based nonprofit founded in 2006 rewards for-profit companies with certifications for social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability. It can take years – and thousands of dollars – to obtain this accreditation. Worldwide, there are only 62 certified B Corps in the travel industry and 76 in the accommodation and hospitality industry.

“When you see the B Corp logo, I know it’s at least semi-vetted,” Ms Dohoney, 64, said. “I do worry about greenwashing, but you have to start somewhere.”

Other travelers, increasingly concerned about the environmental and social impact of their planes, trains, food waste and more, feel the same way, and a growing number of travel operators are undergoing the B Corp certification process and joining multi-million dollar brands such as Patagonia and Athleta. , to differentiate themselves from competitors.

Aurora Expeditionsa small ship tour operator focusing on polar travel, became certified in 2024, joining other travel companies such as the accommodation company From Sawdayand travel organizations Selective Asia And Incidentally. But Aurora Chief Marketing Officer Hayley Peacock-Gower said the company has focused on sustainable travel since its inception.

“We were already doing much of this work, but we have now committed to much more responsibility and entered into a legal agreement on sustainability,” she said, adding that Aurora has also amended the company’s articles of association and formalized internal policies as part of the B Corp process. .

What is the certification process?

Companies are assessed on five criteria – governance, employee rights, community impact, environmental impact and ‘stewardship of their customers’ – and must achieve an assessment score of 80 or higher to pass B Lab’s ‘Impact Assessment’. After approval, a company must pay an amount annual contribution based on gross annual turnover and location. For US-based companies, this ranges from $2,000 for companies with less than $500,000 in gross annual revenue to $50,000 for companies with revenue of $750,000 to $1 billion. (Some organizations, such as women-owned or veteran-owned ones, may also qualify reduced fees.)

“The B Corp certification gives tourists the confidence that they are visiting and using providers that are responsible,” said Jorge Fontanez, CEO of B Lab for the United States and Canada.

With more than 2,909 employees, Intrepid Travel is the largest B Corp in the travel industry and achieved certification in 2018.

“When there’s so much green fatigue and so many certifications, it’s really hard to differentiate what’s best,” said Mikey Sadowski, Intrepid’s vice president of global communications. “We felt like B Corp really had this disproportionate advantage and level of trust.”

To meet B Corp standards, Intrepid, which offers trips in 120 countries on seven continents, is focusing on initiatives such as hiring local guides, sourcing local ingredients and materials, and reducing carbon emissions by planning train routes – rather than using air transport – whenever possible.

The Australia-based company recently completed its B Corp recertification, which includes an annual fee of 51,750 Australian dollars ($33,625) and another 900 Australian dollars ($585) for a filing fee in 2024, Mr Sadowski said. For their original certification in 2018, the company also paid a one-time verification fee of 14,500 Australian dollars ($9,573).

Who is left out?

While this certification can provide insight into a company’s environmental and social initiatives—and perhaps maximize profits by bringing in like-minded travelers—these tours and accommodations are often aimed at customers with deep pockets.

For budget travelers or those with less financial resources, finding affordable travel companies with B Corp certifications can be a challenge.

“The reality is that B Corps generally focus on the luxury side of the market. And the idea of ​​having B Corp hostels, for example, is very rare,” says Nick Pinto, a 31-year-old marketing executive from Colorado who works and travels abroad several months a year.

Mr. Pinto calls himself a “budget-conscious traveler” and has found that B Corp accommodations are too expensive.

“It’s tricky because you want programs like B Corp to be inclusive to create a broader movement,” he said. Mr. Pinto recently spent several weeks in Mexico, but had noticed that there were only two certified B Corp hotels in the province.

A third company, Hotels BFhas now been certified.

What other certifications are there?

Sufficient, together with guidelines, verifications and ‘ecostars’. The latter is a certification awarded by the for-profit organization Eco stars, evaluates the environmental impact of hotels per visitor stay. This certification, which you can receive and apply for free, is a completely digital process that takes an average of two days. Other certifications gauge sustainability efforts for short-term accommodations, tour groups and other subsectors of the travel industry.

To receive certification from the 1% for the planet non-profit organization co-founded by Patagonia founders Yvon Chouinard and Craig Mathews of Blue ribbon flies, As a fly fishing company, member companies must commit to donating 1 percent of their gross proceeds to environmental organizations. Annual dues start at $500.

The Global Council for Sustainable Tourism non-profit organization, which includes government tourism agencies, travel companies, tour operators and NGOs, verifies sustainability certificates.

