Politics - US

Obama Orders Flags to Fly at Half Mast for Neil Armstrong

Mon, 27 Aug 2012 18:57:51 GMT

In a Presidential Proclamation issued today, President Obama ordered that flags be lowered to half mast on the day of the funeral of Neil Armstrong.

Below is the Proclamation in full;

A PROCLAMATION

As a mark of respect for the memory of Neil Armstrong, I hereby order, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, that on the day of his interment, the flag of the United States shall be flown at half-staff at the White House and upon all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all naval vessels of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its Territories and possessions until sunset on such day. I also direct that the flag shall be flown at half-staff for the same length of time at all United States embassies, legations, consular offices, and other facilities abroad, including all military facilities and naval vessels and stations.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-seventh day of August, in the year of our Lord two thousand twelve, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-seventh.

BARACK OBAMA

Obama Weekly Address - Pushing Congress to Create Jobs, Keep College in Reach for Middle Class

Sat, 07 Jul 2012 16:30:57 GMT

In this week’s address, President Obama spoke to the American people from Ohio about a bill signed on Friday that does two important things: it keeps thousands of construction workers on the job rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure, and it stops interest rates on federal loans from doubling this year for more than seven million students.

The President urges Congress to do more to help our economic recovery and create jobs, including taking half the money we’re no longer spending on war and using it to build roads, bridges and wireless networks at home, and expanding financial aid to two million students while giving them the opportunity to learn the skills that businesses need right now. It’s time for our elected officials to come together to help strengthen the middle class.

Remarks of President Barack Obama - Saturday, July 7, 2012

Hi, everybody. I’m here in Ohio, where I’ve spent the past couple days talking with folks about our central challenge as a country – not just reclaiming all the jobs lost to the recession, but reclaiming the economic security that so many Americans have lost over the last decade.

Our mission isn’t just to put people back to work – it’s to rebuild an economy where that work pays; an economy in which everyone who works hard has the chance to get ahead.

For months, I’ve been pushing Congress to pass several common-sense ideas that will help us do that. And on Friday, I signed into law a bill that will do two things for the American people.

First, it will keep thousands of construction workers on the job rebuilding our nation’s infrastructure.

Second, it will keep interest rates on federal student loans from doubling this year – which would have hit more than seven million students with about a thousand dollars more on their loan payments.

Those steps will make a real difference in the lives of millions of Americans. But make no mistake: we’ve got more to do.

The construction industry was hit brutally hard when the housing bubble burst. So it’s not enough to just keep construction workers on the job doing projects that were already underway.

For months, I’ve been calling on Congress to take half the money we’re no longer spending on war and use it to do some nation-building here at home. There’s work to be done building roads and bridges and wireless networks. And there are hundreds of thousands of construction workers ready to do it.

The same thing is true for our students. The bill I’m about to sign is vital for millions of students and their families. But it’s not enough to just keep their student loan rates from doubling.

For months, I’ve been calling on Congress to reform and expand the financial aid that’s offered to students. I’ve been asking them to help us give two million Americans the opportunity to learn the skills that businesses in their area are looking for – right now – through partnerships between community colleges and employers. In America, a higher education cannot be a luxury reserved for just a privileged few. It’s an economic necessity that every American family should be able to afford.

Finally, I want to thank every American who took the time to sit down and write a letter, type out an e-mail, make a phone call or send a tweet hoping your voice would make a difference. I promise you – your voice made all the difference. And as long as I have the privilege of being your President, your voice will be heard in the White House.

Thanks and have a great weekend.

President Obama on Last Night’s Crash of North Carolina Air National Guard C-130

Mon, 02 Jul 2012 21:05:57 GMT

President Barack Obama has made a statement on last night's crash of a National Guard C-130 aircraft.

He said;

"Yesterday, a military C-130 from the North Carolina Air National Guard crashed while supporting firefighting efforts in South Dakota. The full details are still under investigation, but the crew of this flight – along with their families and loved ones – are in our thoughts and prayers.

"The men and women battling these terrible fires across the West put their lives on the line every day for their fellow Americans. The airmen who attack these fires from above repeatedly confront dangerous conditions in an effort to give firefighters on the ground a chance to contain these wildfires – to save homes, businesses, schools, and entire communities.

"They are heroes who deserve the appreciation of a grateful nation. I know Americans across the country share my concern for the well-being of the surviving members of the crew and my deep condolences to the families of those who lost their lives.

"And I know that Americans join me in expressing my deepest gratitude for the selfless determination they and thousands of men and women involved in this fight in states across the country demonstrate every day."

White House - Creating Health Care Jobs by Addressing Primary Care Workforce Needs

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 22:34:10 GMT

Primary care providers are critical for ensuring better coordinated care and better health outcomes for all Americans.

To meet the health needs of Americans, the Obama Administration has made the recruitment, training and retention of primary care professionals a top priority.

Expanding the Primary Health Care Workforce

Together, the Affordable Care Act, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act), and ongoing federal investments in the health care workforce have led to significant progress in training new primary care providers – including physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants – and encouraging primary care providers to practice in underserved areas, including:

Nearly Tripling the National Health Service Corps in Three Years: By 2011, more than 10,000 doctors, nurses and other health care providers were caring for Americans in communities nationwide, thanks to investments over the past three years in the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) through the Affordable Care Act, the Recovery Act and annual appropriations. The NHSC has awarded nearly $900 million in scholarships and loan repayment to health care professionals to help expand the country’s primary care workforce and meet the health care needs of communities across the country. In 2008, approximately 3.7 million patients were provided service by 3,600 National Health Service Corps providers. In 2011, with field strength of more than 10,000 clinicians, the NHSC provided health care services to about 10.5 million patients.
Training New Primary Care Providers: The Affordable Care Act invests in the training of new primary care providers, including providing nearly $230 million to increase the number of medical residents, nurse practitioners and physician assistants trained in primary care. With these investments, by 2015, more than 1,700 new primary care providers will have been trained and enter primary care practice. The President’s Fiscal Year 2013 budget includes $677 million, an increase of $49 million over FY 2012, within the Health Resources and Services Administration to expand the capacity and improve the training and distribution of primary care, dental, and pediatric health providers. The Budget will support the placement of more than 1,500 new primary care providers in underserved areas and begin investments that expand the capacity of institutions to train 2,800 additional primary care providers over five years.
Training Physicians in Community-Based Settings: The Affordable Care Act created the Teaching Health Center Program to help move primary care training into community-based settings. The five-year investment in this program is expected to supportthe community-based training of over 600 new primary care physician residents by 2015.
Supporting Mental Health Training: Mental health issues rank in the top five chronic illnesses in the United States. In Fiscal Year 2012, the Affordable Care Act will invest $10 million to support training to help close the gap in access to mental and behavioral health care services by increasing the number of adequately prepared mental and behavioral health providers.
Expanding Residency Slots for Primary Care: To encourage more medical residents to pursue careers in primary care, the Affordable Care Act redistributes unused residency positions and directs those slots for the training of primary care physicians. In distributing the residency slots, priority for awarding residents is given to hospitals that have rural training tracks, train residents in geriatrics, use the additional slots to create or expand a primary care program, demonstrate focus in training residents to pursue careers in primary care, or are located in a primary care health professional shortage area.
Expanding Training of Advanced Practice Nurses: The Affordable Care Act allows up to five hospitals to receive $50 million each year, for fiscal years 2012 to 2015, to train advanced practice nurses, including nurses in community-based settings through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Modernizing Primary Care Training and Practice

Implementation of the Affordable Care Act provisions is strengthening the primary care training infrastructure, creating new primary care clinical training opportunities, and supporting primary care practice. These efforts include:

Encouraging Physician Training in the Community: The Affordable Care Act provides incentives for hospitals to train primary care physicians in the community by providing flexibility in Medicare residency training requirements. Prior to the law, hospitals had to bear the cost of education in non-hospital sites, often by paying both the resident’s and teaching physician’s salary. This requirement discouraged training in community settings, which encourages primary care practice. The Affordable Care Act changed this policy and requires hospitals to only pay the resident salaries.
Encouraging Health Homes: Under the Affordable Care Act, States are incentivized to create Medicaid “health homes” for individuals with chronic health conditions. Health homes encourage the use of primary care providers to provide integrated care to help patients better manage their health. States that create health homes will receive enhanced federal matching funds for care coordination services for the first eight quarters a health home state plan amendment is in effect.

