President Obama to Honor Recipients of the 2012 Citizens Medal

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

Recipients from across the country will visit the White House to receive Presidential award for exemplary service to their fellow citizens

WASHINGTON, DC – On February 15, 2013, President Obama will welcome to the White House the recipients of the 2012 Presidential Citizens Medal, the nation’s second-highest civilian honor.

“It is my distinguished honor to award these individuals the 2012 Citizens Medal for their commitment to public service,” said President Obama. “Their selflessness and courage inspire us all to look for opportunities to better serve our communities and our country.”

This event will be open press and begin at 10:45AM ET.  Members of the media who wish to cover this event must send NAME, MEDIA OUTLET, PHONE AND EMAIL for each person planning to cover the event to media_affairs@who.eop.gov by Wednesday, February 13th at 5:00 PM ET.  If we are able to accommodate your request for credentials, we will send a confirmation with further instructions and logistical details after the RSVP deadline passes.

NOTE: Members of the media who do not have a White House hard pass must also submit their full name (including middle name), date of birth, Social Security number, gender, country of birth, country of citizenship and current city and state of residence. 

The Citizens Medal was established in 1969 to recognize American citizens who have performed exemplary deeds of service for their country or their fellow citizens. President Obama is recognizing Americans whose work has had a significant impact on their communities but may not have garnered national attention. The President called on members of the public to nominate people in their lives who have performed exemplary deeds of service outside of their regular jobs, including individuals:

Who have a demonstrated commitment to service in their own community or in communities farther from home. Someone who has engaged in activities that have had an impact in their local community, on a community or communities elsewhere in the United States, or on fellow citizens living or stationed around the world.

Who have helped their country or their fellow citizens through one or more extraordinary acts. Individuals who have demonstrated notable skill and grace, selflessly placed themselves in harm’s way, taken unusual risks or steps to protect others, made extraordinary efforts to further a national goal, or otherwise conducted themselves admirably when faced with unusually challenging circumstances.

Whose service relates to a long-term or persistent problem. Individuals who have made efforts to combat stubbornly persistent problems that impact entire communities; for example, those who have taken innovative steps to address hunger, homelessness, the dropout crisis, lack of access to health care, and other issues that plague too many Americans.

Whose service has had a sustained impact on others’ lives and provided inspiration for others to serve. The ideal nominee for a Citizens Medal is a person whose work has had a meaningful and lasting impact on the lives of others.

For more information on the President’s Citizens Medal and to nominate someone for the 2013 Citizens Medal, visit www.whitehouse.gov/citizensmedal.

Nearly 6,000 public nominations were submitted, and the President has selected the following awardees:

Dr. T. Berry Brazelton (Boston, Massachusetts)
Brazelton is one of the foremost authorities on pediatrics and child development as well as an author and professor. One of Brazelton’s best known achievements was the development of the Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (NBAS), which is now used worldwide to recognize the physical and neurological responses of newborns, as well as emotional well-being and individual differences. In 1993, he founded the Brazelton Touchpoints Center® (BTC) at Boston Children’s Hospital where he continues to promote strengths-based, family-centered care in pediatric and early education settings around the world. 

Adam Burke (Jacksonville, Florida)
Burke is an Iraq combat veteran and recipient of the Purple Heart which he received for injuries occurred by a mortar attack while running combat operation in Iraq. In 2009 he opened "Veterans Farm," a 19 acre handicap-accessible farm that helps teach veterans of all ages how to make a living from the find healing in the land. He has been awarded numerous accolades for his work, including the 2011 Good Person of the Year award from the Good People Foundation and the Star of Honor from Work Vessels for Veterans.

Mary Jo Copeland (Minneapolis, Minnesota)
Copeland founded Sharing and Caring Hands in 1985, which has served as a safety net to those in the Minneapolis area through the provision of food, clothing, shelter, transportation, medical and dental assistance.  Sharing and Caring Hands assists thousands of people a month, and is staffed almost entirely by volunteers. Copeland, who currently receives no salary for her work, has served as its director since its opening and still greets every client entering the center and conducts intake interviews.

Michael Dorman (Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina)
Dorman is the founder and executive director of Military Missions in Action, a North Carolina-based non-profit that helps veterans with disabilities, both physical and mental, achieve independent living.  All veterans who have served are eligible to receive services including home modification, rehabilitation and family assistance.  Since 2008, the organization has completed more than 100 home modification projects and shipped thousands of care packages to soldiers.

