Breaking news: smoking cigarettes will kill you.  Cigarette smoking kills an estimated 443,000 Americans each year, most of whom began smoking when they were under the age of 18.  Protecting our children and reducing tobacco-related death, disease and disability is one of the most important public health goals of our time and a top priority for the President. 

On June 22, 2009, President Obama signed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, giving the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the authority to take steps to reduce the deadly effects of tobacco use and prevent companies from advertising their products to our children.

For decades, little has been done to update warning labels to discourage people from smoking.  We’re changing that. Today, the FDA unveiled new warning labels that will appear on every pack of cigarettes and every advertisement, sending a strong message about the dangers of smoking. 

Recently, McKinsey and Company released a survey claiming that a significant number of employers will stop offering insurance to their workers in 2014. The survey left us with more questions than answers. The article from McKinsey was at odds with a series of respected independent analyses and McKinsey previously declined to release critical information about how the survey was conducted.

Today, McKinsey acknowledged that this report is at odds with these independent analyses and said the report was not intended to predict whether or not employers would offer health insurance. Here’s what McKinsey said today:

The survey was not intended as a predictive economic analysis of the impact of the Affordable Care Act… We understand how the language in the article could lead the reader to think the research was a prediction, but it is not.  

And the new information makes clear that the survey is flawed and raises new questions: 

• Nearly 50 percent of all survey respondents admitted they were not at all familiar or had only heard about the employer responsibility provisions in the Affordable Care Act – nearly one-fourth were “not at all familiar” with the law.
• 6.7 percent of the respondents couldn’t  even answer the most basic question “What medical plans does your company currently offer employees?”
• 58.3 percent of respondents did not know how much their companies spend per employee on medical and prescription drug benefits, raising questions about the on-line survey results.
• Only around half of the survey’s respondents described themselves as a “primary decision maker” on employee benefits. Around 49 percent said that they have some influence in the decision-making process.
• The survey that “educated respondents” left out or failed to explain crucial pieces of information about the Affordable Care Act and other existing laws. For example, health insurance benefits are not taxed. Employers who drop health insurance coverage and provide other benefits to their workers would lose this preferred tax treatment. This important fact was unexplained and other key points went unmentioned.

And hidden in the results are some points that didn’t make it into the report:

• 44.5 percent of small businesses report that they definitely or are likely to join the small employer purchasing part of Health Insurance Exchanges where they will be able to secure health insurance coverage for their workers.
• When asked about their company’s overall view of U.S. healthcare reform, 77.8 percent reported that they were positive, neutral, were not sure, or that it is too early to tell.

The Affordable Care Act will make health insurance more affordable and make it easier for employers to offer coverage to their workers. In fact, a new study released today from Avalere Health, a respected consulting firm, looked at the validity of the various analyses published on the subject and found that the employer-sponsored health insurance market will be stable after 2014 and that “large employers are unlikely to stop offering coverage …” And as we learn more, it’s become clear that this one flawed study from McKinsey is truly an outlier. 

Nancy-Ann DeParle is the Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff

Last week, I visited with Illinois National Guard families and encouraged members of the cable industry to Join Forces with the First Lady and me in supporting military families and veterans across the country.
 
On Wednesday evening, I joined National Guard families for dinner at a Chicago pizzeria. As the mother of a Delaware Army National Guardsman, I always feel like I am with family when I’m with members of the Guard and their loved ones. All the dinner guests were family members of deployed Guardsmen, or soldiers who have deployed multiple times. After dinner, we went to a Chicago Cubs game together.  I am always inspired when I visit with military families, and last week was no exception. Their pride in their service is contagious, and their courage is awe-inspiring.

(Photo by Spc. Chasity Johnson, Illinois National Guard, Public Affairs Office)

The next morning, I addressed industry leaders and representatives from the cable and telecommunications industries at the 2011 Cable Show.  The cable industry is uniquely positioned to support military families.  Some members of the industry are telling the stories of military families through PSAs and television programming.  Others are extending access to technology so military families can communicate with loved ones during deployments, or helping teachers of military children share content to boost student achievement.  So many businesses and organizations are stepping up.

Today, President Obama released a statement on the United States Commitment to Open Investment Policy. The CEA also released a report on the benefits of foreign-based companies investing in the United States (known more formally as “Inbound Foreign Direct Investment”).

Our report highlights how the Administration’s open investment policy allows foreign-based companies to grow and expand their businesses across the country. These companies are building new facilities, investing in research and development, and growing warehouses, sales offices and service centers—creating millions of high-quality, well-paying jobs for American workers. These firms paid out wages and other forms of compensation that averaged more than $71,000 per U.S. employee in 2008, as compared to average earnings of $54,000 for full-time annual workers in the economy as a whole.

The U.S. continues to receive the most foreign direct investment of any country in the world. In 2010, U.S. inbound foreign direct investment rebounded sharply and increased by 49 percent from the economic crisis level it reached in 2009. This investment is particularly important to the U.S. manufacturing sector.  In 2008, the U.S. affiliates of foreign corporations employed 13 percent of the entire manufacturing workforce in the United States. And over 42 percent of the US affiliates’ total value-added production in 2008 was concentrated in the U.S. manufacturing sector.

