The Affordable Care Act Helps Women Stay Healthy
Beginning August 1, 2012, additional women’s preventive services that will be covered with no cost sharing in new health plans include:
- Well-woman visits
- Gestational diabetes
- Breastfeeding support, supplies and counseling
- Domestic violence screening
- Contraception and contraceptive counseling
- HPV DNA testing
- STI counseling, and HIV screening and counseling
These preventive services help women stay healthy, and because they enhance long-term detection and treatment, they also reduce long-term health costs.
On January 20th, Secretary Sebelius announced that certain religious organizations including churches would be exempt from paying their insurers to cover contraception. Other religious organizations, including those that employ people of different faiths, can qualify for a one-year transition period as they prepare to comply with the new law. In recent days, there has been some confusion about how this policy affects religious institutions. We want to make sure you have the facts:
* Churches are exempt from the new rules
* No individual health care provider will be forced to prescribe contraception
* No individual will be forced to buy or use contraception
* Drugs that cause abortion are not covered by this policy
* Over half of Americans already live in the 28 States that require insurance companies cover contraception
* Contraception is used by most women
* Contraception coverage reduces costs
“Rarely are they [Presidents] presented with the kind of defining moment that President Barack Obama experienced when the Supreme Court upheld his health care law.
It’s one that will transcend his presidency, change America’s social safety net and shape how he is likely to be remembered.
Then there’s the catch.
If Obama does not win a second term in November, he risks losing both the [Affordable Care Act] law and the core of his legacy. Republican Mitt Romney will try to gut the law and impose something else. “
6/23/12 By BEN FELLER | Associated Press
.
KEEP AMERICA’S GUARD UP
RE-ELECT PRESIDENT OBAMA 2012
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
All Times Eastern
President Obama receives the presidential daily briefing.
7:00 AM
8:00 AM
9:00 AM
9:50 AM
President Obama departs the White House en route Joint Base Andrews.
South Lawn
10:00 AM
10:05 AM
President Obama departs Joint Base Andrews en route Mansfield, Ohio.
11:00 AM
11: 15 AM
President Obama attends a campaign event
Mansfield Air National Guard Base, Mansfield, OH
11:40 PM
11:40 AM
The President delivers remarks at a campaign event
Mansfield, OH
12:00 PM
1:00 PM
1:15 PM
First Lady Michelle Obama speaks to grassroots supporters at a campaign event
North Carolina Greensboro Campus, Greensboro, N.C.
2:00 PM
2:30 PM
President Obama departs Mansfield, Ohio en route Akron, Ohio.
Mansfield Air National Guard Base
3:00 PM
President Obama arrives in Akron, Ohio.
Akron-Canton Regional Airport
3:05 PM
First Lady Michelle Obama speaks to grassroots supporters at a campaign event
Laconia, N.H.
3:55 PM
President Obama attends a campaign event
John S. Knight Center, Akron, OH
4:00 PM
5:00 PM
5:05 PM
President Obama departs Akron, Ohio.
Akron-Canton Regional Airport
5:15 PM
Vice President Biden hosts a reception for the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues
Naval Observatory
6:00 PM
6:15 PM
President Obama arrives at Joint Base Andrews.
6:25 PM
First Lady Michelle Obama delivers remarks at a campaign fundraising event
Raleigh, N.C.
6:30 PM
President Obama arrives at the White House
Local Event Time: 6:30 PM EDT
South Lawn
7:00 PM
8:00 PM
9:00 PM
10:00 PM
August 1, 2012
WhiteHouse.gov http://www.whitehouse.gov/live
—-
CNN http://live.cnn.com
9:00 AM ET
The House Infrastructure Committee speaks to General Services Administration officials about new allegations of mismanagement and wasteful spending at the federal agency.
10:00 AM ET
The House Homeland Security Committee holds a hearing that will address misconduct among screeners working for the TSA.
10:00 AM ET
House Armed Services Committee: Acting OMB Dir. Jeffrey Zients on Sequestration
10:00 AM ET
U.S. policy on Syria hearing
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee holds a hearing on the potential next steps the United States could take on Syria.
10:30 AM ET
Pentagon briefing on Afghanistan
Canadian Brig. Gen. Thomas Putt briefs reporters from Afghanistan on the security situation in the war-torn country.
11:15 PM ET
President Obama attends a campaign event
Mansfield Air National Guard Base, Mansfield, OH
—-
CSPAN http://www.cspan.org/
9:00 AM ET
The Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee holds a hearing on accountability in the futures market, reviewing the recent collapse of two commodities trading companies, MF Global and Peregrine Financial Group. http://www.c-span.org/Events/Senate-Committee-Looks-at-MF-Global-and-Commodities-Futures/10737432790/
9:00 AM ET
The House Infrastructure Committee speaks to General Services Administration officials about new allegations of mismanagement and wasteful spending at the federal agency. http://www.c-span.org/Events/House-Cmte-Examines-GSA-Overspending/10737432788/
10:00 AM ET
Lawmakers to Receive FBI’s Ft. Hood Report
The House Appropriations Committee will receive the FBI’s final report on events surrounding the shooting at Fort Hood, Texas, on November 5, 2009. http://www.c-span.org/Events/Lawmakers-to-Receive-FBIs-Ft-Hood-Report/10737432760/
10:00 AM ET
The House Homeland Security Committee holds a hearing that will address misconduct among screeners working for the TSA. http://www.c-span.org/Events/TSA-Deputy-Administrator-Testifies-on-Screeners39-Misconduct/10737432789/
10:00 AM ET
House Armed Services Committee: Acting OMB Dir. Jeffrey Zients on Sequestration http://www.c-span.org/Events/Top-Defense-Official-and-Lawmakers-Ponder-Sequestration-Effects-on-Military/10737432759/
10:00 AM ET
U.S. policy on Syria hearing
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee holds a hearing on the potential next steps the United States could take on Syria.
10:30 AM ET
Pentagon briefing on Afghanistan
Canadian Brig. Gen. Thomas Putt briefs reporters from Afghanistan on the security situation in the war-torn country.
11:15 PM ET
President Obama attends a campaign event
Mansfield Air National Guard Base, Mansfield, OH http://www.c-span.org/Events/President-Campaigns-in-Battleground-States-of-Ohio-Florida-amp-Virginia/10737432792/
—
HealthCare.gov http://www.healthcare.gov/live
1:30 PM ET
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Annic Jobin, WebMD’s Director of News and Partnerships take questions and hold a live online discussion on the benefits that additional women’s preventive services that will be covered under The Affordable Care Act with no cost sharing in new health plans begining August 1, 2012.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) is a federal statute that was signed into United States law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010. This Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (signed into law on March 30, 2010) made up the health care reform of 2010. The laws focus on reform of the private health insurance market, provide better coverage for those with pre-existing conditions, improve prescription drug coverage in Medicare and extend the life of the Medicare Trust fund by at least 12 years.
PPACA passed the Senate on December 24, 2009, by a vote of 60–39 with all Democrats and Independents voting for, and all Republicans voting against. It passed the House of Representatives on March 21, 2010, by a vote of 219–212, with all 178 Republicans and 34 Democrats voting against the bill.
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010
Time line:
February 24, 2009
President Obama Promises Health Care Reform in His first Address to a Joint Session of Congress
“But this is America. We don’t do what’s easy. We do what is necessary to move this country forward. For that same reason, we must also address the crushing cost of health care.” — President Barack Obama
March 23, 2010
President Obama Signs the Affordable Care Act, an Historic Overhaul of the American Health Care System
“That our generation is able to succeed in passing this reform is a testament to the persistence –- and the character -– of the American people, who championed this cause; who mobilized; who organized; who believed that people who love this country can change it.”
— President Barack Obama
June 10, 2010
The first $250 rebate checks are sent to seniors who fall into Medicare’s “donut hole” and have to pay all their own drug costs. In the first year of health reform, nearly four million people on Medicare got help with prescription drug costs.
July 1, 2010
A temporary health insurance program that makes health coverage available and more affordable for high-risk individuals who are uninsured and have been denied health insurance because of a pre-existing condition launches. Gail O’Brien was the first New Hampshire resident to benefit from this new program.
September 23, 2010
Patients Can Now Take Advantage of Their First New Set of Protections
* New private insurance plans must offer free preventive services without charging a deductible or co-pay.
* Insurance companies can no longer deny coverage to a customer because of a paperwork error or unintentional mistake
* Consumers now have two ways to appeal insurance company’s coverage decisions or claims: through their insurer or through an independent decision-maker.
* Insurance companies can no longer set lifetime limits on key benefits, such as hospital stays.
* Insurance company’s ability to set annual dollar limits on coverage for individual and group plans are restricted.
* Insurance companies can no longer deny coverage for children with pre-existing conditions.
*
January 1, 2011
Free Preventive Care for Seniors
Medicare starts covering annual wellness visits and offering free preventive services including mammograms and colonoscopies.
January 1, 2011
Lower Prescription Drug Costs for Seniors
As of January 1, 2011, seniors who reach the coverage gap received a 50 percent discount when buying Medicare Part D covered brand-name prescription drugs. Over the next ten years, seniors will receive additional savings on brand-name and generic drugs until the coverage gap is closed in 2020.
September 1, 2011
Lowering Costs for American Consumers
Now health insurers seeking to increase their rates by 10 percent or more must submit their request to state or federal reviewers to determine whether they are reasonable or not. These reviews will bring greater transparency, accountability, and may lower costs for families and small business owners who struggle to afford coverage.
January 1, 2012
Savings for Small Business Owners
For the third year, a tax credit is refunding small business owners like Mike Novak, a Montana grocery store owner, up to 35 percent of the premiums they pay for their workers. So far, more than 2 million workers have received coverage because of this benefit.
August 1, 2012
Additional women’s preventive services that will be covered with no cost sharing in new health plans include:
* Well-woman visits
* Gestational diabetes
* Breastfeeding support, supplies and counseling
* Domestic violence screening
* Contraception and contraceptive counseling
* HPV DNA testing
* STI counseling, and HIV screening and counseling
January 1, 2014
More Americans Have Access to Coverage
In 2014, consumers who don’t have coverage through work can use Affordable Insurance Exchanges, one-stop marketplaces where consumers can choose a private health insurance plan that fits their health needs and access the same kinds of insurance choices members of Congress will have. The new law also provides middle class tax credits to families to help pay for private health insurance. And it expands the Medicaid program to families of four with incomes of up to $29,000.
Womens Health
The Affordable Care Act Helps Women Stay Healthy
Beginning August 1, 2012, additional women’s preventive services that will be covered with no cost sharing in new health plans include:
* Well-woman visits
* Gestational diabetes
* Breastfeeding support, supplies and counseling
* Domestic violence screening
* Contraception and contraceptive counseling
* HPV DNA testing
* STI counseling, and HIV screening and counseling
These preventive services help women stay healthy, and because they enhance long-term detection and treatment, they also reduce long-term health costs.
For more information: http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2012pres/01/20120120a.html
February 10, 2012
FACT SHEET: Women’s Preventive Services and Religious Institutions
Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, most health insurance plans will cover women’s preventive services, including contraception, without charging a co-pay or deductible beginning in August, 2012. This new law will save money for millions of Americans and ensure Americans nationwide get the high-quality care they need to stay healthy.
Today, President Obama will announce that his Administration will implement a policy that accommodates religious liberty while protecting the health of women. Today, nearly 99 percent of all women have used contraception at some point in their lives, but more than half of all women between the ages of 18-34 struggle to afford it.
Under the new policy to be announced today, women will have free preventive care that includes contraceptive services no matter where she works. The policy also ensures that if a woman works for a religious employer with objections to providing contraceptive services as part of its health plan, the religious employer will not be required to provide, pay for or refer for contraception coverage, but her insurance company will be required to directly offer her contraceptive care free of charge.
The new policy ensures women can get contraception without paying a co-pay and fully accomodates important concerns raised by religious groups by ensuring that objecting non-profit religious employers will not have to provide contraceptive coverage or refer women to organizations that provide contraception. Background on this policy is included below:
• Under Section 2713 of the Affordable Care Act, the Administration adopted new guidelines that will require most private health plans to cover preventive services for women without charging a co-pay starting on August 1, 2012. These preventive services include well women visits, domestic violence screening, and contraception, and all were recommended to the Secretary of Health and Human Services by the independent Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Science.
• Today, the Obama Administration will publish final rules in the Federal Register that:
o Exempts churches, other houses of worship, and similar organizations from covering contraception on the basis of their religious objections.
o Establishes a one-year transition period for religious organizations while this policy is being implemented.
• The President will also announce that his Administration will propose and finalize a new regulation during this transition year to address the religious objections of the non-exempted non-profit religious organizations. The new regulation will require insurance companies to cover contraception if the religious organization chooses not to. Under the policy:
o Religious organizations will not have to provide contraceptive coverage or refer their employees to organizations that provide contraception.
o Religious organizations will not be required to subsidize the cost of contraception.
o Contraception coverage will be offered to women by their employers’ insurance companies directly, with no role for religious employers who oppose contraception.
o Insurance companies will be required to provide contraception coverage to these women free of charge.
o The new policy does not affect existing state requirements concerning contraception coverage.
Covering contraception is cost neutral since it saves money by keeping women healthy and preventing spending on other health services. For example, there was no increase in premiums when contraception was added to the Federal Employees Health Benefit System and required of non-religious employers in Hawaii. One study found that covering contraception saved employees $97 per year, per employee.
By the Numbers: 20.4
Megan Slack March 20, 2012 09:00 AM EDT
President Obama’s health reform law requires that new health insurance plans cover preventive services with no co-pay or deductible. In the last 18 months, approximately 20.4 million women with private health insurance have received preventive health services such as mammograms and pap smears at no additional cost because of this provision in the Affordable Care Act.
Besides improving access to services that help women stay healthy and detect health problems early on, health reform helps women in many other ways. For example, health insurance companies can no longer discriminate against women by charging them higher premiums than they charge men. Insurance companies are banned from imposing a limit on the amount of care they’ll cover over a woman’s lifetime, and are now required to spend at least 80 percent of premium dollars on care—not overhead.
Women who have been unable to purchase health insurance because of a pre-existing condition such as cancer or having been pregnant now have an option to obtain the insurance they need through the new Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan.
Beginning in 2014, the Affordable Care Act will be fully implemented and offer even greater protection for women and their health care, including a ban on denying care based on pre-existing conditions, and the removal of annual limits on care.
Read more:
How health reform helps women
Tell us your story: How is the Affordable Care Act improving your care?
Health Reform, Preventive Services, and Religious Institutions
Cecilia Muñoz February 01, 2012 06:35 PM EDT
Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, most health insurance plans will cover women’s preventive services, including contraception, without charging a co-pay or deductible beginning in August, 2012. This new law will save money for millions of Americans. But more importantly, it will ensure Americans nationwide get the high-quality care they need to stay healthy. Under this policy, women who want contraception will have access to it through their insurance without paying a co-pay or deductible. But no one will be forced to buy or use contraception.