Maria Gomez (Washington, DC)
Gomez founded Mary’s Center 25 years ago with the mission to build better futures through the delivery of health care, family literacy and job training. Mary’s Center is part of the working group launching First Lady Michelle Obama's “Let's Read Let's Move Campaign.” Prior to establishing Mary’s Center, Maria was a public health nurse with the D.C. Department of Health. She has also worked for the Red Cross, directing community education programming and disaster services, and with the Visiting Nurses Association. She currently serves as Regional Representative for the South East to the National Council of la Raza, and previously served two terms on the board of the Nonprofit Roundtable of Greater Washington. 

Pamela Green Jackson (Albany, Georgia)
Green Jackson is the Founder and CEO of the Youth Becoming Healthy Project (YBH), a non-profit organization committed to reducing the epidemic of childhood obesity through nutrition, fitness education and physical activity programs.  YBH was created in memory of Pamela Green Jackson's only brother, Bernard Green, who died in 2004 from obesity-related illnesses. YBH provides resources for during and after school wellness programs for elementary and middle school students as well as a summer wellness camp where the students learn about exercise, nutrition and can participate in martial arts, walking club and dance programs. 

Janice Jackson (Baltimore, Maryland)
Jackson is the creator and program director of Women Embracing Abilities Now, (W.E.A.N.) a nonprofit mentoring organization servicing women and young ladies with varying degrees of disabilities.  She is also a professor at The University of Baltimore. Jackson has actively advocated on behalf of people with disabilities and currently serves on the board of directors for The League for People with Disabilities, the Hoffberger Center for Professional Ethics at the University of Baltimore, and The Image Center of Maryland. She also serves on the Community Advisory Council at the Maryland Center for Developmental Disabilities at Kennedy Krieger Institute, and is a counselor at Kernan Rehabilitation Center. She has also founded two support groups, We Are Able People (W.R.A.P.) and Women On Wheels & Walking (W.O.W.W.).

Patience Lehrman (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
Lehrman is an immigrant from Cameroon and the National Director of Project SHINE (Students Helping in the Naturalization of Elders), an immigrant integration initiative at the Intergenerational Center of Temple University. SHINE partners with 18 institutions of higher learning, community-based organizations, and county and city governments across the country. SHINE engages college students and older adults to provide language and health education, citizenship and civic participation lessons to immigrant communities. Lehrman also mentors inner-city high school students, provides free meals to low-income children in the summer and serves as an election official.  She holds three Masters Degrees from Temple University.

Jeanne Manford  (Queens, NY)
Manford and her husband, Jules, co-founded in 1972 a support group for parents of gay children that grew into the national organization known as Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG).  Manford had always supported her son Morty, but was inspired to act after the police failed to intervene while Morty was beaten and hospitalized during a Gay Activists Alliance demonstration in April 1972. In the years that followed, Manford continued to march and organize, even after losing Morty to AIDS in 1992.  Today, PFLAG focuses on creating a network of support and advancing equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people.  Manford passed away in early January at the age of 92.

Billy Mills (Fair Oaks, California)
Mills co-founded and serves as the spokesman for Running Strong for American Indian Youth, an organization that supports cultural programs and provides health and housing assistance for Native American communities.  Mills gained prominence during the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, when he unexpectedly won a Gold Medal in the 10,000 meter run.  Today, he remains the only American to ever win this event. At the time Mills competed in the Olympics, he was a First Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps. After the Olympics, Mills, an Oglala Lakota, was made a warrior by his tribe. In 1986, Mills and Eugene Krizek, president of Christian Relief Services, joined forces to found Running Strong.

Terry Shima (Gaithersburg, Maryland)
Shima was drafted into the US Army on October 12, 1944 as a replacement for the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. This unit was composed of Japanese Americans who volunteered for combat duty. In November 2011, the US Congress awarded the Congressional Gold Medal collectively to the 442nd RCT, the 100th Battalion and the Military Intelligence Service. Shima served as Executive Director of the Japanese American Veterans Association (JAVA), a nonprofit organization that publicizes and assists Japanese American military veterans and their families, from 2004 to 2012 and is now chair of its Outreach and Education Committee.

