Tag Archives: Civil liberties

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Rebuilding America!


whitehousebannerWhat Rebuilding America Means for You

Our nation’s infrastructure has long been our economic backbone. A well-performing transportation network keeps jobs in America, allows businesses to expand, and lowers prices on household goods for American families.

But we’ve been investing in our infrastructure less and less — and, as a result, congestion and maintenance backlogs have gone up:

  • 65% of our roads are rated in less than good condition
  • 25% of our bridges require significant repair or can’t handle today’s traffic
  • 45% of Americans lack access to transit

It’s time to rebuild our roads and bridges in a smarter, more responsible way while supporting millions of jobs.

See how your state is affected, and learn how the President’s plan will rebuild America.

What's at stake if Congress doesn't act

Weekly Address: Expanding Opportunity — It’s Time for Congressional Republicans to Do Their Part

In this week’s address, the President recapped his visits with folks who have written him letters about their own American stories — their successes and struggles. While congressional Republicans are blocking meaningful measures that would strengthen the middle class, the President continues looking for ways to grow the economy and expand opportunity for more hardworking Americans.

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Children or Political footballs


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The Border Crisis Is Not An Opportunity To Play Politics

A growing humanitarian situation at the Mexico-U.S. border, with tens of thousands of children fleeing violence and organized criminal activity in Central America to the U.S. and neighboring countries, has brought immigration to the forefront of the political conversation again, highlighting both the need for immediate action and long-term reform. Tens of thousands of children and families have come across the border recently, leaving immigration officials with overcrowded detention facilities and little capacity to process them.

President Obama has issued a request for Congress to provide $3.7 billion in emergency funds to care for and speed up the repatriation of the more than 57,000 children. Vice President Biden, Secretary of State John Kerry, and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson have all either visited Central America or the border to assess the crisis.

Meanwhile, too many Republicans are exploiting child refugees to score political points. Gov. Rick Perry, after meeting with Obama in Texas last week, asked “I don’t know whether [Obama’s] inept, or there’s something else going on.” Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) went even farther, going on a diatribe against the migrant children and urging Texas to unilaterally declare war. Here’s what he said:

Even with $3.7 billion that’s requested, there’s no way for what’s being called for is going to stop the invasion that’s occurring. That’s why I’m hoping that my governor will utilize Article 1, Section 10, that allows a state that is being invaded — in our case more than twice as many just in recent months, more than twice as many than invaded France on D-Day with a doubling of that coming en route, on their way here now under Article 1, Section 10, the state of Texas would appear to have the right, not only to use whatever means, whether it’s troops, even using ships of war, even exacting a tax on interstate commerce that wouldn’t normally be allowed to have or utilize, they’d be entitled in order to pay to stop the invasion.

Article 1, Section 10 of the Constitution provides that “[n]o state shall, without the consent of Congress, . . . engage in war, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent danger as will not admit of delay.” We are not talking about war. We are talking about children—many younger than 10—who have experienced horrible conditions in their home countries and on the journey, and who are alone and scared.

Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) stressed this point and called out the xenophobia in this debate yesterday: “There is American exceptionalism, I believe in it,” Gutierrez said. “I say we are the strongest, wealthiest, most powerful nation in the world, and children are coming to our borders, we should protect them.”

BOTTOM LINE: We need to show compassion and take care of these children who have traveled thousands of miles from three of the most dangerous countries in the world. They deserve a hearing to determine if their claims are valid, and we should treat them humanely throughout that process, while sending resources to expedite it. Meanwhile, House Republicans must take responsibility to fix the long-term issue of a broken immigration system and stop refusing to vote on the bipartisan, comprehensive immigration bill that passed the Senate a year ago.

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Recall …


Wolverine Meat Recall

 

E. coli is found in cow poop. Yummy. 

Why on earth are we still having E. coli outbreaks in this day and age? Don’t beef producers know how to avoid it at this point? Apparently not. Today, Detroit-based Wolverine Packing Company recalled 1.8 million pounds of ground beef because—you guessed it—it’s contaminated with E. coli. With a name like Wolverine, maybe they produce mutant beef? Probably not, but I’d be willing to guess they’re not taking the proper precautions in production. E. coli—which is potentially deadly—contaminates ground beef when parts of the intestine make their way into the final product, because …

E. coli is found in cow poop. Yummy.
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“Making Use of America’s Talent”


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We hope this message finds you well. As President Obama’s “Year of Action” continues, Senior White House Officials are joining him in taking this work to the Nation.

Valerie Jarrett, Chair of the White House Council on Women and Girls, recently participated in the New York Regional Forum on Working Families to talk about issues ranging from paid leave to flexible scheduling. Click here to read more about Jarrett’s personal journey to balance the schedules of work and family.