On January 20th, Secretary Sebelius announced that certain religious organizations including churches would be exempt from paying their insurers to cover contraception. Other religious organizations, including those that employ people of different faiths, can qualify for a one-year transition period as they prepare to comply with the new law. In recent days, there has been some confusion about how this policy affects religious institutions. We want to make sure you have the facts:
* Churches are exempt from the new rules
* No individual health care provider will be forced to prescribe contraception
* No individual will be forced to buy or use contraception
* Drugs that cause abortion are not covered by this policy
* Over half of Americans already live in the 28 States that require insurance companies cover contraception
* Contraception is used by most women
* Contraception coverage reduces costs
For more: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2012/02/01/health-reform-preventive-services-and-religious-institutions
Being a woman is not a pre-existing condition
March 20, 2012 Posted by Elizabeth Chan – democrats.org
Tell Republicans like Mitt Romney who want to repeal health reform and let insurance companies discriminate: Being a woman is NOT a pre-existing condition here.
Mercury News editorial: The path to reducing America’s health care costs
4/10/12 Mercury News Editorial
President Barack Obama’s health care reforms offer Americans the best chance to start getting a handle on out-of-control medical costs. If you don’t believe the president, then ask the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office. The GAO reported last week that health care costs will go up considerably if the Supreme Court, as expected, rejects the reforms.
It would be a shame because these initial reforms are just the first step toward attacking the problem of skyrocketing medical costs, as even the president admits. Major restructuring of medical care is what’s needed to curb costs while continuing to lead the world in medical innovation. Fortunately, doctors around the country are beginning to offer insights into how to do that. And no, death panels aren’t on the list.
Physicians representing the American Board of Internal Medicine Foundation last week released an important study recommending that doctors stop routinely performing 45 tests and procedures that are of questionable value under many circumstances. The Congressional Budget Office estimated in 2008 that as much as 30 percent of the $2.6 trillion the United States spends on health care — $700 billion every year — is squandered on unnecessary tests, procedures, medications and hospital stays.
Critics already are proclaiming this as the start of rationing. But in a 2011 survey of doctors reported by the Archives of Internal Medicine, 80 percent said they order tests they know are unnecessary. Some fear being sued for malpractice. Others don’t want to deny patients procedures they believe will benefit them, even if the doctor disagrees.
For the entire article: http://www.mercurynews.com/opinion/ci_20367931/mercury-news-editorial-path-reducing-americas-health-care
6/23/12 By BEN FELLER | Associated Press
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KEEP AMERICA’S GUARD UP
RE-ELECT PRESIDENT OBAMA 2012
Supreme Court upholds Obamacare individual mandate as a tax
6/28/12 By Liz Goodwin, Yahoo! News | The Ticket
In a victory for President Obama, the Supreme Court decided to uphold his signature health care law’s individual mandate in a split decision, upending speculation after hostile-seeming oral arguments in March that the justices would overturn the law. The mandate has been upheld as a tax, according to SCOTUSblog, with Chief Justice John Roberts joining the liberal wing of the court. Tom Goldstein of SCOTUSblog says Roberts’ vote “saved’ the Affordable Care Act.
Twenty six states sued over the law, arguing that the individual mandate, which requires people to buy health insurance or face a fine starting in 2014, was unconstitutional. Opponents cast the individual mandate as the government forcing Americans to enter a market and buy a product against their will, while the government countered that the law was actually only regulating a market that everyone is already in, since almost everyone will seek health care at some point in his or her life.
Before oral arguments in March, polls of Supreme Court experts and scholars showed that most believed the mandate would be upheld as an exercise of Congress’ power to regulate interstate commerce. But after justices seemed deeply skeptical of the mandate in oral arguments in March, the consensus flipped, with most experts guessing the court would strike down the law.
House Republicans have vowed to repeal the entire law, though it’s unlikely the Democratic-controlled Senate would let that happen, and this decision will most likely slow momentum for that move.
For more; http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/supreme-court-issue-obamacare-decision-135554880.html
Health care law’s mandate unlikely to affect many people
6/29/2012 By Tony Pugh – McClatchy Newspapers
WASHINGTON — Despite all the spin and punditry about the national health care law’s mandate that Americans buy health insurance or pay a penalty, the vast majority wouldn’t be forced to buy anything or pay any penalty.
A recent study by the Urban Institute, a nonpartisan research center that focuses on economic and social policy, found that if the law had been fully implemented last year, 93 percent of the population under age 65 wouldn’t have faced a penalty or had to buy insurance under the mandate.
In fact, only 6 percent of Americans, about 18 million people, would have to “newly purchase” insurance under the law, the study found. And of this group, roughly 11 million would be eligible for subsidies to help buy their coverage from new insurance marketplaces, or “exchanges,” created by the law.
The remaining 7 million, about 2 percent of the total population and 3 percent of all Americans under age 65, wouldn’t receive any financial help and could face penalties for lacking coverage, said Linda Blumberg, a health economist and senior fellow in the Urban Institute’s Health Policy Center.
This thin sliver of Americans who would be required to pay for full coverage belies the dominant public perception that the mandate would be a financial strain for wide swaths of the population.
“That was one of the reasons we wanted to do this study, because we felt like the real impact was being blown out of proportion,” said Blumberg, who was the lead researcher on the study.
A closer look at numbers shows that 87.4 million of the 268.8 million Americans under age 65 would be exempt from the mandate because they are illegal immigrants, have incomes below the law’s tax-filing threshold or can’t get coverage because the premiums would eat up too much of their income.
Nearly 75 percent of this group — 63.4 million — already have coverage, while 24 million do not. Blumberg said these 24 million comprised 7.3 million illegal immigrants, 14.3 million people whose incomes are below the tax-filing threshold and 2.4 million people who can’t get affordable coverage.
That leaves 181 million Americans under age 65 who could be subject to the mandate, Blumberg said. But 86 percent of this group, 155 million people, already have coverage.
“So they’re not going to be subject to any penalty. They don’t have to change anything that they’re doing,” Blumberg said. “Some of them have public coverage already, some of them are buying coverage on their own, some of them are in employer-based insurance.”
Blumberg’s estimates reflect the participation of all states in the expanded Medicaid coverage envisioned under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
Source: http://www.mercurynews.com/health/ci_20976848/health-care-laws-mandate-unlikely-affect-many-people
CBO Confirms: The Health Care Law Reduces the Deficit
Nancy-Ann DeParleJuly 24, 2012 05:39 PM EDT
This afternoon, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its latest look at the Affordable Care Act – the health care law. This report affirms that repealing the health care law would deny tax credits for millions of middle class families and result in higher deficits and fewer Americans with insurance.
Once again, the Congressional Budget Office has found that repealing the health care law will increase the federal budget deficit by more than $100 billion in the first decade and more than a trillion dollars in the next decade. CBO also found that 30 million Americans would remain uninsured without the Affordable Care Act.
And CBO projects that most Governors will choose to expand their Medicaid programs. The Medicaid expansion is completely paid for by the Federal government in the first three years, and the Federal government will cover at least 90 percent of these costs in the years ahead. According to CBO “…states and local governments will probably realize savings in existing programs that provide direct care to people who are uninsured or that cover uncompensated costs incurred by providers serving uninsured residents.” Other independent analysts have also found that states that fully implement the Affordable Care Act could save money through reductions in the amount they spend to care for the uninsured.
We hope states will take advantage of the options in the health care law to improve access to affordable coverage. And history suggests that they will act. All but two states implemented Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) within five years of enactment – despite less generous financial support than the Affordable Care Act provided for this Medicaid expansion.
As the President has said, this law is here to stay, and we will continue our efforts to work with States to deliver the benefits of the law to the American people.
“Women’s Choices” – Obama for America TV Ad
Published on Jul 26, 2012 by BarackObamadotcom
Learn more: http://OFA.BO/F4rtoY
Jenni’s story:
Jenni:
“I’ve never felt this way before but it’s a scary time to be a woman. Mitt Romney is so out of touch.”
Voiceover:
“Mitt Romney opposes requiring coverage for contraception. And Romney supports overturning Roe versus Wade. Romney backed a bill that outlaws all abortion even in cases of rape and incest.”
Jenni:
“There’s so much we need to do. We need to attack our problems not a woman’s choice.”
“Important”
Published on Aug 4, 2012 by BarackObamadotcom
Learn more: http://OFA.BO/8czN15
Dawn: “I think Mitt Romney’s really out of touch with the average woman’s health issues…”
Alex: “This is not the 1950s. Contraception is so important to women…it’s about a woman being able to make decisions…”
Dawn “I don’t remember anyone as extreme as Romney.”
Mitt Romney: “I’ll cut off funding to Planned Parenthood.”
Alex: “I don’t think Mitt Romney can even understand the mindset of someone who has to go to Planned Parenthood.”
Mitt Romney: “Planned Parenthood. We’re going to get rid of that.”
Dawn: “I think Romney would definitely drag us back.”
HHS details overhaul rules and required benefits
Nov 20, 4:43 PM EST By TOM MURPHY – Associated Press
The Obama administration has strengthened the prescription drug coverage that will be available to the millions of people who will get insurance through the nation’s new health care overhaul starting late next year.
The increase in prescription benefits was part of a long-awaited package of rules to implement the law formally announced on Tuesday by the Health and Human Services Department. The government laid out minimum requirements for health insurance coverage and banned denying coverage to people with pre-existing health problems.
The new rules, once made final, will govern the operation of new health insurance marketplaces, called exchanges, that will debut in 2014.
Having the federal government set minimum standards for what health insurance must cover is a departure from normal practice. Usually, insurance companies, their state regulators and employers play that role. But the Affordable Care Act requires that Washington establish a baseline for minimum coverage in areas that include inpatient and outpatient care, emergency services, maternity and childhood care, prescription drugs, preventive screenings and lab work.
It must also cover mental health and substance abuse treatment, as well as rehabilitation for physical and cognitive disorders, and dental and vision care for children. Such additional benefits are often not fully covered by frugal plans that are now the best that many small businesses can afford.
Many of the details the administration released on Tuesday had been previously announced, but Dan Mendelson, CEO of the market analysis firm Avalere Health, saw one key change: Health insurance plans will now have to cover the same number of prescription drugs as the benchmark plan in their states. That basically means there will be a higher number of prescription drugs covered in each class, such as antipsychotics or antidepressants, than had previously been required.
For more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_HEALTH_CARE_RULES?SITE=COBOU&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Doctors back contraception without prescription
11/21/2012 01:01:21 AM PST BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — No prescription or doctor’s exam needed: The nation’s largest group of obstetricians and gynecologists says birth control pills should be sold over the counter, like condoms.
Tuesday’s surprise opinion from these gatekeepers of contraception could boost longtime efforts by women’s advocates to make the pill more accessible.
But no one expects the pill to be sold without a prescription any time soon: A company would have to seek government permission first, and it’s not clear if any are considering it. Plus there are big questions about what such a move would mean for many women’s wallets if it were no longer covered by insurance.
Still, momentum may be building.
Already, anyone 17 or older doesn’t need to see a doctor before buying the morning-after pill — a higher-dose version of regular birth control that can prevent pregnancy if taken shortly after unprotected sex. Earlier this year, the Food and Drug Administration held a meeting to gather ideas about how to sell regular oral contraceptives without a prescription, too.
Now the influential American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists is declaring it’s safe to sell the pill that way.
Wait, why would doctors who make money from women’s yearly visits for a birth-control prescription advocate giving that up?
Half of the nation’s pregnancies every year are unintended, a rate that hasn’t changed in 20 years — and easier access to birth control pills could help, said
For more; http://www.thereporter.com/news/ci_22040106/doctors-back-contraception-without-prescription
When you think about it why is it that men can cheaply purchase condoms over the counter at any drug store, super market or convince store.
Women have to incur the time and cost to get a physical exam by a doctor in order to get a prescription for birth control.
February 1, 2013
hhs.gov
Administration issues Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on recommended preventive services policy
The Obama administration today issued proposed rules for public comment regarding contraceptive coverage with no cost sharing under the health care law. The proposed rules provide women with coverage for preventive care that includes contraceptive services with no co-pays, while also respecting the concerns of some religious organizations.
Today’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking reflects public feedback received through the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking issued in March 2012. In addition, these proposed rules are open for public comment through April 8, 2013.
“Today, the administration is taking the next step in providing women across the nation with coverage of recommended preventive care at no cost, while respecting religious concerns,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. “We will continue to work with faith-based organizations, women’s organizations, insurers and others to achieve these goals.”
The proposed rules lay out how non-profit religious organizations, such as non-profit religious hospitals or institutions of higher education, that object to contraception on religious grounds can receive an accommodation that provides their enrollees separate contraceptive coverage, and with no co-pays, but at no cost to the religious organization.
For more: http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2013pres/02/20130201a.html
Republican Budget Threatens Health Coverage and Insurance Protections
Jeanne Lambrew April 25, 2012 12:05 PM EDT
This week, Republicans in Congress are considering budget bills that give more power to health insurance companies, raise taxes for middle-class Americans, and threaten health care coverage for children – all by rolling back rolling back important provisions of the Affordable Care Act.
Under the new health care law, states have new tools and resources to hold insurance companies accountable. Today, states are using these resources to ensure insurers are spending your premium dollars wisely, reviewing proposed rate increases to see if they are reasonable. In 2014, states will use these resources to continue to ensure that insurance companies play by the rules in new Affordable Insurance Exchanges, where insurers will compete to offer you quality coverage at a fair price. Already, 33 states and the District of Columbia have received Exchange establishment grants, including 15 states with Republican or independent Governors. In contrast, Republican Representatives in Congress want to cut this funding for states, stopping them in their tracks and taking us back to the days where insurance companies, not American families, were in charge of health care.
Under the new health care law, middle-class families will receive the largest health care tax cut in history through new tax credits to help you afford health insurance offered through Exchanges. In contrast, House Republicans support a proposal that would raise taxes for certain middle-class families whose income changes during the year, for example, by putting in overtime or earning a promotion. By making it harder for families to juggle health care costs, this proposal could cause 350,000 people to lose their health coverage altogether according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).
For the entire article: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2012/04/25/republican-budget-threatens-health-coverage-and-insurance-protections
Religious right lobbies against (VAWA) Violence Against Women Act
Apr 25, 2012 2:45 PM EDT By Steve Benen – maddowblog
As the Violence Against Women Act gets ready to move in the Senate, no one seems to be lobbying against it as aggressively as the religious right.
While the Southern Baptist Convention’s political arm, the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, is mired in scandal resulting from ERLC head Richard Land’s repeated plagiarism and inflammatory remarks on race, it has found time to criticize the Violence Against Women Act. Doug Carlson, manager for administration and policy communications for the ERLC, voiced the group’s opposition to the highly successful law because of new provisions that ensure that LGBT victims of domestic violence do not encounter discrimination while seeking help.
Carlson quoted a letter Richard Land signed along with Mathew Staver of Liberty Counsel, Jim Garlow of Renewing American Leadership Action, Tom McClusky of Family Research Council Action, C. Preston Noell of Tradition, Family, Property Inc., Phyllis Schlafly of Eagle Forum and Penny Nance and Janice Shaw Crouse of Concerned Women for America.
Notably, the letter was also signed by conservative activist Timothy Johnson, who was convicted of a felony domestic violence charge and was arrested a second time for putting his wife in a wrist lock and choking his son, as reported by Sarah Posner.
The lobbying efforts don’t appear to be having much of an impact. The Hill reports today that Senate Republicans “will let legislation on domestic violence pass the upper chamber despite having concerns about its constitutionality.”
