• Excitement is building as we prepare for Thursday’s launch of the Presidential Innovation Fellows program. This new initiative is bringing in top innovators from outside government to work with top innovators inside government to create real and substantial changes that will in a very short time frame benefit the American people, save taxpayers money, and help create new jobs.

    After we announced our plans to create the Presidential Innovation Fellows program at TechCrunch Disrupt in New York City on May 23, nearly 700 of you applied for Fellowship spots, offering to drop everything you were doing and come serve your country.

    On Thursday, August 23, we will introduce the inaugural Fellows at a White House launch event, which will be streamed live on WhiteHouse.gov/live beginning at 10am EDT. And you can follow along on Twitter with the hashtag #innovategov. Joining me at the event will be a number of champions of innovation in government, including Acting Director of the Office of Management and Budget Jeff Zients, Director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management John Berry, and U.S. Chief Information Officer Steve VanRoekel.

  • Watch the First Lady speak at the Kids' State Dinner here.

    Today, First Lady Michelle Obama hosted the first-ever Kids’ “State Dinner” at the White House, welcoming 54 budding chefs to a formal luncheon in the East Room. The guests, all between the ages of 8 and 12, represent all U.S. states, three territories and the District of Columbia.

    Each of the guests, along with their parents, submitted a healthy recipe as part of the Healthy Lunchtime Challenge, which invited families to create an original lunchtime recipe that is healthy, affordable and delicious, and follows the nutritional guidelines of MyPlate.

    “Believe it or not, more than 1,200 kids submitted recipes for this challenge -- 1,200.  It's a big competition,” the First Lady said.  A panel of judges from the organizations that teamed up with Mrs. Obama on this initiative -- Epicurious, the Department of Education and the Department of Agriculture—tasted each of the recipes that made it to the final round of the competition and picked their favorites from each state, as Mrs. Obama explained.

    And they spent hours trying to decide which ones were the healthiest and the tastiest and the most fun to cook and eat.  And it wasn't easy to choose one winner from every single state.  You were the winner in your state -- the whole state.  You guys won!  Cool! 

    But you're here because your recipes truly stood out, right?  And that’s really saying something.  You came up with dishes that were packed with nutritious, delicious ingredients; dishes that are good for you, but more importantly, they taste good, too.  See?  It can happen -- healthy and tasty at the same time.

  • President Barack Obama holds a press conference (August 20, 2012)

    President Barack Obama holds a press conference in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House, Aug. 20, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

    In an unscheduled visit to the White House briefing room this afternoon, President Obama took questions from reporters and discussed a big new announcement from the Department of Health and Human Services.

    "Today, HHS announced that thanks to the health care law that we passed, nearly 5.4 million seniors with Medicare have saved over $4.1 billion on prescription drugs. That’s an average savings of more than $700 per person," he said. "This year alone, 18 million seniors with Medicare have taken advantage of new preventive care benefits like a mammogram or other cancer screening at no extra cost."

    After being asked about the prospects for more action from lawmakers to help create jobs and grow the economy, the President reiterated his call to help millions of responsible homeowners save hundreds of dollars each month.

    "We're going to be pushing Congress to see if they can pass a refinancing bill that puts $3,000 into the pockets of the average family who hasn’t yet refinanced their mortgage. That's a big deal," the President told reporters. "That $3,00 can be used to strengthen the equity in that person's home, which would raise home values. Alternatively, that's $3,000 in people's pockets that they can spend on a new computer for their kid going back to school, or new school clothes for their kids, and so that would strengthen the economy as well."

    To learn more about the President's proposal, visit WhiteHouse.gov/refi.

    At the podium, President Obama also answered questions about the uprising in Syria, the security of American servicemembers in Afghanistan, and the state of the 2012 political campaign.

