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When the President took the stage to deliver this year's State of the Union, he told the American people that he intends for 2014 to be a year of action. He said:
"…What I offer tonight is a set of concrete, practical proposals to speed up growth, strengthen the middle class, and build new ladders of opportunity into the middle class. Some require Congressional action, and I'm eager to work with all of you.
But America does not stand still -- and neither will I. So wherever and whenever I can take steps without legislation to expand opportunity for more American families, that's what I'm going to do."
Those weren't just lines in a speech. It's been just 11 days since the State of the Union. In that time, the President has:
- Directed the Department of the Treasury to create starter "myRA" accounts that will make it easier for Americans to save for retirement.
- Ordered a government-wide review of federal training programs to make sure Americans get in-demand skills for good jobs.
- Taken executive action to assist millions of long-term unemployed Americans -- and more than 300 companies have already committed to the Administration's best practices for hiring and recruiting the long-term unemployed.
- Announced a major new commitment that will connect more than 20 million students to high-speed Internet -- and the private sector stepped up to the plate with more than $750 million in commitments to help make it happen.
And next Wednesday, he'll be using his pen again.
Families across the country deserve action that gives them a fair shot at getting ahead and creating better lives for themselves.
The President's going to do everything in his power to make sure they get it.
Take a look, pass it on, and let the President know you're going to be fighting with him in 2014.
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In this week’s address, President Obama says he will do everything he can to make a difference for the middle class and those working to get into the middle class, so that we can expand opportunity for all and build an economy that works for the American people.
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February 07, 2014
07:30 PM ESTThis week, President Obama announced that 20 million students are getting next-generation Internet at school, and made the first-ever Presidential short film. The White House announced it's hosting a Maker Faire and the First Lady talked about her freshman year of college. Check out what you missed in this week's wrap up.
Making Major ConnectED Progress
President Obama announced this week major progress toward realizing the ConnectED goal to provide 99 percent of students with high-speed Internet access at school.
In a country where we expect free WI-FI with our coffee, we should have it in our schools. #ConnectED, pic.twitter.com/1J8PdLupEF
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) February 4, 2014Over the next two years, the Federal Communications Commission will invest $2 billion to connect more than 20 million students to next-generation broadband and wireless. Further, private-sector companies including Apple, AT&T, Autodesk, Microsoft, O'Reilly Media, Sprint, and Verizon have committed more than $750 million to deliver cutting-edge technologies to classrooms.
POTUS Puts On His Director's Hat
Before making the ConnectED announcement, President Obama dropped by a Maryland middle school classtiin where he borrowed one of the student's iPad and made his directorial debut with this award-worthy short film:
Mr. President, we're definitely looking forward to your next movie. Rumor has it, it's about a boy and his marshmallow...
Announcing the First White House Maker Faire
"Don't be bored, make something." That phrase, offered by then-14-year old Joey Hudy — after he sent a marshmallow flying across the State Dining Room — to the President, became a rallying cry for the President's efforts to grow a generation of students who are makers.
Inspired by "Joey Marshmallow" and the millions of citizen-makers driving the next era of American innovation, we announced plans to host the first-ever White House Maker Faire later this year. Head to WH.gov/MakerFaire to watch the announcement video and learn more.
The First Lady Shares Her "I'm First" Story
In this video released for the "I'm First" storytelling project, First Lady Michelle Obama talks about her experience as a first-generation college student.
She reminds us all that "no matter where you come from or how much money your family has, I want you to know that you can succeed in college, and get your degree, and then go on to build an incredible life for yourself."
Economic Benefits of the Affordable Care Act
Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, 5 million people will save an average of $4,700 on their health insurance in 2014. In 2016, approximately 19 million people will benefit from even larger savings.
Jason Furman, Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, explained that the latest analysis of the Affordable Care Act from the Congressional Budget Office shows why the Affordable Care Act " will make it easier for people take a risk and start a business, take time out of the labor force to raise a family, or retire when they are ready." To learn more about the full report and see five more charts showing off the benefits of the ACA, read his full blog post.
As always, to see even more of this week's events, watch this week's episode of West Wing Week below:
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A zip code should never determine the destiny of any child in in America, but sadly that is often the case. We live in a country where opportunity for all should not be debated, but instead embraced as a core American principle. The Obama Administration knows that providing opportunity for all Americans requires an unprecedented level of cooperation across multiple departments and agencies within the federal government. It also requires strong partnerships with state, tribal, and local leaders, the faith-based and non-profit sector, and -- most importantly -- with the people that live in those communities, in order to revitalize struggling and distressed neighborhoods.
