Posted by Tobin Marcus We talk a lot about the need for America to lead the world in green manufacturing, and with good reason: a strong green manufacturing sector will create good, domestic jobs and boost exports, all while helping us reduce carbon emissions and break our dependence on foreign oil. But it’s not just talk. We’re [...]
Posted by William Jawando Question: If you start with $1 and, with each move, you can either double your money or add another $1, what is the smallest number of moves you have to make to get to exactly $200? Mark Sellke, an 8th grader at Klondike Middle School in West Lafayette, Indiana, correctly answered this [...]
Posted by Jerry Mande I’m very pleased and honored to be a part of Food Safety Week and contribute to our mission to protect public health. The USDA has been working diligently over the past year to improve food safety since the creation of the Food Safety Working Group. Part of our mission is to guarantee that [...]
Posted by Annie Maxwell Yesterday Vice President Biden travelled to Louisville, Kentucky where he visited the headquarters of GE Appliances to discuss how Recovery Act investments are creating jobs and laying a new foundation for long-term economic growth in the state. Appliance Park is a huge industrial campus, covering more than 900 acres, employing 3,600 people, and [...]
Posted by Katelyn Sabochik Today, President Obama met with a bipartisan group of Senators to discuss the need for comprehensive energy and climate legislation. Carol Browner, Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change, sent this email to the White House email list after the meeting. If you didn’t get today’s email from Carol Browner, you [...]
Posted by Patrick Corvington Yesterday the Corporation for National Community Service and the Points of Light Foundation kicked off the 2010 National Conference on Volunteering and Community Service in New York City. More than 5,000 leaders of the business, nonprofit, government, and volunteer sector are on hand for the three-day event. This represents the largest gathering [...]
Posted by Kurt White Elena Kagan has recently come under attack as someone who is anti-military. To place such a label on Ms. Kagan is unfair and ill-informed. I began law school at Harvard in 2007 after serving for five years as an active duty officer in the United States Army. During my first year at [...]
Posted by Gary Locke Today, the Department of Health and Human Services began accepting applications for a program that provides much needed financial relief for employers – as well as unions and state and local governments – providing coverage to early retirees. The Early Retiree Reinsurance Program will provide $5 billion in financial assistance to [...]
Posted by Jesse Lee Elena Kagan kicked off her week-long hearing today with about 12 minutes of opening remarks — take a look and read some excerpts below: “Mr. Chairman, the law school I had the good fortune to lead has a kind of motto, spoken each year at graduation. We tell the new graduates that they [...]
Posted by Jesse Lee Lawrence Summers, Director of the National Economic Council, spoke today on technology policy, job creation, and economic growth – in particular the President’s move to dramatically increase the amount of federal and commercial spectrum available for smartphones and wireless Internet devices. As our fact sheet explained, “In recent years, the amount of information [...]
Posted by Jesse Lee This morning the President issued the following statement on the passing of Senator Robert Byrd: I was saddened to hear this morning that the people of West Virginia have lost a true champion, the United States Senate has lost a venerable institution, and America has lost a voice of principle and reason [...]
Posted by Jesse Lee Download Video: mp4 (417MB) | mp3 (40MB) If you’re looking for more information on the G-20 Summit in Toronto, we’ve got plenty to keep you busy, including the Declaration that lays out the enormously broad spectrum of issues that were addressed: The G-20 Toronto Summit Declaration The G-20 Summit in Toronto: U.S. Financial Reform [...]
Posted by Katelyn Sabochik On Tuesday, President Obama will meet with a bipartisan group of Senators to discuss the need for comprehensive energy and climate legislation this year. Following that meeting, Heather Zichal, Deputy Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change, will host a live chat on WhiteHouse.gov to take your questions on energy [...]
Posted by Secretary Kathleen Sebelius The Affordable Care Act created a number of important new benefits for seniors and other Medicare beneficiaries. On Friday, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a proposed regulation that takes us a step closer to making those promised benefits a reality. Under the provisions of this proposed rule, [...]
Posted by OMB Director Peter Orszag As I’ve written before, one source of ineffective and inefficient government is the technology gap between the public and private sectors. While a productivity boom has transformed private sector performance over the past two decades, the federal government has almost entirely missed this transformation and now lags far behind on efficiency [...]
Posted by Merici Vinton Today kicks off the National Conference on Volunteering and Service – more than 5,000 (!) service leaders are pouring into New York City to create greater impact and effectiveness in meeting social needs through service and volunteering. READ THE REST
Posted by Jesse Lee Supreme Court confirmation hearings have a rich history in America. Supreme Court Justices have gone through confirmation in the Senate since our country was founded, and have been considered regularly by the Senate Judiciary Committee since 1868 – nominees have been testifying there since 1925. This week Elena Kagan takes her place in that [...]
Posted by Jesse Lee Below find all of the resources, and several photos from the second day of the G8 Summit and the G20 in Canada. Remarks by President Obama and President Hu Jintao of the People’s Republic of China Before Bilateral Meeting Remarks by President Obama and President Lee Myung-Bak of the Republic of Korea After Bilateral [...]
Posted by Jesse Lee With Congress having finalized a strong Wall Street reform bill, the President urges Congress to finish the job and send the bill to his desk. The legislation reflects 90% of what the President originally proposed, including the strongest consumer financial protections in history with an independent agency to enforce them. It ensures [...]
Posted by Jesse Lee The President spent today at the G8 Summit in Canada, which focused amongst other things on the Muskoka Initiative on maternal and child health (MCH). See an array of photos from the day below. President Barack Obama is saluted by a Royal Canadian Mounted Police Officers as he arrives with Roger Portelance, Director [...]
