Obama Administration

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625 – That’s the number of people who lost their health insurance EVERY HOUR in 2009 [Source: WonkRoom.ThinkProgress.org]

Losing insurance – it can happen to anyone.  We’ve all heard stories – maybe you know someone who’s recently lost their insurance, maybe that someone is you.  President Obama has heard those stories too:

There's the father I met in Colorado whose child was diagnosed with severe hemophilia the day after he was born.  Now, they had insurance, but there was a cap on their coverage.  So once the child's medical bills began to pile up, the father was left to frantically search for another option, or face tens of thousands of dollars in medical bills.... Small business people -- I got a letter just this week from a small businessman.  He said, "I don't know what to do.  I've always provided health insurance for my families, but here, the attached bill, shows that the premiums have gone up 48 percent in the last year, and I think that I'm probably going to have to stop providing health insurance for my employees.  I don't want to, but I don't have a choice."

These stories are wrong.  They are heartbreaking.  Nobody should be treated that way in the United States of America…

You can learn more about the family from Colorado in this video:

Click here to see the video.

It’s time to reform our broken health care system so that American families and businesses can get the stability and security they deserve.

Today’s number – 625 – is the third in our ‘Health Reform by the Numbers’ series, an online campaign to raise awareness about how we just can’t wait any longer for health insurance reform.  You can follow the campaign on Whitehouse.gov and social networks like Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and LinkedIn.

To help spread the word, share this blog post with your family, friends and online networks using the ‘Share/Bookmark’ feature below.

Previous Numbers: 8 1125

 

I just returned from a productive trip to the West Coast, where I met with technology innovators from the private sector and state and local governments to hear their ideas about how the Federal Government can leverage the power of technology to deliver better results for the American people. As I’ve said before, the Federal Government does not have a monopoly on the best ideas, and in order to truly change business as usual here in Washington --  we’ve got to look beyond the Beltway.

The Obama Administration is committed to making the Federal Government work better for the American people.  Closing the technology gap between the private and public sectors is essential to delivering the best results possible.  That is why I returned to the West Coast to continue to meet with leaders who have taken innovative steps and implemented bold strategies to drive progress and productivity.

The power of raw data to provide consumers with relevant information and inform their decisions is already being realized. For example, as I was heading to the airport, I used “FlyOnTime.us” to check if my flight was on time and to see what the wait in line would be. This innovative website was created by a group of independent developers using Data.gov. 

My first stop was San Francisco, where I joined Mayor Gavin Newsom and city CIO Chris Vein for the launch of the nationwide Open311 API (Application Programming Interface) initiative, which will open up access to local government services across the country. Open311 will enable people to track the status of repairs or improvements, while also allowing them to make new requests for services. For example, I can use the same application when I am home in Washington, DC to report a broken parking meter as I would in San Francisco. I also spoke to CIOs from Boston, Chicago, DC, Los Angeles, Seattle, and San Francisco about accelerating the development of applications that the American people can use in their everyday lives.

From downtown San Francisco, it was out to Silicon Valley to meet with venture capitalists and technology innovators, including Mint.com, Mozilla, and Facebook, at IDEO Labs to discuss how government can improve how it is delivering services to the American people. We used a visual storyboard concept to capture our conversation, which you can see here.

Later that afternoon, I met with companies like Apple and Google to learn how innovation is happening in the consumer space, through new platforms such as Apple’s online App Store.

On Thursday, I travelled to the “other” Washington, where I started the day with CIOs from organizations such as Weyerhaeuser and Microsoft to hear about how they successfully manage large-scale IT projects. I also had the opportunity to look at some of the impressive investments in next generation technologies being made by companies like Microsoft and Amazon.

I then delivered a speech at the University of Washington titled “Making Government Work: Closing the Technology Gap to Deliver for the American People.” I was very encouraged by the response and was pleasantly surprised when following my speech, dozens of professors and students lined up to ask questions and continue the dialogue. 

At the end of the day, I attended an industry awards celebration for local technology entrepreneurs, hosted by the Washington Technology Industry Association. It was great to see entrepreneurs from the “other” Washington talk to me about their ideas for helping us change the way Washington, DC works.