Earlier this week, I was proud to participate in a panel discussion moderated by PolicyLink CEO Angela Glover Blackwell to showcase the Administration’s interagency cooperation, and how that cooperation is translating into better partnerships at the state and local level. The panel also featured Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, and Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx.
Our conversation focused on federal place-based programs that are currently being implemented as an effective means of expanding opportunity and lifting communities out of poverty, mainly through Administration initiatives such as Promise Zones, Choice Neighborhoods, Promise Neighborhoods, and StrikeForce.
Secretary Donovan emphasized how in the old days, Washington would swoop into communities and plan for them rather than with them. That’s why, last month, President Obama announced the first five Promise Zones. These communities put forward concrete plans about how they will work with local leaders, the philanthropic and private sectors, as well as government to help expand opportunity. The Administration will announce 15 more zones over the next three years, and through programs like this, we will pave new paths of progress so that families can get ahead and in doing so, strengthen our nation and its future.
For more information on Promise Zones, please visit www.hud.gov/promisezones. To view the conversation in its entirety, click here.
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February 07, 2014
03:40 PM EST
President Barack Obama tours Michigan Biotechnology Institute with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in Lansing, Mich., Feb. 7, 2014. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Today, in East Lansing Michigan, on the campus of one of our nation’s first land grant colleges, President Obama signed into law the Agricultural Act of 2014, also known as the Farm Bill, or as Secretary Vilsack likes to call it – the Jobs Bill, the Research Bill, the Food Bill, etc.
Passed with a strong, bipartisan vote, this law will not only grow the economy, create jobs and expand opportunity in rural America, but it also contains a variety of commonsense reforms that this Administration has consistently called for – reforms that will save taxpayers billions of dollars.
For example, due to outdated policies that were in place for decades, people with farm land could receive yearly payments from the federal government, whether they planted crops on that land or not.
That clearly doesn’t make sense, so this law eliminates these “direct payments” and reforms the federal crop insurance program to make sure that we are being proper stewards of taxpayer dollars, while supporting our nation’s farmers when they are actually in need of our help.
In addition, this law empowers the Department of Agriculture to ensure that only those directly involved in a farming operation receive assistance.
See what I mean by commonsense reforms?
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Today, President Obama traveled to Michigan State University's equine performance center in East Lansing to deliver remarks on and sign into law the Agriculture Act of 2014 -- also known as the Farm Bill, which Congress passed earlier this week.
It's a bill whose reach extends far beyond our farms -- it includes smart reforms to reduce our deficit, and the investments it makes in our rural communities will help strengthen our economy across the board.
In his remarks, the President detailed how the Farm Bill makes key investments in rural communities across the board -- from funding for hospitals, schools, and affordable housing to support for businesses working to develop cutting-edge biofuels -- all the while cutting down on loopholes that used to allow people to receive benefits year after year, whether they farmed anything or not.
Besides keeping our rural communities thriving, the President said, the Farm Bill helps vulnerable families keep food on the table by providing funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. In 2012, SNAP kept nearly 5 million people -- including more than 2 million children -- out of poverty.
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This week, the President urged action on long-term unemployment, hung out on Google+ for his first virtual road trip, announced major private-sector commitments to expand broadband Internet for students, spoke with both House and Senate Democrats, and joined the First Lady for the National Prayer Breakfast. The First Lady helped students get a leg up with filing for financial aid, and the Vice President unveiled Amtrak’s new Cities Sprinter electric locomotive.
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The Winter Olympics kick off tonight, and people across the globe will be watching.
As Team USA represents us on the world stage and goes for the gold, folks here at home will be cheering them on every step of the way.
President Obama recorded a special message of his own for Team USA. Watch his message to some of our nation's greatest athletes -- and make sure to watch the games tonight:
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Today’s report is another reminder of both the progress that has been made and the challenges that remain. Businesses have now added 8.5 million jobs over the last 47 months and the unemployment rate ticked down to its lowest level in more than five years. But the economy is still healing from the Great Recession and steps are still needed to expand economic opportunity. Given the elevated long-term unemployment rate, extending emergency unemployment benefits for the 1.7 million workers who lost them is critical. At the same time, the President will continue to focus on action, both pushing forward on priorities with Congress and using his pen and his phone to expand opportunity and growth.