The focus will shift quickly to the House. A Senate Democratic leadership aide added, “We will be happy to point out as long as it takes the inability of the House to act on the Violence Against Women Act. We won’t let a day go by where we don’t put pressure on the House to move forward. Republicans would be wise to let this go through the Senate and not count on House GOP counterparts to hold it up and strip out provisions.”
Source: http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/25/11393803-religious-right-lobbies-against-vawa?lite
GOP promises to rid nation of healthcare law
06/23/12 06:00 AM ET By Ian Swanson – TheHill
Republicans are using their weekly radio address to reiterate their promise to repeal President Obama’s healthcare law.
The address is timed for this week’s decision by the Supreme Court, which is set to announce its ruling on the controversial law as early as Monday.
The justices could uphold the law, they could throw it out, or they could throw out the mandate that consumers buy health insurance but leave the rest of the law standing.
Many expect the ruling to at least go against the mandate — a survey of former Supreme Court clerks and attorneys who have argued before the court this week found 57 percent believe the mandate will be struck down.
Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) this week reiterated his pledge that the whole law will be repealed by House Republicans if the High Court does not rule the law is unconstitutional. Rep. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) repeated that message in his address.
For more:
http://thehill.com/blogs/healthwatch/health-reform-implementation/234383-gop-promises-to-rid-nation-of-healthcare-law
Just in case you were wondering …
WordPress Stats said that one of the search engine terms that two people used today to get to my site was:
“What is the GOP Health Care Plan?”
Well I decided to look that up myself and what do I find from GOP.GOV??
.
Repeal and Replace the Job-Destroying Health Care Law – A …
Get the details on the House Republican Plan for America’s Job Creators
gop.gov/solutions/healthcare
.
IN OTHER WORDS THE GOP HAVE NO HEALTH CARE PLAN!
Surrogates Admit Romney Will Cut Medicare Benefits For Current Seniors
AUGUST 21, 2012, 6:09 AM BRIAN BEUTLER – tpm
Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan want to neutralize Democratic attacks on their plan to turn Medicare into a voucher program for future seniors by replaying the GOP’s 2010 campaign against Democratic members of Congress: by attacking President Obama for Medicare cuts he signed into law.
As has been noted repeatedly, that strategy requires Romney and Ryan to disavow Medicare reforms the GOP recently endorsed overwhelmingly as a part of the party’s budget, which Ryan authored.
But the ticket also contends that a key difference between Obama and Romney is that Romney won’t change Medicare at all for existing beneficiaries — only future ones. Recent statements from his advisers and surrogates, suggest the claim is false.
As outlined in a memo the campaign released Saturday, Romney plans to repeal the Affordable Care Act in its entirety, and thus to spend over $700 billion more on the program in the coming decade than the government would spend if the health care law stands.
That commitment would leave Medicare poised for insolvency in 2016, years before he proposes to phase in the voucher system. Which means Romney would have two options: find new Medicare cuts or taxes to extend the life of the program, or preside over its demise.
On Fox News Sunday, Romney adviser Ed Gillespie tried to address the conundrum. “There are other reforms as well. As you know Governor Romney supports increasing over time bringing the Medicare eligibility age in line with the Social Security retirement age.”
But raising the Medicare eligibility age is a benefit cut, and implementing the increase before 2016 would violate Romney’s pledge to leave the program unchanged for people between ages 55 and 65.
Avik Roy, an outside health care adviser to the Romney campaign, admits that committing to billions of dollars in higher Medicare spending in the near-term will make it difficult for Romney to achieve its separate goal of reducing overall federal spending to modern lows. But he notes that Romney could make up the difference elsewhere in the budget or, by “mak[ing] other changes to the Medicare program, such as increased means-testing, that don’t alter the program’s basic structure.”
Further means-testing of Medicare would amount to a benefit cut to current seniors.
These admissions rest on top of the fact that by repealing the Affordable Care Act, Romney would wipe out new Medicare benefits included in the law. Repeal would result in higher payments to doctors and hospitals, and the restoration of overpayments to insurers participating in Medicare advantage. But for beneficiaries, it would re-open the Medicare prescription drug donut hole and eliminate coverage for preventive services and annual checkups that the ACA created.
Source: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/08/surrogates-admit-romney-will-cut-medicare-benefits-for-current-seniors.php
Hobby Lobby Opposes Obamacare
Court rejects Hobby Lobby’s challenge to contraceptive mandate
11/19/12 Steve Olafson – Reuters
OKLAHOMA CITY (Reuters) – A federal judge on Monday denied a legal challenge to President Barack Obama’s signature health reforms, ruling that the owners of a $3 billion arts and crafts chain must provide emergency contraceptives in their group health care plan.
The owners of Hobby Lobby asked to be exempted from providing the “morning after” and “week after” pills on religious grounds, arguing this would violate their Christian belief that abortion is wrong.
Judge Joe Heaton of the U.S. District for the Western District of Oklahoma denied the request for a preliminary injunction.
Heaton ruled that while individual members of the family that owns and operates Hobby Lobby have religious rights, the companies the family owns are secular, for-profit enterprises that do not possess the same rights.
Kyle Duncan, general counsel for the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty in Washington, D.C., which assisted Hobby Lobby in the legal challenge, said Monday’s ruling will be appealed.
Hobby Lobby, the largest non-Catholic U.S. company to go to court over the issue of contraceptives in the Affordable Care Act, is owned by the Green family of Oklahoma City. Patriarch David Green is ranked 79th on Forbes Magazine’s list of the 400 richest Americans with a net worth of $4.5 billion.
The family operate 514 Hobby Lobby stores in 41 states and employ 13,240 people. It funds a variety of Christian charities, closes its stores on Sundays and plays inspirational Christian music in its stores.
For more; http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/49894806#.UKvFTqV9-Jc
Nuns On The Bus
Catholic Sisters
Every hour of each day, Catholic Sisters stand in solidarity with all who live in poverty, and we confront injustice and systems that cause suffering.
.
The Ryan Budget
The Catholic Sisters are speaking out against the current House Republican budget, authored by Rep. Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) budget plan that harms people who are already suffering.
THE RYAN BUDGET WOULD:
* Raise taxes on 18 million hardworking low-income families while cutting taxes for millionaires and big corporations.
* Push the families of 2 million children into poverty.
* Kick 8 million people off food stamps and 30 million off health care.
NETWORK’s Executive Director, Sister Simone Campbell, said in a recent media interview that Catholic Sisters “know the real-life struggles of real-life Americans.” It is this knowledge that impelled us to organize this bus trip. When the federal government cuts funding to programs that serve people in poverty, we see the effects in our daily work. Simply put, real people suffer. That is immoral. Click on the links below to see how the Ryan budget affects people in your state.
How the Ryan Budget Hurts Illinois
How the Ryan Budget Hurts Indiana
How the Ryan Budget Hurts Iowa
How the Ryan Budget Hurts Michigan
How the Ryan budget Hurts Ohio
How the Ryan Budget Hurts Pennsylvania
How the Ryan Budget Hurts Virginia
How the Ryan Budget Hurts Wisconsin
To learn more about Nuns on the Bus: http://nunsonthebus.com/
Catholics For Obama – Biden http://catholicsforobama.blogspot.com/2012/06/nuns-on-bus.html
Nuns Start Tour Protesting Republican Budget Plan
June 18, 2012, 09:08 pm ETby THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A group of Roman Catholic nuns began a nine-state bus tour protesting proposed federal budget cuts Monday, saying they weren’t trying to flout recent Vatican criticisms of socially active nuns but felt called to show how Republican policies are affecting low-income families.
The tour was organized by Network, a Washington-based Catholic social justice group criticized in a recent Vatican report that said some organizations led by nuns have focused too much on economic injustice while failing to promote the church’s teachings on abortion and same-sex marriage. The Vatican asked U.S. bishops to look at Network’s ties to another group of nuns it is reorganizing because of what the church calls “serious doctrinal problems.”
Sister Simone Campbell, Network’s executive director, while the tour may appear to have been organized to counter recent criticism of social activist nuns by the Vatican and American bishops, it was not. The timing was in response to consideration of the federal budget in Congress, she said.
“We’re doing this because of what’s happening on the Hill,” she told The Associated Press in an interview. “We’re desperate to get the word out, that’s why we’re doing it now.”
But if the 14 nuns who will rotate on and off the bus during the next two weeks weren’t trying to counter the Vatican, they likely did little to ease its concerns about social activism.
The tour kicked off with a rally that had the feel of a political event. About 20 supporters brought flowers and balloons and sang, “Alleluia,” as the nuns boarded a modern tour bus decorated with bright-colored graphics.
While the nuns say they aren’t opposing any specific Republican candidate, they plan stops at the offices of several closely tied to the budget process, including House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, and Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, the architect of the House-passed budget. Their first stop Monday was Rep. Steve King’s office in Ames. The tour will end in Washington on July 2.
The mandate to crack down on socially active nuns upset some church parishioners who turned out to support the nuns.
“They want to bully these nuns and shut them down and tell them: ‘Get back in your place, ladies.’ No, it’s not going to be that way anymore,” said Mary Ann McCoy, of Des Moines, who attends St. Ambrose Cathedral.
She said the Vatican and bishops speaking so harshly of nuns has split the church.
“They’re women of courage,” McCoy said. “Back in the Old Testament they talked about prophets. A prophet is somebody who speaks for God and these are the things that God talked about — injustice, the poor, the marginalized, woman. Jesus was the greatest prophet when he went out and he shook things up a lot. Well, I think the sisters are walking the walk and talking the talk and that’s what’s important to us.”
For more: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=155254866‘
Nuns on the Bus Des Moines Kick-off
Published on Jun 18, 2012 by soundslikesouth1
Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Beaverdale, Des Moines, Iowa, was the kick off of Nuns on the Bus national tour to bring the message of hope to those folks who find themselves in the margins through NO fault of there own. 6-17-12
Paul Ryans budget leaves “the least of us” behind and greases the wheels of the rich. That aint right!
April 18, 2012
Presidential Memorandum — Establishing Policies for Addressing Domestic Violence in the Federal Workforce
MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES
SUBJECT: Establishing Policies for Addressing Domestic Violence in the Federal Workforce
Despite the considerable progress made since the initial passage of the Violence Against Women Act in 1994 (Public Law 103-322), domestic violence remains a significant problem facing individuals, families, and communities. Domestic violence causes two million injuries each year, and an average of three women in the United States die each day as a result of domestic violence. While a disproportionate number of victims are women, domestic violence can affect anyone.
The effects of domestic violence spill over into the workplace. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that domestic violence costs our Nation $8 billion a year in lost productivity and health care costs alone, and other studies have suggested that the full economic impact is even higher. Moreover, many victims of domestic violence report being harassed in the workplace or experiencing other employment-related effects.
As the Nation’s largest employer, the Federal Government should act as a model in responding to the effects of domestic violence on its workforce. Executive departments and agencies (agencies) have taken steps to address this issue, including by enhancing the quality and effectiveness of security in Federal facilities and by linking victims of domestic violence with Employee Assistance Programs. By building on these important efforts and existing policies, the Federal Government can further address the effects of domestic violence on its workforce.
For the entire article: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/04/18/presidential-memorandum-establishing-policies-addressing-domestic-violen
An issue beyond debate: Congress should act now to protect women
Stay Connected
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 By JOE BIDEN | Vice President of the United States
I’ve spent a lot of years in Washington, and in the past, I had always found that even when partisanship was at its worst, there were still certain issues that rose above the normal course of politics. These days, unfortunately, even that precept is being challenged.
Protecting victims of domestic violence, an issue that has always enjoyed bipartisan support and should be well beyond debate, has become the center of one in Congress. And women across the nation are now at risk.
Let me explain what’s happening:
In 1994, I wrote the Violence Against Women Act, which established several critical new protections: first, it provides law enforcement with new tools to prosecute domestic violence crimes and put offenders behind bars. Second, it helps victims find safe places to stay so they don’t have to choose between living on the streets or living with someone who is hurting them. And third, it gives women a crisis hotline they can call when they need immediate help.
We’ve made a lot of progress as a nation since the act first became law. Annual rates of domestic violence have dropped by more than 60 percent. The national hotline has answered more than 2 million crisis calls, directing victims to life-saving assistance.
But make no mistake, this violence still happens every day.
We need to continue these programs and we need to add improvements. For example, we now know that new screening tools can help law enforcement and the courts reduce domestic violence homicide rates, helping them to step in before abuse becomes murder. Such tools might have saved Sarah Rosio, a 24-year-old Wisconsin woman who was strangled to death by her boyfriend after having been abused many times before her death. Two weeks before her death, Sarah was denied a protective order against her abuser. Sarah is gone now, tragically, but we can help others avoid her terrible fate.
To do so, Congress must make the protections in the Violence Against Women Act available to every person in this country who may ever need them. This simply cannot be up for debate in a civilized society like ours.
Every few years, the Violence Against Women Act needs to be reauthorized. And in the past, Congress has worked cooperatively to reauthorize, improve, and expand the reach of the law. Up until now.
Read more: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/07/31/158921/an-issue-beyond-debate-congress.html
Dems Stonewall Boehner’s Efforts To Scale Back Domestic Violence Bill
JULY 31, 2012 SAHIL KAPUR – tmpdc
Senate Democrats are rebuffing House Speaker John Boehner’s (R-OH) push for bicameral negotiations to finalize the Violence Against Women Act, exercising their clout to demand the House pass their expanded bipartisan version.
On Monday, Boehner appointed eight members to an unformed conference committee: Reps. Sandy Adams (R-FL), Mary Bono Mack (R-CA), Trey Gowdy (R-SC), Nan Hayworth (R-NY), Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI) and Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX).
A senior Senate Democratic aide dismissed Boehner’s move.
“This shows that Boehner is clearly feeling the heat from women’s groups after having passed a bill that leaves millions of women in the LGBT, tribal, and immigration communities out. He is in an unsustainable spot and Democrats know it,” the aide said. “Moving forward means House Republicans dropping their opposition to including these groups in a final bill.”
The office of Sen. Patty Murray (WA), a Democratic leadership member and point person on the issue, referred TPM to comments she made last week refusing to pare back the bill. “There is no reason to have to go to conference,” she told reporters.
The traditionally noncontroversial legislation to re-authorize funding for law enforcement to combat domestic violence has been in limbo for months. On a 68-31 vote late April, the Senate passed an expanded version to cover same sex couples, illegal immigrants and Native Americans. House Republicans responded by passing a scaled-back version on a party line vote, which also makes it harder for abused undocumented victims to gain legal status.
Boehner has sought to gain leverage since then by labeling the Senate bill invalid on the grounds that it includes a revenue-raising mechanism, something the Constitution says must originate in the House. Democrats call it a procedural hurdle that can easily be overcome.
For more: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/07/john-boehner-vawa-conference-committee-patty-murray.php?ref=fpb
Karen Handel, of Susan G. Komen Fallout, Tapped as “Right Woman” to Lead Effort to Elect Republican Women
You have to hand it to Republicans—when they go in they go in all the way. This time, Republicans have decided that Karen Handel will head up an effort “to identify, recruit and support” Republican women running for state legislature in the 2012 election.
The problems with this choice are many and obvious. First, candidate filing deadlines have expired in all 44 states with regular legislative elections this year, so unless Handel expects to recruit 150 female candidates in Delaware (where there’s still time for local parties to fill the GOP’s many ballot vacancies), the time for recruiting and identifying candidates has long since past. But most importantly, choosing Handel to lead this effort provides an important insight into practices and policies that the Republican Party supports.