Modernizing Payment and Improving Financial Incentives for Coordinated Care

Creating Primary Care Payment Incentives: The Affordable Care Act authorizes a ten percent Medicare payment bonus from 2011 to 2015 for physicians who specialize in family medicine, internal medicine, geriatric medicine, or pediatric medicine, nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, or physician assistants for whom primary care services account for at least 60 percent of their Medicare allowed charges. The Affordable Care Act also increases primary care physician payment rates in the Medicaid program to match Medicare payment levels in 2013 and 2014.
Realigning financial incentives in Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs):Under old payment systems, care coordination – the hallmark of effective primary care – wasn’t rewarded financially. Medicare’s shared savings program changes that model by rewarding physicians and other primary care practitioners for high-quality care and preventing the need for care in the first place. Already, 27 ACOs have joined the program and over 150 more potential ACOs have submitted an application. CMS has also created two demonstration programs to supplement the shared savings program: the Pioneer ACO initiative for 32 large and experienced health systems ready to move into accountable care quickly; and the Advanced Payment ACO, for smaller practices that need help with startup costs. Together, these initiatives are improving primary care for 1.1 million people with Medicare.
Innovation Center: The Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation has launched 16 initiatives involving over 50,000 health care providers that will touch the lives of Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries in all 50 States. Many of those are explicitly designed to promote primary care.
- Comprehensive Primary Care Initiative Demonstration: A public-private partnership to enhance access to primary care services by establishing medical homes supported by multiple payers. Funding of up to $322 million is available to support 75 practices in 5-7 States starting this year.
- Federal Qualified Health Center (FQHC) Advanced Primary Care Practice Demonstration: This initiative makes almost $50 million available to support 500 FQHCs in 44 States with care coordination payments that will allow the Centers to become medical homes, the hub of a patient’s primary care needs. This initiative started in 2011.
- Multi-payer Advanced Primary Care Practice Demonstration: This initiative, launched in 2011, is a State-led, multi-payer collaboration to help primary care practices transform into medical homes. It makes $283 million available in 8 States.
- Independence at Home: This initiative supports home-based care for patients with multiple chronic conditions that would benefit from primary care coordination. It provides up to $15 million to support up to 50 practices and will launch later this year.

Obama Administration Announces Additional Steps to Increase Energy Security

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 16:45:21 GMT

The Obama Administration is announcing new steps to bolster energy security for America’s warfighters – underscoring the significant and inherent connection between energy independence and national security.

In Michigan, the Army will open a new 30,000-square-foot lab to develop cutting edge energy technologies for the next generation of combat vehicles. This new lab will support the launch of the Army Green Warrior Convoy, which will test and demonstrate advanced vehicle technology including fuel cells, hybrid systems, battery technologies and alternative fuels.

In addition, today, the Energy Department’s Advanced Research Projects Agency will launch a research competition to engage our country’s brightest scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs in improving the capability of energy storage devices that can be used in the battlefield and for civilian applications. And, building on President Obama’s State of the Union commitment, the Department of Defense (DoD) will make one of the largest commitments to clean energy in history, with a new goal to deploy three gigawatts of renewable energy – including solar, wind, biomass, and geothermal – on Army, Navy, and Air Force installations by 2025 – enough to power 750,000 homes.

These new steps build on President Obama’s unwavering commitment to energy security for America’s warfighters, and to a sustained, comprehensive strategy to ensure a secure energy future for all Americans. Since the President took office, domestic oil and gas production has increased each year. At the same time, our reliance on foreign oil has decreased – a trend expected to continue thanks in part to the historic fuel economy standards established by President Obama, effectively doubling the efficiency of the cars we drive and saving consumers thousands at the pump. In 2011, U.S. crude oil production reached its highest level since 2003, increasing by an estimated 120,000 barrels per day over 2010 levels. Overall, oil imports have been falling since 2005, and net imports as a share of total consumption declined from 57 percent in 2008 to 45 percent in 2011 – the lowest level since 1995.

Army Opens a New Lab to Develop the Next Generation of Combat Vehicles

On April 11, the Army will open a new lab at Detroit Arsenal that will develop cutting edge energy technologies for the next generation of combat vehicles. Through a partnership with academia and industry, these advances may also hold promise for passenger and commercial vehicles. Shared access of this facility with industry and academia will facilitate the exchange of information and ideas to develop emerging energy technologies. Developing advanced technologies for tactical and non-tactical ground vehicles that support our military forces at home and abroad will make our forces more combat effective while helping save American families dollars at the pump.

The Ground Systems Power and Energy Lab (GSPEL)’s 8 state-of-the-art labs offer an unprecedented range of test and validation capabilities for emerging power, energy and mobility technologies at a single facility. The Army’s best and brightest ground vehicle research scientists, engineers and technicians combined with GSPEL’s unique facilities, will enable the Army to innovate tomorrow’s energy solutions.

Army to Road-Test Advanced Energy Technologies in Green Warrior Convoy

As part of required road-tests of advanced energy technologies and systems developed at the GSPEL, the Army will announce its plans to launch a Green Warrior Convoy of vehicles in 2013. The convoy will test and demonstrate the Army's advanced vehicle power and technology including fuel cells, hybrid systems, battery technologies and alternative fuels. These technologies will extend range and endurance of combat forces – helping them to defend the nation better. This convoy will stop at schools, colleges, communities and military facilities along the way to show members of the military and public the importance of energy improvements.

Defense Department Increases Commitment to Renewable Energy to 3 Gigawatts

DoD is making one of the largest commitments to clean energy in history, by developing a goal to deploy three gigawatts of renewable energy – including solar, wind, biomass, and geothermal – on Army, Navy, and Air Force installations by 2025 – enough to power 750,000 homes. This effort furthers the commitment President Obama made during the State of the Union to develop 1 gigawatt of renewable energy on Navy installations by 2020. The Air Force goal of obtaining 1 gigawatt by 2016 and the Army goal of obtaining 1 gigawatt by 2025 support the broader DoD goal to meet 25 percent of its energy needs with renewable energy by 2025.

Renewable energy is critical to making our bases more energy secure. Together with emerging microgrid and storage technologies, reliable, local sources of renewable power will increase the energy security of our nation’s military installations. By doing so, the DoD is better able to carry out its mission to defend the nation. To meet these goals at no additional cost to the taxpayer, DoD will leverage private sector financing through authorities such as Power Purchase Agreements, Enhanced Use Leasing, Utility Energy Savings Contracts, and Energy Savings Performance Contracts.