On Monday, May 19th, Dr. Betsey Stevenson, a Member of the Council of Economic Advisers, spoke at the Boston Regional Forum and talked about Making Full Use of America’s Talent. As Dr. Stevenson writes, “Workplaces can change — many already have. Workplaces that offer part-time schedules, scheduling flexibility, or work-from-home options have found that these policies can help recruit and retain workers, increasing productivity.” Click here to read more and be sure to visit www.workingfamiliessummit.org.

In related news, President Obama continued his push for an increase in the minimum wage. Women disproportionately work in low-wage jobs, and more than half of the workers who would benefit from an increase in the minimum wage are women. Read below or click here to learn more.

We couldn’t possibly finish our note without asking you to mark your calendars (May 27th) for the 2014 White House Science Fair! This year, there will be a special focus on girls in STEM. Click here to learn more and stay tuned for updates.

Visit us on the web at www.whitehouse.gov/women and follow @vj44 for updates on all this and more.

Thank you so much for all that you do!

White House Council on Women and Girls

A 21st Century Workplace for Today’s Working Families

Valerie Jarrett, Chair of the White House Council on Women and Girls shares her thoughts:

Every day in America, there are single moms struggling to take sick children to doctors’ appointments because missing work isn’t an option. Working dads find themselves straining to focus at work, because their employer doesn’t provide paternity leave that would enable them to contribute at home and bond with their new babies. Young women are questioning their ability to thrive in the workplace as they try to balance the needs of their families with their responsibilities at work.

 

Nearly half of America’s workforce is now comprised of women, and three-fourths of households are headed by a working single parent, or two working parents. Still, our workplaces have yet to catch up by implementing policies which empower women, and provide flexibility for parents.

 

Click here to read more.

Making Full Use of America’s Talent

Dr. Betsey Stevenson, Member of President Obama’s Council of Economic Advisors, shares her thoughts:

I told a friend recently that I thought that I was failing at everything — my kids weren’t getting enough of me, I wasn’t doing everything that I wanted to at work, and I wasn’t spending enough time with my partner. Her response was to congratulate me for getting my work-life balance just right…

 

Workplace flexibility enabled us to bridge the gap between our care and career responsibilities, but many working women still don’t have this option. Research shows us that women are deterred from entering certain professions with long hours or inflexible schedules because they worry about balancing work and family responsibilities, and are often forced into a less productive career paths as a result. Many workers — both men and women — also lack access to paid family leave and high quality affordable child care, forcing them to make difficult choices between work and family. By limiting career options of some talented workers, we are failing to build an economy that can operate at its full potential and jeopardizing our ability to compete on the world stage. In order to continue making the kind of economic progress we’ve seen in the last 100 years, we’re going to have to reshape the workplaces of today and tomorrow.

 

Click here to read more.

The Benefits of Raising the Minimum Wage for America’s Women

Raising the minimum wage is especially important for women, who are highly concentrated in low-wage jobs and occupations.

Learn more and then share this graphic with others.

Check out the infographic

Announcing the White House Science Fair and Celebrating Girls Excelling in STEM

President Obama checks out a White House Science Fair presentation

President Barack Obama gets down on his hands and knees as he looks at the inner workings of a robot that plays soccer, built by a team from Blue Bell, Pa., as he tours science projects on display in the State Dining Room of the White House. President Obama hosted the White House Science Fair for winners of a broad range of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) competitions. October 18, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Next week – on Tuesday, May 27 – the White House is going to be filled with robots, science projects, and more. Students from around the country are headed to the 2014 White House Science Fair hosted by President Obama, and we couldn’t be more excited. With students from a broad range of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) competitions, this year’s Fair will include a specific focus on girls and women who are excelling in STEM and inspiring the next generation with their work.

Stay tuned, because this week, we’ll be previewing some of the amazing girls who will be presenting their projects at the White House Science Fair. Since day one, the President has been committed to getting more underrepresented groups, including women and girls, excited to excel at STEM subjects. For example, in the Administration’s $4.35 billion Race to the Top competition, President Obama granted states competitive preference if they demonstrated efforts to close the STEM gap for girls and other groups that are underrepresented.

The President began the tradition of hosting White House Science Fairs in 2009 when he launched his Educate to Innovate campaign to inspire more girls and boys to excel in STEM subjects. As the President has noted, “If you win the NCAA championship, you come to the White House. Well, if you’re a young person and you produce the best experiment or design, the best hardware or software, you ought to be recognized for that achievement, too.” In the run up to the Science Fair, we also want you to share your stories, and we want to highlight YOUR First Science Fair project. So for this Thursday’s Throw Back Thursday, tweet us a photo of your science fair projects and other STEM work from when you were a kid using #TBTsciencefair!

Follow us here @WhiteHouse and @WhiteHouseOSTP as we plan to join in the fun as well.

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