FIVE KEY POINTS IN TODAY’S REPORT FROM THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
1. The private sector has added 8.5 million jobs in 47 consecutive months of job growth. Today we learned that total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 113,000 in January, due to a 142,000 increase in private employment together with a 29,000 decline in government jobs. Private sector job growth was revised up for November (to 272,000) and December (to 89,000) so that over the past twelve months, private employment has risen by 2.3 million, or an average of 191,000 per month. These figures account for several data revisions released today, including benchmarking the survey-based data to more comprehensive tax records, updating the seasonal adjustment factors, and reclassifying a handful of industries.
2. While the overall unemployment rate continues to fall, it still remains unacceptably high, reflecting more than 3.6 million long-term unemployed. The unemployment rate has fallen 1.3 percentage point in the last 12 months, and fell in January 0.1 percentage point, even as the labor force participation rate rose 0.2 percentage point. But as of January 2014, persons unemployed 27 weeks or more represent 2.3 percent of the labor force, more than double its average prior to the recession. These figures provide a stark reminder that despite the progress that has been made, the after-effects of the recession still linger and are creating hardship for many families. For this reason, the President has called on Congress to reinstate the extended unemployment insurance benefits that expired at the end of 2013, and in the absence of congressional action, the President will use his own authority to forge ahead with efforts to help connect the long-term unemployed with new jobs. Last week, the President announced commitments from over 300 companies – including 80 of the nation’s largest businesses – to adhere to a new set of best practices that will ensure recruiting processes do not disadvantage people who have been out of work, along with new funding for partnerships that connect the long-term unemployed to jobs.
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February 06, 2014
05:16 PM EST
First Lady Michelle Obama delivers remarks during a FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) workshop at T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, Va., Feb. 5, 2014. (Official White House Photo by Amanda Lucidon)
On Wednesday, during her visit to T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, Virginia, First Lady Michelle Obama asked students a good question: Why would the First Lady of the United States come to a school and spend time with students “just to watch you fill out a computer form?”
The answer is that filling out one particular form – the FAFSA, or Free Application for Federal Student Aid – is one of the most important things students and families can do in planning for college success.
“You don’t have to be the valedictorian. You don’t have to major in a certain subject,” the First Lady said in her remarks. “You don’t even have to be at the bottom of the income ladder to receive the money.”
There is no income cutoff to qualify for financial aid, and most federal student aid programs don’t take grades into consideration when you apply.
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Vice President Joe Biden delivers remarks to the United Auto Workers National Community Action Program Conference, in the grand salon of the Washington Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, Washington, D.C., Feb. 5, 2014. In attendance are Mary Beth Cahill, Director of United Auto Workers Washington DC office, and Bob King, President, United Auto Workers. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann)
“Collective bargaining is the bedrock of our economy. It’s not just about you. It’s about economic growth,” the Vice President remarked at the United Auto Workers annual Community Action Program (CAP) Conference in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday February 5th.
His remarks highlighted the contributions and sacrifices made by labor that led to the success of the auto industry recovery.
“No one gave more at the office to rescue the industry than labor,” stated the Vice President and drawing attention to the layoffs, wage freezes, and reduction in health care benefits that employees sacrificed.
The Vice President told the crowd and reminded those listening that, “You guys at the UAW not only saved the auto industry, you saved the heartbeat of American manufacturing,” emphasizing that it was thanks to labor that Chrysler and General Motors emerged from bankruptcy. Since then, the industry has added 380,000 jobs; including 8,300 in December of 2013.
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President Barack Obama delivers the State of the Union address in the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., Jan. 28, 2014 (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)
This year, the White House ventured to make the President's State of the Union address more interactive and engaging than ever before. This ranged from a fully "responsive" page optimized for desktop, tablet, and mobile, where we streamed an "enhanced" version of the speech featuring charts, images, and infographics, to unprecedented behind-the-scenes access to the speechwriting process through exclusive videos. On Instagram, White House staff "took over" our account to take you "Inside SOTU," and then, after the speech, dozens of administration officials (including President Obama) answered your questions.
There was a little something for everyone, and you responded like never before. Here's a look at some of the numbers behind SOTU 2014 – and follow along in the year to come to make sure you don’t miss out on upcoming behind-the-scenes content, explanations of White House policy proposals, and the occasional picture of Sunny or Bo.