As part of the U.S. Government’s efforts to create jobs for American workers and increase U.S. exports to overseas markets, I recently travelled to Europe to press for greater cooperation in fighting intellectual property theft overseas, which hurts innovators and brands here in America. Counterfeiting and piracy is a global crime, and it requires a global solution.

At the World Copyright Congress in Brussels, I spoke about the need to work with foreign governments and the private sector to stop criminals who attempt to evade intellectual property laws by operating overseas. In Brussels, I met with members of the European Commission and European Parliament, as well as American businesses. In London, I met with members of UK’s Parliament and the UK IP Crime Group, a group of enforcement agencies and industry groups which seek a collaborative approach to fighting intellectual property crime.

This Father’s Day President Obama is kicking off the Year of Strong Fathers, Strong Families as part of his Fatherhood and Mentoring Initiative. It’s an effort with partners from around the nation to create simple opportunities for dads and kids to connect. Whether it’s a free game of bowling, a Major League Baseball or WNBA game, a visit to the zoo or aquarium, or discounts for dads and kids through partners like Groupon and LivingSocial, we’re excited to help create small moments that can have a big impact.  You can learn more and take the fatherhood pledge at on www.fatherhood.gov.

In addition, President Obama sat down of a TV interview and wrote an op-ed this week discussing the important role fathers play and his own experience as a father.  Check out the links to both and other Father’s Day content below:

• TV Interview: Earlier this week, President Obama sat down with Robin Roberts from Good Morning America and discussed the important role fathers play in the lives of their children and his own experience being a father to two young daughters.  You can watch the interview on ABC.com.
• Op-Ed: President Obama also wrote an op-ed in People magazine discussing the importance of being a good dad.  Check it out on People.com.
• Champions of Change: In honor of Father’s Day, the White House is honoring 15 Champions of Change who recognize the importance of good fathers as role models in young children’s lives and have dedicated themselves to mentoring and supporting fathers across the country.
• Weekly Address: In his Weekly Address this week, President Obama discusses his hardest, but most rewarding job – being a dad.
• Email: President Obama sent an email to the White House email list this morning in honor of Father’s Day.  Check out the email and if you didn’t get it, sign up for the White House email list.

On Father's Day weekend, President Obama reflects on his experience as a parent and discusses the challenges and necessity of being a good father.

Transcript | Download mp4 | Download mp3

Next week, the First Lady will travel to Johannesburg and Cape Town, South Africa and Gaborone, Botswana during an official visit to Africa. During the trip, which will go from June 21 – 26, Mrs. Obama will deliver the keynote address to a U.S.-sponsored Young African Women Leaders Forum in South Africa.  Forum participants include young women from across sub-Saharan Africa, like Toyosi and Annah, who are leading or involved in social and economic initiatives in their own countries.  The Forum will build on the Obama Administration’s ongoing engagement with the next generation of African leaders and the momentum of the August 2010 President’s Forum with Young African Leaders held at the White House.

On Monday, June 20 at 8:30 AM EDT, join us for a pre-Forum overview and discussion with Edward Kemp, Deputy Director for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs in the Bureau of African Affairs;  and Larry Garber, Deputy Assistant Administrator for Africa at USAID and me.

Here's how you can join us to discuss the First Lady’s Forum and talk about the issues that matter to you and your community:

• Join the discussion: https://statedept.connectsolutions.com/youngafrica
• Stream audio-only: https://statedept.connectsolutions.com/audioonly

Keep up with the First Lady at http://www.whitehouse.gov/youngafrica, where you can find updates on this trip as well as engage in the conversation on Facebook and Twitter (#YoungAfrica).

Karen Richardson is a Deputy Associate Director in the Office of Public Engagement.

Ed. Note: Cross-posted with Energy Blog

Since childhood, Lynn Gantt has had a deep seeded passion for cars and the mechanics that drive them. The Virginia native spent his weekends rebuilding antique tractors with his dad to race at tractor pulls across the state, and now the Virginia Tech graduate student is the proud team co-leader of Virginia Tech’s EcoCAR Challenge team—the winners of the three-year long competition, as announced last night at an awards ceremony in Washington, DC.

Lynn grew up around mechanics and engineering, which is why he says the Mechanical Engineering undergrad and graduate programs at Virginia Tech were a perfect fit for him. In addition to the family hobby of rebuilding antique tractors, Lynn’s dad runs a small electrical contracting business (Swing Electrical Company) out of Newport News, VA, and his older brother is an auto mechanic at a car dealership. “Clearly this program was just a natural fit for me,” he says.

Lynn has been a member of the Hybrid Electric Vehicle Team of Virginia Tech (HEVT) for all three years of the EcoCAR Challenge, which began his senior year in Fall 2008. As the only remaining original Virginia Tech participant, Lynn has spent the last three years working with teams of 25 student volunteers modifying the team’s 2009 Saturn Vue—which the team aptly named the VT-REX (for Virginia Tech - Range Extended Crossover) . The car was donated to each of the 16 teams by General Motors, who partnered with Department of Energy to sponsor the competition and its predecessor, Challenge X.