When Handel was last given a national position, she was appointed the vice-president for public affairs at Susan G. Komen for the Cure. In her position, Handel drove the decision to stop funding preventative breast cancer screening exams for uninsured women at Planned Parenthood. When the controversy erupted, it was Handel who came up with the excuse that they were withdrawing funds because “of a new internal policy forbidding it from funding any organization that’s currently under investigation in Congress.” Never mind the fact that the so-called “investigation” of Planned Parenthood is nothing more than an anti-choice lawmaker’s personal political vendetta.
For more: http://dlcc.org/node/07272012/karen_handel_to_lead_GOP_effort
Shutdown threat averted
7/31/12 2:36 PM EDT POLITICO44
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Speaker John Boehner have reached a deal to keep the government funded for six months, meaning there will be no threat of a government shutdown when the fiscal year ends Sept. 30. The funding deal would keep government spending at current levels through March 2013. Both chambers of Congress will likely vote on the resolution in September.
July 31, 2012
Statement by the Press Secretary
The agreement reached by House and Senate leadership to fund the government through the first quarter of 2013 is a welcome development, and we are encouraged that both sides have agreed to resolve this issue without delay. The President has made clear that it is essential that the legislation to fund the government adheres to the funding levels agreed to by both parties last year, and not include ideological or extraneous policy riders. The President will work with leaders in both parties to sign a bill that accomplishes these goals.
Thanks Kat! I updated the Live Stream schedule to include this event.
Sharp Decline in Terror Attacks After Bin Laden Death
8/1/12 By Dana Hughes | ABC OTUS News – 14 hrs ago
The number of worldwide terror attacks fell to 10,283 last year, down from 11,641 in 2010 and the lowest since 2005, the State Department reported today.
What’s made the difference? The State Department cites the May 2011 killing of Osama bin Laden and other top al Qaeda members killed last year including Atiyah Abd al-Rahman and Anwar al-Awlaki, who was the head of Yemen’s Al Qaeda affiliate and had ties to the underwear bomber plot in 2010.
“The loss of bin Laden and these other key operatives puts the network on a path of decline that will be difficult to reverse,” the report stated.
But Ambassador Dan Benjamin, the State Department’s coordinator for counter-terrorism, warned that for all the good news about the core of al Qaeda being weakened, affiliates of the group, particularly in Yemen and in Africa, continue to pose a real risk.
Nigeria was one of the few countries which actually saw an increase in terror attacks last year because of Boko Haram, and Kenya and Somalia continue to experience attacks by a weakened Al Shabab. Benjamin also noted that the Arab spring and other countries in transition could leave important allies like Egypt and Iraq vulnerable to terror groups.
“Inspiring as the moment may be, we are not blind to the attendant perils. Terrorists could still cause significant disruptions for states undergoing very challenging democratic transitions. Affiliates of the group, and violent extremist ideology and rhetoric continue to spread in some parts of the world,” said Benjamin.
For more: http://news.yahoo.com/sharp-decline-terror-attacks-bin-laden-death-213958117–abc-news-politics.html
McRaven gives ‘fantastic’ Obama credit for bin Laden raid
By JOSH GERSTEIN | 7/26/12 1:06 AM EDT POLITICO
ASPEN, Colo.—Republicans trying to play down President Barack Obama’s decision to launch the raid that led to the death of Al Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden are not getting much help from the military brass who oversaw the operation.
During a rare public interview on Wednesday, Adm. Bill McRaven, head of the U.S. Special Operations command, portrayed as bold and brave Obama’s decision to order the raid despite significant doubts about whether bin Laden was at the Abbottabad, Pakistan compound.
“At the end of the day, make no mistake about it, it was the president of the United States that shouldered the burden of this operation, that made the hard decision,” McRaven said during an on-stage interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer that served as the kickoff session of the Aspen Security Forum.
Presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney has suggested that the decision to launch the raid was a no-brainer. “Even Jimmy Carter would have given that order,” Romney said in April.
McRaven refused to respond Wednesday when asked whether he agreed with Romney that any president would have made the same decision Obama did. However, at a couple of junctures, the Special Operations commander offered effusive praise for Obama.
“The president of the United States is fantastic,” the admiral said. “I’m not a political guy. I’ve worked in both [administrations,] very much enjoyed working with President Bush and I very much enjoy working for President Obama. This isn’t about politics. This is about a Commander in Chief who I have the opportunity to engage with on a routine basis.”
McRaven also had high praise for Obama’s national security team, including those in place at the time of the raid, such as then-Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, then-Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen, National Security Adviser Tom Donilon, Deputy National Security Advisers Denis McDonough and John Brennan.
“I’m not a political guy, but I’ll tell you as an interested observer of this, they were magnfiicent how they handled the start-to-finish,” McRaven said. “The president asked all the right questions…The president gave me ample time to prepare once the conversations were through.”
McRaven, like all military officers, serves at the pleasure of the president. A few weeks before the bin Laden raid, Obama nominated McRaven to take over the Special Operations command and be elevated to four-star admiral. McRaven, who was deeply involved in planning and executing the May 2011 raid, was confirmed by the Senate to his current post the following month.
MBA: Refinance Activity Highest in Three Years
8/01/2012 07:00:00 AM by Bill McBride – calculatedrisk
From the MBA: Refinance Applications Increase Again to Three-Year High in Latest MBA Weekly Survey
The Refinance Index increased 0.8 percent from the previous week to its highest level since the week ending April 17, 2009. The slight increase in refinance activity was muted by a 6 percent drop in government refinance applications, while conventional refinance activity increased about 2 percent over the week. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased about 2 percent from one week earlier.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($417,500 or less) increased to 3.75 percent from 3.74 percent, with points increasing to 0.51 from 0.43 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans. The effective rate increased from last week.
Read more: http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2012/08/mba-refinance-activity-highest-in-three.html
U.S. Private-Sector Employment Increased by 163,000 Jobs in July, According to ADP National Employment Report
8/1/12 Press Release: Automatic Data Processing, Inc. – 4 minutes 22 seconds ago
ROSELAND, NJ–(Marketwire -08/01/12)- Private-sector employment increased by 163,000 from June to July on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the latest ADP National Employment Report® released today. The ADP National Employment Report, created by Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (ADP®), in partnership with Macroeconomic Advisers, LLC, is derived from actual payroll data and measures the change in total nonfarm private employment each month. The estimated gain from May to June was revised down slightly, from the initial estimate of 176,000 to 172,000.
U.S. Nonfarm Private Employment Highlights — July 2012 Report:
— Total employment: +163,000
— Small businesses:* +73,000
— Medium businesses:** +67,000
— Large businesses:*** +23,000
— Goods-producing sector: +15,000
— Service-providing sector: +148,000
Addendum:
— Manufacturing industry: + 6,000
For more: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/u-private-sector-employment-increased-121500367.html;_ylt=A2KJjanAHhlQLQsA0gPQtDMD
US construction spending rose 0.4 percent in June , led by strength in housing construction
8/1/12 By Martin Crutsinger, AP Economics Writer | Associated Press – 8 minutes ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — Another strong gain in homebuilding pushed U.S. construction spending up for a third straight month in June, a further indication that the battered housing industry is showing signs of life.
Construction spending rose 0.4 percent in June following an upwardly revised 1.6 percent gain in May that was the biggest one-month increase since December.
The June advance pushed spending to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $842.1 billion, up 12.9 percent from a 12-year low hit in February 2011. Still, the level is roughly half of what economists consider to be healthy. The construction industry has been flashing signs of improvement while other sectors of the economy have slowed.
For June, the strength came from a 1.3 percent increase in spending on housing, the fifth gain this year.
11:15 PM ET
President Obama attends a campaign event
Mansfield Air National Guard Base, Mansfield, OH
Remarks to follow
11:40 AM ET
President Obama delivers remarks at a campaign event
Mansfield, OH
CSPAN http://www.c-span.org/Events/President-Campaigns-in-Battleground-States-of-Ohio-Florida-amp-Virginia/10737432792/
August 01, 2012
Remarks by the President at a Campaign Event
Mansfield Central Park
Mansfield, Ohio
11:44 A.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Hello, Ohio! (Applause.) Well, it is good to be in Mansfield. I hope everybody is having a great summer. (Applause.)
A couple of people I want to acknowledge — first of all, please give a huge round of applause to Brenda for that great introduction. (Applause.) And go try some of her pizza if you have not tried it. (Laughter.) You got a testimony right here — he says it’s outstanding. I want to thank her so much for doing this.
A couple other people — your outstanding former governor, Ted Strickland, is here. Give Ted a big round of applause. (Applause.) And although he couldn’t be here because he’s got votes, I just want to tell you that you could not have a stronger advocate than your hometown boy, the United States Senator from Ohio, Sherrod Brown. (Applause.)
AUDIENCE MEMBERS: We love you!
THE PRESIDENT: I love you back. (Applause.)
And I want to thank all the neighborhood team leaders who are here who are working so hard in this campaign. (Applause.)
Now, finally, I just think it makes sense for us to give it up for all of our outstanding American athletes who are competing in London right now. (Applause.) I want to congratulate Michael Phelps — (applause) — most medals we’ve ever seen. And then I had a chance on the way over here to call up the women’s gymnastic team — (applause) — for bringing home the gold.
I have to tell you, when I’m watching — when people run track, I understand, I know how to run. They’re just much faster. (Laughter.) And I know how to swim — they just swim much better than I do. These gymnastics folks — I don’t understand how they do what they do. (Laughter.) So I told these young ladies as I was congratulating them, how do you not bust your head — (laughter) — every time you’re on that little balance beam? I couldn’t walk across that balance beam. (Laughter.)
So, anyway, we could not be prouder of them. (Applause.) And there are a whole bunch of Ohioans who are representing our country in the Olympics and the Paralympics. Abby Johnston from Upper Arlington already won a silver medal in diving. (Applause.) We’ll be rooting for Army Specialist Justin Lester from Akron — he’s going to be wrestling for America next week. (Applause.)
The wonderful thing about the Olympics is it reminds us that, for all our differences, when it comes down to our country, we’re Americans first. (Applause.) And we could not be prouder of them and everything they’re doing on our behalf.
Now, unless you’ve been hiding from your television, you may be aware there’s a pretty intense campaign going on right now. (Applause.) And the reason that this is an intense campaign is because the choice that we face in November could not be bigger. I mean, this is a stark choice.
It’s a choice not just between two candidates or two parties, but more than any election in recent memory, this is a choice between two fundamentally different visions for America — two fundamentally different paths that we should — that we could be going down.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: — President Obama!
THE PRESIDENT: I appreciate that. (Laughter.)
Now, the direction that we choose — the direction you choose when you walk into this voting booth in November — is going to have a direct impact on your lives, but also on your children’s lives and your grandchildren’s lives. (Applause.)
And four years ago, we came together — as Democrats, but also independents and some Republicans — to restore the basic bargain that built the greatest middle class and the most prosperous country the world has ever known. (Applause.) And it’s a bargain that I’ve lived in my life and so many of you have experienced. It’s the basic idea that says here in this country, if you work hard, that work should be rewarded. (Applause.) If you act responsibly, you should be able to get ahead.
It’s a deal that says if we put in enough effort, we should be able to find a job that pays the bills. We should be able to afford a home that we call our own. We should have health care that we can count on if we get sick. (Applause.) We should be able to retire with dignity and respect. (Applause.) And most of all, we should be able to give our children the kind of education that allows them to dream even bigger and do even better than we ever imagined. (Applause.) That’s what we believe. (Applause.)
For more: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/08/01/remarks-president-campaign-event
Good Wednesday morning. I HOPE that you have a good day.
Obama to Michael Phelps: We’re proud
8/1/12 8:52 AM EDT By CAITLIN MCDEVITT – POLITICO44
President Barack Obama sent a congratulatory tweet to U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps who won his 19th Olympic medal at the London games on Tuesday.
“Congrats to Michael Phelps for breaking the all-time Olympic medal record. You’ve made your country proud. –bo,” read the tweet.
“Thank you Mr. President!!” Phelps wrote back. “It’s an honor representing the #USA !! The best country in the world!!”
July 31, 2012
National Strategy for Biosurveillance
The National Strategy for Biosurveillance promotes an all-of-Nation approach that brings together Federal, state, local, and tribal governments; the private sector; non-governmental organizations; and international partners to identify and understand threats as early as possible and provide accurate and timely information to support life-saving responses. You can read the “National Strategy for Biosurveillance” HERE .
July 31, 2012
Fact Sheet on the National Strategy for Biosurveillance
As a Nation, we need to protect the health and safety of our people from naturally occurring or intentional threats. Early threat detection and sustained situational awareness are critical to saving lives and improving outcomes when there is a national health emergency. The Administration’s new National Strategy for Biosurveillance aims to unify national effort around a common purpose and establish new ways of thinking about providing information to enable better decisionmaking.
The Strategy promotes an all-of-Nation approach that brings together Federal, state, local, and tribal governments; the private sector; non-governmental organizations; and international partners to identify and understand threats as early as possible and provide accurate and timely information to support life-saving responses. The Strategy calls for focusing on the most important information, and shaping the enterprise to meet that need, so that we can do more with less.
The Strategy emphasizes four key biosurveillance functions which are critical for the effectiveness of the biosurveillance enterprise. They are:
• Scan and Discern the Environment
• Integrate and Identify Essential Information
• Alert and Inform Decisionmakers
• Forecast and Advise Impacts
Advances in technology, the advent of social media, and new science provide opportunities to strengthen our national biosurveillance enterprise. As a next step, during the next 120 days, the Administration will lay out specific action steps going forward in an implementation plan. It is by working together that we can best promote the resilience of the Nation and act to protect the American people.
White House Honors Champions of Change for Unwavering Commitment to Transportation Innovation
Secretary Ray LaHood August 01, 2012 12:42 PM EDT
Ed. Note: This article was originally published on the U.S. Department of Transportation Blog
It was my distinct pleasure to welcome the 2012 Transportation Champions of Change recognized yesterday by the White House. The 14 individuals selected for this honor comprise an amazing roster of transportation excellence and leadership.
We’ve accomplished a lot at DOT in the past few years, but we did not do it alone. In communities across the country, we have found bold, innovative leaders who have taken up the important cause of changing the way we think about transportation and have created jobs in the process.
These Champions are making a difference every day in their local communities and across the country. And, thanks to them, it is a new day for transportation in America.
Transportation today is not simply about building new roads or widening bridges. It’s about looking at how people want to get where they need to go and how they are affected in different ways by the decisions we make.
It’s about putting men and women back to work doing the work we need done. It’s about incorporating the needs of employers who must have a reliable way of getting workers to their jobs. It’s about saving aviation fuel and increasing the efficiency of our airspace and runways. It’s about considering how a set of new transit stations will generate economic opportunity and help revitalize a neighborhood.
For more: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2012/08/01/white-house-honors-champions-change-unwavering-commitment-transportation-innovation
Thanks Jackie!
Romney’s middle-class tax hike
Wed Aug 1, 2012 12:53 PM EDT By Steve Benen – maddowblog
A new independent analysis (pdf) of Mitt Romney’s tax plan should, in theory, dramatically change the nature of the election-year debate over tax policy. In short, Romney’s proposal is built around a middle-class tax hike, the proceeds of which would go to give wealthy “job creators” a very generous tax cut.