Energy Department Launches Competition to Make Energy Storage More Effective and Safe

Through its Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E), the Department of Energy is funding a $30 million research competition that will engage our country’s brightest scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs in improving the capability of energy storage devices, including batteries. ARPA-E’s new “Advanced Management and Protection of Energy-storage Devices” (AMPED) program will promote the development of next-generation energy storage sensing and control technologies, including enhancing the performance of hybrid energy storage modules being developed by the DoD for war-fighting equipment. Specifically, AMPED technologies have the potential to:

• Increase the fuel efficiency of military generators to help reduce the need for fuel-convoys on the battlefield;
• Improve the reliability of military aircraft generators to help to reduce operation and maintenance costs;
• Enable next generation high power weapons systems and fuel efficient operations for Navy ships;
• Create a new generation of electric and hybrid-electric vehicles; and
• Enhance the efficiency and reliability of the U.S. electricity grid.

To date, ARPA-E has hosted four rounds of competitions and attracted over 5,000 applications from research teams, resulting in approximately 180 cutting edge projects.

Administration Announces Progress on Advanced Biofuels Initiative

High global oil prices affect every part of our economy – from middle class families, to small businesses, to the Department of Defense. DoD estimates that for every $1 increase in the price of a barrel of oil, we incur an additional $130 million in fuel costs. That is why, as part of his Blueprint for a Secure Energy Future, President Obama challenged the Departments of Navy, Energy and Agriculture to partner with private industry to accelerate the commercialization of drop-in biofuels for military and commercial use. The three departments developed a plan to spur private industry and financiers to construct or retrofit multiple integrated biorefineries capable of producing millions of gallons of fuel annually from domestic feedstocks and at a competitive price. On March 29, the Department of Defense’s Defense Production Act Executive Agent published advanced notice of a broad area announcement (BAA) soliciting proposals for the advanced drop-in biofuel production project. The project’s goal is to establish commercial-scale biorefineries in different regions of the U.S. producing jet and naval biofuels from diverse feedstocks via different processes. A Biofuel Industry Roundtable will be held on May 18 in Washington D.C. and will bring together the market and industry expertise necessary to develop a domestic biofuel market capable of producing alternative fuel that is cost-competitive with traditional fuel.

Obama Weekly Address - President Obama Says House Must Pass Bipartisan Transportation Bill

Sat, 24 Mar 2012 11:36:14 GMT

In this week’s address, President Obama called on the House of Representatives to pass a bipartisan transportation bill that would repair crumbling roads and bridges and support construction jobs in communities all across America.

According to a new report, 90 percent of these construction jobs are middle class jobs. The Senate passed the bill with the support of Democrats and Republicans because if the bill stalls in Congress then constructions sites will go idle, workers will have to go home, and our economy will take a hit.

The President calls on everyone to tell their elected officials to pass a long-term transportation bill that will support American construction workers and our economy.

Remarks of President Barack Obama - Saturday March 24, 2012

Hello. This week, I traveled across the country to talk about my all-of-the-above energy strategy for America – a strategy where we produce more oil and gas here at home, but also more biofuels and fuel-efficient cars; more solar power and wind power and other sources of clean, renewable energy.

Now, you wouldn’t know it by listening to some of the folks running for office today, but producing more oil at home has been, and will continue to be, a key part of my energy strategy. Under my Administration, we’re producing more oil than at any other time in the last eight years. We’ve quadrupled the number of operating oil rigs to a record high. And we’ve added enough oil and gas pipeline to circle the entire Earth and then some. Those are the facts.

But as I’ve been saying all week, even though America uses around 20 percent of the world’s oil, we only have around 2 percent of the world’s known oil reserves. So even if we drilled everywhere, we’d still be relying on other countries for oil.

That’s why we’re pursuing an all-of-the-above strategy. We’re producing more biofuels. More fuel-efficient cars. More solar power. More wind power. This week, I was in Boulder City, Nevada, where they’ve got the largest solar plant of its kind anywhere in the country. That’s the future. I was at Ohio State University, where they’ve developed the fastest electric car in the world. That’s the future. I don’t want to cede these clean energy industries to China or Germany or any other country. I want to see solar panels and wind turbines and fuel-efficient cars manufactured right here in America, by American workers.

Now, getting these clean energy industries to locate here requires us to maintain a national commitment to new research and development. But it also requires us to build world-class transportation and communications networks, so that any company can move goods and sell products all around the world as quickly and efficiently as possible.
So much of America needs to be rebuilt right now. We’ve got crumbling roads and bridges. A power grid that wastes too much energy. An incomplete high-speed broadband network. And we’ve got thousands of unemployed construction workers who’ve been looking for a job ever since the housing market collapsed.

But once again, we’re waiting on Congress. You see, in a matter of days, funding will stop for all sorts of transportation projects. Construction sites will go idle. Workers will have to go home. And our economy will take a hit.

This Congress cannot let that happen. Not at a time when we should be doing everything in our power – Democrats and Republicans – to keep this recovery moving forward. The Senate did their part. They passed a bipartisan transportation bill. It had the support of 52 Democrats and 22 Republicans. Now it’s up to the House to follow suit; to put aside partisan posturing, end the gridlock, and do what’s right for the American people.

This is common sense. Right now, all across this country, we’ve got contractors and construction workers who have never been more eager to get back on the job. A long term transportation bill would put them to work. And those are good jobs. We just released a report that shows nearly 90 percent of the construction, manufacturing and trade jobs created through investments in transportation projects are middle class jobs. Those are exactly the jobs we need right now, and they’ll make the economy stronger for everybody.

We’ve done this before. During the Great Depression, America built the Hoover Dam and the Golden Gate Bridge. After World War II, we connected our states with a system of highways. Democratic and Republican administrations invested in great projects that benefited everybody, from the workers who built them to the businesses that still use them today.

So tell Congress that if we invest in new technology and new energy; in new roads and bridges and construction projects, we can keep growing our economy, put our people back to work, and remind the world why the United States is the greatest nation on Earth.

Thanks and have a great weekend.

Statement by the President on the Need for a Bipartisan Transportation Bill

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 20:38:04 GMT

Last week, the Senate passed a bipartisan transportation bill that will keep construction workers on the job and keep our economy growing. Now the House of Representatives needs to take bipartisan action so I can sign this into law.

An economy built to last depends on a world-class infrastructure system that allows us to transport our people and goods as quickly and effectively as possible.

That’s why we need to continue to make investments that will create jobs by rebuilding and modernizing our roads, bridges and railways.

And that’s why my Administration will continue to fight for the long-term investments needed to ensure that America continues to compete and succeed in a global economy.

Obama Weekly Address - It's Time for Congress to Act to Help Responsible Homeowners

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 15:30:28 GMT

In this week’s address, President Obama continued his call for a return to American values, including fairness and equality, as part of his blueprint for an economy built to last.

This is why the President is sending Congress his plan to give responsible homeowners the chance to save thousands of dollars on their mortgages by refinancing at historically low rates without adding a cent to the deficit. The housing crisis has been the single largest drag on the recovery, and although the Administration’s actions have helped responsible homeowners refinance their mortgages and stay in their homes, Congress must act now to do more to continue assisting homeowners and the economy. President Obama asks all Americans to tell their elected officials to pass this plan to keep more families in their homes and more neighborhoods thriving and whole.

