State and Local Officials in the South Speak Up to Fix the Broken Immigration System

Ed. note: This post is the first in a series of five. Check back with on the White House Blog throughout the week for more statements from leaders around the country.Across the country, Democratic and Republican state and local officials are speaking out about the need for commonsense immigration reform. This week, we’ll share thoughts from governors, mayors, county executives, state legislat

Vice President Biden: The Fight to Reduce Gun Violence Is Far From Over

A little more than six months after the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary, Vice President Biden said yesterday that he and President Obama have not given up the fight to reduce gun violence.In January, the Vice President said, “the President and I stood in this very room, joined by the victims of gun violence, parents, teachers, members of law enforcement, and many others, as we made a simple

CBO Report: Immigration Reform Will Shrink the Deficit and Grow the Economy

Today, the independent Congressional Budget Office released its score of the Senate’s bipartisan immigration bill, providing even more evidence that commonsense immigration reform is good for the budget and good for economic growth.CBO estimates that fixing our broken immigration system will reduce federal deficits by about $200 billion over the next 10 years, and about $700 billion in the se

The G-8 Summit in Lough Erne

Today, President Obama is in Northern Ireland for the G-8 Summit in Lough Erne. This year's G-8 is President Obama's fifth since taking office, and the second stop of his three-day trip to Northern Ireland and Germany. President Barack Obama participates in a G8 Summit meeting on Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership in the Library at Lough Erne Resort in Enniskillen, Northern Irelan

President Obama Discusses the National Security Agency on Charlie Rose

President Obama discussed a range of issues in his interview last night on PBS, but the National Security Agency was the topic for an extended part of the conversation."My job is both to protect the American people and to protect the American way of life, which includes our privacy," he said. "So every program that we engage in, what I've said is let's examine and make sure that we're making

Partnership for Sustainable Communities Marks 4th Anniversary with Web-Streaming Twitter Town Hall

Ed Note: This is a cross post from the blog of fastlane.dot.gov. You can find the original post here.June 16, 2013 marks the four-year anniversary of the Partnership for Sustainable Communities, a collaboration of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Since 2009, our three federal ag

A New Astronaut Class Begins Its Journey

Ed Note: This is a cross post from the blog of nasa.gov. You can find the original post here.NASA has a new group of potential astronauts who will help push the boundaries of exploration. Check them out! http://t.co/2qZt0P6OCl — NASA (@NASA) June 17, 2013Today, NASA got to do one of those great things that exemplifies what we're all about, something that points us toward the future and

President Obama Speaks to the People of Northern Ireland

Watch this video on YouTubeThis morning, President Obama spoke to the people of Northern Ireland from the Belfast waterfront.So many of the qualities that we Americans hold dear we imported from this land -- perseverance, faith, an unbending belief that we make our own destiny, and an unshakable dream that if we work hard and we live responsibly, something better lies just around the bend.

Watch President Obama Discuss the NSA and Syria Tonight on Charlie Rose

President Barack Obama participates in an interview with Charlie Rose in the White House Library, Sunday, June 16, 2013. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza) Before leaving for this week's G-8 summit in the United Kingdom, President Obama sat down with Charlie Rose in the White House Library for a 45-minute interview on topics ranging from Syria to the National Security Agency.That

50 Years of National Small Business Week

Ed Note: This is a cross post from the blog of sba.gov. You can find the original post here.This year marks the 50th anniversary of National Small Business Week.  Although things have certainly changed since President Kennedy signed the first Presidential Proclamation in 1963, one thing that hasn’t changed is America’s entrepreneurial spirit and the important role that small business owners p

Our 13 Favorite Photos of President Obama Being a Dad

Click here to see the photo gallery. President Obama has a lot of important responsibilities in the White House, but he’s said that no job is more important than being a father to his two daughters. We’ve put together a quick slide show of some of our favorite moments of the President being a parent.This commitment to his family has also translated into the President’s policy agenda. For t

Weekly Address: Celebrating Father's Day Weekend

President Obama discusses Father’s Day and notes that nothing substitutes for the love and support of the presence of a parent in a child’s life.Transcript | Download mp4 | Download mp3

President Obama Meets with Students in the “Becoming A Man” Program

President Barack Obama welcomes participants to the Father's Day luncheon in the State Dining Room of the White House, June 14, 2013. (Official White House Photo by Amanda Lucidon) President Obama celebrated an early Father’s Day with kids from the “Becoming a Man” program at the White House on Friday. The students traveled to Washington, D.C. from Chicago for lunch in the East Room, where t

Weekly Wrap Up: “We’ve Got To Keep Pushing”

Watch the West Wing Week here.Obamacare in California: President Obama spent last Friday in California discussing how the Affordable Care Act is improving in the lives of people all across the country.“States like California are setting up new, online marketplaces where, beginning on October 1st of this year, you can comparison shop an array of private health insurance plans side-by-side,

Men: Don’t Wait for a Wakeup Call When it Comes to Your Health

Ed Note: This is a cross post from the blog of healthcare.gov. You can find the original post here.As a group, we men are not known for doing a very good job of taking care of our own health.National Men’s Health Week, from June 10 through Father’s Day on June 16, is a good time for us to start taking responsibility and doing what’s needed to stay healthy and active. That means eating righ