Mitt Romney’s plan to overhaul the tax code would produce cuts for the richest 5 percent of Americans — and bigger bills for everybody else, according to an independent analysis set for release Wednesday.
The study was conducted by researchers at the Brookings Institution and the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, who seem to bend over backward to be fair to the Republican presidential candidate. To cover the cost of his plan — which would reduce tax rates by 20 percent, repeal the estate tax and eliminate taxes on investment income for middle-class taxpayers — the researchers assume that Romney would go after breaks for the richest taxpayers first.
They even look at what would happen if Republicans’ dreams for tax reform came true and the proposal generated significant revenue through economic growth.
This isn’t a hack-job published using worst-case scenarios; it’s the opposite. The Brookings Institution and Tax Policy Center made every assumption in Romney’s favor, giving him the benefit of the doubt as much as possible.
I put together the above chart by income group — on the far left, we see those in the bottom 20%, then those in the next highest quintile, and so on. Notice that everyone’s tax burden go up under Romney’s vision, except those in the top 5%, who see get a generous windfall.
And here’s the kicker: I had to leave off the top 0.1% of earners, because it made the chart unreadable. If you’re in the bottom 80%, your tax increase under Romney would range from $128 to $1,880, but if you’re in the top 0.1%, your tax break would be worth nearly a quarter of a million dollars.
President Obama will be in Mansfield, Ohio, today, and according to remarks prepared for delivery, he’s going to take full advantage of the new revelations:
“[T]he centerpiece of my opponent’s entire economic plan is a new, $5 trillion tax cut. A lot of this tax cut would go to the wealthiest 1% of all households. Folks making more than $3 million a year — the top one-tenth of one percent — would get a tax cut worth almost a quarter of a million dollars. A quarter of a million dollars.
“But it gets worse. Under my opponent’s plan, guess who gets the bill for these $250,000 tax cuts? You do. And you don’t have to take my word for it.
“Just today, an independent, non-partisan organization ran all the numbers. And they found that if Governor Romney wants to keep his word and pay for his plan, he’d have to cut tax breaks that middle-class families depend on to pay for your home, or your health care, or send your kids to college. That means the average middle-class family with children would be hit with a tax increase of more than $2,000.
“But here’s the thing – he’s not asking you to contribute more to pay down the deficit, or to invest in our kids’ education. He’s asking you to pay more so that people like him can get a tax cut.”
Study: Romney Plan Would Raise Taxes On 95% Of Americans
AUGUST 1, 2012, 11:12 AM 7264 BENJY SARLIN – tpm
Mitt Romney’s tax plan would be a boon for the wealthy, but a tax hike for 95% of Americans, according to a new nonpartisan study.
The report, by researchers from both the Brookings Institution and Tax Policy Center, examined Romney’s suggestion of an across-the-board 20% income tax cut financed by closing existing loopholes and concluded there was no way to make the numbers work without burdening the vast majority of Americans with higher taxes.
Romney has not said which tax breaks he would end to finance his plan, but he has suggested that he would only look to breaks that benefit the wealthy. The report concluded that notion is a fantasy no matter how it’s constructed: There simply are too many middle class tax breaks on the table to avoid skewing the burden against the average American.
“Even if tax expenditures are eliminated in a way designed to make the resulting tax system as progressive as possible, there would still be a shift in the tax burden of roughly $86 billion from those making over $200,000 to those making less than that amount,” the report reads.
That $86 billion should lend quite the boost to the luxury goods market: “Americans making over $1 million would see an increase in after-tax income of 4.1 percent (an $87,000 tax cut), those making between $500,000 and $1 million would see an increase of 3.2 percent (a $17,000 tax cut), and those making between $200,000 and $500,000 would see an increase of 0.8 percent (a $1,800 tax cut).”
As for the other 95% of Americans? Not so much. The average tax increase needed to pay for the elite’s gains would be $500 per household.
President Obama, who is speaking in Ohio on Wednesday, is planning to seize on the study.
“He’s not asking you to contribute more to pay down the deficit, or to invest in our kids’ education,” Obama is expected to say, according to prepared remarks released by the campaign. “He’s asking you to pay more so that people like him can get a tax cut.”
Source: http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/08/study-romney-plan-would-raise-taxes-on-95-of-americans.php
Paul Ryan on tax plan: ‘It would take me too long to go through all the math’
10/1/12 By Dylan Stableford, Yahoo! News | The Ticket – 17 hrs ago
Paul Ryan says “it would take me too long to go through all the math” involved in the tax plan he and Mitt Romney are proposing.
The Republican vice presidential nominee said on “Fox News Sunday” that their plan–a 20 percent across-the-board income tax cut–would focus on deductions and closing tax loopholes for the rich, but declined to offer specifics.
The Obama campaign seized on Ryan’s comments, firing off this response:
Romney has promised $5 trillion in tax cuts skewed toward millionaires and billionaires, but refused to say how he’d pay for them without raising taxes on the middle class or exploding the deficit. He’s promised to repeal ObamaCare, but refused to say what he’d replace it with to protect the 129 million Americans with pre-existing conditions. He’s promised to repeal Wall Street reform, but refused to say what he’d replace it with so that big banks aren’t writing their own rules again.
But New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie defended the pair’s tax plan on Sunday’s “Meet The Press.”
[Related: Chris Christie: Wednesday night's debate is 'the restart of this campaign']
“Governor Romney has a vision for the direction of this country,” Christie said. “He’s not an accountant. He’s not going to go line by line, as much as you’d like him to do, through the budget.”
Christie then pivoted to President Obama. “Let’s hold the president to the same standard and criticize him as well,” Christie said.
“How’s he going to create a million new manufacturing jobs? He hasn’t told anybody the specifics of that. How’s he going to reduce $4 trillion in debt? We’re still waiting to hear what he thinks about Simpson-Bowles, which he commissioned. I mean, he’s been the president, and hasn’t given us specifics. So let’s be fair here.”
Ryan admitted the campaign has made several “missteps,” including Mitt Romney’s controversial “47 percent” comments about President Obama’s core supporters. On Sunday, Ryan called those comments “inarticulate” and lacking “eloquence.”
“Mitt acknowledges himself that was an inarticulate way of describing how we’re worried that in a stagnant Obama economy more people have become dependent on government because they have no economic opportunity,” said Ryan, chairman of the House Budget Committee. “It was an inarticulate way to describe what we’re trying to do to create prosperity and upward mobility, and reduce dependency by getting people off welfare back to work.”
———
FACT CHECK: Ryan Falsely Claims Romney Can Pay For Tax Plan Without Raising Middle Class
Published on Oct 1, 2012 by DNCClips
Charlie Sykes Radio Show, 10/1/12
Mornin’ CR and PPO friends. HOPE you all have a great Wednesday.
Please join me in lighting a candle for our President, First Family and the Nation.
http://www.gratefulness.org/candles/candles.cfm?l=eng&gi=PBO
Good Wednesday morning and thank you Jackie!
1:15 PM ET
First Lady Michelle Obama speaks to grassroots supporters at a campaign event
North Carolina Greensboro Campus, Greensboro, N.C.
August 01, 2012
Remarks by the First Lady at a Campaign Event
University of North Carolina
Greensboro, North Carolina
1:03 P.M. EDT
MRS. OBAMA: Thank you so much. (Applause.) Wow! Are you all fired up? (Applause.) Oh, yes! Let me tell you, I am — like that precious little one right there — many precious little ones. (Applause.) I am so thrilled to be here, and I am thrilled that I will be coming back here to North Carolina next month for our convention. Yes! (Applause.) It’s going to be so good.
I want to start by thanking Keylin for that very –
AUDIENCE MEMBER: We love you, Mrs. Obama!
MRS. OBAMA: Love you. Love you back. Love you back. (Applause.)
I want to thank Keylin for that very kind introduction. She told me she was going to get you all fired up and ready to go, and she did, so let’s give her a round of applause. (Applause.)
And I also want to recognize Mayor Foxx for his leadership and his service. (Applause.) I also want to give a hello to Wanda and Donovan for joining us here today. (Applause.)
And finally, I want to thank all of you. I mean, wow — look at you. You all are some of our extraordinary volunteers, our organizers. (Applause.) Thank you for everything that you do, day in and out, to make this campaign possible. You all are doing the hard work, knocking on those doors, registering voters — (applause) — giving people the information they need about the issues they care about.
And I just want you all to know that the grassroots work that you all are doing to get people focused and fired up — that work is at the core of this campaign; it is everything. That’s how we did it four years ago, and that’s how we’re going to do it again today — with all of you. So thank you. (Applause.)
And from experience, I know the work that you’re doing — I know it’s not easy. I know that you all are leading busy lives, keeping it together. You’ve got jobs to do. Hopefully, many of you out there are attending classes, right? You’ve got — (applause) — yes, indeed, our students. You have families to raise.
But I also know that there’s a reason that all of you are here and all of you are working this hard, and it’s not just because we all support an extraordinarily awesome, phenomenal man, who happens to be my husband and our President. (Applause.) I don’t know about you, but our President is phenomenal. (Applause.) And, yes, I’m a little biased. (Laughter.) And it’s not just because we want to win an election — which we do, and we will. (Applause.)
We are doing this because of the values we believe in. That’s why we’re here. (Applause.) Yeah. We’re here because of the vision for this country that we all share. We’re doing this because we believe that everyone should have a fair shot, and that means that all of our kids should have good schools, right? (Applause.) It means all of our kids should be able to go to college without a mountain of debt. (Applause.) We believe that everyone in this country should do their fair share — and that means that teachers and firefighters should not pay higher taxes than millionaires and billionaires. That’s why we’re here. (Applause.) We believe that if you work hard, you shouldn’t go bankrupt because you get sick. (Applause.) You shouldn’t lose your home because someone loses a job. And after a lifetime of hard work, you should be able to retire with a little dignity and a little security. That’s why we’re here. (Applause.)
For more: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/08/01/remarks-first-lady-campaign-event
1:30 PM ET
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Annic Jobin, WebMD’s Director of News and Partnerships take questions and hold a live online discussion on the benefits that additional women’s preventive services that will be covered under The Affordable Care Act with no cost sharing in new health plans begining August 1, 2012.
HealthCare.gov http://www.healthcare.gov/live
3:05 PM ET
First Lady Michelle Obama speaks to grassroots supporters at a campaign event
Laconia, N.H.
August 02, 2012
Remarks by the First Lady at Campaign Event
Memorial Middle School
Laconia, New Hampshire
2:58 P.M. EDT
MRS. OBAMA: Hey! (Applause.) Well, thank you so much. Oh, my goodness. This is exciting. I am very happy to be here today. I really am.
I want to start by thanking Val for that very kind introduction — she did an awesome job — and for her years of service to this country. So let’s give her a round of applause. (Applause.) I also want to thank Anne Rogers for her words earlier. Thank you, Anne.
And finally, I want to thank all of you, truly, our extraordinary volunteers and organizers. Thank you all for everything you do, day in and out, to make this campaign possible. Thank you, guys. (Applause.) Thank you for knocking on those doors — that’s hard to do. It’s hard to knock on somebody’s door and ask them what they’re thinking. Thank you for registering those voters. Thank you for giving people the information they need about the issues they care about.
And I just want you to know that the grassroots work that you all are doing to get people focused and fired up — that work is at the core of everything we do in this campaign. That’s how we did it four years ago, and believe me, that’s how we’re going to do it again today. So thank you. Thanks so much. (Applause.)
And I know this work isn’t easy — that I know. I have learned. I’ve done it myself. It’s not easy. And I know all of you are busy. You’ve got busy lives. You’ve got jobs to do. We’ve got young people who have got classes to attend, fun to have, swimming to do. (Laughter.) We’ve got families to raise. But I also know that there’s a reason why you all are taking time out of your lives to do that work and to be here today, and it’s not just because we support a phenomenal, extraordinary, awesome President, who happens to be my husband. (Applause.) I am a little biased, just a little bit. And it’s not just because we want to win an election — which we do, and we will. (Applause.)
We’re here and we’re doing this work because of the values we believe in. It’s about our values. We’re doing this because of the vision for this country that we all share — I don’t care who we are. We’re doing this because we believe that in America, everyone should have a fair shot. That means all of our kids — all of them — should have good schools. (Applause.) Every last one of our kids should be able to attend college without a mountain of debt. (Applause.) In America, we believe that everyone should do their fair share. That means that teachers and firefighters shouldn’t pay higher taxes than millionaires and billionaires. (Applause.) We believe that if you work hard, you shouldn’t go bankrupt because someone gets sick. (Applause.) You shouldn’t lose your home because someone loses a job. And after a lifetime of hard work, you should be able to retire with dignity and security. (Applause.)
And what we know is that these are basic American values. This is the foundation of this country. They’re the values that so many of us were raised with, including myself. As most of you know by now, my father was a pump operator at the city water plant in Chicago. This is a job he did all his life. And neither of my parents had a college degree. But what my parents did do for us — they saved, and they sacrificed, and they poured everything they had into me and my brother so that we could get the kind of education and have the kind of opportunities they could only dream of. And education was everything in our family. It was our ticket to the middle class. It was our pathway to the American Dream. And when my — absolutely. (Applause.) And when my brother and I finally made it to college, pretty much all of our tuition came from student loans and grants. But my dad still had to pay a small portion of that tuition himself. And let me tell you, every semester he was determined to pay his little share, and to pay that right on time, because my dad was proud to be able to send his kids to college, and he made sure that we never missed a registration deadline because his check was late. Like so many people in this country, my father took great pride in earning just a simple living — the kind of living that allowed him to meet his responsibilities to his family, to pay his bills and pay them on time. That’s all my dad wanted. That was it.
And my father’s life is a testament to that basic American promise that in this country, no matter who you are or how you started out, if you work hard, you can build a decent life for yourself and an even better life for your kids. (Applause.) And what I want you to know is my husband understands that promise because that’s his story as well. That’s why I married him. (Laughter.) He’s the son of a single mother who struggled to put herself through school and pay the bills. He’s the grandson of a woman who woke up before dawn to catch a bus to a job at the bank. And even though Barack’s grandmother worked hard to help support his family, and she was good at her job, like so many women she hit that glass ceiling and watched men no more qualified than she was — men she had actually trained — be promoted up the ladder ahead of her. But she never complained. How many people do we know like that in our lives? She just kept getting up and giving her best every single day to support her family.
So Barack knows what it means when a family struggles. This is not a hypothetical for him. He knows what it means to work hard because you want something better for your kids and your grandkids. And like me, and like so many of you, Barack knows the American Dream because he’s lived it. And he believes that when you’ve worked hard, and you’ve done well, and you’ve walked through that doorway of opportunity, you do not slam it shut behind you. You do not do that. (Applause.) You reach back and you give other folks the chance to succeed as well. That’s what we do in America. (Applause.)
For more: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/08/02/remarks-first-lady-campaign-event-0
3:55 PM ET
President Obama attends a campaign event
John S. Knight Center, Akron, OH
August 01, 2012
Remarks by the President at Campaign Event
John S. Knight Center
Akron, Ohio
3:31 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Hello, Akron! (Applause.) Oh, it is good to be in Akron, Ohio again! (Applause.)