Vivek Kundra is U.S. Chief Information Officer
 

Often overlooked in day-to-day political discussions, the opportunities for economic recovery through imports and exports, moving American goods around the world, should never be underestimated.  Along those lines, during his State of the Union address, the President set a goal of doubling exports over the next five years – an increase that will support two million additional jobs here at home.  At 11:15PM EST today, the President will address the Export-Import Bank's Annual Conference today to elaborate on his vision and approach, which has also been a focus of every trip he has taken since taking office.   Following up on the President's speech we're happy to welcome Commerce Secretary Gary Locke at 12:30 for a live online video chat where he'll take your questions on the President's remarks and policies.

Watch the chat at WhiteHouse.gov/live Watch, discuss, and engage through Facebook

 

While discussing health insurance reform in St. Charles, Missouri today, President Obama announced new efforts to reign in waste and fraud in Medicare, Medicaid and other government programs. He explained that the administration plans to prevent wasted dollars through the use of payment recapture audits by giving auditors incentives to catch improper payments and payment errors. He called for federal agencies to launch these audits across the country, which have been successful through pilot programs.  The audits are expected to return $2 billion in taxpayer money over the next 3 years.

He also announced his support for the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act, a bipartisan bill to expand the government’s ability to perform such audits and prevent waste. The administration is working to cut programs that are not needed, increase accountability, and eliminate high-risk contracts. The President explained that by saving billions of dollars, government-run health care programs like Medicare can work better and provide better care.

On the other side of the spectrum there are those who believe that the answer is to simply unleash the insurance industry, and provide less oversight and fewer rules. And that somehow that's going to drive down prices for everybody.  This is called the “putting the foxes in charge of the hen house” approach to health care reform. So whatever state regulations were in place, we’d get rid of those and so insurance companies could basically find a state that had the worst regulations and then from there sell insurance everywhere.  And that somehow that was going to be helpful to you.  All this would do would give insurance companies more leeway to raise premiums and deny care.

So I don’t believe we should give either the government or the insurance companies more control over health care in America.  I want to give you more control over health care in America.

President Barack Obama delivers remarks on Medicaid fraud and health care reform at St. Charles High School in St. Charles, Missouri,

The President also explained that his health care proposal would have three core reforms: ending the worst practices of insurance companies, creating a marketplace that allows for affordable health care options, and reducing costs for families, businesses, and the government. As a result, the government would reduce the deficit by $1 trillion dollars. Businesses have also conducted a study that shows the reforms are expected to reduce premiums by as much as $3000 per employee.

So here’s the bottom line, St. Charles.  There’s no government takeover, unless you consider reining in insurance companies a government takeover -- and I think that’s the right thing to do.  There’s no cutting of Medicare benefits.  There’s just cutting out fraud and waste in Medicare to make it stronger. 

What we’re proposing is a common-sense approach to protecting you from insurance company abuses and saving you money.  That’s the proposal, and it is paid for.  And I believe that Congress owes the American people a final up or down vote on health care reform.  The time for talk is over; it’s time to vote.
 

Today I had the honor of addressing BET’s first ever “Leading Women Summit” in Washington, DC. The Summit brought together artists, community activists, media representatives and professional women from across the country to work on finding solutions to some of the most pressing problems facing the African American community. I welcomed the opportunity to participate and offer my perspective on the health care crisis in our country, which, according to almost every available statistic, disproportionately affects Women of Color.

For instance, consider the following facts:

Nearly one in five African Americans (19%) are without health care insurance. African Americans in general spend a higher percentage of their income on health care costs compared to their white counterparts (16.5% vs. 12.2%). African Americans also tend to live in areas where there are fewer hospitals or where quality care cannot be obtained. African Americans suffer from higher percentages of chronic diseases, such as heart disease, kidney disease and diabetes, which are perpetuated by a lack of access to quality care. Currently, 48% of African American adults suffer from a chronic disease compared to 39% of the general population.

With this in mind, my talk focused on President Obama’s unwavering commitment to reforming health insurance. He is determined to give Americans, not government or insurers, more control over their care. He has kept fighting against insurance companies that discriminate against people with pre-existing conditions. He has kept fighting to reduce the costs of health care for families, businesses and government. He has kept fighting. He has kept fighting for people who are uninsured and small businesses to give them the same coverage as Members of Congress. And now it is time for an up-or-down vote in Congress, because that’s what the people deserve -- people like Leslie Banks and Natoma Canfield.