Harris Wofford (Washington D.C.)
Wofford served as a U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania from 1991 to 1995, and from then to 2001 was the chief executive officer of the Corporation for National and Community Service. From 1970 to 1978 he served as the fifth president of Bryn Mawr College. He is a noted advocate of national service and volunteering. He began his public service career as counsel to the Rev.Theodore Hesburgh on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and was an early supporter of the Civil Rights movement in the South in the late 1950s. He became a volunteer advisor and friend of Martin Luther King, Jr. In 1961, Kennedy appointed him as special assistant to the President for civil rights. He was instrumental in the formation of the Peace Corps and served as the Peace Corps' special representative to Africa and director of operations in Ethiopia. On his return to Washington in 1964, he was appointed associate director of the Peace Corps. In 1966 he became the founding president of the State University of New York's College at Old Westbury.

Rachel Davino, Dawn Hochsprung, Anne Marie Murphy, Lauren Rousseau, Mary Sherlach, and Victoria Soto (Newtown, Connecticut)
On December 14, 2012, the names of six courageous women were forever etched into the heart of our Nation as unthinkable tragedy swept through Newtown, Connecticut.  Some of these individuals had joined Sandy Hook Elementary School only weeks before; others were preparing to retire after decades of service.  All had dedicated themselves to their students and their community, working long past the school bell to give the children in their care a future worthy of their talents.

President Obama urges Congress to act to avoid a series of harmful and automatic cuts—called a sequester—from going into effect that would hurt our economy and the middle class and threaten thousands of American jobs.

Here's quick glimpse at what happened this week on WhiteHouse.gov.

Vice President Biden's Chief of Staff Bruce Reed sat down with us to give us a quick update on the work the President and Vice President have been doing since the President released his plan to reduce gun violence.

view all related blog posts

View the original article here

GOP, Dems Call For Repeal Of $30 Billion Medical Device Tax

A bipartisan group of 180 House members — consisting of about 40 percent of the House — has reintroduced a bill to end the 2.3 percent tax on medical devices that was imposed under President Obama's healthcare law.

That tax took effect at the start of 2013, and is expected to raise a few billion dollars a year in tax receipts for the government, and $30 billion over 10 years. But opponents of the tax say it will hinder innovation and job creation in the medical device industry.

"Placing a new tax on the backs of U.S. medical innovators and entrepreneurs who employ more than 400,000 Americans is not a prescription for economic growth or job creation," said Rep. Erik Paulsen (R-Minn.), who sponsored the bill. "In fact, companies have already laid off thousands of employees as a result of this onerous new tax, and more jobs will be lost now that this tax is in effect.

"It's not only costing our country jobs and deterring innovation, but more importantly, it will reduce patient access to cutting edge medical products and treatments that save lives."

Paulsen introduced a similar bill in the last Congress. The latest version would repeal the tax without offsetting spending cuts.

Last year, the House Ways & Means Committee amended his bill to provide for an offset, something that could happen again in the new Congress. Ways & Means attached language that would pay for ending the tax by requiring the government to recapture all overpayments of health insurance subsidies provided in the healthcare law. Under current law, only some of these overpayments must be returned to the government.

Overpayments of the subsidies are anticipated because the subsidies are based on prior years' income, and if it is discovered later that a family's income increases, some repayment would be required.

This offset led to a veto threat from President Obama, who argued that requiring all overpayments to be returned would be a tax on middle-class families. Republicans rejected the argument that recapturing subsidy overpayments is a tax, and said Democrats have also proposed this kind of offset before.

The House approved the amended bill last summer, in a 270-146 vote in which 37 Democrats supported it. But Obama's veto threat froze the bill in the Senate, which never considered it.

It remains to be seen whether the bill can grow more legs in this Congress now that the tax has taken effect. The effort to repeal the tax has bipartisan support in both chambers — in addition to the bipartisan House bill, H.R. 523, Sens. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) will introduce a companion in the Senate.

"Repealing the medical device tax eliminates barriers to medical innovation, ensuring patients have access to life saving technologies and reduces the burden on tight R&D budgets, spurring job growth in the industry," said Rep. Ron Kind (Wis.), the leading Democrat on the House bill.

"Supporting and promoting American manufacturing, innovation, and research and development will increase our economic competitiveness and ensure our economy is built to last."

View Comments

View the original article here

U.S. FDA outlines path to test Alzheimer's drugs earlier

* FDA encourages testing drugs before dementia strikes

* One prevention study to focus on family in Colombia

* U.S. aims to find effective treatment by 2025

CHICAGO, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Proposed U.S. guidelines may make it easier for drug companies to test Alzheimer's treatments in people at an earlier stage, when scientists think they may have the best shot at working.

The draft guidance document, issued on Thursday by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, reflects changes in scientists' understanding of Alzheimer's. They now believe the disease begins at least a decade before symptoms appear.

