| Weekly Address: America’s Resurgence Is RealIn this week’s address, the President reflected on the significant progress made by this country in 2014, and in the nearly six years since he took office.
This past year has been the strongest for job growth since the 1990s, contributing to the nearly 11 million jobs added by our businesses over a 57-month streak. America is leading the rest of the world, in containing the spread of Ebola, degrading and ultimately destroying ISIL, and addressing the threat posed by climate change. And earlier this week, the President announced the most significant changes to our policy towards Cuba in over 50 years. America’s resurgence is real, and the President expressed his commitment to working with Congress in the coming year to make sure Americans feel the benefits. Watch the President’s Weekly Address now.
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| A Look Back at 2014As 2014 winds down, President Obama stopped by the press briefing room in the White House yesterday to offer his thoughts on what the past year has meant for the country.
“I said that 2014 would be a year of action and would be a breakthrough year for America,” he said. “And it has been.” If you missed the President’s news conference, check it out here:
The United States and Cuba are separated by no more than 90 miles of water, but an ideological and economic barrier has hardened between our two countries for the past 50 years. On Wednesday, however, President Obama announced historic new steps to chart a new course in our relations with Cuba. “Today, America chooses to cut loose the shackles of the past so as to reach for a better future — for the Cuban people, for the American people, for our entire hemisphere, and for the world,” he said.
Take a deep-dive into the President’s historic actions at WhiteHouse.gov/Cuba-policy. President Obama Visits the Troops, “Just to Say Thank You” On Monday, the President traveled to Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey to offer his thanks to the U.S. military members and families stationed there and across the world for their service to our country. “The message I’m here to deliver on behalf of the American people is very simple,” he said. “It’s just to say thank you.”
The President also marked an important milestone: After more than 13 years, we are finally bringing a responsible end to America’s war in Afghanistan. When the President took office, we had nearly 180,000 troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. By the end of this month, we’ll have fewer than 15,000 in both countries. Over the course of six years, we have brought home 90 percent of our troops. And this month, Afghans will take full responsibility for their security. As always, see more of the week’s events in the latest edition of West Wing Week. |
Tag Archives: news
Union of Concerned Scientists … Playground politics
Here’s what a Texas lawmaker recently said: “What if we just said no [to the Environmental Protection Agency’s new rules on power plant pollution]? There is a precedent in Texas to say we’re not going to be under the federal government’s boot.”1 He might as well have said, No! We don’t have to follow the rules! That sort of thing is barely acceptable on the playground—as a way of setting national policy, it’s downright dangerous. Yet it’s happening now: Twelve states are suing the EPA to block new rules on global warming pollution.2 And even if they lose, there are a string of bills in state houses around the country to gut progress on clean energy and protect fossil fuel interests—in effect, to roll back years of work and victories you and I have made possible. That’s why UCS is launching an ambitious new campaign next month to make sure states make real progress on clean air and renewal energy. States have to devise plans to comply with new EPA rules that cut global warming pollutants from power plants. If we don’t have the right resources now, our opponents will beat us to the punch, and we’ll miss out on this opportunity to move states forward. Please don’t let that happen. Our analysts and outreach staff need resources to take our hard hitting, science-based campaigns to even more states—to beat back attacks on the EPA and pass proactive legislation to ramp up wind and solar development and energy efficiency. What you give now determines just how hard we can fight in the weeks and months ahead—for science, clean air, and our families’ health. Here’s how UCS will use your support to make a difference. Here’s how we’ll win:
Those are the same ways UCS members helped secure landmark fuel economy standards for cars and trucks, impose limits on global warming emissions from coal-fired power plants, and cut sulfur pollution from gasoline—all in the last two years. It’s also how we helped kill nearly every single legislative attempt to roll back support for wind and solar development in the states. We even beat the Koch brothers in their home state of Kansas.3 And it’s how we’ll convince key states to strengthen their reliance on clean and renewable energy. On January 1, we’re immediately ramping up our work in three states where legislators are poised to adopt stronger renewable energy policies—Illinois, Michigan, and Minnesota. That’s just the beginning of our state-based work in 2015. The number of states we can reach depends on your support right now. Legislative sessions open up in early January. We either get ahead of the fossil fuel industry or we don’t. The only disadvantage we face when compared to the people who protect corporate interests and deny climate science is resources. It’s just that simple. We’ve got the science, the experts, the everyday people fighting for their futures and their families’ health. We’re making a difference, but with your extra generous support right now, we can—we will—do so much more. A lot of groups have a role to play in fighting global warming. Ours is unique. We are the leading national organization built by and for scientists and people like you who look to science first when faced with threats like sea level rise, persistent drought, and toxic pollution. We are the trusted experts on climate science and clean and renewable energy. And you are the power behind each of our campaigns. The new year is just around the corner,
P.S. As a UCS member, you should know you’re well respected by leaders in the climate movement. Just recently, Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) said he “always follows UCS because they’re always right.” We appreciate that, and I can tell you—with your support—we always strive for accuracy and integrity in the defense of science. I’m proud of that, and hope you are too. 1. http://www.dallasnews.com/business/energy/20140929-litigation-looms-over-state-co2-hearings.ece |
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Cecile Richards, Planned Parenthood ~~ Personal reasons for hope
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The Expanding List of Expandeders
More Red States Are Deciding That Closing The Coverage Gap Is The Right Move
The news today that, through December 12, there have been 2.5 million signups in the second year of open enrollment is another indication of the success the Affordable Care Act is having in bringing health care to millions of Americans. The website has been withstanding surges in traffic, too.