The "Enhanced" State of the Union Address
- The Speech: The "enhanced" version of this year's State of the Union address featured 132 graphics, charts, and images, up from 104 last year. And you tuned in like never before, as we registered more than 1.4 million views of the stream, a 38% increase over 2013.
- Mobile: This year, 34% of visitors to WH.gov/SOTU were using a mobile device, up from 23% in 2013 and 12% in 2012.
- Real-Time Slide Sharing: For the first time, we gave viewers the ability to share the “enhanced” SOTU slides with their networks in real-time on Twitter. Over the course of the speech, this interactive feature was used nearly 11,000 times for more than 40 slides.
- Email: The week of the State of the Union, our email list grew by seven times the normal rate and drove 87% more traffic to WhiteHouse.gov than over the same period in 2013. If you haven’t already, subscribe now to receive this exclusive content moving forward.
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February 06, 2014
04:19 PM ESTToday President Obama welcomed Haitian President Martelly to the White House. The visit served as an opportunity for the Presidents to discuss the way forward in Haiti, and how the United States can continue to support the Haitian government’s efforts to promote economic growth and strengthen Haiti’s democracy. The Presidents also discussed the close bonds between our two countries, anchored by the dynamic role of the Haitian American community in the United States.
President Barack Obama holds a bilateral meeting with President Michel Martelly of Haiti in the Oval Office, Feb. 6, 2014. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
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This week has seen the release of a Congressional Budget Office (CBO) analysis that refuted claims by opponents of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that it is a “job killer” and demonstrated that, by giving families more options for obtaining affordable health insurance outside the workplace, the ACA will make it easier for people take a risk and start a business, take time out of the labor force to raise a family, or retire when they are ready.
As CBO made clear, however, its analysis was not a comprehensive analysis of how the ACA will affect the labor market in particular or the economy as a whole. This blog post illustrates six ways that the ACA is helping the labor market, laying the foundation for future economic growth, and improving families’ financial security and well-being.
1.Putting more money in families’ pockets, boosting demand, and bringing down unemployment today. As of January 1, more than 2 million people had selected a plan in the health insurance marketplace, and nearly 80 percent of those people will – thanks to the ACA – benefit from tax credits to help pay their premiums. All told, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that over the entirety of 2014, 5 million people will benefit from premium tax credits and help with cost-sharing averaging $4,700 per person. In 2015, 11 million people are estimated to benefit, rising to 19 million in 2016. Many millions more will gain affordable health insurance coverage through Medicaid.
These provisions of the ACA make it easier for families to access health care services and to meet other pressing needs, which will increase the demand for goods and services throughout the economy at a time when the unemployment rate is still elevated. For this reason, as CBO Director Doug Elmendorf testified, the ACA “spurs employment and would reduce unemployment over the next few years.” The ACA is thus – today – helping ensure that every American who wants a job can find one.
2. Helping slow the growth of health care costs, boosting hiring in the near term, and bolstering workers’ paychecks. The United States is currently experiencing a historic slowdown in the growth of health care costs. From 2010 to 2012 real per-capita health spending grew at an average annual rate of just 1.1 percent, and preliminary data and projections imply that this slow growth continued in 2013. The spending growth rates recorded over the last few years are the slowest on record, and less than one-third the long-term historical average of 4.6 percent that stretches back to 1960.
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President Barack Obama delivers remarks during the National Prayer Breakfast at the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C., Feb. 6, 2014. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)
This morning, the President, the First Lady, and the Vice President attended the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C. The annual event brings together legislators, officials, and clergy from all faiths and political ideologies.
During his remarks, the President focused on the importance of freedom of religion – not only in America, but also around the world:
History shows that nations that uphold the rights of their people, including the freedom of religion, are ultimately more just and more peaceful and more successful. Nations that do not uphold these rights sow the bitter seeds of instability and violence and extremism. So freedom of religion matters to our national security.
As I’ve said before, there are times when we work with governments that don’t always meet our highest standards, but they’re working with us on core interests such as the security of the American people. At the same time, we also deeply believe that it’s in our interest, even with our partners, sometimes with our friends, to stand up for universal human rights. So promoting religious freedom is a key objective of U.S. foreign policy. And I’m proud that no nation on Earth does more to stand up for the freedom of religion around the world than the United States of America.