Organizations also rely on it guidelines and resolutions issued by the United Nations as part of those of the entity sustainable development agenda. The guidelines call for biodiversity and climate action initiatives, as well as energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy in accommodation. For courses and webinars, which are free to register and view, a course fee of 49 euros ($53) will be charged if a user wishes to complete assignments and receive a certificate of completion.

In addition, many tour operators and travel companies have announced efforts to achieve net carbon neutrality, but carbon offsets have proven to rarely capture or reduce actual emissions, or reduce future emissions. The tour operator Run the Alps used to offset flight emissions for travelers coming to its trips, but the company is reevaluating the practice.

“Compensation is not the silver bullet we were hoping for,” said Hillary Gerardi, sustainability director at Run the Alps. “We try to evolve from ‘being good’ to ‘doing good’. This means that in addition to reducing our footprint, we also try to leave a positive impact in our community.”

The tour operator is a member of 1% for the Planet and collaborates with the local research center and citizen science organizer, CREA Mont Blanc.

But even if a travel company is committed to sustainability, B Corp certification can be a big ask for smaller operations.

“We are fully in line with B Corp status, but until this year we were a very small company. The certification and process would have been too burdensome,” said Doug Mayer, the company’s founder.

But with the company’s growth, Mayer is considering making the move.

“I can see it coming for us,” he said.

Follow New York Times Travel on Instagram And sign up for our weekly Travel Dispatch newsletter for expert tips on smarter travel and inspiration for your next holiday. Are you dreaming of a future getaway or are you just traveling in an easy chair? Check out our 52 places to go in 2024.

Tanya Dohoney has been working on sustainability initiatives for decades. She is a retired attorney from Texas and now lives in Paris. She has even started the recycling program for her workplace. When it comes to travel, she also appreciates environmentally friendly and socially responsible companies, which led her to make this choice Travel fearlesslya certified B Corp company, for a tour of Morocco in 2019.

The sheer number of sustainability certifications for the travel and tourism industry is almost overwhelming and certainly confusing. Certified B Corp companies must meet the standards set by B Laboratorya Pennsylvania-based nonprofit founded in 2006 rewards for-profit companies with certifications for social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability. It can take years – and thousands of dollars – to obtain this accreditation. Worldwide, there are only 62 certified B Corps in the travel industry and 76 in the accommodation and hospitality industry.

“When you see the B Corp logo, I know it’s at least semi-vetted,” Ms Dohoney, 64, said. “I do worry about greenwashing, but you have to start somewhere.”

Other travelers, increasingly concerned about the environmental and social impact of their planes, trains, food waste and more, feel the same way, and a growing number of travel operators are undergoing the B Corp certification process and joining multi-million dollar brands such as Patagonia and Athleta. , to differentiate themselves from competitors.

Aurora Expeditionsa small ship tour operator focusing on polar travel, became certified in 2024, joining other travel companies such as the accommodation company From Sawdayand travel organizations Selective Asia And Incidentally. But Aurora Chief Marketing Officer Hayley Peacock-Gower said the company has focused on sustainable travel since its inception.

“We were already doing much of this work, but we have now committed to much more responsibility and entered into a legal agreement on sustainability,” she said, adding that Aurora has also amended the company’s articles of association and formalized internal policies as part of the B Corp process. .

What is the certification process?

Companies are assessed on five criteria – governance, employee rights, community impact, environmental impact and ‘stewardship of their customers’ – and must achieve an assessment score of 80 or higher to pass B Lab’s ‘Impact Assessment’. After approval, a company must pay an amount annual contribution based on gross annual turnover and location. For US-based companies, this ranges from $2,000 for companies with less than $500,000 in gross annual revenue to $50,000 for companies with revenue of $750,000 to $1 billion. (Some organizations, such as women-owned or veteran-owned ones, may also qualify reduced fees.)

“The B Corp certification gives tourists the confidence that they are visiting and using providers that are responsible,” said Jorge Fontanez, CEO of B Lab for the United States and Canada.

With more than 2,909 employees, Intrepid Travel is the largest B Corp in the travel industry and achieved certification in 2018.

“When there’s so much green fatigue and so many certifications, it’s really hard to differentiate what’s best,” said Mikey Sadowski, Intrepid’s vice president of global communications. “We felt like B Corp really had this disproportionate advantage and level of trust.”

To meet B Corp standards, Intrepid, which offers trips in 120 countries on seven continents, is focusing on initiatives such as hiring local guides, sourcing local ingredients and materials, and reducing carbon emissions by planning train routes – rather than using air transport – whenever possible.