    Watch the President's full press conference here:

  • You can watch the Kids' State Dinner live today at 10 am EST

    Today's Kids' State Dinner is a White House original in many ways -- it's not only the first time the guests of honor are ALL under the age of 13, it's also the first time the White House kitchen has served a formal meal where the entire menu was created by "chefs" who have no formal training. But Executive Chef Cris Comerford and Executive Pastry Chef Bill Yosses say they learned a thing or two about healthy cooking from the young winners of the Healthy Lunchtime Challenge -- watch it here:  

  • On August 17th, we held a Google+ Hangout to highlight the difference AmeriCorps, a national service opportunity that has logged more than 1 billion hours of service since 1994, is making in communities across the country.

    The Hangout was moderated by White House Director of Digital Strategy (and AmeriCorps*VISTA alum) Macon Phillips and Corporation for National and Community Service CEO Wendy Spencer. They were joined by four people actively engaged in the AmeriCorps community. They talked about what made AmeriCorps such an impactful program, and took questions that came in from Twitter and WhiteHouse.gov about the work AmeriCorps does.

    The Hangout was part of a day-long White House focus on AmeriCorps: 150 AmeriCorps alumni came to the White House for a day-long briefing, and later that afternoon 12 of them were honored as Champions of Change, a program to honor ordinary Americans doing great work in their communities.

    Watch the conversation, below, and be sure to follow us on Twitter at @WhiteHouse for more opportunities to engage.

    Participants:

    • Wendy Spencer, CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service
    • Macon Phillips, White House Director of Digital Strategy
    • Robert Fogarty, AmeriCorps*VISTA alum with New Orleans, co-founder of Evaucteer
    • Quinn Gardner, AmeriCorps St. Louis alum and Joplin volunteer
    • Rafael Gonzalez, Chief Service Officer for the City of Los Angeles
    • Melissa Simmermaker, AmeriCorps*VISTA alum with Iowa Mentoring Partnership in Des Moines, IA

    To learn more about AmeriCorps, visit AmeriCorps.gov or follow them on Twitter at @AmeriCorps.

  • With students starting to head back to school, President Obama discusses the critical role that education plays in America’s future.

    Transcript | Download mp4 | Download mp3

  • Watch the West Wing Week here.

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

    NASA Success: On Monday, President Obama congratulated NASA’s Curiosity Team on the success of their rover touching down on the surface of Mars, praising them on their ingenuity and urging them to continue the good work. "Through your dedicated efforts, ‘Curiosity’ stuck her landing and captured the attention and imagination of millions of people not just across our country, but people all around the world, including Times Square," he said. "And being able to get that whole landing sequence to work the way you did is a testimony to your team."

    Read the full remarks here

    Drought Relief: President Obama also toured McIntosh Family Farms in Missouri Valley, Iowa to see drought damage first-hand and offer relief to those being effected. The President announced that the Department of Agriculture will begin to buy up to $170 million worth of pork, chicken, lamb, and catfish. And the President is directing the Department of Defense -- which purchased more than 150,000 million pounds of beef and pork in the last year alone -- to encourage its vendors to accelerate meat purchases for the military and freeze it for future use.  

    "Understand this won't solve the problem. We can't make it rain," the President said. "But this will help families like the McIntoshes in states across the country, including here in Iowa. And we're going to keep doing what we can to help because that's what we do. We are Americans. We take care of each other."

    To learn more, the Department of Agriculture is collecting resources for farmers, ranchers, and small businesses wrestling with this crisis at USDA.gov/drought. More information still is available at WhiteHouse.gov/drought.

  • Ed. Note: This is cross-posted from The Fast Lane -- the blog of the Department of Transportation. 

    At DOT, we know that America’s transportation infrastructure is in need of attention, while construction workers across the country remain eager to get back on the job repairing, replacing, and modernizing our roads, rails, and runways.

    Over the last decade, Congress has set aside $473 million in transportation funds that were never spent. These idle earmarks have sat on the shelf as our infrastructure continues to age and fall into disrepair, and hundreds of thousands of construction workers look for work. That ends today.