Every President since Dwight D. Eisenhower has attended the National Prayer Breakfast since the initial event in 1953; this is President Obama’s sixth appearance. Watch his remarks from last year’s event here.
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Ed. note: This is cross-posted from The Huffington Post.
In the fall of 1870, a handful of students made their way through the northwest quadrant of the nation's capital, and through the doors of D.C.'s "Preparatory High School for Colored Youth," the country's first public high school for African American children. There, in the shadow of the American Civil War, and dawned with the spark of reconstruction, a converted basement-turned-classroom in the lower floor of Fifteenth Street Presbyterian Church bore the seeds of Dunbar High School, which would become one of the country's preeminent institutions for African American educational achievement. The students and teachers who graced its hallways would be heard through the years in the halls of Congress, in the highest ranks of the U.S. military, at the heart of our civil rights movement, and in the upper echelons of medical and scientific study.
One such voice was that of Carter G. Woodson; a journalist, author, historian, and co-founder of the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH). It was through his work with the ASNLH that Woodson spearheaded the celebration of "Negro History Week" in America, which served as the precursor to Black History Month, which was officially recognized by President Gerald Ford in 1976.
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Last November, First Lady Michelle Obama spoke to the sophomore class at Bell Multicultural High School in Washington, D.C. about the importance of higher education. In her remarks, Mrs. Obama talked about how education has created opportunity in her own life, working hard to attend and graduate from college.
Today, we are releasing a special video message from the First Lady in which she talks about being the first in her family to attend college. This video is part of the “I’m First” storytelling project, which lifts up the stories of first generation college students in order to inspire future generations.
As the First Lady says in her video, “no matter where you come from or how much money your family has, I want you to know that you can succeed in college, and get your degree, and then go on to build an incredible life for yourself.”
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Ed. note: This is cross-posted from the U.S. Department of Agriculture blog. See the original post here.
America’s farmers, ranchers and forest landowners face a complex and ever-changing threat in the form of a changing and shifting climate. The past three years alone have brought some of the most severe and devastating floods, droughts and fires our nation has experienced in recent history.
While no individual event can be linked to climate change, extreme weather conditions are increasingly impacting our farmers, ranchers and forest owners, to the detriment of their bottom lines, our food supply, and the future security of our farm economy.
We need a strategy that strengthens agriculture’s response to the impacts of a changing and shifting climate. Our farmers and ranchers need new and better tools to respond and prepare for the challenges of drought, heat stress, excessive moisture, longer growing seasons and changes in pest pressure.
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Earlier today, President Obama visited Buck Lodge Middle School in Adelphi, Maryland to announce major progress on his ConnectED initiative. Before his remarks, however, he stopped by one of the school’s math classes to chat with students – and have some fun with their technology.
Borrowing a student’s iPad, the President recorded a quick video inside the classroom, highlighting one seventh grader’s “outstanding calculations … describing right angles” while complimenting another student on his tie.
President Barack Obama records video on an iPad using an app from NASA during a classroom visit at Buck Lodge Middle School in Adelphi, Md., February 4, 2014. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
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February 04, 2014
04:31 PM ESTEd. note: This is cross-posted from the Department of Veterans Affairs' VAntage Point blog. See the original post here.
What’s the first thing you do when shopping for a big-ticket item? You might shop around, ask friends and relatives for their opinion, or compare items online. In today’s world of instant online access to a wealth of consumer information – from online reviews to infographics comparing products, product websites, and online shopping sites – consumers are used to finding and comparing information online before they buy.
Thanks to VA’s new GI Bill® Comparison Tool, you can now find information online about Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits and the schools and training programs available to education beneficiaries.
Before this tool launched, estimating how much beneficiaries may receive under the Post-9/11 GI Bill benefit was challenging. Many beneficiaries provided this feedback to our GI Bill Facebook page. The new comparison tool makes it easy to estimate Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits with just one click.
In addition, you can find and compare information on our 10,000+ approved education and training programs, including estimated tuition and fee amounts and your projected housing allowance. Also available are each school’s graduation rate, student loan default rate, and Yellow Ribbon participation. Together, the GI Bill benefit estimator and school comparison information enable students to compare education options and make the best decision for their future.
Also, for the first time, VA is publicly releasing information about the number of students receiving VA education benefits at a particular school. Through the online comparison tool, students can now see how many Veterans attend the school of their choice. In the future, VA will add additional functionality to the tool, including the ability to compare up to three schools side-by-side.
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