The President met Leslie at a recent event in Philadelphia after she had written him a letter describing her frustrations with her insurance. Leslie is a self-employed, African-American single mother, whose daughter is a sophomore in college at Temple University. Leslie has type 2 diabetes. She can no longer afford her coverage after the insurer recently notified her of a 100% across the board rate hike and told her that the only way to stay at her previous rate would mean increasing her deductible from $500 to $5,000. Leslie is not available for coverage through her HMO because of her pre-existing condition.

Leslie’s story is not that different from the one I told about Natoma Canfield, who also wrote the President about an incredible increase in her rates, which forced her to drop her coverage. President Obama read the letter at a meeting of insurance industry leaders to show them why he continues to push for reform. Since then, Natoma has been hospitalized with a serious blood disorder and she has no health insurance.

As I related these stories, I couldn’t help but notice a lot of head-nodding in the audience. While nobody at today’s Summit knew Leslie or Natoma, the reality is we all know somebody whose life has been touched by the worst practices of the health insurance industry. That’s why it’s so important that we all work together to tackle this problem for the African American community and for all communities across America.

Valerie Jarrett is Senior Advisor and Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental Affairs and Public Engagement

I recently unveiled a series of magnificent murals that highlights the legacy of two of the greatest figures in U.S. Department of the Interior’s history, Secretary Harold Ickes and renowned photographer Ansel Adams. The murals represent 26 of the photos Ickes commissioned Adams to produce as part of the Department’s Mural Project of 1941.

Grand Teton, Snake River, Wyoming, National Archives no. 79-AAG-1 Ansel Adams

On display in the main hallways of the first and second floors of the main Interior building, these stunning black-and-white photos convey the beauty Adams’ saw in our Department’s diverse mission, and include: a pair of Native American children; the eruption of Old Faithful; and the intricate network of power lines at Boulder Dam.

Ickes and Adams first met in 1936, while attending a conference on the future of national and state parks.  Ickes was secretary of the Interior under President Franklin Roosevelt; Adams, a renowned photographer and president of the Sierra Club. The two immediately found a common bond in a deep love for the beauty of our nation’s land and a desire to see it conserve that land for future generations.

In fact, Adams used his photographic talent to lead a successful campaign to save the Kings River area of the Sierra Nevada and have Congress designate it as Kings Canyon National Park.

Ickes believed that the Interior building, which was completed in 1936, should be symbolic of the Department’s mission to manage and conserve our nation’s vast resources. So in 1941, he hired Adams to create a photographic mural for display in this building that reflected the Department’s mission: the beautiful land, the proper stewardship of our resources, and the people we serve.

The attack on Pearl Harbor and our nation’s entry into World War II brought the project to a halt.  The more than 200 photographs that Adams took have been stored in the National Archives, but never printed or hung as murals.

Now, with our installation of the murals, we are able to share with visitors from across the nation Ickes and Adams’ timeless vision for this Department — and how we are in the business of fulfilling that vision today.

Boulder Dam Power Units, Colorado River, Nevada / Arizona Border, National Archives no. 79-AAB-5 Ansel Adams

Ken Salazar is the Secretary of the Interior

Editor's Note: In case you missed them, read Part 1 and Part 2.

Throw a rock in a still pond and you will observe many ripples.

Throw a Recovery Act program in a stagnant economy and you will observe many jobs.

Therein lies the lesson from our latest entry of the Recovery Act in Action, thanks to some truly thorough journalism by Robert Gavin of the Boston Globe.

Gavin looked at the ripple effects, or—if you want to be boring—multipliers, from $77 million in Recovery Act contracts awarded to Reveal Imaging Technologies (RIT), a manufacturer of airport security equipment in Bedford, MA.

RIT reports that thanks to the Recovery Act-funded contracts from the Transportation Security Administration, they’ve added nearly 40 jobs over the past year and they’re still hiring.  They’ve expanded their plant capacity, more than doubling the size of their facility.