"The scientific community and the FDA believe that it is critical to identify and study patients with very early Alzheimer's disease before there is too much irreversible injury to the brain," said Dr. Russell Katz, director of the Division of Neurology Products in the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.

Current Alzheimer's drugs treat symptoms, but none has been proven to interrupt the steady destructive course of Alzheimer's that robs sufferers of their memories and independence.

"I think this will be hugely useful to the pharmaceutical industry," said Dr. Paul Aisen of the University of Southern California San Diego and director of the Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study, a joint effort between the university and the National Institute on Aging focused on identifying the earliest signs of Alzheimer's.

Aisen said the draft document will help companies design clinical trials to test drugs in people before dementia strikes, such as prodromal disease, a precursor to Alzheimer's in which mild cognitive changes have occurred and there is some biomarker evidence, such as a brain scan, that suggests the changes are related to Alzheimer's disease.

The need for new treatments is great and growing. A study on Wednesday suggested that the number of Americans with Alzheimer's disease would triple to 13.8 million by 2050.

Drug companies have been working for years to develop so-called disease-modifying drugs, but so far, with little success.

Last summer, a promising drug called bapineuzumab being developed by Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer and Elan, failed to show a benefit in large trials of patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's.

And a drug by Eli Lilly and Co known as solanezumab also failed to meet the main goals of two large trials in this same population. But the drug did appear to show a slight benefit in mild patients when results of both studies were pooled.

Researchers now plan to study Lilly's drug in patients with earlier-stage disease, including a trial known as the "A4" prevention study, which will study 1,000 volunteers aged 70 to 85 with pre-symptomatic disease, who have not yet developed significant memory problems.

The trial will be managed by the Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study under Aisen's direction.

Several other so-called prevention studies are testing drugs in people who are genetically predisposed to develop Alzheimer's at an early age. In one study, members of a large family in Colombia will test a drug from Roche Holding AG's Genentech unit known as crenezumab.

Maria Carrillo of the Alzheimer's Association, which has worked with the National Institute on Aging to develop new guidelines for identifying Alzheimer's at an earlier stage, said the proposed changes "open the door wider for those of us working on and thinking about prevention trials."

The FDA said the move is part of the government's efforts to respond to Alzheimer's as part of the National Alzheimer's Plan signed by President Obama last year. The plan aims to find an effective way to prevent or treat Alzheimer's by 2025.

The draft document can be found at:

View the original article here

Statement by the President on the Lunar New Year

Statement by the President on the Lunar New Year | The White House Skip to main content | Skip to footer site map The White House. President Barack Obama Get Email UpdatesContact Us Go to homepage. The White House Blog Photos & Videos Photo Galleries Video Performances Live Streams Podcasts 2012: A Year in Photos

A unique view of 2012

Briefing Room Your Weekly Address Speeches & Remarks Press Briefings Statements & Releases White House Schedule Presidential Actions Executive Orders Presidential Memoranda Proclamations Legislation Pending Legislation Signed Legislation Vetoed Legislation Nominations & Appointments Disclosures Visitor Access Records Financial Disclosures 2012 Annual Report to Congress 2011 Annual Report to Congress 2010 Annual Report to Congress on White House Staff A Commitment to Transparency

Browse White House visitor logs

Issues Civil Rights It Gets Better Defense End of Iraq War Disabilities Economy Jobs Reform and Fiscal Responsibility Strengthening the Middle Class A Plan for Refinancing Support for Business Education Energy & Environment Ethics Foreign Policy Health Care Homeland Security Immigration Immigration Reform Taxes Tax Receipt The Buffett Rule Rural Urban Policy Veterans Joining Forces Technology Seniors & Social Security Service Snapshots Creating Jobs Health Care Small Business PreK-12 Education Women Violence Prevention Now Is The Time

To do something about gun violence

7 Things You Need to Know

About the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012

The Administration We the People

Create and Sign Petitions Now

President Barack Obama Vice President Joe Biden First Lady Michelle Obama Dr. Jill Biden The Cabinet 2010 Video Reports White House Staff Chief of Staff Denis McDonough Deputy Chief of Staff Rob Nabors Deputy Chief of Staff Alyssa Mastromonaco Counselor to the President Peter Rouse Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett Executive Office of the President Other Advisory Boards About the White House White House On the Go