The Australia-based company recently completed its B Corp recertification, which includes an annual fee of 51,750 Australian dollars ($33,625) and another 900 Australian dollars ($585) for a filing fee in 2024, Mr Sadowski said. For their original certification in 2018, the company also paid a one-time verification fee of 14,500 Australian dollars ($9,573).

Who is left out?

While this certification can provide insight into a company’s environmental and social initiatives—and perhaps maximize profits by bringing in like-minded travelers—these tours and accommodations are often aimed at customers with deep pockets.

For budget travelers or those with less financial resources, finding affordable travel companies with B Corp certifications can be a challenge.

“The reality is that B Corps generally focus on the luxury side of the market. And the idea of ​​having B Corp hostels, for example, is very rare,” says Nick Pinto, a 31-year-old marketing executive from Colorado who works and travels abroad several months a year.

Mr. Pinto calls himself a “budget-conscious traveler” and has found that B Corp accommodations are too expensive.

“It’s tricky because you want programs like B Corp to be inclusive to create a broader movement,” he said. Mr. Pinto recently spent several weeks in Mexico, but had noticed that there were only two certified B Corp hotels in the province.

A third company, Hotels BFhas now been certified.

What other certifications are there?

Sufficient, together with guidelines, verifications and ‘ecostars’. The latter is a certification awarded by the for-profit organization Eco stars, evaluates the environmental impact of hotels per visitor stay. This certification, which you can receive and apply for free, is a completely digital process that takes an average of two days. Other certifications gauge sustainability efforts for short-term accommodations, tour groups and other subsectors of the travel industry.

To receive certification from the 1% for the planet non-profit organization co-founded by Patagonia founders Yvon Chouinard and Craig Mathews of Blue ribbon flies, As a fly fishing company, member companies must commit to donating 1 percent of their gross proceeds to environmental organizations. Annual dues start at $500.

The Global Council for Sustainable Tourism non-profit organization, which includes government tourism agencies, travel companies, tour operators and NGOs, verifies sustainability certificates.

Organizations also rely on it guidelines and resolutions issued by the United Nations as part of those of the entity sustainable development agenda. The guidelines call for biodiversity and climate action initiatives, as well as energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy in accommodation. For courses and webinars, which are free to register and view, a course fee of 49 euros ($53) will be charged if a user wishes to complete assignments and receive a certificate of completion.

In addition, many tour operators and travel companies have announced efforts to achieve net carbon neutrality, but carbon offsets have proven to rarely capture or reduce actual emissions, or reduce future emissions. The tour operator Run the Alps used to offset flight emissions for travelers coming to its trips, but the company is reevaluating the practice.

“Compensation is not the silver bullet we were hoping for,” said Hillary Gerardi, sustainability director at Run the Alps. “We try to evolve from ‘being good’ to ‘doing good’. This means that in addition to reducing our footprint, we also try to leave a positive impact in our community.”

The tour operator is a member of 1% for the Planet and collaborates with the local research center and citizen science organizer, CREA Mont Blanc.

But even if a travel company is committed to sustainability, B Corp certification can be a big ask for smaller operations.

“We are fully in line with B Corp status, but until this year we were a very small company. The certification and process would have been too burdensome,” said Doug Mayer, the company’s founder.

But with the company’s growth, Mayer is considering making the move.

“I can see it coming for us,” he said.

Follow New York Times Travel on Instagram And sign up for our weekly Travel Dispatch newsletter for expert tips on smarter travel and inspiration for your next holiday. Are you dreaming of a future getaway or are you just traveling in an easy chair? Check out our 52 places to go in 2024.

Sydell L. Miller, a self-made beauty mogul who went from being the stay-at-home wife of a Cleveland salon owner to a Palm Beach mansion so immense that it would reportedly take an hour to walk through all the rooms, died on February 25 in her home in Cleveland. She was 86.

Her daughter Stacie Halpern confirmed the death. Mrs. Miller had several health problems, including serious heart problems to date until the early 1990s; Ms Halpern said a combination of factors had recently caused her mother’s health to deteriorate.

Mrs. Miller and her husband, Arnold Miller, created two dominant brands: Ardell, the industry standard for abundant and beautifully shaped false eyelashes, and Matrix Essentials, which is often described as the largest manufacturer of salon products in the country and was the leading source of The Mrs. Miller’s fortune. In 1994, two years after her husband’s death, Bristol Myers bought Squibb Matrix from Mrs. Miller for $400 million.

Both companies have made lasting changes in the way people around the world prepare, whether in front of the mirror at home or in a salon. The Millers invented the first pre-cut eyelash kit and false eyelash strips, cutting procedure time from hours to minutes. They also changed the way hairdressers colored hair, creating cream-based (rather than liquid) dyes that allowed precise application and gave hairdressers control over a range of mixable colors, as if they were painters—not so much beauticians as aesthetes.