    I’m excited to announce that this Administration is freeing up this unspent money and giving it right back to the states so that they can spend it on the infrastructure projects they need most.

    As President Obama said today, "My administration will continue to do everything we can to put Americans back to work.  We’re not going to let politics stand between construction workers and good jobs repairing our roads and bridges." Forty-nine states, plus Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, will receive funds, giving them the flexibility to put this money toward infrastructure projects that will make a real difference in their communities.

  • This week, the White House hosted PTA day and the annual Iftar dinner, the President addressed the drought and spoke with the Curiosity team, and the Administration began accepting applications for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. That's August 10th to August 16th or, "Dream Day."

    Watch the West Wing Week here.

     

  • Soon, Youngstown, Ohio will be the home to a new public-private institute aimed at boosting innovation.

    The National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute will focus on 3-D printing technology, and it will launch with $30 million in federal funding, matched by $40 million from  manufacturing firms, universities, community colleges, and non-profits.

    "This institute will help make sure that the manufacturing jobs of tomorrow take root not in places like China or India, but right here in the United States of America,” said President Obama. "That’s how we’ll put more people back to work and build an economy that lasts."

    The Youngstown facility will serve Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia and is designed to function as a proof-of-concept for an eventual network of 15 manufacturing innovation institutes around the country.

    In March, the President called on Congress to invest $1 billion to launch the National Network of Manufacturing Innovation to boost competitiveness throughout America.

    Since lawmakers have yet to take action, the President is pushing forward with today's initial effort as part of the We Can't Wait initiative.


    Learn more

  •  Ed. Note: Earlier this year, President Obama announced the Summer Jobs + initiative, a call to action for businesses, non-profits, and government agencies to work together to provide pathways to employment for low-income and disconnected youth for the summer of 2012. More than 150 companies and non-profits, plus cities and federal agencies committed to providing more than 300,000 opportunities for the summer of 2012. Commitments included more than 100,000 paid jobs, as well as hundreds of thousands of mentorships, internships and other training opportunities.

    Dunkin’ Brands was among the companies that answered the President’s challenge, directly hiring people aged 16-24 for the summer season at more than 8,000 Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin Robbins stores. The company also expanded their corporate summer intern program to include 28 additional paid internships in 2012. The Dunkin’ Brands internship program provides on-the-job development opportunities in multiple career-focused areas as well as professional career services, including resume writing workshops and interview skills analysis, to help interns further achieve future career goals. David, a senior student athlete at Assumption College in Worcester, Massachusetts, interned in Dunkin’ Brands marketing department. He shares his experience here:

    During my time as a marketing intern, I was provided with an extensive overview of Dunkin’ Brands and the teams that work together to support the franchisees.  I worked on marketing initiatives that will generate revenue and customer growth for the franchisees. I was part of various advertising committees and had the opportunity to participate in several events with NFL teams, including the Patriots and Giants.

  • I'm really excited to welcome AmeriCorps alumni to the White House tomorrow because, well, I'm one myself! Having served as an AmeriCorps*VISTA with the Dream Program in Burlington, VT, I know first-hand how incredibly powerful and rewarding the experience can be. Simply put, it changed my life – and I'll talk about that tomorrow, so join us. We'll also recognize some of the amazing work that's happening around the country and, who knows, perhaps inspire a few more people to take the plunge and join! 

    Here's the scoop:

    AmeriCorps is a national service opportunity that has helped more than 775,000 Americans serve more than 1 billion hours since 1994 (with more than 88,000 Americans serving this year alone). In FY 2011, AmeriCorps reached more than 3.5 million disadvantaged youth through tutoring, mentoring, and other services.

    Tomorrow, the White House will welcome more than 150 AmeriCorps Alumni leaders from across the country. While the Alumni are here, they'll participate in a day-long briefing, and we'll honor 12 of them as Champions of Change, a program created to honor ordinary Americans doing great work in their communities.

    But tomorrow isn't just for the AmeriCorps Alumni joining us here at the White House. It's also a chance to engage with everyone who can't make it to Washington. That's why we'll be holding a live Google+ Hangout moderated by myself and Corporation for National and Community Service CEO Wendy Spencer at 12:00 p.m. EDT. We're hoping you'll join the conversation.

    Here's how to participate:

    We'll also be live-streaming the remainder of the day on WhiteHouse.gov/Live, be sure to check it out.

  • I just returned from the White House Business Council American Economic Competitiveness Forum on Manufacturing, where I had an opportunity to hear from a group of American manufacturers—representing businesses of all sizes from across the country—about how the Obama Administration can continue to support them as they build things here and sell them everywhere. As we have seen in recent months, manufacturing is one of the bright spots for our economy. Over the past two and a half years, more than half-a-million manufacturing jobs have been created in the U.S. – the strongest job growth in that sector since the 1990s. In fact, just last month, an additional 25,000 new manufacturing jobs were added. 

    In terms of production, manufacturing output is up 20 percent since 2009, and increased again in July. One manufacturing sector that has been consistently strong is the motor vehicles and parts industry, which has added 165,000 jobs since June 2009— a sector that might not even exist in the U.S. today if not for the assistance this Administration gave to the U.S. auto industry in 2009. 

    This matters because we know that manufacturing jobs are good jobs that pay more than average and provide greater benefits. They strengthen economic security for middle class families. 

  • Ed. note: This post was originally published on energy.gov.

    Wind Power Infographic

     

    Our countdown of the top ten things you didn't know about wind energy:

    10. Human civilizations have harnessed wind power for thousands of years. Early forms of windmills used wind to crush grain or pump water. Now, modern wind turbines use the wind to create electricity. Learn how here.

    9. A wind turbine has as many as 8,000 different components.

    8. Wind turbines are big. A wind turbine blade can be up to 150 feet long, and a turbine tower can be over 250 feet tall, almost as tall as the Statue of Liberty.

    7. Higher wind speeds mean more electricity, and wind turbines are getting taller to reach higher altitudes where it’s even windier. See the Energy Department’s wind resource maps to find average wind speeds in your state or hometown.

    6. Most of the components of wind turbines installed in the United States are manufactured here. Facilities for building wind turbine parts are located in over 40 states, and the U.S. wind energy industry currently employs 75,000 people. 

  • map of President Obama's Rural Tour 2011

    A year ago today, President Obama kicked off a bus tour to meet with people throughout America's heartland for discussions about the economy. At townhalls in Minnesota, Iowa, and Illinois, the President discussed ways to strengthen the middle class and accelerate hiring in local communities and took questions on renewable energy, health care, and Social Security.

    Check out a full recap here.

    Watch the highlights of President Obama's rural economic tour in Minnesota here.

    Watch the highlights of President Obama's rural economic tour in Iowa here.

  • Ed note: PBS invited White House Executive Pastry Chef Bill Yosses to share his favorite memory of Julia Child to mark the 100th anniversary of her birthday. Read more tributes on their website http://www.pbs.org/food/blogs/julia-child-100-birthday-cookforjulia/

    Julia Child inspired many chefs in her long career, myself included. And her infectious laugh and personality were as influential as her deep knowledge of the principles of good cooking. She minced onions but no words when it came to those who took kitchen shortcuts or who didn’t fully acquire cooking skills. The best party I ever attended was organized by the ebullient chef Michel Richard in celebration of Julia Child’s 80th birthday in February 1993 in Marina del Rey in California. She had actually turned 80 the year before but no matter, any excuse for a good “fête.” 

  • Unless the House of Representatives takes action before January 1, 2013, taxes will go up on 114 million middle-class families. Nearly everyone in Washington agrees that’s a bad idea. That’s why President Obama is calling for -- and the Senate has already passed -- legislation that will keep the middle class from paying thousands of extra dollars next year.

