Princeton sociology professor and health care watcher Paul Starr says part of the problem is that so much of the law hasn’t taken effect yet. “They’re only really going to become aware of the specifics of the legislation as we get close to the point where there’s enrollment in health plans and where people actually…
Category: The White House
Presidential Memorandum — Expediting Review of Pipeline Projects
Because of rising oil production, more efficient cars and trucks, and a world-class refining sector that last year was a net exporter of petroleum products for the first time in 60 years, we have cut net imports by a million barrels a day in the last year alone. By reducing our dependence on foreign oil,…
A Timeline Of The Health Reform Law’s Milestones And Regulations – Kaiser Health News
The health law was controversial even before it was signed by President Barack Obama two years ago. But the political ruckus has not deterred the administration from issuing hundreds of pages of regulations which already are affecting consumers, hospitals, doctors, insurance companies and state governments. Here’s a look at what was done when: READ MORE:…
Details on President’s Plan to Provide Americans with Job Training and Employment Services
The President’s proposal also calls for the creation of an American Job Center network to unify all Federally-supported One-Stop Career Centers and electronic resources. Currently, names for these nearly 3,000 federally funded employment centers vary widely from state to state, or even from town to town, and electronic tools are spread across many disconnected websites. …
U.S. Production of Oil Rising Under Obama
Check out this informative graphic from whitehouse.gov. Some takeaways: Production of oil is increasing Dependence on foreign oil declining More oil rigs in operation Total oil and gas production is up http://www.whitehouse.gov/energy/gasprices
The Blueprint for a Secure Energy Future: One-Year Progress Report | The White House
From Heather Zichal, the Deputy Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change: One year ago, the President put forward a comprehensive plan in the Blueprint for a Secure Energy Future that outlined the Administration’s all-of-the-above approach to American energy – a strategy aimed at reducing our reliance on foreign oil, saving families and businesses…
President Obama Signs the Payroll Tax Cut
President Obama signed the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 — extending the payroll tax cut and emergency jobless benefits through the end of the year. Last week, the President called on Americans from across the country to add their voices to the debate and let us know what they would…
Infographic: The Solyndra Witch-Hunt One Year Later
Marking the one-year anniversary of the Solyndra investigation, the Republican National Committee released an infographic on President Obama’s supposed “insider deals.” But after 187,000 documents, 10 hearings, and multiple independent media investigations concluding there was no evidence of political “pressure” to approve the loan guarantee, Republicans show no signs of ending the political games around…
The best way to judge Obama’s first term — and his second
Of course, the presidency is not a lab experiment. We cannot tweak a few variables and rerun the last few years to test their effect. In that way, reviewing the flaws in a presidency is a hard thing to do well, and an impossible thing to do perfectly. Every political pundit — indeed, every citizen…
Poll: Obama Hits 50% Approval, Leads All GOP Rivals, For Now
The new CBS News/NY Times poll definitely contains the kind of information that could put a little spring in any president’s step. The poll, released Tuesday, found President Obama’s approval rating had bounced back up to 50 percent from 47 percent in January. Not a huge improvement but in presidential politics, getting to at least…
President Obama announces $8 Billion Community College to Career Fund
Today, President Obama announced the Community College to Career Fund, an $8 billion investment in his Fiscal Year 2013 Budget that would train two million workers with skills that lead directly to good jobs in industries that need workers, including advanced manufacturing, clean energy, and information technology. This program will serve a dual purpose: making sure…
ANALYSIS: The Real World Debunks The GOP’s ‘Austerity Now’ Ideology
In Britain, a large package of budget cuts and austerity measures which rolled out in 2010 has not unleashed the proverbial job creators in the private market. Instead, the country is still shackled with an economic growth trend that’s even worse that what it suffered in the aftermath of the Great Depression. In the Eurozone…
Obama continues push for payroll tax cut extension
President Barack Obama continues his push Tuesday to get Congress to extend a payroll tax cut, a day after House Republican leaders agreed to remove an obstacle in the passage of the tax cut extension. Obama released Tuesday a video about what he called the need to extend the tax cut by the end of…
Video: President Obama On New Contraception Rules
The president was joined by HHS Secretary Sebelius as he announced a revision of the rule requiring that insurance plans offer free contraception, so that religious-affiliated groups don’t have to take responsibility for the coverage. Here is a full transcript of President Barack Obama’s remarks, as provided by the White House. He took no questions…
Long Time Coming: Obama’s Approval Rating Goes Positive
It was a long road back, but President Obama is now back in positive territory in our TPM Poll Average. The shift comes on the heels of a completed Iraq withdrawal, a legislative win on the payroll tax cut before Christmas, and perhaps most importantly, good economic numbers in January and early February. The President’s…
President’s Weekly Address: Extending the Payroll Tax Cut for the Middle Class
WEEKLY ADDRESS: Extending the Payroll Tax Cut for the Middle Class In this week’s address, President Obama urged Congress to quickly pass the payroll tax cut extension to prevent a tax hike on 160 million hardworking Americans who are still recovering from the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. This is not the time…
The President’s Global Development Council
FACT SHEET: The President’s Global Development Council “Our U.S. Global Development Policy – the first of its kind by an American administration – is rooted in America’s enduring commitment to the dignity and potential of every human being. It outlines our new approach and the new thinking that will guide our overall development efforts. Put…
GOP Construction of a Fictional “Obama” Has Taken a Turn to the Absurd
Contrary to the fictional stories told by Republicans, the president has cut taxes (taxes are lower under Obama than they were under Ronald Reagan, and the tax burden on Americans is the lowest it’s been since 1950), raised the military budget, been more aggressive in fighting Islamist militants than his predecessor (bin Laden and numerous…
New Polls Showing Catholic Support For Contraception Coverage Further Undermine “War On Religion” Claim
New polls released this week indicate that a majority of Catholics believe that employers should provide health care plans that cover contraception. This further undermines right-wing media claims that President Obama has declared “war on Catholics” or a “war on religion” because of his administration’s recent decision requiring religiously affiliated organizations to offer health care…
White House To GOP: Only One Way Around Defense Cuts — And You’re Not Gonna Like It
In light of Congressional Republicans’ abandonment of a key part of the debt limit agreement, two senior administration officials briefing reporters at the White House Monday said automatic, across the board cuts to defense programs will happen as scheduled unless Republicans relent on their refusal to raise revenues. The officials conducted the briefing under the…