Brush-like tools and color swatches that the Millers introduced are now familiar parts of salon routines; The couple also debuted products that made it easier to perform a number of complex hair treatments, such as a perm and a dye, in one go.

Their innovations had two general qualities in common: they increased the convenience of beauty routines and gave hairdressers more creative options.

Ms. Miller’s fellow Palm Beach plutocrats called her the “Shampoo Lady,” The Wall Street Journal reported in 2005.

The nickname was a comic understatement. Mrs. Miller owned works of art by Picasso, Chagall, Giacometti and Lichtenstein. In 2019 they set the record for the most expensive condo purchase in Palm Beach history, paying more than $40 million for an entire floor of a new construction project. That year, she broke another real estate record when she sold her oceanfront home, La Rêverie, for $111 million, making it the most expensive home sale in Palm Beach County.

The vastness of the property defied description: reporters disagree on whether it contained 19 or 22 bathrooms. Facilities include an ice cream stand, a sweet shop and a bowling alley. In his book “Madness under the royal palms” (2009), Laurence Leamer described La Rêverie as so beyond the human scale that it resembled a “train station or state library.”

In another book, “Mar-a-Lago: Inside the Gates of Power at Donald Trump’s Presidential Palace” (2019), Mr. Leamer reported that Ms. Miller was one of the first members of Mar-a-Lago, about a half-mile away from La Reverie. Her other neighbors were billionaires Ken Griffin and Steve Schwarzman.

The origins of this dazzling wealth could hardly have been more homely.

Sydell Lois Lubin was born on August 10, 1937 in Cleveland. Her father, Jack, owned a furniture store, and her mother, Evelyne (Saltzman) Lubin, spent more time playing cards and smoking cigars than the average 1950s housewife.

Sydell (pronounced SIHD-ell) attended the University of Miami for two years and then returned to Cleveland. A friend suggested she get her hair cut by Arnold Miller, a man in his mid-20s from her community of working- and middle-class Jews from Cleveland who had opened his own salon.

They got into a fascinating conversation and she said he made her hair look great. The young man asked her out. “What night?” she asked. “All of them,” he replied.

His next client, who waited out the prolonged flirtation, started cursing.

“Take it easy,” the young man said told her when Sydell left. “See that little blonde walking out the door? I’m going to marry her.”

He asked her to marry him after a week; they married in 1958.

Mr. Miller assumed Sydell would be a housewife. When his receptionist called in sick one day, she showed up in the salon and announced she would help with the phones. Soon she was running her own women’s clothing boutique above the salon.

It was Mrs. Miller who conducted the first experiments to simplify eyelash decoration. The couple took their invention on a trip to a trade show in the Chicago suburbs.

They applied about 100 sets of eyelashes to showgoers, but didn’t sell a single set. They agreed over dinner that the initiative was a failure, but still returned to the show the next day, after signing up for two days.

They found a line of about 60 women waiting for them.

“They didn’t believe the story that they could shower, swim or sleep and the eyelashes would still be on,” Ms. Miller recalled in a 2017 report. interview with Modern Salon magazine. “They kept saying, ‘Look! They are there. They stay.’ Within fifteen minutes we sold out everything we had.”

That success led the Millers to found Ardell. When their product line became a hit at pharmacies, they turned to catering for hairdressers. They sold Ardell and started Matrix.

The couple divided their duties by having Mr. Miller as the public face and Mrs. Miller as the business manager. Early on, she kept company inventory manually until midnight. They all got the same salary and the same size offices.

In later years, Mrs. Miller donated significant sums of money, including a $70 million family gift to the Cleveland Clinic.

In addition to Mrs. Halpern, Mrs. Miller is survived by a daughter, Lauren Spilman; a brother, Dennis Lubin; four grandchildren; three great-granddaughters; and two cousins ​​whom she considered grandchildren.

Underlying the Millers’ business strategy was the belief that hairdressers had missed out on the kind of commercial innovations, corporate attention and social dignity they deserved. Matrix succeeded because the company won the trust of hairdressers.

In her Modern Salon interview, Ms. Miller argued the importance of hairdressers to society. They are advisors, she said. They see their customers in good times and bad. They collect information about them that few others know. For the kind of older customer who rarely goes out, they can be essential point of regular social contact.

“I love hairdressers: there is no one in the world who gives more of themselves to their clients,” she said. “What we wanted to do with Matrix was give them back a way to grow, excel and build a good image of what they give to their people.”