A couple people I want to acknowledge — first of all, please give Jenna a big round of applause for that great introduction. (Applause.) I was telling Jenna before we came out I just love nurses, and for her to be looking after people every single day, that’s what it’s all about. So I am so impressed with her.
A couple other people I want to acknowledge — Russ Pry, Summit County Executive, is here. (Applause.) Now, your Mayor, Don Plusquellic — (applause.) I very much appreciate the fact that he had a little bit of surgery on his leg, just got out of the hospital, got wheeled in here — (laughter) — he’s not going to be able to stay, but I’m grateful for him taking the time to come.
And I want to say thank you to all the neighborhood leaders who are here. (Applause.) Thank you. You guys are what this campaign is all about.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: We love you!
THE PRESIDENT: I love you back. Thank you. (Applause.) Thank you.
I also want to make sure we give it up for all our outstanding U.S. of A. athletes who are competing in London right now. (Applause.) There are a whole bunch of Ohioans representing our country over there. When wrestling gets underway next week, we’ll be rooting for Army Specialist Justin Lester, right here from Akron. (Applause.) He may be wearing a different uniform, but he is still fighting for the United States of America. (Applause.)
On the way over here, I had a chance to speak to Michael Phelps, who’s won more medals than anybody. (Applause.) And then I spoke to the women’s gymnastic team. (Applause.) Now, let me just say, I know how to run — although I don’t run as fast as these guys. I know how to swim — although I don’t swim as fast. These gymnasts, I don’t understand what they’re doing. (Laughter.) I cannot even walk on a balance beam. They’re doing back flips and — little, itty-bitty young ladies. Unbelievable. So we could not be prouder of them. (Applause.)
Now, let me just say, unless you have been hiding your TV set — (laughter) — or your cable is broke, you may be aware that there is a fairly intense political campaign going on right now. (Applause.)
AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
THE PRESIDENT: Now, the reason this campaign is so intense is because the choice that we’re going to be facing in November could not be bigger. This is not just a choice between two candidates. It’s not just a choice between two parties. It is a choice about two fundamentally different visions for where we go in the future, two fundamentally different paths for our country. The direction that we choose -– the direction you choose when you walk into that voting booth –- it will not just have an impact on your lives; it will have an impact on your children’s lives and your grandchildren’s lives. (Applause.) It will impact America for decades to come.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: That’s why we vote for you! (Applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: Now, four years ago, we all came together -– Democrats, but we also had independents, we had some Republicans -– to restore the basic bargain that built this country, that made us into an economic powerhouse. It was a bargain, it was a deal that says if you work hard here in America, you should be rewarded for that work. (Applause.) It’s a deal that says if you put in enough effort, if you act responsibly, then you should be able to find a job that pays the bills. (Applause.) You should be able to afford a home that you call your own. You should be able to count on health care when you get sick. You should be able to put away enough to retire with dignity and respect. And most of all, you should be able to give your children the kind of education that allows them to dream even bigger and do more than you could ever imagine. (Applause.)
It’s a simple promise. It’s a promise that I’ve lived out in my life and Michelle has lived out in hers. It is –
AUDIENCE MEMBER: We love Michelle!
THE PRESIDENT: I know you all love Michelle. (Applause.)
It is the promise that’s at the heart of this country — this idea that here in America, you can make it if you try. And it had been slipping away for almost a decade. We had seen sluggish job growth and jobs getting shipped overseas; your incomes were flat or going down; costs of everything from health care to college were going up. And it culminated in the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.
Now, we knew that restoring that American Dream would not be easy. We knew it was going to take more than one year or one term or maybe even one President. And that was before the middle class got hammered by this recession, and we saw millions of our friends and neighbors get hurt, lose homes, lose jobs.
But over the last three and a half years, we’ve worked to make progress — 4.5 million new jobs created; half a million new manufacturing jobs. They’d counted the auto industry out, and now it is coming back stronger than ever, right here in Ohio and all across the country. (Applause.)
For more: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/08/01/remarks-president-campaign-event-0
5:15 PM ET
Vice President Biden hosts a reception for the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues
Naval Observatory
Obama congratulates U.S. gymnasts
8/1/12 1:51 PM EDT By CAITLIN MCDEVITT – POLITICO44
President Obama personally congratulated the five members of the U.S. women’s gymnastics team that took home the gold at the Olympics yesterday, according to White House press secretary Jay Carney.
Scroll through the gallery below to see what he told each athlete:
To Aly Reisman, Obama said: “Michelle and I have watched and decided of all the Olympians you guys amaze us the most.”
To Jordyn Wieber, Obama said: “I’m so impressed by how you bounced back and led the team. Tell your parents I’m proud of them too. I don’t think I could watch if I were them.”
To McKayla Maroney, Obama said: “Way to nail that vault. It was unbelievable.”
To Kyla Ross, Obama remarked how she was “really steady.”
To Gabby Douglas, Obama said: “You just tore it up. I know how hard you worked to get there.” And: “Keep at it. Stay cool.”
For photos: http://www.politico.com/blogs/click/2012/08/obama-congratulates-us-gymnasts-130778.html?hp=r1
Obama Administration Announces $9 Million Investment in Rural Communities to Foster Job Creation and Innovation
Winners of the Rural Jobs and Innovation Accelerator Challenge Will Strengthen Regional Industry Clusters and Rural Economies Across 12 States
August 1, 2012 usda.gov
WASHINGTON, – The Obama Administration today announced the winners of the multi-agency Rural Jobs and Innovation Accelerator Challenge to spur job creation and economic growth in rural regions across the country.
Economic development partnerships and initiatives in Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Hampshire, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia will receive awards ranging from nearly $200,000 to over $1 million from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Delta Regional Authority (DRA) and the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC).
For more: http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?contentid=2012/08/0258.xml&contentidonly=true
August 01, 2012
Readout of the President’s Call with President Hollande of France
President Obama spoke with French President Hollande today as part of his ongoing discussions about eurozone economic developments. President Obama welcomed the recent declarations by the European Central Bank and European leaders on the need to do what is necessary to preserve the eurozone and encouraged their efforts to take decisive action. The President also noted the troubling developments in Syria and his appreciation of the close cooperation with France on humanitarian assistance in support of the Syrian people, pressuring the regime and accelerating a political transition.
6:25 PM ET
First Lady Michelle Obama delivers remarks at a campaign fundraising event
Raleigh, N.C.
August 01, 2012
Remarks by the First Lady at a Campaign Event
Raleigh Marriott
Raleigh, North Carolina
5:58 P.M. EDT
MRS. OBAMA: Thank you all. Thank you all. (Applause.) Yes, I am thrilled to be with you all this evening, and I am thrilled that I will be coming back here to North Carolina next month for the convention. (Applause.) Good stuff. Good stuff.
Let me start by thanking Ashley, not just for that kind introduction, but all of her wonderful work here in this area. We are just truly grateful for her inspiring work — feeding us, nourishing us, and making it taste good at the same time. So let’s give her another round of applause. (Applause.)
I also want to recognize Lieutenant Governor Dalton, who I know will make an outstanding Governor. He and his wife are here. (Applause.)
And I also want to say a special hello to Diane for her wonderful remarks. Thanks, Diane. (Applause.) And to the entire host committee, for helping to make this event such a success. Thank you all. Great work. Great work.
And finally, I want to thank all of you, truly, for taking the time to be here this evening. And I know that taking time out of your lives isn’t easy. You all are busy folks. You’ve got jobs to do. Some of you out there got classes to attend; we all have families that we’re raising, so our lives are full. But I also know that there’s a reason why we’re here tonight, and it’s not just because we all support an extraordinary man, who happens to be my husband. (Applause.) And it’s not just because we want to win an election — which we do, and we will. (Applause.)
We’re doing this, we’re here together tonight, because of our values — the values we believe in. We’ve doing this because of the vision for this country that we all share. We’re doing this because we believe that everyone in this country should have a fair shot, and what that means is that all of our kids should have good schools, right? All of our kids should be able to attend college without a mountain of debt — all of our kids. (Applause.) We believe that everyone in America should do their fair share — and that means that teachers and firefighters shouldn’t pay more taxes than millionaires and billionaires. (Applause.) We believe that if you work hard, you shouldn’t go bankrupt just because someone gets sick. You shouldn’t lose your home because someone loses a job. And after a lifetime of hard work, you should be able to retire with a little dignity and security here in America, right? (Applause.)
See, these are basic American values. This is our foundation. They’re the values that so many of us were raised with, including myself. As many of you — my father was a pump operator at the city water plant, and neither of my parents had a college degree. But let me tell you what they did have and what they did do — they saved, and they sacrificed everything. They poured everything they had into me and my brother so that we could have the kind of education and the kind of opportunities they could only dream of. Education was everything in our family. It was our ticket to the middle class, our pathway to the American Dream.
And when my brother and I finally made it to college, pretty much all of our tuition came from student loans and grants. I know a few people can understand that. (Applause.) But my dad still paid a tiny portion of our tuition himself. And let me tell you, every semester he was determined to pay that bill and pay it on time. He was so proud to be able to send his kids to college, and he made sure that we never missed a registration deadline because his check was late. He wanted us to be on time. And like so many people in this country, so many people in your lives, my father took great pride in being able to earn the kind of living that allowed him to handle his responsibilities to his family. That’s all he wanted. It’s all he wanted — didn’t want much. He wanted to be able to pay all of his bills, and to pay them on time. (Applause.)
For more: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/08/01/remarks-first-lady-campaign-event-0
Thursday, August 2, 2012
All Times Eastern
7:00 AM
8:00 AM
9:00 AM
10:00 AM
10:15 AM
President Obama and Vice President Biden receive the presidential daily briefing.
Oval Office
11:00 AM
Vice President Biden meets with Attorney General Eric Holder at the White House.
11:05 AM
President Obama departs the White House en route Joint Base Andrews.
South Lawn
12:00 PM
1:00 PM
1:15 PM
President Obama arrives in Orlando, Florida.
Orlando International Airport
1:35 AM
First Lady Michelle Obama attends a campaign fundraiser
Hirshberg Residence, Holderness, NH
2:00 PM
2:40 PM
President Obama attends a Grassroots Event
Harold and Ted Alfond Sports Center
Rollins College, Winter Park, FL
3:00 PM
3:05 PM
First Lady Michelle Obama speaks to grassroots supporters at a campaign event
Laconia, N.H.
4:00 PM
4:30 PM
President Obama delivers remarks at a Blog’Her Conference
Rollins College, Orlando, FL
5:00 PM
5:20 PM
President Oama departs Orlando, Florida en route to Virginia
Orlando International Airport
First Lady Michelle Obama speaks to grassroots supporters at a campaign event
Manchester, N.H.
6:00 PM
7:15 PM
President Obama arrives in Virginia.
Dulles International Airport
7:50 PM
President Obama attends a Grassroots Event
Loudoun County High School, Leesburg, VA
8:00 PM
8:50 PM
President Obama departs Leesburg, Va, en route the White House.
9:00 PM
President Obama arrives at the White House.
South Lawn
10:00 PM
August 2, 2012
WhiteHouse.gov http://www.whitehouse.gov/live
5:00 PM ET
White House Health Care Policy Advisors, Carole Johnson & Ellen Montz and Assistant Press Secretary Nick Papas answer your questions on thev Affordable Care Act
—-
CNN http://live.cnn.com
9:00 AM ET
IRS and health care reform hearing
IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman testifies before the House Oversight Committee on how the tax agency will enforce the Affordable Care Act’s new rules and taxes.
9:30 AM ET
House lawmakers talk ‘fiscal cliff’ fears
Several moderate House lawmakers will address reporters on Capitol Hill to discuss concerns that the United States could be reaching an economic “fiscal cliff.”
10:00 AM ET
Senate Finance Committee Markup on Tax Extenders Legislation
10:00 AM ET
The House Natural Resources Committee looks at allegations that an Interior Department official has not reviewed White House actions related to offshore drilling properly
10:45 AM ET
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi holds a briefing with reporters. Topics expected to be discussed include tax cuts and “fiscal cliff” fears.
2:00 PM ET
House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee Hearing w/Alberto Fernandez
—-
CSPAN http://www.cspan.org/
8:30 AM ET
Airborne Corps Commander Describes Time in East Afghanistan
Lieutenant General Daniel Allyn, Commander, XVIII Airborne Corps, speaks to the Institute for the Study. http://www.c-span.org/Events/Airborne-Corps-Commander-Describes-Time-in-East-Afghanistan/10737432826/
9:00 AM ET
IRS and health care reform hearing
IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman testifies before the House Oversight Committee on how the tax agency will enforce the Affordable Care Act’s new rules and taxes.
9:00 AM ET
Senate Committee Considers Health of Tri-Party Repo Market
The Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance, and Investment holds a hearing on the tri-party repo market, in which securities dealers fund their portfolios through repurchase agreements (repos), or assets that one party sells to another, promising to repurchase it at a later date. http://www.c-span.org/Events/Senate-Committee-Considers-Health-of-Tri-Party-Repo-Market/10737432824/
9:30 AM ET
House lawmakers talk ‘fiscal cliff’ fears
Several moderate House lawmakers will address reporters on Capitol Hill to discuss concerns that the United States could be reaching an economic “fiscal cliff.”
9:30 AM ET
CPSC Officials Discuss Safety Initiatives
All four sitting members of the Consumer Product Safety Commission will testify before a House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on the agency’s top safety initiatives and programs. http://www.c-span.org/Events/CPSC-Officials-Discuss-Safety-Initiatives/10737432802/
10:00 AM ET
Senate Finance Committee Markup on Tax Extenders Legislation http://www.c-span.org/Events/Senate-Finance-Cmte-Marks-Up-Tax-Extender-Legislation/10737432825/
10:00 AM ET
The House Natural Resources Committee looks at allegations that an Interior Department official has not reviewed White House actions related to offshore drilling properly http://www.c-span.org/Events/Interior-Dept-to-Defend-Oil-Drilling-Report/10737432803/
10:45 AM ET
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi holds a briefing with reporters. Topics expected to be discussed include tax cuts and “fiscal cliff” fears. http://www.c-span.org/Events/Rep-Pelosi-D-CA-Weekly-Briefing/10737432813/
2:00 PM ET
House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee Hearing w/Alberto Fernandez http://www.c-span.org/Events/House-Subcmte-Discusses-US-Counterterrorism-Efforts/10737432823/
White House Office Hours: Preventive Care Benefits for Women
Erin Lindsay August 01, 2012 07:04 PM EDT
Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, 47 million women will have access to eight additional preventive health care services at no out-of-pocket cost. Women in private plans and Medicare already have received potentially life-saving services, such as mammograms, cholesterol screenings, and flu shots at no extra cost.
Have questions about these new preventive care benefits or the Affordable Care Act? Ask us during Office Hours.
Tomorrow, Thursday, August 2nd at 5:00 p.m. EDT, we’re holding a special session of White House Office Hours on Twitter with White House Health Care Policy Advisors, Carole Johnson & Ellen Montz and Assistant Press Secretary Nick Papas who will answer your questions.