Remarks of President Barack Obama - Saturday, February 4, 2012

Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been traveling around the country and talking with folks about my blueprint for an economy built to last. It’s a blueprint that focuses on restoring the things we’ve always done best. Our strengths. American manufacturing. American energy. The skills and education of American workers.

And most importantly, American values like fairness and responsibility.

We know what happened when we strayed from those values over the past decade – especially when it comes to our housing market.

Lenders sold loans to families who couldn’t afford them. Banks packaged those mortgages up and traded them for phony profits. It drove up prices and created an unsustainable bubble that burst – and left millions of families who did everything right in a world of hurt.

It was wrong. The housing crisis has been the single biggest drag on our recovery from the recession. It has kept millions of families in debt and unable to spend, and it has left hundreds of thousands of construction workers out of a job.

But there’s something even more important at stake. I’ve been saying this is a make-or-break moment for the middle class. And the housing crisis struck right at the heart of what it means to be middle-class in this country: owning a home. Raising our kids. Building our dreams.

Right now, there are more than 10 million homeowners in this country who, because of a decline in home prices that is no fault of their own, owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth. Now, it is wrong for anyone to suggest that the only option for struggling, responsible homeowners is to sit and wait for the housing market to hit bottom. I don’t accept that. None of us should.

That’s why we launched a plan a couple years ago that’s helped nearly one million responsible homeowners refinance their mortgages and save an average of $300 on their payments each month. Now, I’ll be the first to admit it didn’t help as many folks as we’d hoped. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t keep trying.

That’s why I’m sending Congress a plan that will give every responsible homeowner the chance to save about $3,000 a year on their mortgages by refinancing at historically low rates. No more red tape. No more endless forms. And a small fee on the largest financial institutions will make sure it doesn’t add a dime to the deficit.

I want to be clear: this plan will not help folks who bought a house they couldn’t afford and then walked away from it. It won’t help folks who bought multiple houses just to turn around and sell them.

What this plan will do is help millions of responsible homeowners who make their payments every month, but who, until now, couldn’t refinance because their home values kept dropping or they got wrapped up in too much red tape.

But here’s the catch. In order to lower mortgage payments for millions of Americans, we need Congress to act. They’re the ones who have to pass this plan. And as anyone who has followed the news in the last six months can tell you, getting Congress to do anything these days is not an easy job.

That’s why I’m going to keep up the pressure on Congress to do the right thing. But I also need your help. I need your voice. I need everyone who agrees with this plan to get on the phone, send an email, tweet, pay a visit, and remind your representatives in Washington who they work for. Tell them to pass this plan. Tell them to help more families keep their homes, and more neighborhoods stay vibrant and whole.

The truth is, it will take time for our housing market to recover. It will take time for our economy to fully bounce back. But there are steps we can take, right now, to move this country forward. That’s what I promise to do as your President, and I hope Members of Congress will join me.

Thank you, and have a great weekend.

President Obama Announces New White House Director of Domestic Policy Council Cecilia Muñoz

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 22:12:24 GMT

The White House has announced that the current Director of Intergovernmental Affairs Cecilia Muñoz will now serve as the Director of the Domestic Policy Council.

Ms. Munoz will coordinate the policy-making process and supervise the execution of domestic policy in the White House.

“Over the past three years, Cecilia has been a trusted advisor who has demonstrated sound judgment day in and day out,” said President Obama. “Cecilia has done an extraordinary job working on behalf of middle class families, and I’m confident she’ll bring the same unwavering dedication to her new position.”

Cecilia Muñoz currently serves as Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Intergovernmental Affairs where she oversees the Obama Administration’s relationships with state and local governments. As Director of Intergovernmental Affairs under Valerie Jarrett, Ms. Muñoz leads a partnership between federal, state, local, and tribal governments that Governing magazine described as “more prominent and responsive than it ever was,” citing praise from local and state elected officials from across the political spectrum. Under Muñoz’s leadership, this partnership has brought the voices of local elected officials and the people they represent into the White House in the development and execution of policies to address local challenges in the economy, health care, disaster relief, and transportation infrastructure among others.

Ms. Muñoz also leads the Administration’s efforts to fix the broken immigration system so that it meets America’s 21st century economic and security needs. In addition, she serves as Co-Chair of the President’s Task Force on Puerto Rico’s Status, which has worked to not only continue to address the question of the island’s political status, but also partnered with local officials to address immediate concerns over jobs and the economy, health care, education, the environment, energy, and infrastructure.

Prior to joining the Obama Administration, Muñoz served as Senior VicePresident for the Office of Research, Advocacy, and Legislation at the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the nation’s largest Latino civil rights organization. She supervised NCLR’s policy staff covering a variety of issues of importance to Latinos, including civil rights, employment, poverty, farmworker issues, education, health, housing, and immigration. Her particular area of expertise is immigration policy, which she covered at NCLR for twenty years.

Ms. Muñoz is the former Chair of the Board of Center for Community Change, and served on the U.S. Programs Board of the Open Society Institute and the Board of Directors of the Atlantic Philanthropies and the National Immigration Forum. In June 2000, she was awarded a MacArthur Foundation fellowship in recognition of her work on immigration and civil rights.

Ms. Muñoz is the daughter of immigrants from Bolivia and was born in Detroit, Michigan. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and her master’s degree from the University of California at Berkeley. In 2007, she served as the Towsley Foundation Policymaker in Residence at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan.

RNC Chairman Reince Priebus Commens on December Jobs Report

Sun, 08 Jan 2012 11:42:39 GMT

Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Reince Priebus released a statement on the December jobs report.

In the statement, he said; "Although seeing more Americans returning to work is good for our nation, joblessness in America remains painfully and unacceptably high.

"After three years of Barack Obama’s presidency, the American economy is not recovering quick enough. “President Obama has broken his promise to the American people. He promised he could fix the economy with an $825 billion stimulus that was supposed to keep unemployment below 8 percent.
"Instead of fixing it, he made things worse—imposing a massive regulatory regime, pushing job-killing mandates, and racking up trillions of dollars in debt. “America marked yet another devastating milestone this week: the national debt now exceeds annual GDP.

"Troubling headlines like these serve only to diminish the confidence of businesses and job creators, reducing the number of workers they are willing to hire. It’s yet another example of how Obama’s reckless policies have imperiled our economy.

"As a result of those policies, families across America are hurting. And instead of working with Republicans to get the economy moving, President Obama is engaged in a full-time re-election campaign, prioritizing his job over jobs for the unemployed. He has no long term vision to fix the economy and no comprehensive plan to get Americans working again.

"All he offers are occasional gimmicks that create nothing more than campaign photo-ops. “The American economy cannot afford this any longer, and the American people cannot afford another term of Barack Obama."

Obama Weekly Address - Continuing to Grow the Economy in the New Year

Sat, 07 Jan 2012 11:48:13 GMT

In this week’s address, President Obama shared his New Year’s resolution with the American people: to do whatever it takes to move the economy forward and make sure that middle class families regain the security they’ve lost in the last decade.

This is why the President appointed Richard Cordray this week to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to protect American consumers. And while we learned that the United States economy continues to add private sector jobs – with over 1.9 million created in 2011 – more needs to be done to move the economy forward.

The President will also announce in this week’s address that he will host an “Insourcing American Jobs” forum at the White House on Wednesday to hear from business leaders who are bringing jobs back home and see how we can get others to follow their lead.

Remarks of President Barack Obama - Saturday, January 7, 2012

Hello, everybody.

