Posted by Alan B. Krueger The Wall Street Journal ran a graph this weekend claiming, “The private sector is adding jobs … but the recovery is slower than in past cycles.” In fact, even though it is not fast enough, the rate of job growth is actually faster now than was the case at comparable points of [...]
Posted by Jared Bernstein Lindsay Graham has often shown that he’s fully capable of being reasonable and bipartisan. Which made it particularly disappointing to see his misleading use of numbers yesterday. On Meet the Press, the Senator, against a wave of evidence to the contrary, argued that the Recovery Act has been “an absolute disaster” and called [...]
Posted by Jesse Lee
The Affordable Care Act is working to help bring down the cost of prescription drugs for seniors enrolled in the Medicare Part D prescription drug program and today, we got more good news for our seniors. This afternoon, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that Medicare prescription drug plan premiums for 2011 [...]
Posted by Prem Kumar The delegations have departed, the speeches have been delivered, and the talks have begun. Re-launching direct negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians was of course a first step, but the meetings this week at the White House and the State Department went quite well, and represent a good foundation for progress. As Senator Mitchell said, the [...]
Posted by Erin Edgerton Over the past three decades, childhood obesity rates in America have tripled, affecting children across the nation and changing country’s overall health and wellness. Building on the momentum of the Let’s Move! campaign and highlighting the steps that individuals, families and communities can take to address this issue, President Obama recently issued [...]
Posted by Dan Pfeiffer On Wednesday in Cleveland, Ohio, the President will update the American people on the state of the economy, talk about the progress we have made, and discuss some targeted proposals to keep the economy growing including extending tax cuts for the middle class, and investing in the areas of our economy where [...]
Posted by Secretary Hilda Solis It has become somewhat of a tradition for Labor Secretaries to use Labor Day to give a “State of the American Worker” report, if you will. Some have made remarks from podiums. Others have testified on Capitol Hill. Some have chosen to address think tanks, corporations, or labor unions. Those are [...]
Posted by Craig Fugate With Hurricane Earl moving up the East Coast and expected to arrive in New England by tonight, FEMA is taking aggressive actions to coordinate with Northeastern states as they prepare for possible severe weather. Initial reports from our teams in North Carolina and Virginia indicate that the storm passed close to them [...]
Posted by Jesse Lee Read the Transcript | Download Video: mp4 (61MB) | mp3 (6MB) This morning Council of Economic Advisers Chair Christina Romer laid out the basics of the jobs numbers for August out this morning: the private sector added 67,000 jobs, Census workers continued to come to end of their work as planned, and people coming back [...]
Posted by David Sandalow What two countries lead the world in energy consumption, energy production and greenhouse gas emissions? The United States and China. Can our two countries work together to help lead the world in a transition to clean energy? A recent announcement by U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu is an important step in that direction. [...]
Posted by SBA Administrator Karen Mills I was surprised to hear Minority Leader Mitch McConnell say he believes the Small Business Jobs Act currently before the Senate is “a little itty-bitty small business bill that no one thinks will have much of an impact on the economy.” In fact, I would encourage him to go on [...]
Posted by Christina Romer Today’s employment report was better than expected. Private sector payrolls increased by 67,000 in August — the eighth consecutive month of private sector job growth. This growth is consistent with other recent data reports indicating that the economy is continuing to recover, albeit at a somewhat slower pace than in the early [...]
Posted by Arun Chaudhary This week the President announced the end of America’s combat mission in Iraq and West Wing Week takes you there, on the ground, with an in-depth, behind-the-scenes look at the change of mission. We spent a week on the ground with our troops and civilians , some coming home, some staying for [...]
Posted by Nikki Sutton President Obama spoke with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Craig Fugate this afternoon and yesterday morning to ensure we are doing everything in our power to keep people safe in advance of Hurricane Earl along the eastern seaboard. The President will continue to monitor the situation as FEMA tracks the storm’s movement [...]
Posted by Secretary Arne Duncan As students head back to school this fall, I travelled over the last two weeks on an eight-state bus tour to highlight “Courage in the Classroom.” The mission of the tour was simple: to honor our nation’s unsung heroes—our teachers. READ THE REST
Posted by Stephanie Cutter Under the old health care system, many businesses found it difficult, if not impossible to provide health insurance benefits to their workers. Over the past decade the percentage of small firms offering coverage decreased and many businesses have suffered under the weight of high health care costs. The Affordable Care Act helps [...]
Posted by Nikki Sutton Americans have a rich history of showing great generosity when other communities around the world face crises. Today, the people of Pakistan are confronting one of the worst crises in their history. Over 20 million people throughout Pakistan have been affected since flooding began just over a month ago and there is [...]
Posted by Secretary Tom Vilsack Yesterday I was pleased to receive the encouraging news from two USDA reports that illustrate the strength of the recovery in our agricultural economy. The 2010 Farm Income Forecast and Outlook for U.S. Agricultural Tradeshow a positive picture for 2010, and predict sustained growth for the future. This recovery is a testament to [...]
Posted by Jesse Lee Read the Transcript | Download Video: mp4 (47MB) | mp3 (5MB) The President’s schedule today is packed with bilateral meetings: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority, King Abdullah II of Jordan, and President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt. The talks will stretch into the night with a working dinner with [...]