But there is more evidence that the law is working. As the holiday season approaches, conservative-led states previously committed to resisting the Affordable Care Act at all costs are doing a funny thing. With the 2014 elections behind them, more and more red state governors are announcing that they support accepting federal funding to close the coverage gap and provide affordable healthcare to families. While we hope that state legislatures will come on board with these state executives and approve plans quickly, in some cases it could be a long slog from governors announcing a deal to these same governors signing legislation. Despite that, this news is incredibly encouraging:
- Yesterday, Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam announced Insure Tennessee, a federal-state hybrid program that could bring coverage to more than 160,000 Tennesseans. A recent poll found that 58 percent of registered Tennessee voters supported taking federal funding to expand coverage for low-income Tennesseans.
- Earlier this month, Wyoming Governor Matt Mead announced his support for his state’s version of Medicaid expansion, which could cover up to 17,600 Wyomingites.
- Also earlier this month, Utah Governor Gary Herbert released his plan to expand coverage in his state, which would go beyond closing Utah’s coverage gap and could provide insurance for 77,000 Utahns.
- Newly-elected Alaska Governor Bill Walker, an independent, continued his campaign to expand Medicaid from the campaign trail into his administration, though he will face stiff resistance from the Republican statehouse to bring affordable health care to 40,000 Alaskans.
- According to reports, Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe (D), undeterred after Republicans blocked him from expanding Medicaid to 400,000 Virginians, will continue to push for Medicaid expansion in 2015, despite facing long odds.
Since it is the holiday season, it would not be complete without a Grinch. That would be Kansas Governor Sam Brownback. Fresh off a tough re-election fight where he had to defend his tax cuts that blew a huge whole in the budget and deepened the recession’s damage to state services, Brownback has to continue to try and stitch together a balanced budget. His new idea to fill that pothole, however, is to use funds available to Kansas in part due to savings through the Affordable Care Act. Kansas received about $30 million thanks to the ACA through Medicaid, but instead of using that money to pay for Medicaid, Brownback wants to use it to replace the money given out in tax cuts disproportionately to the wealthy.
BOTTOM LINE: Despite setbacks by obstructionist Republicans, the Affordable Care Act’s fight to expand coverage to millions more Americans is not over. Expanding health coverage and closing the coverage gap is good for state budgets, for state economies, and of course for the uninsured. More red states are realizing this now, and we’ll bet even more will in the year to come.
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Why I support the National Women’s Law Center
 I’ve seen a lot of change in the world since I spoke out in 1991 about the sexual harassment I experienced when I worked for Clarence Thomas.Over the years, I’ve continued working as an educator, lawyer, and advocate. I’ve seen progress for women and families moveforward, backward, and forward again. I know we’ve accomplished much, but we still have much to do.That’s why I serve on the board of the National Women’s Law Center. Because we have a long way to go in the struggle for equality — and NWLC will be the one to take us there.
Just this year, NWLC helped win a Presidential Executive Order to strengthen equal pay protections and stop federal contractors from firing women who ask about fair pay. The Center wrote a groundbreaking report that calls attention to a key roadblock to enforcing sexual harassment laws — and so much more. We’ve got a lot of work to do to ensure fair treatment for women in 2015 and beyond. We have to defend the gains we’ve made and push not only Congress but also regulatory agencies, state legislatures, and the courts to dismantle the barriers women face. And the National Women’s Law Center is exactly who I trust to get the job done. It’s up to all of us to speak out as the struggle for equality continues into the next generation, in 2015 and beyond. Thank you so much for your support. Sincerely, P.S. I’m grateful to NWLC for leading the way in the fight for equality. I know you are too. Make your year-end donation and it will be doubled by a matching gift. |
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Be a Seed for Change 
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