Download our mobile apps

2012: A Year in Photos

A unique view of 2012

Inside the White House Interactive Tour West Wing Tour Video Series Décor and Art Holidays Presidents First Ladies The Oval Office The Vice President's Residence & Office Eisenhower Executive Office Building Camp David Air Force One White House Fellows President’s Commission About the Fellowship Current Class Staff Bios News and Newsletters White House Internships About Program Presidential Department Descriptions Selection Process Internship Timeline & FAQs Tours & Events 2012 Easter Egg Roll Kitchen Garden Tours Mobile Apps Our Government The Executive Branch The Legislative Branch The Judicial Branch The Constitution Federal Agencies & Commissions Elections & Voting State & Local Government Resources /* Maximize height of menu features. */if(typeof(jQuery)!='undefined')jQuery.each($('#topnav'),function(i,v){var o=$(v),oh=o.height(),sh=o.siblings().height();if(oh Home • Briefing Room • Statements & Releases   The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release February 08, 2013 Statement by the President on the Lunar New Year

Michelle and I send our warmest wishes to all those who will be celebrating the Lunar New Year this Sunday, February 10th.  Here in America and around the world, people of Asian and Pacific Islander descent will welcome the Year of the Snake.  In Chinese tradition, the snake represents wisdom, and a thoughtful approach to tackling the challenges before us – principles that I hope will continue to guide us as we perfect our union and create a more just and equal future for every American.  Our challenges may be great, but our diversity and the traditions that thrive here give us the strength to meet them.  To everyone celebrating the Lunar New Year, I wish you peace, prosperity and good health and fortune.

Blog posts on this issue February 09, 2013 5:45 AM ESTWeekly Address: Averting the Sequester and Finding a Balanced Approach to Deficit Reduction

President Obama urges Congress to act to avoid a series of harmful and automatic cuts—called a sequester—from going into effect that would hurt our economy and the middle class and threaten thousands of American jobs.

February 08, 2013 6:21 PM ESTWeekly Wrap Up: “We Can Make a Difference”

Here's quick glimpse at what happened this week on WhiteHouse.gov.

February 08, 2013 5:47 PM ESTUpdate from Bruce Reed on the President's Plan to Reduce Gun Violence

Vice President Biden's Chief of Staff Bruce Reed sat down with us to give us a quick update on the work the President and Vice President have been doing since the President released his plan to reduce gun violence.

view all related blog posts ul.related-content li.views-row img {float: left; padding: 5px 10px 0 0;}ul.related-content li.view-all {padding-bottom: 3em;} Stay ConnectedFacebookTwitterFlickrGoogle+YouTubeVimeoiTunesLinkedIn   Home The White House Blog Photos & Videos Photo Galleries Video Performances Live Streams Podcasts Briefing Room Your Weekly Address Speeches & Remarks Press Briefings Statements & Releases White House Schedule Presidential Actions Legislation Nominations & Appointments Disclosures Issues Civil Rights Defense Disabilities Economy Education Energy & Environment Ethics Foreign Policy Health Care Homeland Security Immigration Taxes Rural Urban Policy Veterans Technology Seniors & Social Security Service Snapshots Women Violence Prevention The Administration President Barack Obama Vice President Joe Biden First Lady Michelle Obama Dr. Jill Biden The Cabinet White House Staff Executive Office of the President Other Advisory Boards About the White House Inside the White House Presidents First Ladies The Oval Office The Vice President's Residence & Office Eisenhower Executive Office Building Camp David Air Force One White House Fellows White House Internships Tours & Events Mobile Apps Our Government The Executive Branch The Legislative Branch The Judicial Branch The Constitution Federal Agencies & Commissions Elections & Voting State & Local Government Resources En español Accessibility Copyright Information Privacy Policy Contact USA.gov Developers Apply for a Job

View the original article here

The Meat Industry Consumes Four Times The Amount Of Antibiotics As Sick Americans Do

The meat industry uses a considerable amount of antibiotics to fight bacteria on its livestock farms — so much so that it actually far outpaces the amount of antibiotics used to treat sick people in the country. According to FDA data compiled by Pew Charitable Trusts, the livestock industry is consuming almost four-fifths of the total amount of antibiotics used in the U.S.:

And, as Mother Jones points out, that points to a dangerous trend in the meat industry. As livestock in close quarters breed bacteria, and the industry uses more and more antibiotics during their production in order to contain those pathogens, common bacteria are developing a resistance to drugs. For example, more than 75 percent of the salmonella found on ground turkey in 2011 was resistant to at least one antibiotic used to treat it — and over half were resistant to three or more different antibiotics. Unless the meat industry changes its practices, the FDA will have a difficult time keeping up with ensuring their products are safe to consume.