Posted by Jesse Lee Read the Transcript | Download Video: mp4 (508MB) | mp3 (17MB) Having returned hours earlier from a conversation with troops at Fort Bliss, Texas – troops who had seen every phase of what has become one of America’s longest wars – the President spoke to the Nation for just the second time from the Oval Office [...]
Posted by Jesse Lee Over the past week, we’ve been inviting you to join us in saluting the troops for their service. The response has been overwhelming, and has made clear that while the end of the combat mission is an appropriate time to recognize the sacrifice the troops and their military make, the gratitude is always [...]
Posted by Sarah Bernard Tonight at 8pm EDT, President Obama will address the nation from the Oval Office regarding the end of the U.S. combat mission in Iraq. Immediately following the President’s remarks, Ben Rhodes, Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications will answer questions directly from Americans across the country. Now is your chance to hear the [...]
Posted by Secretary Gary Locke If you are an employer, you know how difficult it can be to find – and provide– health insurance for your retired employees who are age 55 or older and not yet eligible for Medicare. Some Americans who retire before they are eligible for Medicare see their life savings disappear because [...]
Posted by Chris Lu Over the past week, we’ve been remembering the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina, highlighting the progress made, and restating the Administration’s commitment to the region. This past weekend, several members of the Cabinet, the First Lady and President Obama traveled to the Gulf Coast, where the President spoke about the stories of communities [...]
Posted by Secretary Eric K. Shinseki With the unwavering support of President Obama, VA is transforming to meet its 21st Century responsibilities. Advocacy, on behalf of every generation of Veterans, is central to this transformation. Agent Orange was a blend of herbicides used by the U.S. military, during the Vietnam conflict, to deny concealment to enemy [...]
Posted by Karen Mills As I travel around the country, I meet many small business owners who are poised to take that next step to grow their business and create jobs. In fact, this morning’s USA Today looks at one of those business owners – Amarjit Kaur who runs a convenience store and gas station [...]
Posted by Don Berwick On August 10th, you may have seen Jenny Backus’ post on HealthCare Notes noting that the third round of donut hole rebate checks went into the mail. Recently, we hit a major milestone: the millionth check was sent out over the weekend. If you haven’t heard about the rebate checks before, they are [...]
Posted by Jesse Lee Download Video: mp4 (52MB) | mp3 (5MB) Speaking in the Rose Garden in the heat, the President began his remarks this morning on the economy by once again noting that for all the progress that’s been made since “that terrible September when our economy teetered on the brink of collapse,” there is much left [...]
Posted by Jared Bernstein The old adage goes that Presidents often wish for one-handed economists, to avoid all that “on the one hand, sir, we could be looking at X; though on the other hand, it could be Y.” So when economic consensus forms around the outcome of a policy like the Recovery Act, it’s [...]
Posted by Jesse Lee An update out from the White House moments ago: Vice President Joe Biden in Iraq Vice President Joe Biden has arrived in Iraq to participate in a Change of Command and Change of Mission Ceremony, fulfilling the commitment made by the President in his first month in office. This is the [...]
Posted by Secretary Ray LaHood It’s difficult to look back on the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina with anything but sadness. Sadness for the lives lost, sadness for the displacement of so many people. As we mark the fifth anniversary of Katrina, there is still work to be done. And the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) [...]
Posted by Secretary Arne Duncan Five years ago, Hurricane Katrina destroyed schools throughout New Orleans. Since then, the state and city have worked together to make the city’s schools a model for school reform. New Orleans schools have made remarkable progress. They have been an inspiration to those of us who are working to provide [...]
Posted by Jesse Lee With the end of combat operations in Iraq days ahead, the President salutes our troops for their service and pledges to fulfill America’s commitment to them as veterans. 90,000 troops have left Iraq since the President came into office, and by the end of next year even the troops taking part in the [...]
Posted by Dan Leistikow Yesterday, Vice President Biden visited a New Hampshire homeowner and announced that more than 200,000 homes have been weatherized as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, helping families across the nation cut their energy bills. The Associated Press ran an article today critical of the announcement and suggesting – incorrectly – [...]
Posted by Secretary Janet Napolitano As we approach the fifth anniversary of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, it’s important to note how far our nation has come in improving our ability to respond to and recover from disasters and the progress we’ve made in helping our Gulf Coast recover from one of the worst natural disasters in [...]
Posted by Norm Eisen In September 2009, the President announced that – for the first time in history – the White House would routinely release visitor records. Today, the White House releases visitor records that were created in May 2010. Today’s release also includes several visitor records created prior to September 16, 2009 that were requested [...]
Posted by Secretary Hilda Solis Shortly after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, I traveled there with other members of Congress. We flew in helicopters to survey entire neighborhoods submerged in dirty water. Those neighborhoods not underwater were abandoned. We toured the 9th Ward and saw the broken levees. Trash was everywhere. We visited hospitals jammed to [...]
Posted by Austan Goolsbee Today, the President’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board (PERAB) approved its report on tax reform and sent it to the President. Read the report (pdf). Letter to the President from Chairman Paul Volcker (pdf). The PERAB report fulfills the specific mandate they were given: to discuss the pros and cons of a spectrum of reform ideas [...]
Posted by Stephanie Cutter Throughout the debate on the Affordable Care Act, the Administration was focused on ways to bring down costs and decrease long term deficits – and independent analysts repeatedly validated these efforts as successful. But many critics continued to insist that the bill would somehow bust the budget anyway, despite proof to the contrary. Well, to his [...]