Here’s how it works:
* Ask your questions now and during the live event on Twitter with the hashtag #WHChat
* Follow the Q&A live through the @WHLive Twitter account
* If you miss the live session, the full session will be posted on WhiteHouse.gov and Storify.com/Whitehouse
For more: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2012/08/01/white-house-office-hours-preventive-care-benefits-women
Media Alert: President Obama to Address Attendees at BlogHer ’12
The President of the United States Kicks Off World’s Largest Event for Bloggers at 4:30pm ET, Thursday, August 2
BlogHer – Tue, Jul 31, 2012 10:00 AM EDT
BELMONT, CA–(Marketwire -07/31/12)- BlogHer, Inc., the premium cross-platform media network and publisher for women, announced today that President Obama will address attendees, via live satellite, to the 8th Annual BlogHer Conference in New York on Thursday, August 2, 2012.
As an omni-partisan organization, BlogHer issued invitations to both campaigns to both speak at the conference and publish on BlogHer.com. Both campaigns have representatives speaking at the conference, August 3-4.
President Obama and his campaign have regularly prioritized outreach to the BlogHer community, starting when then-Senator and presidential candidate Obama sat down with BlogHer for an interview in 2008. Subsequently, Michelle Obama launched her blog exclusively on BlogHer.com, to engage in conversation with the nation’s women prior to the 2008 election. She recently blogged again on the four-year anniversary of her first BlogHer post.
The BlogHer Network now delivers the number one concentration of adult American women amongst the Top 100 Web Properties in the U.S. (comScore MediaMetrix, June 2011).
Described by Variety Magazine as “Comic-con for women bloggers,” BlogHer ’12 will bring more than 4,200 influencers from the online space, together with 127 major brand name sponsors to network, learn and celebrate this diverse community in its largest conference to date, August 2-4, 2012, in New York City.
For more; http://finance.yahoo.com/news/media-alert-president-obama-address-140000668.html;_ylt=A2KJ3Cdm7xlQmGEAxy3QtDMD
Getting in late tonight, but the day doesn’t end until I read ProPresObama.
A really great thread, CR.
>^..^<
Good and HOPEful Wednesday Kat! Happy August!
Happy and HOPEful August, CR
!
House GOP Pass Full Extension Of Bush Tax Cuts – Including For High Earners
AUGUST 1, 2012, 5:21 PM 3751 BRIAN BEUTLER – tpm
House Republicans united Wednesday to pass legislation extending all of the Bush tax cuts for one year, defeating along the way a Democratic proposal to allow Bush tax cuts benefiting only the wealthiest two percent of earners to expire.
The Democratic plan fell 170-257, with 19 Democrats joining all Republicans in opposition, before the GOP’s bill passed 256-151. Nineteen Democrats and one Republican crossed the aisle.
On Tuesday, the White House officially threatened to veto the House-passed legislation.
But the development nevertheless advances election year fights between the parties over everything from the fate of popular government programs like Medicare to the question of tax fairness and the extent to which financially successful Americans should contribute to deficit reduction and the general welfare.
For more; http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/08/house-gop-pass-full-extension-of-bush-tax-cuts—-including-for-high-earners.php?ref=fpnewsfeed
August 01, 2012
Statement by the Press Secretary
House Republicans tonight voted to extend the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest few and shower millionaires and billionaires with a $1 trillion tax cut that will inevitably be paid for by gutting investments in critical programs needed to create jobs and strengthen the economy. At a time when we need to make tough choices to reduce the deficit, we can’t afford another massive tax break for the wealthiest two percent of Americans. We’ve tried this approach, and it didn’t grow the economy or strengthen the middle class. And we certainly can’t afford to raise taxes on 25 million middle class families like the Republican plan would do. The President called for a bill that would extend tax cuts for 98% of Americans and ensure taxes don’t go up by an average of $2,200 for the typical family at the beginning of next year. He will continue to call on Republicans in the House to stop holding the middle class tax cuts hostage and the House needs to follow the Senate’s lead and get this done.
House sets stage for tax showdown
Aug 2, 2012 8:00 AM EDT By Steve Benen – maddowblog
Boehner, Cantor take a firm stand for the wealthy’s tax breaks
Last week, the Senate made its statement on taxes: the majority supports a plan that would extend tax breaks for all income up to $250,000, while returning to Clinton-era rates on higher income. A Republican alternative — extending all tax breaks without any budget offsets — was defeated.
Yesterday, the House offered its response, approving the Senate GOP plan that was already defeated.
The result was not unexpected, but the competing House and Senate votes keeps policymakers on track for an interesting showdown.
For his part, President Obama has already issued a veto threat, vowing not to sign the Republican plan, and the White House issued a statement after the House vote: “At a time when we need to make tough choices to reduce the deficit, we can’t afford another massive tax break for the wealthiest two percent of Americans. We’ve tried this approach, and it didn’t grow the economy or strengthen the middle class…. [The president] will continue to call on Republicans in the House to stop holding the middle class tax cuts hostage and the House needs to follow the Senate’s lead and get this done.”
The references to holding tax cuts “hostage” is of particular interest, because it helps summarize exactly what Republican lawmakers are arguing: additional tax breaks for the wealthy or tax breaks for no one. That’s the message the GOP is taking into the August recess and the 2012 election season.
For more; http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2012/08/02/13084799-house-sets-stage-for-tax-showdown?lite
Good Thursday morning everyone. I HOPE that you have a good day.
Good and HOPEful Thursday, CR and all friends!
>^..^<
Good and HOPEful Thursday Kat!
Love my Senator Patty Murray!
You are so lucky. We are stuck with John McCain and Jon Kyl. Yuck.
1:35 AM ET
First Lady Michelle Obama attends a campaign fundraiser
Hirshberg Residence, Holderness, NH
August 02, 2012
Remarks by the First Lady at a Campaign Event
Private Residence
Holderness, New Hampshire
1:50 P.M. EDT
MRS. OBAMA: Thank you all so much. (Applause.) Thank you so much. You all, please, rest, rest. It’s warm, and I want you really well rested so you can get out there and work. (Laughter.)
I am truly thrilled to be with all of you this afternoon. I want to thank Gary and Meg and the entire family for opening up their home. It’s a beautiful home. It’s a beautiful lake. I just wish I could stay. (Laughter.) But you all are true friends, wonderful supporters, and I can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done for us over the years. And we look forward to working with you more on lots of good things, okay?
I also want to recognize the Governor. Where are you? Where did he go? (Laughter.) Sir, thank you. It’s good to see you. And we are just so grateful for your tremendous leadership and strength, particularly over the past few weeks and months. As Gary said, out thoughts and our prayers remain with the people of Colorado, and anything we can do — I’ll be spending a lot of time in this state, so you’ll get sick of me. (Laughter.) So let’s give him a round of applause as well. (Applause.)
And I also want to recognize your two House candidates, and two of my dear, dear friends that I got to know over the course of the last campaign — got to know them really well — you know, girls, we would hang out. We did some great stuff. Carol and Annie, you guys are amazing. Where is Carol? There you are. You all, thank you so much. I know you’re going to get it done, right? We need you. (Applause.) As I was telling Gary and Meg, what happens in Congress is just as important as what happens in the White House, so we need you all there.
I also want to say hello to Sylvia Larsen as well, the State Senator who is here. Sylvia, thank you so much. And my dear friend, our Finance Chair, Jane Stetson — Jane is here. There, Jane — how could I miss you? (Applause.) She’s doing an amazing job — amazing job.
And finally, again, I want to thank all of you for taking the time to be here. And I know that all of you all are busy people. We are all busy in our lives. We’ve got jobs to do. There are young people here who have classes to attend, summer fun to have, families to raise. So I know taking the time out is meaningful, but I also know that there’s a reason why all of us are here today, and it’s not just because we support what I believe is one extraordinary, awesome President of the United States — my husband. (Applause.) And yes, I am biased — just a little bit — but I think our President is phenomenal. And we’re not just here because we want to win an election — and I know that we do, and I know that we will.
We’re here because of the values we believe in. This is what I tell people when I travel around the country. We’re here because of our values. We’re here because of the vision for this country that we all share. We’re doing this because we believe that everyone in this country should have a fair shot, and what that means, for example, is all of our children should have good schools, right? They deserve those schools. They should be able to attend college without a mountain of debt.
We believe that everyone in this country should do their fair share — which simply means that teachers and firefighters shouldn’t pay higher taxes than millionaires and billionaires. Not in America. (Applause.) We believe that if you work hard in this country, you shouldn’t go bankrupt just because someone in your family gets sick. (Applause.) You shouldn’t lose your home because someone loses a job. And after a lifetime of hard work, you should be able to retire with some dignity and security.
And what I remind people is these are basic American values. This is nothing new. This is the foundation of this country and they’re the values that so many of us were raised with, including myself. I share my story everywhere I go. And my father was a pump operator at the city water plant in Chicago. And neither of my parents had the opportunity to get their college degrees.
But my parents saved. My parents sacrificed for us. They poured everything they had into me and my brother so that we could get the kind of education and have the kind of opportunities they could only dream of. And education was everything for our family. Education was the ticket to the middle class for us. It was our pathway to the American Dream. And when my brother and I finally made it to college, pretty much all of our tuition came from student loans and grants. But my dad still had to pay a small portion of that tuition himself. And let me tell you, every semester he worked hard to make sure that he paid his portion on time, because my dad was proud to be able to send his kids to college, and he made sure that we never missed a registration deadline because his check was late.
Like so many people in this country, my father took great pride in earning the kind of living that just allowed him to handle his responsibilities to his family. That’s all he wanted. He wanted to be able to pay all of his bills, and pay them on time. Wasn’t asking for much.
My dad’s life is a testament to that basic American promise that no matter who you are or how you started out, if you work hard in this country, you can build a decent life for yourself and an even better life for your kids. And my husband understands that promise because that’s his story as well. That’s why I married him. That’s why I love him so much: His story is like mine.
He is the son of a single mother who struggled to pay the bills and put he and his sister through school. He’s the grandson of a woman who woke up before dawn to catch a bus to her job at the bank. And even though Barack’s grandmother worked hard to help support their family, and she was good at her job, like so many women she hit that glass ceiling and watched men no more qualified than she was — men she had actually trained — climb that ladder ahead of her. But the one thing Barack always saw — his grandmother never complained. Never complained. She just kept getting up, just kept giving her best every single day to help support his family.
So what I remind people is that Barack knows what it means when a family struggles. This is not a hypothetical for him. He knows what it means to work hard because you want something better for your kids and your grandkids. And like me, and like so many of you, Barack knows the American Dream because he’s lived it. And he believes that when you’ve worked hard, and done well, and walked through that door of opportunity, you don’t slam it shut behind you. You don’t do that. You reach back and you give as many folks as possible the chance to succeed as well.
For more: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/08/02/remarks-first-lady-campaign-event
“Muchísimo” – Obama for America anuncia el apoyo
Published on Aug 2, 2012 by BarackObamadotcom
Inscríbete: http://OFA.BO/bBGV6c
Cristina Saralegui:
“Me da gracia cuando algunos dicen que el Presidente Obama no ha hecho nada.
¿De verdad?
Nos ayudo evitar una depresión económica
Logro una ley de salud que nos garantiza acceso a cuidado medico
Mantuvo a un nivel mínimo los intereses de los préstamos universitarios.
Elimino a Osama bin Laden y retiro nuestras tropas de Irak.
¿Entonces, que ha hecho Obama?
Muchísimo”
President Obama:
“Soy Barack Obama y apruebo este mensaje.”
Cristina Saralegui:
“Pa’ lante!”
Cybersecurity bill fails in US Senate
8/2/12 AFP – 57 mins ago
A bill aimed at protecting the United States from cyber attacks failed to advance in the US Senate on Thursday, dampening hopes for passage of a measure backed by President Barack Obama.
The measure was blocked amid opposition from an unusual coalition of civil libertarians — who feared it could allow too much government snooping — and conservatives who said it would create a new bureaucracy.
The bill needed 60 votes in the 100-member Senate to advance under rules in the chamber, but got only 52. The failure came despite pleas from Obama and top US defense officials.
General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the bill was needed to protect infrastructure critical to safeguarding national defense.
“Because the military relies on this infrastructure to defend the nation, we cannot afford to leave our electricity grid and transportation system vulnerable to attack,” Dempsey said in a letter to senators this week.
The revised measure had removed some parts of a bill passed in April in the House of Representatives that previously provoked controversy.
For more: http://news.yahoo.com/cybersecurity-bill-fails-us-senate-164642966.html
August 02, 2012
Statement by the Press Secretary on Cybersecurity Legislation Vote
Today, despite the strong leadership of Senators Reid, Lieberman, Collins, Rockefeller and Feinstein, an overwhelming majority of Senate Republicans blocked consideration of the Cybersecurity Act of 2012, the only comprehensive piece of cybersecurity legislation that would have begun to address vulnerabilities in the nation’s critical infrastructure systems. Senate Republican opposition to this vital national security bill, coupled with the deeply-flawed House information sharing bill that threatens personal privacy while doing nothing to protect the nation’s critical infrastructure, is a profound disappointment. The Administration sent Congress a legislative package in May 2011 that included the new tools needed by our homeland security, law enforcement, intelligence, military and private sector professionals to secure the nation, while including essential safeguards to preserve the privacy rights and civil liberties of our citizens. Since that time, Administration officials have testified at 17 hearings on cybersecurity legislation and presented over 100 briefings, including two all-Member Senate briefings and one all-Member House briefing. Despite the President’s repeated calls for Congress to act on this legislation, and despite pleas from numerous senior national security officials from this Administration and the Bush Administration, the politics of obstructionism, driven by special interest groups seeking to avoid accountability, prevented Congress from passing legislation to better protect our nation from potentially catastrophic cyber-attacks.
2:40 PM ET
President Obama attends a Grassroots Event
Harold and Ted Alfond Sports Center at Rollins College Winter Park, FL
August 02, 2012
Remarks by the President at Campaign Event — Rollins College, Winter Park, FL
Rollins College
Winter Park, Florida
2:50 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Hello, Orlando! (Applause.) Thank you.
AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
THE PRESIDENT: Now, first of all, anybody who’s got a seat, feel free to use the seat. (Applause.) Go ahead, sit down, you guys, make yourselves comfortable. Those of you who don’t have a seat, make sure to bend your knees — (laughter.)
AUDIENCE MEMBER: We love you, Obama!
THE PRESIDENT: I love you back. (Applause.) It’s great to see you. It’s great to be back in Orlando.
First of all, can everybody please give Sonia a big round of applause for that great introduction? (Applause.) I want to thank Darren Soto, State Representative, for our pre-program. And I want to thank all the neighborhood team leaders for the great job you guys are doing. (Applause.)
AUDIENCE: Happy birthday!
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. It’s true that I’m going to be — what am I going to be? (Laughter.)
AUDIENCE: Fifty-one!
THE PRESIDENT: I’m going to be 51 on Saturday — (applause) — 51. But Michelle says I look 50. (Laughter.) So that’s not bad.
AUDIENCE: (Sings “Happy Birthday.”) (Applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. (Applause.) Now, if I had known you guys were going to sing, we would have had a cake. (Laughter.) And then I would have blown out the candle, I would have made a wish — (laughter) — that probably would have had to do with electoral votes. (Laughter and applause.) Win in Florida wouldn’t be a bad birthday present. (Applause.)
But before we talk about politics, let me say, how about our Olympic athletes in London? (Applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: USA! USA! USA!