And even though Americans are consuming considerably fewer antibiotics than the meat industry, antibiotic resistance isn’t just an issue among lifestock farms. Diseases that affect humans — such as whooping cough, tuberculosis, and gonorrhea — are also growing increasingly resistant to the drugs used to treat them. Since testing and marketing new antibiotics isn’t as profitable for the pharmaceutical industry as selling the drugs that are already on the market, production has lagged behind over the past few decades, and global health officials warn that an impending “antibiotic apocalypse” could make even the most common infections incurable.

View the original article here

Sen. Murkowski: 'Energy is good'

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) used the Republican weekly address Saturday to promote her new energy blueprint, a comprehensive plan that she argues will increase energy supplies and lower prices by removing government regulations.

“Energy is not a necessary evil. Energy is good. And that’s why it is in our national interest to make energy abundant, affordable, clean, diverse, and secure," Murkowski says in her address. "I believe that there’s a consensus around these five objectives, and our challenge now is to align federal policy with them."

In the plan, Murkowski calls for an end to regulations that Republicans believe will constrain the growth of coal-fired power plants, along with the immediate approval of the Keystone XL pipeline and the opening of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling. Other components include expediting liquefied natural-gas exports, promoting the use of small modular nuclear reactors, and creating a new quasi-federal agency for nuclear waste management.

"Every recommendation in my blueprint is associated with a clear goal for the year 2020," Murkowski said. "We can end our dependence on OPEC oil. We can help make renewable energy more competitive, build on our efficiency gains, and re-establish the supply chain for critical minerals."

The plan also calls for the government to beef up cybersecurity for energy infrastructure and toughen criminal statutes for those who would target the nation's power grid.

The Alaska senator argues that adopting her proposals would have far-reaching, positive impacts across the American economy.

"The ideas in my blueprint would create new jobs, generate new revenues, and slash our dependence on foreign energy. They would shore up our security and strengthen our economy. They would help us minimize the impacts of energy development and reduce the emissions that are blamed for climate change,” Murkowski said.

But Murkowski also acknowledges that many of her proposals are likely non-starters, especially with Democrats in control of the Senate and White House.

"It’s fair to say that not every member of Congress will support every proposal in my blueprint," Murkowski said. "And that’s why I describe it as a conversation starter. It’s intended to provoke a new and a better discussion about energy, to recognize how bright our future can be, and to provide a prudent alternative to the heavy-handed approaches coming from the Administration and the EPA."

President Obama has also called for a renewed focus on energy, devoting a significant part of his second inaugural address to a pledge to address climate change and environmentally friendly energy production.

"We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that failure to do so would betray our children and future generations,” Obama said. “Some may still deny the overwhelming judgment of science, but none can avoid the devastating impact of raging fires, and crippling drought, and more powerful storms.”

The White House has said part of that effort will include new regulations from the Environmental Protection Agency aimed at reducing emissions from coal-burning power plants, along with ordering federal agencies — including the Pentagon — to reduce energy use.

View Comments

View the original article here

Obamacare’s Pressure Points

February 4, 2013 4:00 A.M.

President Obama’s reelection, along with the Supreme Court’s ruling last June on his signature health-care reform, may seem to have guaranteed that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will remain the law of the land. But that could turn out to be the easy part of Obamacare. Implementing the ACA’s main provisions by January 1, 2014 — the date on which the law is to take full effect — presents a more grueling and protracted set of tests.

The next round of health-care-policy battles will play out not just before Congress but also in state capitals and health-care markets across the country. You could think of these fights as being like a martial-arts battle, in which various “pressure points” are attacked to produce significant pain, serious injury, or even temporary immobilization, not to mention an aversion to future fighting. Let’s take a closer look at the more painful pressure points in the ACA.

Advertisement

1) Health exchanges. Nearly two-thirds of states still are not fully on board with running their own exchanges to offer the federally subsidized coverage dictated by the ACA. As many as 23 states would rather leave the daunting implementation process entirely in the hands of federal officials. Another ten may enlist as junior apprentices in largely federal-run “partnership” exchanges. But the White House desperately needs state governments to provide infrastructure and local-market experience as well as to take more of the political blame for the implementation fiascos ahead. Many states complain that the rules for exchanges are unclear, costly to administer, coercive, or all of the above. The federal government is supposed to set up exchanges in states that fail to do so, but, later next month, a federal district court in Oklahoma will begin to rule on arguments that directly challenge the authority of the federal government to distribute tax credits in federally run exchanges, which does not appear to be provided for in the text of the ACA.