This week, I traveled to Cleveland, Ohio, to talk with folks about the biggest challenge we face as a country – rebuilding our economy so that, once again, hard work pays off, responsibility is rewarded, and anyone, regardless of who they are or where they come from, can make it if they try. That’s the economy America deserves. That’s the economy I’m fighting every day to build.

Now, to get there, the most important thing we need to do is get more Americans back to work. And over the past three years, we’ve made steady progress. We just learned that our economy added 212,000 private sector jobs in December. After losing more than 8 million jobs in the recession, we’ve added more than 3 million private sector jobs over the past 22 months. And we’re starting 2012 with manufacturing on the rise and the American auto industry on the mend.

We’re heading in the rightdirection. And we’re not going to let up. On Wednesday the White House will host a forum called “Insourcing American Jobs.” We’ll hear from business leaders who are bringing jobs back home and see how we can help other businesses follow their lead.

Because this is a make or break moment for the middle class and all those working to get there. We’ve got to keep at it. We’ve got to keep creating jobs. And we’ve got to keep rebuilding our economy so that everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share – and everyone plays by the same rules. We can’t go back to the days when the financial system was stacking the deck against ordinary Americans. To me, that’s not an option. Not after all we’ve been through.

That’s why I appointed Richard Cordray as our nation’s new consumer watchdog this week. Richard’s job is simple: to look out for you. Every day, his sole mission is to protect consumers from potential abuses by the financial industry and to make sure that you’ve got all the transparent information you need to make the important financial decisions in your lives.

I nominated Richard for this job last summer. And yet, Republicans in the Senate kept blocking his confirmation – not because they objected to him, but because they wanted to weaken his agency. That made no sense. Every day we waited was a day you and consumers all across the country were at greater financial risk.

So this year, I’m going to keep doing whatever it takes to move this economy forward and to make sure that middle class families regain the security they’ve lost over the past decade. That’s my New Year’s resolution to all of you. Thank you, and have a great weekend.

Obama Weekly Address - The President and First Lady Thank Troops for their Service this Holiday Season

Sat, 24 Dec 2011 12:19:10 GMT

In this week’s address, President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama came together to wish the American people a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, and thanked US troops, military families, and veterans for their service and sacrifice.

President Obama and Michelle Obama encouraged everyone to visit JoiningForces.gov to find ways to give back to our brave men and women in uniform and their families during the holiday season as Americans work together in the spirit of service.

Remarks of President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama - December 24, 2011

THE PRESIDENT: Hi everyone. As you gather with family and friends this weekend, Michelle, Malia, Sasha and I – and of course Bo – want to wish you all Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.

THE FIRST LADY: This is such a wonderful time of year.

It’s a time to honor the story of love and redemption that began 2,000 years ago … a time to see the world through a child’s eyes and rediscover the magic all around us … and a time to give thanks for the gifts that bless us every single day.

This holiday season at the White House, we wanted to show our thanks with a special holiday tribute to some of the strongest, bravest, and most resilient members of our American family – the men and women who wear our country’s uniform and the families who support them.

THE PRESIDENT: For many military families, the best gift this year is a simple one – welcoming a loved one back for the holidays. You see, after nearly nine years, our war in Iraq is over. Our troops are coming home. And across America, military families are being reunited.

So let’s take a moment to give thanks for their service; for their families’ service; for our veterans’ service. And let’s say a prayer for all our troops standing post all over the world, especially our brave men and women in Afghanistan who are serving, even as we speak, in harm’s way to protect the freedoms and security we hold dear.

THE FIRST LADY: Our veterans, troops, and military families sacrifice so much for us.

So this holiday season, let’s make sure that all of them know just how much we appreciate everything they do.

Let’s ask ourselves, “How can I give back? How can my family serve them as well as they’ve served us”

One way you can get started is to visit JoiningForces.gov to find out how you can get involved in your community.

THE PRESIDENT: Giving of ourselves; service to others – that’s what this season is all about. For my family and millions of Americans, that’s what Christmas is all about. It reminds us that part of what it means to love God is to love one another, to be our brother’s keeper and our sister’s keeper. But that belief is not just at the center of our Christian faith, it’s shared by Americans of all faiths and backgrounds. It’s why so many of us, every year, volunteer our time to help those most in need; especially our hungry and our homeless.

So whatever you believe, wherever you’re from, let’s remember the spirit of service that connects us all this season – as Americans. Each of us can do our part to serve our communities and our country, not just today, but every day.

THE FIRST LADY: So from our family to yours, Merry Christmas.

THE PRESIDENT: Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, everybody.

Obama Weekly Address - Ensuring a Fair Shot for the Middle Class

Sat, 10 Dec 2011 12:25:55 GMT

In this week’s address, President Obama told the American people that the United States succeeds when everyone gets a fair shot, does their fair share, and engages in fair play.

This is why the President nominated Richard Cordray to lead a new consumer-watchdog agency designed to protect families from being taken advantage of, but Republicans in Congress have blocked the nomination. They have also stood in the way of a balanced plan to extend the payroll tax cut for working families – and the President made clear he believes that elected officials should not go home for the holidays until they’ve done what is right for the American people and for the economy by extending this tax cut.

Remarks of President Barack Obama - Saturday, December 10, 2011

Today, America faces a make-or-break moment for the middle class.

After the worst economic crisis of our lifetimes, some still want to return to the same policies that got us into this mess. They’re the same policies that have stacked the deck against working Americans for too long. They’re part of a philosophy that says we’re better off when everyone is left to fend for themselves and play by their own rules.

But I have a different vision. I believe that we are greater together than we are on our own. I believe that this country succeeds when everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone engages in fair play.

To ensure fair play, last year, we passed the toughest financial reform in generations.

See, for too long, the rules weren’t the same on Wall Street as they were on Main Street. Risky bets were made with other people’s money. Some folks made a lot of money taking advantage of consumers. It was wrong. And this irresponsible behavior on the part of some contributed to the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.

So this financial reform refocuses the financial sector on what’s really important: getting capital to entrepreneurs who want to grow their businesses, and financing to millions of families who want to buy a house or send their kids to college.

A key part of that was putting in place the first-ever consumer watchdog – someone whose job it is to protect American families from being taken advantage of by mortgage lenders, payday lenders, and debt collectors.

Tens of millions of Americans use these services. Protecting them from unscrupulous practices is an important job. And that’s why I nominated Richard Cordray to serve as the head of this consumer watchdog agency.

As the former Attorney General of Ohio, Richard helped recover billions of dollars on behalf of retirees and stood up to dishonest lending practices. He has the support of most Attorneys General across the country, both Democrats and Republicans. Members of Congress from both parties say he’s more than qualified for the job. And yet on Thursday, Republicans blocked his nomination. They refused to even allow it to come up for a vote.

That doesn’t make any sense. Do Republicans in Congress think our financial crisis was caused by too much oversight of mortgage lenders or debt collectors? Of course not. And every day America has to wait for a new consumer protection watchdog is another day that dishonest businesses can target and take advantage of students, seniors, and service members.

So I refuse to take “no” for an answer. Financial institutions have plenty of high-powered lawyers and lobbyists looking out for them. It’s time consumers had someone on their side.

And while they’re at it, Republicans in Congress should stop the games and extend the payroll tax cut for working Americans. Because if they don’t, nearly 160 million Americans will see their taxes go up at the end of this month.

Congress can’t end the year by taking money out of the pockets of working Americans. Now is not the time for playing politics. Now is the time to do what’s right for the American people.