But what Gavin’s article shows is that beyond these direct hiring effects, there’s a lot more upstream and downstream job creation generated by this type of activity.  So far, RIT has subcontracted parts of its Recovery Act projects to 21 other companies in 12 states “that make components or provide services for its advanced scanning machines.”

For example, an RIT subcontract helped reduce planned layoffs at a firm that assembles conveyor systems.  Same with a machine tool shop, whose “metal cutting machines, silent several months ago, are humming again” thanks largely to another RIT subcontract.

I spoke to the owner of that machine shop, Jack McGrail.  He told me that most of 2009 was pretty dismal and that if things didn’t improve he was going to have to let some folks go.  Then, in November, the RIT order generated by the Recovery Act came in, and, as Jack said, “it saved me from laying two guys off and I was able to add one more.”

That’s one type of multiplier effect—the jobs created by firms providing inputs to the final product.  But there’s another type that’s also important: the activity caused when people earn more and go out and spend it.  Gavin picked up this kind of activity too by visiting Rebecca’s Café, a restaurant near RIT that reports a 15% increase in sales since RIT expanded its workforce.

The evidence around the RIT case supports something economists have known since Keynes taught it to us: the jobs you directly create through government spending at a time of recession are just the tip of the iceberg. 

Thanks to the Recovery Act, there are hundreds of thousands of teachers in classrooms and police on the beat, construction workers fixing roads, weatherizing and rehabbing buildings, engineers building out the smart grid and planning new high-speed rail lines, and much more.  But as with RIT, for each one of these jobs, there are many others helping to supply materials and services to these firms and workers.

We’ll be throwing a lot more stones in the water in coming months, and I’ll be sure to keep posted on both the splash and the ripples.

Jared Bernstein is Chief Economic Advisor to the Vice President

This afternoon the First Lady announced the Apps for Healthy Kids Challenge -- a contest with the USDA to challenge professional and amateur developers to come up with games that incorporate nutritional information and promote healthy living. From dance video games to nutrition mobile applications, we’re challenging designers to come up with the next big idea to make healthy living fun. The App Challenge is just one of the innovative ways that the First Lady is working to help kids lead active, healthy lives and end childhood obesity within a generation, as part of the nationwide Let’s Move! campaign.

Developer or not, we want to hear your ideas. This week, the White House is teaming up with GOOD to ask:

What kind of healthy kid app would you like to see developed?

Tell us on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn. Some of the most interesting responses will be featured on the White House blog and on the GOOD blog, so stay tuned. And in case you missed it, take a look at your responses to last week’s question about a 21st century education.

Learn more about the challenge and submit an application by visiting AppsforHealthyKids.com.

Please note that the username, personal identifier or icon affiliated with responses may be posted.

Today, we commemorate the 5th annual National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day.  Yesterday, I had the opportunity to participate in a briefing held by the National Alliance for State and Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD) and the HHS Office on Women’s Health with important leaders in Congress.  The event highlighted how the domestic epidemic is affecting women and how much we need to maintain our commitment to addressing this public health issue. 

(Left to right) Moderator Rosie Perez, Dr. Howard Koh (HHS), Tina Tchen (White House Council on Women and Girls), Janet Cleveland (CDC) and Amna Osma (Michigan Department of Community Health) participate in a briefing on HIV/AIDS and women,

The statistics are sobering:  Every 35 minutes, a woman tests positive for HIV in the United States.  While women in the U.S. represented 8 percent of AIDS diagnoses in the 1980’s, they now account for 27 percent.  The HIV epidemic in the U.S. disproportionately impacts women of color:  HIV/AIDS is one of the leading causes of death among black women and Latinas.  Compared to white women, the AIDS case rate is 5 times higher for Latinas and 20 times higher for black women.  Clearly, we must redouble our prevention efforts as well as improve care and treatment for women living with HIV. 

It is imperative that HIV prevention efforts take into account the way in which many women in the U.S. become infected with HIV, as more than 80 percent of HIV/AIDS cases among women and teenage girls are attributable to heterosexual contact.  It is also important to increase access to female-controlled prevention methods, such as the female condom, and to develop effective microbicides and vaccines.