THE PRESIDENT: USA. Yesterday I had a chance to talk to Michael Phelps — (applause) — and then I spoke to the Fab Five, these gymnasts — (applause.) And let me just say — I was saying this to some folks in Ohio yesterday — I understand how to swim and how to run, although I don’t swim and run like these folks do. (Laughter.) But this whole gymnastics thing, I don’t get that. (Laughter.) I don’t understand how you’re standing on a little beam, and then you flip around a bunch of times without breaking your neck. (Laughter.) It’s unbelievable. It’s unbelievable.
So we could not be more proud of them. And obviously, it’s a reminder that even when we’ve got our differences, we come together when it’s about presenting ourselves to the rest of the world — that we are Americans first. (Applause.) And we are so grateful for them and the classy way that they’re representing us.
Now, unless you’ve been able to hide your television set somewhere or your cable is broke — (laughter) — you are aware that there’s a pretty intense campaign going on right now.
AUDIENCE: Yes!
THE PRESIDENT: And the reason for that is because the choice that we face this November could not be bigger — could not be more significant. In some ways, it’s more important than 2008. This is not just a choice between two candidates or two political parties. This is a choice about two fundamentally different visions for America — (applause) — two fundamentally different paths for our future.
And here’s the good news — you choose the direction. You are the tie-breaker. You will decide — you will decide the direction that we go in not just — when you walk into that voting booth, it won’t just be for next year or the year after that. You’ll be making decisions that will have an impact on our kids and our grandkids for years to come, for decades to come. (Applause.)
Now, four years ago, we came together -– as Democrats, but also independents and some Republicans -– to restore that basic bargain that built this country, what made us an economic superpower, what made us the most prosperous economy that the world has ever known. And it is a simple bargain, it’s a simple deal, a simple credo. It says that if you work hard, your work should be rewarded. (Applause.) It’s a deal that says if you put in enough effort, you should be able to find a job that pays the bills. You should be able to afford a job — you should be able to afford a home that you call your own. You should be able to count on health care if you get sick, and retire with dignity and respect. (Applause.) And most of all, you should be able to give your kids an education that allows them to dream even bigger than you did and do even better than you ever imagined. (Applause.)
It’s a simple idea. It’s the basic American promise. And we knew that restoring it wasn’t going to be easy -– we knew it would take more than one year, or one term, or even one President. After all, we had gone through a decade of sluggish job growth and jobs being shifted overseas, and going from surpluses to deficits, all culminating in a financial crisis on Wall Street. So we understood it was going to take some time to deal with challenges that didn’t happen overnight. And that was even before the middle class was hammered by the worst economic crisis of our lifetimes -– a crisis that robbed too many of our friends and neighbors of jobs and their homes and their savings — and pushed the American Dream even further out of reach for too many working families.
But, you know what, over the last three and a half years, I have taken strength from you, the American people. (Applause.) Because I’ve seen your resilience, I’ve seen folks get knocked down and get right back up. You are tougher than tough times. And that is the reason why we’ve been able to see 4.5 million jobs created. (Applause.) That’s why we’ve been able to see the housing market just barely, slowly start to tick back up. That’s the reason that we’ve seen the auto industry come all the way back. (Applause.) It’s because of you.
For more: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/08/02/remarks-president-campaign-event-rollins-college-winter-park-fl
Please join me in lighting a candle for our President, First Family and the Nation.
http://www.gratefulness.org/candles/candles.cfm?l=eng&gi=PBO
Thank you CR. 59 candles lit now.
3:05 PM ET
First Lady Michelle Obama speaks to grassroots supporters at a campaign event
Laconia, N.H.
Remarks to follow-
4:30 PM ET
President Obama delivers remarks at a Blog’Her Conference
Rollins College, Orlando, FL
August 02, 2012
Remarks by the President to BlogHer Conference — via Conference Call
Via Telephone
4:35 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Well, thank you. And thanks for inviting me to speak today. And Michelle says hi. I know that at some point she’ll have a chance to be with all of you. And I just want to congratulate everybody on what I hear is your biggest conference yet.
Even though I couldn’t be with you in person, I wanted to say thank you. As like every father, I think about the role models that are out there for my daughters — and I worry about what they’ll run into online, honestly — so the fact that Sasha and Malia can go to places like BlogHer and find thousands of women who are writing about subjects from health to family and food and politics and careers — it means a lot to me and it means a lot to Michelle.
Now, some of you may have heard there’s an election coming up. And women’s issues are front and center, as they should be. But I think the conversation has been oversimplified a little bit. I bet anyone who spends a little time at your conference would realize pretty fast that women are not a monolithic bloc, you’re not an interest group. You make up more than half of our country and nearly half of our workforce — not to mention 80 percent of my household if you count my mother-in-law.
So, for me, any discussion of the issues women face begins with my own life story and the women in my own life. There was my mom, who was a single mother who put herself through school and made sure my sister and I earned our educations, too. There was my grandmother, who worked her way up from a secretary to vice president at her local bank — even though she hit a glass ceiling and watched men she once trained pass her by.
When Michelle and I got married and had our girls, we were giving it our all to balance raising a family and pursuing our careers, and we wished we had a machine that would let us be two places at one time. And, of course, as a father, the highlight of my day is asking my girls about their days.
So, when I think about what’s been most important in my life, it’s these amazing relationships that I’ve had with my mother and grandmother, my wife and my daughters. And what drives me when I step into the Oval Office, every decision that I make is making sure that all of our daughters — just like all of our sons — are growing up in a country that gives them the chance to be anything they set their minds to, and a country where more doors are open to them than were open to the previous generation.
That’s why the first bill I signed was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act — to help protect your right to equal pay for equal work. Now I want to strengthen those protections. And that’s why we’ve extended more loans to women-owned businesses. That’s why we’ve cut taxes for small business owners 18 times.
I also want to keep small business taxes low in the future. That’s why we’ve enacted education reform that’s helped more than 2.3 million more young women afford to pursue higher education. And now I want to make sure even more can afford to go.
And because of the new health care reform law — Obamacare — I happily accept the term — millions of young women are going to have coverage through their parent’s plans. Children with preexisting conditions can’t be denied insurance. Tens of millions of women with private insurance now have access to preventive care like mammograms, and are beginning to gain access to contraception at no additional cost. And pretty soon, insurance companies will no longer be able to deny you coverage because of preexisting conditions like cancer or pregnancy, or charge you higher premiums just for being a woman. I’m not going to give any ground to those who would deny women their own health care choices.
Behind every one of these policies is a pretty simple idea: You, women, should have control over the decisions that affect your health, your lives, your careers. And if you share that belief, then I think you’ll agree that the choice women face right now in this election could not be bigger. On the one hand, you have folks who plan to turn back the clock. They promise to take away access to health care and contraception. They talk about getting rid of vital services like Planned Parenthood. They’re planning to spend trillions of dollars on new tax cuts weighed towards millionaires and billionaires.
And just yesterday, an independent, nonpartisan organization ran the numbers. They found that in order for my opponent to pay for his tax plan he’d have to cut tax breaks that middle-class families depend on to pay for your home, or your health care, or to send your kids to college — which means the average middle-class family with children would be hit with a tax increase of more than $2,000.
For more: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/08/02/remarks-president-blogher-conference-conference-call
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President Barack Obama: BlogHer 2012
Published on Aug 2, 2012 by onemommedia
President Barack Obama speaks to attendees of BlogHer, the premiere conference for women (and men) in social media, in an unprecedented live address via video from Orlando, Florida.
5:00 PM ET
White House Health Care Policy Advisors, Carole Johnson & Ellen Montz and Assistant Press Secretary Nick Papas answer your questions on thev Affordable Care Act
Video to follow
5:20 PM ET
First Lady Michelle Obama speaks to grassroots supporters at a campaign event
Manchester, N.H.
August 02, 2012
Remarks by the First Lady at a Campaign Event
Southern New Hampshire University
Manchester, New Hampshire
5:31 P.M. EDT
MRS. OBAMA: Hello! (Applause.) Wow. Thank you all so much. Wow! (Applause.) Thank you so much.
First of all, I am so excited to be here. And I want to thank you all. It is hot in here, and you guys — (applause) — are hanging in there. Let me just say this, if anybody needs to sit down, sit down. (Laughter.) I will not be offended. If you start feeling — just sit down. Sit down. (Laughter.)
Thank you so much. I am thrilled. I want to start by thanking Meredith for that very kind introduction — heartfelt, passionate — and for all of her work and service to this campaign, to this country. Let’s give her a round of applause. (Applause.)
And I want to thank the State Party Chair, Ray Buckley, for joining us today, as well as Pam Brown for her words earlier today. (Applause.)
And most of all, I want to thank all of you. You all, our extraordinary volunteers, our organizers — thank you for everything you’re doing every single day, day in and out, to make this campaign possible. I want to thank you for knocking on those doors, registering voters, giving people the information they need about the issues they care about. Because the grassroots work that you all are doing, that is at the core of everything we do in this campaign. And that’s how we did it four years ago; that’s how we’re going to do it again today. So thank you. (Applause.)
And I know this work that you’re doing, that it’s not easy. Being involved in a campaign is not easy. And I know you all are busy. Everybody is busy. You’ve got lives to live, jobs to do, classes to attend, families to raise. But I also know that there’s a reason why you’re here today, and it’s not just because we all support a phenomenal President, my husband. (Applause.) And it’s not just because we want to win an election — which we do, and we will. (Applause.)
What I remind people everywhere I go is that we’re here and we’re doing this because of the values we believe in. It’s our values. We’re doing this because of the vision for this country that we all share. We’re doing this because we believe that everyone in this country should have a fair shot. (Applause.) And that means that every single child in this country should have good schools to go to, right? (Applause.) All of our kids should be able to attend college without a mountain of debt. (Applause.)
We believe that everyone should do their fair share, which means teachers and firefighters shouldn’t pay higher taxes than millionaires and billionaires. (Applause.) We believe that if you work hard, you shouldn’t go bankrupt because somebody gets sick. (Applause.) You shouldn’t lose your home because someone loses a job. And after a lifetime of hard work, you should be able to retire with dignity and security. (Applause.)
These are basic American values, right? These are the foundation of this country, the values that so many of us were raised with, including myself.
You all know my story by now. My father was a pump operator at the city water plant. He did that job his entire life. And neither of my parents had a chance to get a college degree. But let me tell you what my parents did do for me, which I know many people share this story — my parents saved for us. They sacrificed everything for us. They poured everything they had into me and my brother so that we could get the kind of education and have the kind of opportunities they could only dream of. And education was everything in our family. It was our ticket to the middle class, our pathway to the American Dream. (Applause.)
And when my brother and I finally made it to college, pretty much all of our tuition came from student loans and grants. People can understand that, right? (Applause.) But my dad still had to pay a small portion of that tuition himself. And let me tell you, every semester he was determined to pay that bill, and to pay it on time. My father was so proud to be sending his kids to college, and he made sure that we never missed a registration deadline because his check was late. Like so many people in this country, my father took great pride in being able to earn a living that allowed him to handle his responsibilities to his family. That’s all he wanted. He wanted to be able to pay his bills, and pay them on time.
My father’s life is a testament to the basic American promise that no matter who you are or how you started out, in this country, if you work hard, you can build a decent life for yourself and an even better life for your kids. (Applause.) And what I want people to understand is my husband understands that promise because that’s his story as well. That’s why I married him. (Applause.)
For more: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/08/02/remarks-first-lady-campaign-event-1
7:50 PM ET
President Obama attends a Grassroots Event
Loudoun County High School, Leesburg, VA
August 02, 2012
Remarks by the President at Campaign Event — Leesburg, VA
Loudoun County High School
Leesburg, Virginia
8:06 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: How’s it going, Leesburg! (Applause.) It is good to be back in Virginia. (Applause.)
A couple of people I want to acknowledge. First of all, please give Dana a big round of applause. (Applause.) You can tell she’s a good teacher and we’re so proud of her. And I also want to acknowledge — Mayor Kristen Umstattd is here. (Applause.) And thank you to all the neighborhood team leaders who are here — thank you for your great work. (Applause.)
The other thing I want to do is just to acknowledge our unbelievable U.S. athletes who are representing us in London — (applause) — including Virginia’s own Gabby Douglas. (Applause.)
AUDIENCE: USA! USA! USA!
THE PRESIDENT: USA! USA!
I had a chance to talk to Gabby and her teammates after they won the team competition and I told them, you know, I’m impressed with the swimmers. And when the running comes, I’m going to be impressed with that. But, even though I’m a lot slower, I understand how you run and how you swim. I do not understand how, on this little balance beam, you’re flipping around. I don’t get that. (Laughter.) I can barely do a somersault. (Laughter.) Unbelievable. So we could not be prouder of Gabby. We could not be prouder of her teammates. And we could not be prouder of all our American athletes. (Applause.)
And, you know, it’s a useful reminder that even when we have these major debates back home, when we go overseas, we’re not Democrats, we’re not Republicans or independents. We are Americans. That’s what we’re about. (Applause.)
Now, unless you’ve been able to hide your television set, or your cable is busted, you may know that there is a pretty intense campaign going on right now. (Laughter.) And the reason that it’s so intense is because so much is at stake. The choice that we face in November could not be bigger. It’s not just a choice between two candidates. It’s not just a choice between two parties. More than any election in recent memory, this is a choice between two fundamentally different paths for our country — two fundamentally different visions of where we need to go.
And the direction that we choose — the direction that all of you will choose when you walk into that voting booth in November is going to have a direct impact not just on your lives, it will have an impact on your children’s lives and your grandchildren’s lives. It will affect us for decades to come.
Now, four years ago, we came together not just as Democrats, but also independents, Republicans — we came together because we wanted to restore a basic bargain that made us the country that we are — the core idea that made us the most prosperous economy in the history of the world. And it’s a simple idea. It’s a bargain that says if you work hard, that work should be rewarded. It’s a deal that says if you put in enough effort and you act responsibly, then you can find a job that pays the bills, and you can afford a home that you call your own, that you can count on health care if you get sick, and you can put away enough money to retire with dignity and respect. (Applause.) And most of all, it’s an idea that we can give our children the kind of education that allows them to dream even bigger dreams and do even better than we did. That’s at the heart of who we are. That’s the American promise. (Applause.)
And let’s face it, part of the reason why we had so much energy in the 2008 campaign was because we understood that we had seen a decade where that basic bargain wasn’t being met. Families were working harder and harder, but their incomes were actually stagnating, while the costs of everything from health care to college were going up. We went from a surplus to a record deficit because of tax cuts we didn’t pay for and because of two wars that we put on a credit card. And it all culminated in the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.
So we understood that restoring that basic American idea, that if you work hard, you can get ahead that is at the heart of the middle class, the heart of who we are — we knew restoring that was not going to be easy, and it would take more than one year, and it would take more than one term, and it would probably take more than one President. And that was before the middle class was hammered by this crisis that robbed too many of our friends and neighbors of their jobs and their homes and their savings,and pushed the American Dream even further out of reach for too many working families.
But you know what, over the last three and a half years, we’ve shown we can make progress. Over the last three and a half years, we’ve been able to create 4.5 million jobs and half a million jobs in manufacturing, and we’ve saved an auto industry. (Applause.) The economy is growing. And we know we’ve got more work to do, but it’s given us a sense of what it means to move forward and not back. (Applause.)
For more; http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/08/02/remarks-president-campaign-event-leesburg-va
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titled: “ Endorsement of President Obama’s 2012 Re-Election”
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