No one should go home for the holidays until we get this done. So tell your Members of Congress, don’t be a Grinch. Tell them to do the right thing for you and for our economy. Thank you.

White House - Vice President's Office Announces Staff Shake-up

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 20:29:56 GMT

The Office of the Vice President announced today that Courtney O’Donnell, Director of Communications to Second Lady Jill Biden, will leave the White House to move to Berlin, Germany with her family where she plans to work on projects based in Europe.

O’Donnell will be succeeded by Melanie Kaye, who most recently worked at a DC-area advertising and communications consulting firm.

Dr. Jill Biden said: “Since Inauguration Day, Courtney has served as a trusted advisor to me and our entire team. Her creativity and strategic thinking helped us build campaigns to showcase the strengths of community colleges, support our nation’s military families, fight breast cancer, and draw attention and resources to the issues in the Horn of Africa. Her expertise, graceful demeanor and tireless work ethic have been invaluable not just to me but to the entire office of the Vice President. Joe and I are extremely grateful for her tremendous contributions and we wish her all the best in her future endeavors.”

Melanie Kaye comes to the White House from GMMB, where she provided strategic communications counsel on a variety of issues, including public health topics such as cancer, tobacco and obesity, health care reform, workforce and workplace issues, and education, among others. Before that, she served as Press Secretary to former Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle, both in his office and during his successful 2006 re-election campaign. Melanie also worked as a reporter for several years for publications including The Hill newspaper.

A native of Wisconsin, Kaye received her Bachelors of Arts from St. Norbert College and began work on her master’s degree at the University of Wisconsin’s Robert M. La Follette School of Public Affairs.

White House - Seventh Review Conference of the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 20:09:43 GMT

Today, the States Parties to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BWC) are meeting in Geneva for the start of the Seventh Review Conference (RevCon) of the Biological Weapons Convention to evaluate the implementation of the treaty and chart a course for the coming years.

To underscore the importance the United States places on the BWC as a critical tool to help counter biological threats, the President has asked Secretary of State Clinton to lead the United States delegation to the RevCon, where she will deliver the opening statement for the United States on December 7th.

Part of a Broader National Strategy

The BWC is a critical venue for advancing objectives set forth in the President’s National Strategy for Countering Biological Threats, which emphasizes the need for multinational collaboration on concrete activities to help counter biological proliferation and bioterrorism. The three-week BWC Review Conference presents an opportunity for countries to promote real action to improve global response capabilities, reinforce norms against the misuse of biological science, and to help identify and thwart those who would seek to cause harm.

Revitalizing International Efforts to Reduce Biological Threats

The United States believes the BWC should be the premier forum for bringing together the security, health, law enforcement, and science communities to raise awareness of evolving biological risks and how to best manage them. The U.S. believes that revitalized international efforts and a coordinated series of actions can help reduce the threat of biological attacks.

At the RevCon, the United States will seek the endorsement of the BWC States Parties of a work program for the next five years in three broad areas of work that will greatly enhance international efforts to counter biological threats.

First, the United States is asking States Parties to establish an effort to develop constructive ways to strengthen implementation of the BWC and build confidence that all members are living up to their obligations. The dual-use nature of biological work simply makes it too easy to conceal prohibited activities – so the United States has proposed efforts to promulgate legislative and regulatory frameworks, safety and security measures, outreach to stakeholders, improved annual reporting, and options for addressing compliance concerns.
Second, the United States is proposing that the RevCon create a working group that will be tasked with taking concrete actions to make the BWC a more robust forum for building global capacities for preventing, detecting, and combating disease outbreaks, regardless of whether they are natural, deliberate or accidental. We need to be prepared, both nationally and internationally, to deal with a biological attack should one occur. The United States seeks to capitalize on synergies between security and public health communities – and to do so through the sort of international cooperation called for in the BWC.
Third, the United States is asking States Parties to establish a mechanism for assessing developments in science and technology to better understand their potential benefits to the BWC as well as their potential misuse by terrorists or others. It is important for BWC States Parties to have a structured dialogue with the international scientific community on emerging technologies in order to better address the potential for their misuse.

In order to meet these goals, the United States will propose that the BWC RevCon establish a vigorous work program for the next five years that focuses on the common needs and interests of all States Parties in combating biological threats. Pursuing this robust program will help the international community produce concrete results, thereby enabling successful annual Meetings of States Parties and a robust Eighth BWC Review Conference in 2016.

Vice President Joe Biden Makes Surprise Trip to Iraq

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 18:09:45 GMT

Vice President Biden has arrived in Baghdad, Iraq. While there, the Vice President will co-chair a meeting of the U.S.-Iraq Higher Coordinating Committee.

He will also meet with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, President Jalal Talabani, Speaker Osama al-Nujaifi, and other political leaders. The Vice President will also participate in, and give remarks at, an event to commemorate the sacrifices and accomplishments of U.S. and Iraqi troops.

Over nearly three years in office, the Administration has kept its promises on Iraq. American forces withdrew from Iraq’s cities in July 2009. The United States ended its combat mission in Iraq on August 31, 2010, and drew down to fewer than 50,000 troops from approximately 144,000 in January 2009. Throughout this period, violence in Iraq has remained at its lowest level since 2003. On October 21st, President Obama and Prime Minister Maliki agreed that it was in the best interests of both the United States and Iraq to draw down U.S. forces by the end of 2011 and embark on a new phase in our relationship—a long-term strategic partnership across a range of sectors. In accordance with the 2008 Security Agreement between our two nations, all U.S. forces will leave Iraq by December 31, 2011.

Now, pursuant to the U.S-Iraq Strategic Framework Agreement, we are deepening our cooperation on politics and diplomacy; trade and finance; energy; services, technology, the environment, and transportation; law enforcement and the judiciary; and defense and security. This week’s meeting of the Higher Coordinating Committee in Baghdad will address and enhance our joint efforts on each of these important policy areas.

This is Vice President Biden’s eighth trip to Iraq since his election as Vice President.

White House - High-Level Working Group on Jobs and Growth

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 20:29:28 GMT

The Leaders of the United States and the European Union (EU) recognize that transatlantic trade and investment constitutes the largest economic relationship in the world, creating jobs, increasing economic growth, and driving competitiveness on both sides of the Atlantic.

Given the successes of our existing economic partnership, the United States and the EU are committed to identifying new ways of strengthening our economic relationship and developing its full potential. A number of studies and proposals have advocated new bilateral trade, investment, and other economic agreements to access the untapped economic opportunities of our relationship.

At the November 28, 2011 EU-U.S. Summit meeting, Leaders directed the Transatlantic Economic Council to establish a High-Level Working Group on Jobs and Growth, led by U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk and EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht. The Working Group is tasked to identify policies and measures to increase U.S.-EU trade and investment to support mutually beneficial job creation, economic growth, and international competitiveness. Leaders asked the Working Group to work closely with all public and private sector stakeholder groups, and to draw on existing dialogues and mechanisms, as appropriate.

The Working Group will examine options in areas including, but not limited to, the following:

• Conventional barriers to trade in goods, such as tariffs and tariff-rate quotas;
• Reduction, elimination, or prevention of barriers to trade in goods, services, and investment;
• Opportunities for enhancing the compatibility of regulations and standards;
• Reduction, elimination, or prevention of unnecessary “behind the border” non-tariff barriers to trade in all categories;
• Enhanced cooperation for the development of rules and principles on global issues of common concern and also for the achievement of shared economic goals relating to third countries.

