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June 22, 2015
12:05 PM EDTJune marks Immigrant Heritage Month -- and people across the country are sharing their American stories. Whether you've recently embarked on your first day as an American or want to share how your ancestors came to arrive here, we want to hear from you. Add your voice to the conversation today.
Chapter One: Finding Love in a Newspaper
It began with a classified ad.
My father left his poor, south Indian home at a tender age, and with an ever-tender heart. As a young man chasing education and opportunity, he left behind not only family and favorite foods, but also the love of his life. Growing up as the son of immigrants, I’ve learned a lot about what it takes to make it in America, and it takes a lot. It’s more than stellar test scores and green card sponsorships -- it takes a resilient heart.
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June 22, 2015
05:00 AM EDTTrade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) is a program with an obscure name but an important purpose.
The 21st century economy is driven by an ever-changing global marketplace, with new industries redefining consumer demand and reshaping our workforce. That means that, to outcompete other countries, America’s workforce needs all the job training and support needed to tap into new opportunities that the 21st century can present.
That is what TAA was created to do. It provides job training. It provides income support for workers in training programs. It has provided much-needed support to 2.2 million workers since it was created, including more than 23,000 veterans since October 2009 alone.
But here’s the problem, it will expire soon.
This week, Congress has the chance to reauthorize TAA, the vital program that millions of hardworking Americans have relied on. Major expansions in the program that the President fought for lapsed in 2014, and because major extensions and changes to TAA usually happen alongside other trade-related bills, passing TAA now is our best chance to get a bigger, better version of the program back in place. That's why the president is fighting so hard for it.
Here are just a few of the stories of workers who have benefited from TAA:
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You may have noticed one of our latest offerings on Whitehouse.gov: the ability to request a personalized Presidential Greeting for birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, and other milestones. If not, I encourage you to check it out. This is just one of the many ways we're providing more online services to Americans who want to communicate with the President and the administration.
Technology changes rapidly, and over the past few years we've made some big improvements to the way we tackle how you as a citizen communicate with the White House. As you can imagine, the President gets a lot of mail, tens of thousands of letters and online messages per week, and technology plays a big role in helping us sort through and respond to your messages so that you get a fast and meaningful response, putting you at the center of our engagement efforts.
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In this week's address, the President spoke to his priority of growing the economy and opening new avenues of opportunity for hardworking Americans. While the United States has already made economic progress, with more than 12 million new private-sector jobs created over the past five years, there’s still more to be done.
That’s why the President has continued to press for strong, high-standard trade agreements that are good for American workers and good for American businesses. And it’s why his Administration has partnered with mayors and governors across the country on issues such as minimum wage and paid leave that impact hardworking Americans. The President discussed impactful initiatives like these in his address before the Conference of Mayors on Friday.
Transcript | mp4 | mp3
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President Barack Obama makes remarks before the U.S. Conference of Mayors in San Francisco, Calif., June 19, 2015. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Earlier this afternoon, President Obama addressed the annual meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors in San Francisco.
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This Sunday at 7 p.m. ET, Discovery Channel and OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network will air RISE: The Promise of My Brother’s Keeper — a documentary that explores the lives of the boys and young men of color from four programs across the U.S. that are living the principles of the My Brother’s Keeper initiative.
Watch the following excerpt, in which President Obama explains how every child matters, regardless of their circumstances:
"You matter. You count. You have talent. You have capacity. We're going to help you." —President Obama to young boys and men of color: http://on.fb.me/1H38zm4 #MyBrothersKeeper
Posted by The White House on Friday, June 19, 2015
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Ed. note: This is cross-posted from the Department of Commerce blog. See the original post here.
Today, Secretary Pritzker and the Commerce Department released a report showcasing that in 2014, nearly 3.2 million jobs—44 percent of all jobs supported by goods exports—were supported by the export of goods to our Free Trade Agreement (FTA) partners.
In 2014, the United States reached record levels in goods and services exports for the fifth consecutive year totaling $2.34 trillion. Since 2009, goods exports to our current FTA partners grew 64 percent versus 45 percent to the rest of the world. The United States continues to have a trade surplus in manufactured goods, $56 billion in 2014, with the countries in which we have trade agreements.