The Office of National AIDS Policy (ONAP) is leading a team of Federal Agency partners to develop a National HIV/AIDS Strategy and strengthen our nation’s response to the domestic epidemic.  Working with a wide range of stakeholders such as state and local governments, businesses, faith communities, service providers, and others will be critical to implementing the national strategy.  

Since the beginning of the epidemic, there have been significant reductions in mother-to-child transmission of HIV in the U.S. Research has also shown that progress is possible through targeted prevention programs that are effective in reducing risky behaviors among HIV-positive and HIV-negative women.  But there is still work to be done, a major piece of which is enacting reforms to our health insurance system that will expand access to care. Key to these reforms are making preventive care accessible and ensuring that Americans, including women living with HIV, are not excluded from being insured due to a preexisting condition.

As we move forward, it is not only crucial to increase the number of women and girls who know their status, but also, through interventions that increase self-esteem, the number of women and girls who know their self-worth and have tools to make healthy decisions.
 
Tina Tchen is the Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement and Executive Director of the Council on Women and Girls

Cross-posted from the FCC's Broadband Blog.

If you're reading this, then you're probably on the Internet -- via your laptop, your mobile phone or other handheld device, or maybe even through your television. But even in 2010, millions of Americans do not have access to the wealth of information made available on the Web. Even though the Internet was invented in the U.S. over 20 years ago, many Americans lag behind in both access to the Internet and speed of connections, which is why the Federal Communications Commission (or the FCC, the federal agency that regulates the U.S. communications industry) is launching its much-antipated National Broadband Plan next Tuesday, to lay out its strategy for connecting all Americans to fast, affordable high-speed Internet.

After this plan is announced, you have the opportunity to interview FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, in the second of a series of in-person YouTube interviews with goverment leaders. (Our first, with U.S. President Barack Obama, took place last month.) Go to CitizenTube today to submit your video or text question via Google Moderator, and vote on your favorites; we'll bring a selection of the top-voted questions to Chairman Genachowski in our interview next Tuesday, March 16. The deadline for submission is Sunday night at Midnight PT.

To help structure our conversation with the Chairman, we've broken the interview down into seven topics. To learn more about what the FCC is doing in each area, click on the links next to each topic below. Then submit your question on CitizenTube under one of these topic headings.

Access and Affordability Mobile and Wireless Security and Privacy Digital Economy Internet in Schools Open Internet / Network Neutrality Others (learn more at Broadband.gov)

Access to the Internet has transformed almost every aspect of our economy and society. This is your chance to press the FCC on how the National Broadband Plan will help bring the Internet to everyone. We're looking forward to seeing your questions and hearing what the Chairman has to say.

Haley VanDyck is with FCC New Media
 

Yesterday Labor Secretary Hilda Solis discussed her perspective on International Women’s Day, and the First Lady's role in recognizing and exemplifying the ideals behind it.  Today, the State Department's DipNote blog tells us about the annual International Women of Courage Awards -- and will allow you to watch the ceremony live at 3:00:

First Lady Michelle Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will host the annual International Women of Courage Awards on March 10, 2010, at 3:00 p.m. EST at the Department of State. You may watch the ceremony broadcast live on DipNote.

To mark International Women's Day, the annual International Women of Courage Award recognizes women around the globe who have shown exceptional courage and leadership in advocating for women's rights and advancement. This is the only Department of State award that pays tribute to emerging women leaders worldwide, and offers a unique opportunity to recognize those who work in the field of international women's issues.

Secretary Clinton announced the 10 winners of this year's International Women of Courage (IWOC) award. The awardees are: Shukria Asil (Afghanistan), Col. Shafiqa Quraishi (Afghanistan), Androula Henriques (Cyprus), Sonia Pierre (Dominican Republic), Shadi Sadr (Iran), Ann Njogu (Kenya), Dr. Lee Ae-ran (Republic of Korea), Jansila Majeed (Sri Lanka), Sister Marie Claude Naddaf (Syria), and Jestina Mukoko (Zimbabwe).

Read more about the honorees here.