2) Medicaid expansion. By one count earlier this month in The New England Journal of Medicine, 17 states have not yet agreed to expand their Medicaid coverage up to the ACA-designated 138 percent of the federal poverty level, A somewhat smaller number of states are officially opposed to the Medicaid expansion, and well under half of all states support it. The Supreme Court ruled that the Medicaid expansion must be optional, not a mandate enforced with penalties to states’ existing Medicaid programs. Many governors and state legislators doubt that the law’s initially generous federal funding will be sustainable within a largely unreformed, but expanded, entitlement program that already is straining their budgets. Existing Medicaid programs already fail to attract enough physicians because of their below-cost reimbursement policies.

3) Individual-mandate enforcement. The mandate that, beginning next year, requires almost everyone to purchase coverage meeting federal standards remains highly unpopular. Moreover, the tax penalties to enforce it are quite small compared with the premium costs of the required coverage. Many young and healthy individuals will therefore have a strong incentive to remain uninsured. Various exemptions (including those for the relative “unaffordability” of the premiums relative to one’s household income) will limit further the possibility of requiring coverage.

View the original article here

Weekly Address: Averting the Sequester and Finding a Balanced Approach to Deficit Reduction

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

Hi, everybody. Over the last few years, Democrats and Republicans have come together and cut our deficit by more than $2.5 trillion through a balanced mix of spending cuts and higher tax rates for the wealthiest Americans. That’s more than halfway towards the $4 trillion in deficit reduction that economists and elected officials from both parties say we need to stabilize our debt. 

I believe we can finish the job the same way we’ve started it – with a balanced mix of more spending cuts and more tax reform. And the overwhelming majority of the American people agree – both Democrats and Republicans.

Now, my preference – and the preference of many Members of Congress – is to do that in a balanced, comprehensive way, by making sensible changes to entitlement programs and reforming our tax code. As we speak, both the House and Senate are working towards budget proposals that I hope will lay out this kind of balanced path going forward. 

But the budget process takes time. And right now, if Congress doesn’t act by March 1, a series of harmful, automatic cuts to job-creating investments and defense spending – also known as the sequester – are scheduled to take effect. And the result could be a huge blow to middle-class families and our economy as a whole.

If the sequester is allowed to go forward, thousands of Americans who work in fields like national security, education or clean energy are likely to be laid off. Firefighters and food inspectors could also find themselves out of work – leaving our communities vulnerable. Programs like Head Start would be cut, and lifesaving research into diseases like cancer and Alzheimer’s could be scaled back. Small businesses could be prevented from getting the resources and support they need to keep their doors open. People with disabilities who are waiting for their benefits could be forced to wait even longer. All our economic progress could be put at risk.

And then there’s the impact on our military readiness. Already, the threat of deep cuts has forced the Navy to delay an aircraft carrier that was supposed to deploy to the Persian Gulf. As our military leaders have made clear, changes like this affect our ability to respond to threats in an unstable part of the world. And we will be forced to make even more tough decisions in the weeks ahead if Congress fails to act.

The good news is, there’s another option. Two months ago, we faced a similar deadline, and instead of making deep, indiscriminate cuts that would have cost us jobs and slowed down our recovery, Democrats and Republicans came together and made responsible cuts and manageable changes to our tax code that will bring down our deficit. This time, Congress should pass a similar set of balanced cuts and close more tax loopholes until they can find a way to replace the sequester with a smarter, longer-term solution. 

Right now, most Members of Congress – including many Republicans – don’t think it’s a good idea to put thousands of jobs at risk and do unnecessary damage to our economy. And yet the current Republican plan puts the burden of avoiding those cuts mainly on seniors and middle-class families. They would rather ask more from the vast majority of Americans and put our recovery at risk than close even a single tax loophole that benefits the wealthy.

Over the last few years, we’ve made good progress towards reducing our deficit in a balanced way. There’s no reason we can’t keep chipping away at this problem. And there’s certainly no reason that middle-class families and small businesses should suffer just because Washington couldn’t come together and eliminate a few special interest tax loopholes, or government programs that just don’t work. At a time when economists and business leaders from across the spectrum have said that our economy is poised for progress, we shouldn’t allow self-inflicted wounds to put that progress in jeopardy.

So my message to Congress is this: let’s keep working together to solve this problem. And let’s give our workers and our businesses the support they need to grow and thrive. Thanks, and have a great weekend.