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June 19, 2015
05:31 PM EDT
First Lady Michelle Obama is greeted by student ambassadors along with the US Delegation outside of the USA Pavilion at the World Expo in Milan, Italy, June 18, 2015. The First Lady, in support of the "Let's Move!" initiative, leads a presidential delegation to the expo, "Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life." (Official White House Photo by Amanda Lucidon) June 18, 2015. (Official White House Photo by Amanda Lucidon)
We are incredibly proud to have joined the First Lady’s Presidential Delegation to the Milan Expo 2015, representing our steadfast commitment to a healthier nation at the World's Fair. As members of the Presidential Council for Physical Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition, we are especially thrilled by the USA Pavilion, “American Food 2.0: United to Feed the Planet,” showcasing American leadership on global food and development issues, science and technology, climate change, nutrition, and health.
We know raising healthy families isn’t just a challenge in the United States — it’s a challenge all over the world. We came to this Expo to listen, learn, and join others across the globe to come up with lasting solutions.
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On June 19, 1865, Union General Gordon Granger and his regiment arrived in Galveston, Texas to share one message: The Civil War had ended, and all enslaved African Americans were now free because President Lincoln had signed the Emancipation Proclamation.
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June 19, 2015
11:24 AM EDT
The filmmakers of AFI DOCS 2015 after their meetings with White House staff stand proudly with AFI President and CEO Bob Gazzale (L, 4th row) and AFI DOCS Festival Director Michael Lumpkin (R, 3rd row). June 19, 2015. (by Adam Garber)
2015 is a momentous year for the American Film Institute.
It was 50 years ago – this very year – that President Lyndon Johnson stood in the White House Rose Garden and said, “We will create an American Film Institute,” to preserve the heritage of the motion picture, to honor the artists and their work and to educate the next generation of storytellers.
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June 18, 2015
06:51 PM EDTTune in Tuesday for a National Dialogue on Climate Change And Health
"There are a whole host of public health impacts that are going to hit home. The great thing about this conversation is to see all the work that’s already being done by public health officials, the medical community, nurses and families."
- President Obama
On Tuesday, the White House will convene a Summit to bring together health and medical professionals, academics, and other stakeholders to empower people and communities with the information and tools they need to protect public health in the face of climate change.
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This week was Maker Week and Pollinator Week! The President was a busy bee himself. He stopped by a Congressional baseball game and a Congressional picnic, congratulated My Brother's Keeper mentees, and presided over the ceremonial swearing-in of Loretta Lynch as Attorney General. Meanwhile, the First Lady crossed the Atlantic in the name of Let Girls Learn and Let's Move! That's June 12th to June 18th or, "Her Map & Compass."
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Last night, a gunman opened fire at the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, killing nine people including pastor and state senator Clementa Pinckney. The Department of Justice is opening a hate crime investigation into this tragedy.
The President delivered the following statement from the White House Briefing Room:
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June 18, 2015
11:41 AM EDTJune marks Immigrant Heritage Month -- and people across the country are sharing their American stories. Whether you've recently embarked on your first day as an American or want to share how your ancestors came to arrive here, we want to hear from you. Add your voice to the conversation today.
I come from a long line of childhood immigrants.
My grandfather was eight when he emigrated from Argentina to Morocco. My parents both emigrated from Casablanca, Morocco to Paris, France in the 1960s, among a wave of North African Jewish immigrants that crossed the Mediterranean in pursuit of better opportunities. My brother and I joined the ranks when we immigrated to Florida in 1996.
My dad fell in love with America during graduate school in the States – he connected with the entrepreneurial spirit and the deeply engrained ideals of service and civic participation. He and my mother dreamt of raising their children in America and instilling in us these powerful ideals. That’s why, when I was seven, we immigrated to the U.S. on a H-1B Visa to begin our journey to citizenship.
Our journey was not without its challenges. We left family, friends and a cultural connection to begin anew in a mostly unfamiliar land. My mother gave up her practice as a surgeon. I remember my first day of school in America: Wearing a denim jacket and a bright pink backpack, I tried my best to look American, hoping no one would notice I didn’t speak English. It was awkward.
Even though we sometimes felt confused, we always felt welcome.