For each option it assesses, the Working Group will take into consideration:

• the short- and medium-term impact on economic growth, job creation, and competitiveness;
• the feasibility of each option;
• the implications for, and consistency with, bilateral and multilateral trade obligations.

Upon completing its analysis, the Working Group will also consider and recommend the practical means necessary to implement any policy measures identified. These could include a range of possible initiatives, from enhanced regulatory cooperation to negotiation of one or more bilateral trade agreements addressing the issues above.

The Working Group will provide an interim update to Leaders on the status of its work in June 2012. It will issue a report with findings, conclusions, and recommendations to the Leaders by the end of 2012.

White House - ASEAN-United States Leaders Meeting

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 21:01:27 GMT

President Obama met with the leaders of the 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asia Nations to review our cooperation on building greater economic, security, and people-to-people ties with an important region and a key Asian multilateral organization.

With a population of approximately 580 million and a combined GDP of $1.5 trillion, ASEAN is the United States’ fourth largest export market, includes two treaty allies, one of our closest security partners, and several emerging regional powers, and sits astride some of the world’s most important trading routes and sea lines of communication.

Leaders adopted the Five-year ASEAN-United States Plan of Action, a roadmap for expanding our strategic cooperation. The Plan of Action includes collaborative projects in three main areas—political and security, economic and trade, and socio-cultural cooperation.

Going forward, the United States will work with ASEAN through the US-ASEAN Trade and Investment Framework Work Plan to build on existing work on trade facilitation and ongoing dialogues on trade and environment and trade finance by introducing new initiatives on digital connectivity and trade and investment in healthcare services, agribusiness, and consumer goods.

The United States and Brunei announced the United States Partnership with ASEAN on English Language Education. This ambitious, five-year, $25 million initiative, supported by the governments of Brunei and Singapore with the East-West Center in Hawaii as an implementing coordinator, reflects a commitment to help unify the diverse members of ASEAN, improve English language capacity, and advance educational and teaching opportunities in the region.

The United States is supporting the launch of the ASEAN youth volunteers program and sponsorship a visit by the Volunteers and the ASEAN Commission on Women and Children the U.S. next April to connect with U.S. civil society groups on best practices.

The United States, under President Obama’s global Feed the Future initiative and through the ASEAN Secretariat, will support a program to promote the role of the private sector and public-private dialogue on food security policies and solutions.

The United States announced plans to launch an initiative enabling US Trade and Development Agency to bring the best of U.S. business to ASEAN in a first, major commercial outreach to discuss upcoming connectivity infrastructure projects and the role for U.S. business.

The United States proposed the creation a Southeast Asia Maritime Partnership (SAMP), which will provide a multi-agency approach to cooperation and capacity building on maritime awareness, management and security.

The United States and ASEAN will work together to launch the “ASEAN Single Window” pilot program, a trade facilitation project to expedite cargo clearance. When fully operational, this will be the world’s first regional integrated cargo-clearance system.

ASEAN leaders, supported by the United States as an Asian Development Bank (ADB) member, will create an ASEAN Infrastructure Fund. ASEAN governments, supported by ADB members, will contribute to the fund to help underwrite infrastructure projects in the region. The initial fund of $600 million will support infrastructure projects aimed at creating an integrated ASEAN community, and will provide expanded opportunities for U.S. businesses to participate in ASEAN infrastructure projects in the energy, transportations, and information and communications technology sectors.

President Obama announced the three U.S. members of the U.S.-ASEAN Eminent Persons Group: Stapleton Roy, Charlene Barshefsky, and Muhtar Kent, fulfilling a commitment he made with ASEAN leaders in 2009. The group will deliver recommendations to the Leaders ahead of the next ASEAN-US Leaders Meeting.

Leaders welcomed the successful conclusion of negotiations to enable the United States, United Kingdom, Russia, France and China to accede to the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapons Free Zone Treaty (SEANWFZ) protocol, and agreed to take the necessary steps to enable the signing of the protocol and its entry into force by these states at the earliest opportunity.

The ten ASEAN Leaders are Sultan Hassanal of Brunei, President Thein Sein of Burma (Myanmar), Prime Minister Hun Sen of Cambodia, President Yudhoyono of Indonesia, Prime Minister Thongsing of Laos, Prime Minister Najib of Malaysia, President Aquino of the Philippines, Prime Minister Lee of Singapore, Prime Minister Yingluck of Thailand, and Prime Minister Dung of Vietnam, as well as ASEAN Secretary General Surin.

White House - Returning Heroes and Wounded Warrior Tax Credits

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 20:58:52 GMT

In August, President Obama called on Congress to enact tax credits that will help get veterans back to work.

The Returning Heroes Tax Credit provides businesses that hire unemployed veterans with a maximum credit of $5,600 per veteran, and the Wounded Warriors Tax Credit offers businesses that hire veterans with service-connected disabilities with a maximum credit of $9,600 per veteran.

These tax credits were included in the American Jobs Act and were signed into law by President Obama on November 21, 2011.

Returning Heroes and Wounded Warrior Tax Credits

Under the Recovery Act, employers who hired certain unemployed veterans were eligible for a tax credit of up to 40 percent of the first $6,000 of wages, for a maximum credit of $2,400. This credit expired at the end of 2010.

On November 21, 2011, the President signed into law two new tax credits:

The Returning Heroes Tax Credit is a new hiring tax credit that will provide an incentive for businesses to hire unemployed veterans.
- Short-term unemployed: A new credit of 40 percent of the first $6,000 of wages (up to $2,400) for employers who hire veterans who have been unemployed at least 4 weeks.
- Long-term unemployed: A new credit of 40 percent of the first $14,000 of wages (up to $5,600) for employers who hire veterans who have been unemployed longer than 6 months.
The Wounded Warrior Tax Credit will double the existing tax credit for long-term unemployed veterans with service-connected disabilities.
- Maintain the existing Work Opportunity Tax Credit for veterans with service-connected disabilities (currently the maximum is $4,800).
- A new credit of 40 percent of the first $24,000 of wages (up to $9,600) for firms that hire veterans with service-connected disabilities who have been unemployed longer than 6 months.

Executive Actions to Get Veterans Back to Work

Earlier this year, the President also announced a series of executive actions to help get veterans back to work.

These initiatives include:

Veteran Gold Card: Post-9/11 veterans can now download the Veteran Gold Card, which entitles them to enhanced services including six months of personalized case management, assessments and counseling, at the roughly 3,000 One-Stop Career Centers located across the country. This could help serve the more than 200,000 unemployed Post-9/11 veterans. The President directed the Department of Labor to launch this initiative in his August 5, 2011 speech at the Navy Yard.

My Next Move for Veterans: The Department of Labor has launched My Next Move for Veterans, a new online resource that allows veterans to enter their military occupation code and discover civilian occupations for which they are well qualified. The site also includes information about salaries, apprenticeships, and other related education and training programs.

Creating a Veterans Job Bank: The Administration launched the Veterans Job Bank, at National Resource Directory, an easy to use tool to help veterans find job postings from companies looking to hire them. It already searches over one million job postings and is growing. In a few easy steps, companies can make sure the job postings on their own websites are part of this Veterans Job Bank. These resources can be accessed at www.whitehouse.gov/vets

Joining Forces: In August, the President challenged the private sector to hire or train 100,000 veterans or military spouses by the end of 2013. The President also asked First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden to lead these efforts with the private sector as part of their Joining Forces initiative. In just over 100 days, more than 1,500 private sector companies have stepped up and already employed more than 18,000 veterans and spouses. In addition, these private sector companies have committed to hiring 135,000 veterans and spouses by the end of 2013, exceeding the President's challenge. Also included in these private sector employment efforts is a dedicated commitment to hire 5,000 wounded warriors.

Challenging Community Health Centers to Hire 8,000 Veterans in Three Years: The Obama Administration challenged Community Health Centers to hire 8,000 veterans – approximately one veteran per health center site – over the next three years. The health reform law provides funding for community health centers to serve more Americans and hire more workers. The National Association of Community Health Centers will also contribute to this effort and joined the Administration in announcing this Community Health Center Veterans Hiring Challenge.

Helping Veterans Become Physician Assistants: To fast-track medics into jobs in community health centers and other parts of the health care system, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) pledged to open up career-paths beyond nursing and expand opportunities for veterans to become physician assistants. Through this initiative, HRSA will begin to give priority in physician assistant grant awards to universities and colleges that help train veterans for careers as physician assistants.

Together, these initiatives and the tax credits will lower veteran unemployment through increased hiring, improve resources for veterans to translate their military skills for the civilian workforce, and provide veterans with new tools to aid their search for jobs.

White House - Helping Americans Manage Student Loan Debt

Sat, 29 Oct 2011 14:36:57 GMT

The Administration has made historic investments in Pell Grants and the American Opportunity Tax Credit to help make college more affordable for millions of current and future students.

While college remains an excellent investment for most students, debt may discourage some potential students from enrolling, keeping them from getting the skills they need to compete in the global economy. Some borrowers may struggle to manage their bills and support their families. The need for enough income to make large monthly payments may discourage some graduates from starting a new job-creating business or entering teaching or another lower-paying public service career.

Today, the President announced a series of additional steps that the Administration will take to make college more affordable and to make it even easier for students to repay their federal student loans:

Help Americans Manage Student Loan Debt by Capping Monthly Payments to What They Can Afford

Allow borrowers to cap their student loan payments at 10% of discretionary income. In the 2010 State of the Union, the President proposed – and Congress quickly enacted – an improved income-based repayment (IBR) plan, which allows student loan borrowers to cap their monthly payments at 15% of their discretionary income. Beginning July 1, 2014, the IBR plan is scheduled to reduce that limit from 15% to 10% of discretionary income.
Today, the President announced that his Administration is putting forth a new “Pay As You Earn” proposal to make sure these same important benefits are made available to some borrowers as soon as 2012. The Administration estimates that this cap will reduce monthly payments for more than 1.6 million student borrowers.

For example:

A nurse who is earning $45,000 and has $60,000 in federal student loans. Under the standard repayment plan, this borrower’s monthly repayment amount is $690. The currently available IBR plan would reduce this borrower’s payment by $332 to $358. President Obama’s improved ‘Pay As You Earn’ plan will reduce her payment by an additional $119 to a more manageable $239 -- a total reduction of $451 a month.
A teacher who is earning $30,000 a year and has $25,000 in Federal student loans. Under the standard repayment plan, this borrower’s monthly repayment amount is $287 . The currently available IBR plan would reduce this borrower’s payment by $116, to $171. Under the improved ‘P ay As You Earn’ plan, his monthly payment amount would be even more manageable at only $114. And, if this borrower remained a teacher or was employed in another public service occupation, he would be eligible for forgiveness under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program after 10 years of payments .
Continues to provide help for those already in the workforce. Recent graduates and others in the workforce who are still struggling to pay off their student loans can immediately take advantage of the current income-based repayment plan that caps payments at 15% of the borrower’s discretionary income to help them manage their debt. Currently, more than 36 million Americans have federal student loan debt, but fewer than 450,000 Americans participate in income-based repayment. Millions more may be eligible to reduce their monthly payments to an amount affordable based on income and family size. The Administration is taking steps to make it easier to participate in IBR and continues to reach out to borrowers to let them know about the program .

Borrowers looking to determine whether or not income-based repayment is the right option for them should visit http://studentaid.ed.gov/ibr.

The CFPB also released the Student Debt Repayment Assistant, an online tool that provides borrowers, many of whom may be struggling with repayment, with information on income-based repayment, deferments, alternative payment programs, and much more. The Student Debt Repayment Assistant is available at ConsumerFinance.gov/students/repay

Improve Ease of Making Payments and Reduce Default Risk by Consolidating Loans

Provide a discount on consolidation loans. While all new federal student loans are now Direct Loans thanks to the historic reforms in the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act, there are still $400 billion outstanding in old Federal Family Education Loans. These loans offer fewer repayment options and are unnecessarily expensive for taxpayers. In addition, about 6 million borrowers have at least one Direct Loan and at least one FFEL loan, which requires them to submit two separate monthly payments, a complexity that puts them at greater risk of default.

To ensure borrowers are not adversely impacted by this transition and to facilitate loan repayment while reducing taxpayer costs, the Department of Education is encouraging borrowers with split loans to consolidate their guaranteed FFEL loans into the Direct Loan program. Borrowers do not need to take any action at this time. Beginning in January 2012, the Department will reach out to qualified borrowers early next year to alert them of the opportunity.

This special consolidation initiative would keep the terms and conditions of the loans the same, and most importantly, beginning in January 2012, allow borrowers to make only one monthly payment, as opposed to two or more payments, greatly simplifying the repayment process. Borrowers who take advantage of this special, limited-time consolidation option would also receive up to a 0.5 percent reduction to their interest rate on some of their loans, which means lower monthly payments and saving hundreds in interest. Borrowers would receive a 0.25 percent interest rate reduction on their consolidated FFEL loans and an additional 0.25 percent interest rate reduction on the entire consolidated FFEL and DL balance.

For example:

A borrower about to enter repayment with two $4,500 FFEL Stafford loans (at 6.0%) and a $5,500 Direct Stafford loan (at 4.5%). Under Standard Repayment, the borrower can expect to pay a total of $4,330 in interest until the loans are paid in full. If this borrower consolidates their FFEL loans under this initiative they would save $376 in interest payments, and make only one payment per month, instead of two.
A borrower in repayment with a $32,000 FFEL Consolidation loan (at 6.25%) and a $5,500 Direct Unsubsidized Stafford loan (at 6.8%). Under Standard Repayment, the borrower can expect to pay a total of $13,211 in interest until the loans are paid in full. If this borrower consolidates the FFEL loan under this initiative they would save $964 in interest payments, and make only one payment per month instead of two.

Provide Consumers with Better Information to Make College Selection Decisions

“Know Before You Owe” Financial Aid Shopping Sheet.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Department of Education have teamed up to launch a new “Know Before You Owe” project aimed at creating a model financial aid disclosure form, which colleges and universities could use to help students better understand the type and amount of aid they qualify for and easily compare aid packages offered by different institutions. This “Financial Aid Shopping Sheet” makes the costs and risks of student loans clear upfront – before students have enrolled – outlining their total estimated student loan debt, monthly loan payments after graduation and additional costs not covered by federal aid. Ultimately, this provides students and their families with useful information that can help them make a more informed decision about where to attend college and help them better understand the debt burden they may be left with.

The CFPB is soliciting feedback on how to further improve the form, especially looking for input from college students and their families. They can go to the CFPB's website ( http://consumerfinance.gov/students/knowbeforeyouowe ) where an online ranking tool will provide the public with an opportunity to weigh in on the financial aid shopping sheet.