Posted by Secretary Shaun Donovan Earlier this week, we took another big step forward in the Obama Administration’s efforts to encourage more sustainable development as we announced $100 million for our new Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant program to encourage regions to integrate economic development, land use, and transportation investments – which will help to tie the [...]
Posted by Kori Schulman First Lady Michelle Obama and First Lady Svetlana Medvedeva of Russia attend a performance at the Duke Ellington School for the Arts in Washington, D.C. June 24, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson) “Just in this performance, you have strengthened the bond between two great nations. Imagine that,” said Mrs. [...]
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 March 2010. Today’s release also includes several visitor records created prior to September 16, 2009 that were requested [...]
Posted by Bob Bauer SF 278 Executive Branch Personnel Public Financial Disclosure reports for White House officials are now available. Interested parties may request online those reports they would like to review. Through this streamlined distribution process, each report is available in pdf form for transmission via email once the electronic form has been filed. Requested [...]
Posted by Howard A. Schmidt Cyberspace has become an indispensible component of everyday life for all Americans. We have all witnessed how the application and use of this technology has increased exponentially over the years. Cyberspace includes the networks in our homes, businesses, schools, and our Nation’s critical infrastructure. It is where we exchange information, buy and [...]
Posted by Nancy-Ann DeParle Early this morning the President signed H.R. 3962, which prevents a 21-percent pay cut for doctors participating in Medicare. Had Congress failed to act, some physicians would have been forced to stop taking Medicare patients. That’s not an outcome that the President can accept. The pay-cut fix is retroactive to June 1, [...]
Posted by Jesse Lee Read the Transcript | Download Video: mp4 (46MB) | mp3 (5MB) As the President was preparing to depart for the G8 Summit in Canada, to be followed by the G20, he received some welcome news regarding efforts to avoid another global economic crisis. The House and Senate, having both passed their own versions of Wall Street [...]
Posted by Kori Schulman The Let’s Move! initiative and GOOD are working together to help address the challenge of childhood obesity by raising awareness about the problem and how the nation is working to address it. READ THE REST
Posted by Arun Chaudhary Mailbag Day! We decided to make episode thirteen of West Wing Week a chance to respond to some of your letters and emails. This week, find out if the White House composts, learn which direction the eagle on the Presidential seal faces, and examine the process by which the flag flying over [...]
Posted by Jesse Lee It may be that no relationship has seen greater progress and been more productive over the past two years than that between the U.S. and Russia. As one of his earliest foreign policy priorities, the President sought to “reset” relations with Russia and reverse what he called a “dangerous drift.” Every meeting [...]
Posted by Secretary Tom Vilsack The Obama Administration has made domestic production of renewable energy a national priority because it will create quality American jobs, combat global warming, reduce fossil fuel dependence and lay a strong foundation for a strong rural economy. While the President’s Biofuels Interagency Working Group, which I co-chair, continues its work to [...]
Posted by Evan Ryan Yesterday, Vice President Biden and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan saluted the Parade All-America Service Team to recognize high school students who are changing their communities through service. Parade Magazine, which has featured All-America teams for over 50 years, partnered with the national youth-service organization The League and the HandsOn Network to honor [...]
Posted by Dr. Bill Frist With the President announcing today nominees for the Board of Directors for the Corporation for National and Community Service, I am reminded just how important a role service plays in communities here at home and across the globe. The addition of these outstanding members will help continue the proud history of CNCS [...]
Posted by Dominique Dawes Ed. Note: Yesterday First Lady Michelle Obama joined kids from the Washington, DC area to launch the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition and introduce the 2010 Council, including Co-Chairs Drew Brees, quarterback for the New Orleans Saints, and guest blogger Dominique Dawes, three-time Olympian and former U.S. national champion in [...]
Posted by Deputy Secretary Neal Wolin What a difference a year makes. Last June, President Obama unveiled a comprehensive proposal for financial reform, saying: Millions of Americans who’ve worked hard and behaved responsibly have seen their life dreams eroded by the irresponsibility of others and by the failure of their government to provide adequate oversight. Our entire [...]
Posted by Melody Barnes Download Video: mp4 (573MB) | mp3 (55MB) Ed Note: In case you missed it, check out Secretary Donovan’s post on HUD’s blog following yesterday’s release of the federal strategic plan to prevent and end homelessness. Someone once told me — in your head it’s a dream, but on paper it’s a plan. As a nation, [...]
Posted by Jesse Lee Read the Transcript | Download Video: mp4 (81MB) | mp3 (8MB) This afternoon the President spoke on new leadership for the mission in Afghanistan, full remarks below: Includes Video READ THE REST
Posted by Jason Djang When White House carpenter Charlie Brandts told some of First Lady Michelle Obama’s staff about his latest hobby in beekeeping, Chef Sam Kass was quick to ask him if he knew how to make honey that could be used in the White House kitchen. Fortunately, not only did Brandts know how to [...]
Posted by Jesse Lee Download Video: mp4 (133MB) | mp3 (13MB) Noting that the struggle against discrimination based on sexual orientation is “as old as America itself,” the President welcomed Members of Congress, community leaders, and activists – some of whom have led that struggle for decades – to the White House to commemorate LGBT Pride Month. He [...]
Posted by Katelyn Sabochik Read the Transcript | Download Video: mp4 (64MB) | mp3 (6MB) Yesterday, President Obama held a Cabinet meeting at the White House to discuss a variety of topics with the Cabinet ranging from economic growth, national security and the war in Iraq, the BP Oil Spill, and the need for comprehensive energy and climate legislation. [...]