We were invited with open arms to barbeques, block parties and PTA meetings. We learned about kickball, Pop Tarts and drive-in movies, and we made them our own. We didn’t always look, sound or act “American," but we never, ever felt out of place.
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June 17, 2015
04:28 PM EDTI was so inspired by First Lady Michelle Obama’s remarks about the importance of girls’ education yesterday in London.
“There are 62 million young women like all of the girls here and around the country who aren't getting an education, and their potential is just being lost. And we can't afford that. We can't afford that.”
- First Lady Michelle Obama
Earlier this year, the Peace Corps was proud to join the First Lady in a powerful new collaboration called Let Girls Learn, dedicated to expanding access to education for adolescent girls around the world. We know that an investment in girls’ education is the single greatest investment we can make – because when a girl is given the opportunity to learn, everyone in her life benefits.
First Lady Michelle Obama delivers remarks at Mulberry School for Girls in London, England. The First Lady visits the school to discuss cooperation between the United States and the United Kingdom to improve educational opportunities for girls around the world through the Let Girls Learn initiative June 16, 2015. (Official White House Photo by Amanda Lucidon)
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The Statue of Liberty is pictured during the flight to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, N.Y., July 17, 2014. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me."— Emma Lazarus
The Statue of Liberty, a gift from the people of France, made its way to America on June 17, 1885. The French people, in honor of the alliance between the two countries during the American Revolution, presented the statue to recognize America as a champion of liberty and encourage the French to support the same ideals.
When the statue arrived at New York Harbor, it was housed in 214 crates. After four months, the 350 puzzle pieces were reassembled into the 151-foot tall icon, finding a home on Liberty Island.
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June 17, 2015
01:24 PM EDTJune marks Immigrant Heritage Month -- and people across the country are sharing their American stories. Whether you've recently embarked on your first day as an American or want to share how your ancestors came to arrive here, we want to hear from you. Add your voice to the conversation today.
I pledge allegiance, to the flag – of the United States of America.
These were the first words I heard every day; in class, we had to stand up, place our right hands on our hearts, and recite the Pledge of Allegiance every morning before we started class. The thing about pledges is that they instill in you a strong sense of belonging; of identity; and of purpose. I grew to love that morning ritual – for a child who looked different, thought different, and acted different, it gave me a sense of belonging and a sense of place.
On March 25, 1999: that pledge carried a bit more meaning. It was the day I became an American citizen. While most of my friends were thinking about how to convince their parents to let them to go to the Britney Spears or N'Sync concert, I was quietly celebrating that on school forms, I would no longer have to check "Legal Alien." I could finally say "U.S. Citizen." The story, the dream, the hope I had for my life could finally become a reality.
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President Barack Obama says goodbye to students after a visit to the Yeadon Regional Head Start Center in Yeadon, Pa., Nov. 8, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Today, the Department of Health and Human Services announced important new changes to the Head Start program that build on this Administration’s efforts to improve services for our country’s youngest children.
From the first days of the Administration, Head Start has been at the heart of the President’s early learning agenda. This Administration has more than doubled the number of infants and toddlers in Early Head Start. Recently, the President requested an additional $1.5 billion increase in the Head Start program – the largest proposed funding increase for the program since the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act – to help ensure every Head Start child can benefit from a full school day and year of high-quality services.
Today’s step is the next in this effort, strengthening Head Start program’s Performance Standards for the next generation of children and families it will serve.
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It's National Pollinator Week! What does that mean and why should you care?
Check this out:
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Rising temperatures, extreme weather, public health threats -- there’s no question that climate change is one of the greatest threats to our security, our planet, and our future. So what can we do about it?
Here’s one decisive step to take: Power up with clean energy.
Investing in renewable energy sources like wind and solar gives us two advantages: It reduces our carbon footprint and, as a burgeoning global industry, will spark our economic growth. Consider this: According to industry analyses, employment in the solar industry has grown more than 85 percent since 2010, while the price of a rooftop solar system has dropped more than 50 percent.
When President Obama took office, he made it point to take the first concrete steps down this path. And that’s why, today, we produce more wind and solar energy than ever, while our economy is creating jobs at the fastest pace since 1998.
What’s that look like?
Take a look at this chart to see how we’ve tripled our wind power and generated 20 times more solar electricity than when the President took office in 2009:
