U.S. Federal Government News and Daily Digest
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Weekly Address: The President Talks About How to Build a Rising, Thriving Middle Class
President Obama talks about his belief that a rising, thriving middle class is the true engine of economic growth, and that to reignite that engine and continue to build on the progress we’ve made over the last four years, we need to invest in three areas: jobs, skills and opportunity.
A Stronger and Sustainable Military for the 21st Century
As the single largest consumer of energy in the United States, the Department of Defense (DOD) knows that improving efficiency and harnessing new energy technologies is imperative – not only to achieve significant cost savings, but to give our troops better energy options on the battlefield, at sea, in the air, and at home. At DOD’s fixed installations alone – including, barracks, offices, and hospitals – energy bills come in around $4 billion each year. Given this large footprint as well as the importance of safe, secure, and affordable energy sources to mission readiness, the Department has made one of the largest commitments to clean energy in history, by developing a goal to deploy three gigawatts of renewable energy – including solar, wind, biomass, and geothermal – on Army, Navy, and Air Force installations by 2025 – enough to power 750,000 homes. When it comes specifically to solar power, a new report today from the Solar Energy Industries Association underscores the progress that DOD is making towards its goals. “ Enlisting the Sun: Powering the U.S. Military with Solar Energy ” highlights solar energy’s growing role in powering military installations and military homes across America. According to the report, as of early 2013, there are more than 130 megawatts (MW) of solar photovoltaic (PV) energy systems powering Navy, Army, and Air Force bases in at least 31 states and the District of Columbia. Combined, these installations provide enough clean energy to power more than 20,000 American homes. read more
Coming Together to Stop Slavery
Today at the White House, we convened the 10th annual meeting of the President’s Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. Secretary of State Kerry led the meeting, which was attended by Cabinet secretaries and representatives from agencies including State, Justice, Defense, Labor, Human and Health Services, Homeland Security, Interior, Agriculture, Transportation, Education, as well as USAID, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Office of Management and Budget, and White House policy offices. Each department, agency, and office shared their strategies to prevent trafficking, protect victims, prosecute offenders, and partner with civil society— both at home and around the world. We reflected on the significant progress we have made over the last year, as well as the work left to do. Cabinet secretaries, senior agency officials, and senior White House staff met at the White House as part of the President’s Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons on May 17, 2013. (Photo by Avra Siegel) Last September, during his speech on human trafficking at the Clinton Global Initiative , President Obama announced several initiatives that build off the strong record of this task force. These initiatives cover a wide range of areas, from government contracting regulation, to more coordinated responses to trafficking, to better victim services, to innovative public-private partnerships that will create technology tools for survivors and law enforcement. The meeting today follows the first-ever White House Forum on Human Trafficking last month, as well as the convening of the President’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships that focus its entire report on human trafficking the next day. Furthermore, we celebrated the reauthorization of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act in March. Today, we each committed to specific goals to combat trafficking. read more
President Obama Nominates Four Distinguished Women to Serve as Federal Judges
Yesterday, President Obama demonstrated his continued commitment to increasing the diversity of our federal judiciary, so that it better reflects the nation it serves. He nominated four distinguished women to serve on four different courts—women who not only have the necessary intellect, integrity and fair-mindedness to serve as federal judges, but whose nominations also represent important “firsts” in their state or district: If confirmed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, Judge Carolyn McHugh would be the first woman from Utah to serve on that court.
Weekly Wrap Up: “What Our Families Deserve”
Watch the West Wing Week here . Obama Cares: On the Friday before Mother’s Day, President Obama explained how the Affordable Care Act is helping women . For example, the law prevents insurance companies from charging women more than men and requires insurance companies to cover preventive services like mammograms free of charge. Thanks to the women in this room and people all across the country, we worked really hard — and it’s now been more than three years since Congress passed the Affordable Care Act and I signed it into law.
Being Biden Vol. 7: Gems of Wisdom
A class of third graders from North Philadelphia recently wrote to Vice President Biden about reducing gun violence . This week, the Vice President sat down to share some of these children's words with you — and an expression that belonged to his mom: “out of the mouths of babes come gems of wisdom.” Take a listen . Visit WhiteHouse.gov/BeingBiden to check out all of the episodes and to sign up to receive email updates when new stories are posted. read more
Building a 21st Century Infrastructure: Better Outcomes, Faster Timelines, and Less Red Tape
President Obama today signed a Presidential Memorandum that will shave months, and even years, off the time it takes to review and approve major infrastructure projects. This means that states, local governments, and private developers will be able to start construction sooner, create jobs earlier, and fix our nation’s infrastructure faster. On March 22, 2012, the President issued an Executive Order launching a government-wide initiative to improve the efficiency of federal review and permitting of infrastructure projects. Since then, agencies have expedited the review and permitting of 50 major projects, including bridges, transit , railways, waterways, roads, and renewable energy projects.
Wilbur, a U.S. Marine Corps military working…
Wilbur, a U.S. Marine Corps military working dog with a Marine special operations team, takes a break with his handler after successfully searching a build site for an Afghan Local Police (ALP) checkpoint. The ALP complemented counterinsurgency efforts by assisting and supporting rural areas with a limited Afghan National Security Forces presence. Photo by Sgt. Pete Thibodeau, U.S. Department of Defense