    Republicans in the House of Representatives, however, are refusing to extend middle-class tax cuts without also giving massive tax cuts to the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans. In fact, House Republicans have proposed their own tax plan that would actually raise taxes on 25 million families making less than $250,000, while giving families making more than $1 million an average tax cut of $160,000 next year.

    Here are 11 facts about the two plans and what's at stake for middle-class families. 

  • Ed. note: This post was originally published on dhs.gov.

    Today, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will begin accepting requests for consideration of deferred action for childhood arrivals. Deferred action is a discretionary determination to defer removal action of an individual as an act of prosecutorial discretion. Under this process, USCIS will consider requests on a case-by-case basis. While this process does not provide lawful status or a pathway to permanent residence or citizenship, individuals whose cases are deferred will not be removed from the United States for a two year period, subject to renewal, and may also receive employment authorization. To be considered for this process, you must show that:

    • You came to the United States before reaching your 16th birthday
    • You have continuously resided in the United States since June 15, 2007, up to the present time
    • You were under the age of 31 as of June 15, 2012
    • You entered without inspection before June 15, 2012, or your lawful immigration status expired as of June 15, 2012
    • You are currently in school, have graduated or obtained your certificate of completion from high school, have obtained your general educational development certification, or you are an honorably discharged veteran of the Coast Guard or Armed Forces of the United States
    • You have not been convicted of a felony, significant misdemeanor, or three or more misdemeanors, and do not otherwise pose a threat
    • You were present in the United States on June 15, 2012, and at the time of making your request for consideration of deferred action with USCIS

  • Ed. note: This is cross-posted from healthcare.gov.

    Watch Jill's story here.

     

    Jill from North Carolina is a writer and a tutor, but she’s also a runner. A few years ago, she was even training for the Olympic trials in the marathon. But one day, she suddenly passed out in a parking lot. She was diagnosed with a heart condition, atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia (AVNRT).

    The good news was that the condition could be remedied with a surgical procedure.

    The bad news was that Jill could not afford the surgery.

    For years following her diagnosis, she lived within reach of a cell phone just in case she had to call 911. Her condition worsened. “I did stop running; I stopped exercising completely because any kind of exertion would trigger an episode. So I went from running marathons competitively to doing nothing,” Jill says.

    She applied for insurance that might cover her surgery, but was turned down due to her pre-existing condition. Her appeal was denied.

    There didn’t seem to be a place in the health care system for her situation.

    In 2011, Jill heard about the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP). PCIP is a program created by the health care law. It is designed to provide affordable health coverage for people who were otherwise locked out of the private system. It also serves as a bridge to 2014, when insurance companies are prohibited from refusing to sell coverage based on someone’s pre-existing condition. 

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    Ed. note: This is cross-posted from energy.gov.

    Today, the Energy Department and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory released a new report highlighting strong growth in America’s wind energy market in 2011 and underscoring the importance of continued policy support and clean energy tax credits to ensure that the U.S. remains a leading producer and manufacturer in this booming global industry.

    As President Obama has made clear, we need an all-of-the-above approach to American energy and the U.S. wind industry is a critical part of this strategy. In fact, wind energy contributed 32 percent of all new U.S. electric capacity additions last year, representing $14 billion in new investment.

    In the United States, domestic clean energy production and manufacturing competitiveness work hand-in-hand. The report finds total U.S. wind power capacity grew to 47,000 megawatts by the end of 2011 and has since grown to 50,000 megawatts, enough to power 12 million homes annually -- as many homes as in the entire state of California. And as wind energy capacity has grown, more and more wind turbines and components like towers, blades, gears, and generators are “Made in America.” Nearly 70 percent of all of the equipment installed at U.S. wind farms last year came from domestic manufacturers, doubling from 35 percent in 2005.

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