President Obama urges Congress to act to avoid a series of harmful and automatic cuts—called a sequester—from going into effect that would hurt our economy and the middle class and threaten thousands of American jobs.

Here's quick glimpse at what happened this week on WhiteHouse.gov.

Vice President Biden's Chief of Staff Bruce Reed sat down with us to give us a quick update on the work the President and Vice President have been doing since the President released his plan to reduce gun violence.

view all related blog posts

View the original article here

ObamaCare Exchange Subsidy Cost Hiked By $233 Billion

The Congressional Budget Office on Tuesday quietly raised the 10-year cost of ObamaCare's insurance subsidies offered via the health law's exchanges by $233 billion, according to a Congressional Budget Office review of its latest spending forecast.

The CBO's new baseline estimate shows that ObamaCare subsidies offered through the insurance exchanges — which are supposed to be up and running by next January — will total more than $1 trillion through 2022, up from $814 billion over those same years in its budget forecast made a year ago. That's an increase of nearly 29%.

The CBO upped the 10-year subsidy cost by $32 billion since just last August.

In part, this jump is because more people will get insurance via the exchanges than it had forecast. Where the CBO had seen 22 million enrolled in an exchange in 2022, it now figures 25 million will be.

That explains only part of the cost hike. The rest is largely the result of the CBO's sharp increase in what it expects the average subsidy will be.

Average Subsidy Rising

Last year, the CBO said the average exchange subsidy for those getting federal help when ObamaCare goes into effect next year would be $4,780. Its latest estimate raised that to $5,510 — a 15% increase. All these numbers are up even more from the CBO's original forecast made in 2010, which had the first-year subsidy average at $3,970.

The CBO also expects 7 million workers will lose their employer coverage due to ObamaCare, almost twice as many as it had previously said would be dumped. It expects tax penalties on individuals and companies who don't buy insurance to be $36 billion higher from 2014 to 2019 than it originally forecast.

On the other hand, the budget office has lowered the program's Medicaid costs, in part because of the Supreme Court's decision letting states opt out of that part of ObamaCare. As a result, the CBO didn't change its overall ObamaCare spending much.

Still, if those other savings fail to materialize, ObamaCare's overall cost could end up far higher than promised. That could prove another blow to the beleaguered health care law, which has seen most states reject setting up the insurance exchanges amid mounting worries that they won't be running in time, concerns about premium spikes, and fears that millions of families could be left without any affordable health care coverage.

So Much For 'Cheap' Plans

View the original article here

McCain 'cautiously optimistic' House would follow Senate on immigration

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is "cautiously optimistic" that if President Obama and the Senate can agree on an immigration reform plan, legislators in the House will follow suit.

McCain, in an interview with Univision set to air on Sunday, was asked what would happen if House Republicans voted against immigration reform.

"Well, I hate to obviously predict what might happen," McCain, a member of a bipartisan group of senators in the Senate that unveiled a framework for passing immigration reform, said.

McCain added that he is "cautiously optimistic that with the President and the Senate basically acting together that that would be sufficient to have the House, to agree with that, if it’s reasonable with the majority of the American people."

But McCain cautioned that the consequences of the House rejecting an immigration-reform plan are hard to imagine.

"So it’s hard for me to predict," McCain continued. "But I think you, I know what you’re referring to, and that is the election results with a smaller number of our Hispanic/Latino citizens that are voting for Republicans. We understand that."

Both Republicans and Democrats have expressed interest in passing immigration reform. A major sticking points in negotiations so far, however, has been whether to include a pathway to citizenship for immigrants living in the country illegally. The immigration framework crafted by McCain and seven other senators includes a pathway to citizenship as long as border security is first strengthened.

McCain said he is not sure whether there will be enough votes in the Senate to pass a reform plan that includes a pathway to citizenship.

"You know, I don’t know yet, because we haven’t finished the package. I know that the attitude of the American people is that," McCain said. "And I think that there’s a realization on my side of the aisle that we need to have this resolved. And that people should have a pathway to citizenship. But look, I’ve lost before and so for me to predict would be premature. But I do think that the attitude overall of the American people and members of the Senate is significantly improved to the point where I am cautiously optimistic."

Also on Friday, Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.) said a secretive bipartisan group of House members is close to unveiling an immigration reform agreement. Becerra has reportedly participated in the group’s negotiations.

"The reality is that we are on the cusp of actually having an opportunity to put forward a bipartisan proposal in the House of Representatives," Becerra said.

View Comments

View the original article here