 

Yesterday, the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) held its annual legislative conference in Washington, D.C.  NTEU represents some 150,000 employees in 31 federal departments and agencies.  A topic of discussion at the NTEU conference was last month’s attack on Internal Revenue Service employees in Austin, Texas.  President Obama sent the following letter to NTEU’s National President Colleen Kelley:

Dear Colleen:

The events of recent weeks have again reminded us of the risks that federal civilian employees face in service to their nation.  We are grateful to these employees for their dedication to enforcing laws and managing important programs that help all Americans.  The Constitution's vision of 'a more perfect union' is only possible because of their tireless efforts.  

My Administration is fully committed to maximizing the safety of federal employees and preventing acts of violence against them.

Sincerely,

Barack Obama

 

Chris Lu is Assistant to the President and Cabinet Secretary

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8 -- The number of people every minute who are denied coverage, charged a higher rate, or otherwise discriminated against because of a pre-existing condition. [Source: HealthReform.gov] 8 -- The number of lobbyists hired by special interests to influence health reform for every member of Congress in 2009. [Source: Center for Public Integrity]

Ellen Linderman is a wife and farmer -- and one of those 8 people every minute that’s been discriminated against because of a pre-existing condition.  Here’s her story:

Ellen is a 61-year old farmer in Carrington, ND. She has had several difficult experiences with health care in recent years. Ellen was initially denied health insurance coverage a few years back when she and her husband (also a farmer) had to switch from the state employee plan to private insurance. However, since she had eye surgery less than six months prior to switching, she was considered high risk. The issue was eventually resolved but only after she went without coverage for several months. Health insurance reform would help people like Ellen who have a pre-existing condition and need to get insurance – insurance companies can't deny people due to a pre-existing condition.

Ellen and the hundreds of others like her who are treated unfairly because of a pre-existing condition are another reason why we just can’t wait any longer for health insurance reform.

Over the next several days, we’ll continue announce new numbers, like 8, to raise awareness about why the time is now for health reform.  We’ll promote those figures here on WhiteHouse.gov and on social networks like Facebook and Twitter.

If you’d like to help raise awareness, share this blog post with your family, friends and online networks using the ‘Share/Bookmark’ feature below.

Previous Numbers: 1125

Today First Lady Michelle Obama continued the long tradition of First Ladies donating their inaugural gowns to the Smithsonian. Mrs. Obama presented her 2009 inaugural gown to the National Museum of American History, joined by dress designer, Jason Wu, and thirty two aspiring young designers from the Huntington High School Fashion Program in New York.

First Lady Michelle Obama presents her 2009 inaugural gown to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.

If we enact health reform, it will restrict how much of your premium dollars can be spent on profits and overhead by requiring health insurance companies to spend 80-85% of the money they take in on care.

That’s worth keeping in mind. Because right after the Insurance companies announced huge rate increases for families across the country, they gathered at the luxurious Ritz Carlton in Washington to announce that they are spending $1 million on ads to defeat health reform.

That money could probably be better spent keeping rates down for customers.

Dan Pfeiffer is White House Communications Director

Editors Note: Watch President Obama and the First Lady speak about the achievements of women around the world at a reception marking International Women’s Day.

I grew up in a time when graduating from high school was an accomplishment, and expectations of young women were very low...especially for women of color.

My high school guidance counselor told me that I was best suited for a career as a secretary... an office assistant to be exact. Well, he was right after all. I ended up as a Secretary, but not quite the one he had in mind.

I am a product of the women's movement... the social justice movement... and the civil rights movement. I come from a home that valued hard work and taught me to provide a lending hand to your neighbor when they are in need.

And so, yesterday in celebration of International Women’s Day I thought of several women I have met in my travels across the country. These are women who are trying to feed and clothe their children without a guaranteed income, or without a doctor to see because they have lost their health insurance.

Despite the changes in today’s workforce and families, today’s workplace benefits simply do not reflect the challenges and realities of today’s workers. Too many families must make the painful choice between the care of their families and a paycheck they desperately need.

Earlier this year I had the pleasure of hosting the First Lady at the Department of Labor. In an address to more than 600 employees, she emphasized this administration’s commitment to today’s working families saying “It’s time we viewed family-friendly policies as not just niceties for women but as necessities for every single working American—men and women.”

First Lady Michelle Obama delivers remarks at the Labor Department headquarters in Washington, D.C.,

Reducing work-life conflict is a priority for the President, First Lady and for me. Together we support such proposals as the Healthy Families Act which would make sure workers have the ability to stay home if they are sick without fear of losing their jobs.

Millions of working women don't have one, single, paid sick day. Many face discrimination and harassment in the workplace, and the recession has again brought to light long-standing disparities in employment status among racial and ethnic groups.

This is unacceptable to all of us. While we are working to help American families get back on their feet, this Administration is making investments in women and girls, at home and aboard, a priority.

Since families are depending more and more on working women's wages it is more important now than ever that we:

Encourage and support more young women in non-traditional and science, technology, engineering, math and health fields; Demand fair and equitable wages and work to close the pay gap; Reject discrimination and harassment in the workplace; and Provide flexible workplace and leave options, including paid family leave, child care benefits and support services.

I am proud to say that my Department is doing all it can to support women. My proposed 2011 budget establishes a $50 million State Paid Leave Fund to help cover start-up costs for states that choose to launch paid leave programs. In addition, it provides resources for the Women’s Bureau – celebrating it 90th anniversary – to improve the collection of data related to the intersection of work and family responsibilities.

Our daughters can contribute just as much to society as our sons, and our common prosperity will be advanced by allowing all humanity — men and women — to reach their full potential.

Hilda Solis is the Secretary of Labor

This morning, we see more word from opponents of health reform that they are amping up their efforts to kill the bill before it even comes to a vote.   The insurance industry lobby, which is holding its annual conference at the Ritz-Carlton today, announced that it is going to spend more than a million dollars on television ads in the coming days to try to protect the status quo; this is on top of the millions of dollars they have poured into a supposedly-grassroots effort to block reform.  And the Chamber of Commerce, which we already know has also run anti-reform ads funded by the insurance industry, is holding a conference call today with executives from a handful of industries to lay out to discuss their plans to try to block reform.

Over the coming days, you’ll hear a lot of noise from opponents of reform who are desperately trying to protect a system that earns billions in profits while rates climb so high that many Americans can’t afford coverage.   Consider that the average premium for employer-sponsored family coverage per month in 2009 is $1,115 – incidentally, that’s also just about the cost for non-members to attend the insurance industry’s conference, at $1,125.  If nothing is done to reform our broken health care system, a recent survey found that over the next ten years, out-of-pocket expenses for Americans with health insurance could increase 35 percent in every state in the country.

That’s why it is important for the American people to hear what the insurance industry and their allies won’t be saying: that reform will actually bring down costs for American small businesses and workers. 

As a result of health insurance reform, millions of small businesses nationwide could qualify for a tax credit to make coverage for their employees even more affordable.  Reform will prevent insurance discrimination based on health status, meaning that small businesses will no longer be unfairly subjected to arbitrary premium hikes if a worker falls ill.  Reform will create a health insurance exchange that pools small businesses and their employees with millions of other Americans to increase purchasing power and competition in the insurance market – a luxury that is afforded only to large firms under the status quo.  And for the millions of young adults who work at small businesses, health insurance reform will also allow them to stay on their parents’ employer-based insurance until the age of 26, providing an essential option for coverage.

Health reform will also put Americans in control of their health care coverage.  It will end discrimination against Americans with pre-existing conditions.  It will make insurance more affordable by providing the largest middle class tax cut for health care, thereby helping over 31 million more Americans afford health care.  It will hold insurance companies accountable by laying out common-sense rules of the road to keep premiums down and prevent insurance industry abuses and denial of care.

And it puts our budget and economy on a more stable path by reducing the deficit by $100 billion over the next ten years by cutting government overspending and reining in waste, fraud and abuse.

So when you see those insurance-industry funded ads or hear the same old rhetoric from insurance industry allies, remember that they’re fighting to protect their bottom line – and keep the facts in mind.  The reality is that health insurance reform will put Americans in control of their own health care and bring down costs for American workers and small businesses.

Dan Pfeiffer is White House Communications Director

There are only six days left for the nation’s public high schools to submit an application for the commencement speaker of a lifetime. That’s right -- this spring President Obama will speak to the graduating class of the high school that best demonstrates how it is providing its students an excellent education that will prepare them to graduate ready for college and career choices.

You may have already heard or read about the Challenge on Discovery Education, PBS or Channel One.