2012 WNBA Champion Indiana Fever Visit the White House

President Barack Obama welcomes the WNBA Champion Indiana Fever to the East Room of the White House to honor the team and their victory in the WNBA Finals, June 14, 2013. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy) Today, President Obama congratulated the Indiana Fever at the White House on their 2012 WNBA championship.Despite being the underdog team in the finals, the President remarke

Deferred Action Remains a Smart and Sensible Immigration Policy, but Congress Still Needs to Act

Today, there are many young immigrants who were brought here by parents seeking a better life. These promising young people grew up here and call this country home. They deserve an opportunity and so do their parents.  One year ago Saturday, the Department of Homeland Security took action to lift the shadow of deportation for eligible young people – who we often call the “DREAMers” – so they

Financial Disclosure Reports Now Available

Public Financial Disclosure Reports (OGE Form 278) for White House officials are now available. Interested parties may request reports electronically by completing the application form available here.Once the application form is submitted, reports will be sent via email in PDF format as quickly as possible. Please call the press office if you have any questions.Kathryn Ruemmler is Counsel

Four Years of Broadband Growth

A fast, reliable Internet connection is as essential to the modern economy as electricity or phone service, and over the last four years, the country has made tremendous progress investing in and delivering high-speed broadband to an unprecedented number of Americans. Today we are releasing a new White House report entitled Four Years of Broadband Growth that makes that case even clearer.The

Making America A Little More Equal

Leaders within the LGBT community were invited to the White House yesterday to kick-off Pride month with a reception hosted by President Obama.Introducing the President were 9 year old twins, Zea and Luna, who wrote a letter to President Obama earlier this year asking him to support same-sex marriage. They explained that they were raised by their two moms who love them dearly. In his remar

Growing Bipartisan Support for ConnectED

Last week, the President issued a new challenge for our nation – one that families, businesses, school districts and the federal government can rally around together – to connect virtually every student with access to cutting-edge technology as part of a competitive, 21st century education.  The new ConnectED initiative he announced was a bold, transformative vision for America’s schools, ensuri

West Wing Week: 06/14/13 or "There's an App for That"

This week, the President hosted the new President of China at a two-day informal summit in California, spoke on the importance of supporting the implementation of the Affordable Care Act and comprehensive immigration reform, promoted a top economic advisor, and honored the LGBT community. read more

The Papers of the Founding Fathers Are Now Online

What was the original intent behind the Constitution and other documents that helped shape the nation? What did the Founders of our country have to say? Those questions persist in the political debates and discussions to this day, and fortunately, we have a tremendous archive left behind by those statesmen who built the government over 200 years ago.For the past 50 years, teams of editors hav

Rock and Roll, Economics, and Rebuilding the Middle Class

Today, at 7:00 pm EST, Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers Alan Krueger will deliver remarks on income inequality and rebuilding the middle class at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.As he'll discuss this evening, using rock and roll industry as a example is one of the best ways to explain economics -- many of the forces that are buffeting the U.S. economy can be understood in the conte

Pride at the White House

Every year since taking office, President Obama has invited members and allies of the LGBT community to celebrate Pride Month at the White House. Tomorrow, the President will host this event for the fifth time, to bring together national leaders, elected officials, faith leaders, members of the military and veterans community, and local advocates and organizers to reflect upon the progress we’ve

President Obama Nominates Betsey Stevenson to Council of Economic Advisers

On Monday, President Obama announced his intent to appoint Betsey Stevenson, an economist at the University of Michigan focusing on labor, women, and families, to the Council of Economic Advisers. His announcement comes on the heels of his appointment of Jason Furman to succeed Alan Krueger as Chairman of Council of Economic Advisers (CEA). The CEA is charged with offering President Obama object

White House Staffers Share Their Immigration Stories

The United States is a nation of immigrants. And the White House, like nearly every other American office, is full of staffers whose stories started in countries all over the world.We asked some of them to share their own immigration stories, and explain why they think it’s so important to fix our broken immigration system once and for all. Check it out, then share your own immigration story

Cecilia Muñoz: "He's trained engineers for 55 years"

This afternoon, Cecilia Muñoz sent the message below to the White House email list, asking people to share their American stories. If you didn't get the email, be sure to sign up.Hi, all --A couple weeks ago, I was in a meeting with a group of community leaders and President Obama here at the White House. Before the discussion kicked off, one of the women in attendance handed me a letter.

How You Can Get Involved in Youth Jobs+

In April, President Obama issued a challenge to local elected officials and business and community leaders: work together to connect young people with summer and year-round job opportunities.Through its Youth Jobs+ initiative, the Administration is working to both increase employment opportunities for low-income or disconnected youth and decrease juvenile violence. This initiative builds off

Business Leaders, Law Enforcement Officers, Elected Officials and Others Agree: We Need Comprehensive Immigration Reform

President Barack Obama delivers remarks on immigration reform in the East Room of the White House, June 11, 2013. (Official White House Photo by Amanda Lucidon) As President Obama made clear earlier today the bipartisan, commonsense immigration reform bill being considered by the Senate this week is the best chance we’ve had in years to fix our broken immigration system – in large part becau