GetSchooled is getting in on the action too, spreading the word through its partners like BET, MTV, TeenNick and CMT. You can also become a fan of the Race to the Top High School Commencement Challenge on Facebook.

 It’s not too late! Submit your application today and show the country – and the President -- what your school is made of.

Lauren Paige is Director of Special Projects for White House Communications

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$1,115 – that’s the average premium for employer-sponsored family coverage per month in 2009.  Annually, that amounts to $13,375 – or roughly the yearly income of someone working a minimum wage job. (Source) And if nothing is done to reform our broken health care system, a recent survey found that over the next ten years, out-of-pocket expenses for Americans with health insurance could increase 35 percent in every state in the country. (Source)

This week -- in an effort to put the past year’s debate over health insurance reform into perspective -- we’re launching, “Health Reform by the Numbers,” an online campaign using key figures, like $1,115, to raise awareness about why we just can’t wait for reform.  We’ll announce a new number each day and promote them here on Whitehouse.gov and on social networks, like Facebook and Twitter.

If you’d like to help raise awareness, share this blog post with your family, friends and online networks using the ‘Share/Bookmark’ feature below.

Click here to see the video.

Yesterday, Leslie Banks, one of the many Americans burdened by skyrocketing health insurance costs, introduced President Obama at a reform event in Philadelphia.  Here’s her story:

On February 11th Leslie wrote the President  an e-mail expressing her frustration with the cost of health insurance. Leslie is a self-employed, single mother with type 2 diabetes, whose daughter is a sophomore in college at Temple University.  In January 2010, Leslie received a notice from her health insurance provider that her plan was being dropped. To keep the same benefits, the premiums for her and her daughter would more than double.  Leslie was told by the insurance company that there was an across the board premium hike and there was nothing she could do.  If she paid the same monthly premium amount as before, the deductible would increase from $500 to $5,000, and they would no longer have preventive care or prescription coverage.  Leslie is not eligible for the insurance company’s HMO due to her pre-existing condition.  Under health reform, Leslie and her daughter will have access to affordable health insurance in the new health insurance exchange, including guaranteed benefits such as preventive care and prescription drugs as well as important consumer protections.  In addition, insurance companies will no longer be able to deny coverage based on pre-existing conditions, and they will be held accountable to prevent insurance industry abuses.

For those like Leslie who are buckling under the weight of crippling health insurance costs – they can’t wait any longer for reform.  As the President said yesterday, "We can’t have a system that works better for the insurance companies than it does for the American people.  We need to give families and businesses more control over their own health insurance. And that’s why we need to pass health care reform -- not next year, not five years from now, not 10 years from now, but now."

With all of us working together, we’ll send the message loud and clear -- the time is now for health insurance reform. Check out what we’re doing to raise awareness on Facebook, Twitter, and help spread the word by sharing this post.

 

The December 25 attempted terrorist attack on a Detroit-bound airliner served as a stark reminder that terrorists will stop at nothing to try to hurt and kill Americans.  

Today at 3 p.m. EST, Secretary Napolitano will participate in an online town hall on aviation security. She will answer your questions about our employment of new technologies to stay ahead of terrorist threats, including the expanded use of state-of-the-art Advanced Imaging Technology and Explosive Trace Detection equipment at airports across the country. New technology and screening equipment at our nation’s airports always draw questions and concerns from the public, and we want have an honest dialogue with you about what these technologies mean for the average traveler.   

Secretary Napolitano is also engaging with leaders around the world as part of a broad initiative to strengthen the international aviation system against the evolving threats posed by terrorists. She leaves tomorrow for meetings with her counterparts in Asia, following similar meetings in Europe and Mexico in recent weeks.

We understand that the American public has questions about new screening measures and technology here at home, and about how we’re working with our international partners to bolster security on flights coming to the United States from foreign countries. This live chat is part of Secretary Napolitano’s commitment to making the Department more open and accessible – inviting you to ask questions about the ways the U.S. government is working to make air travel safer and more secure for all passengers.

So please join us at 3:00 PM EST via the White House’s facebook chat application.

Watch the chat at WhiteHouse.gov/live Watch, discuss, and engage through Facebook

Graves Spindler is with the Department of Homeland Security