Since the enactment of health reform legislation in March, several state Attorneys General and others opposed to the law have filed lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act. Legal challenges like this are nothing new. Challenges to the Social Security Act, the Civil Rights Act, and the Voting Rights Act all failed. Now, […]
The President released the statement below on the DOD report released earlier today on the impact of repealing "Don't Ask Don't Tell": As Commander in Chief, I have pledged to repeal the “don’t ask, don’t tell” law because it weakens our national security, diminishes our military readiness, and violates fundamental American principles of fairness and […]
Two years ago, President Barack Obama vowed that this administration would work with Native Americans to empower tribal governments, fulfill our trust responsibilities to tribal members and help tribal leaders build safer, stronger, healthier and more prosperous communities. Today we took a giant step toward fulfilling that promise with Congressional approval of five major settlements […]
Cross-posted from the USDA blog. Since my first day as Secretary of Agriculture in January 2009, President Obama and I have made resolving USDA’s troubled civil rights record one of our top priorities. Today we have taken an important step forward in this work as the House of Representatives joined the Senate in passing the […]
Click here to see the video. It's understandable that some may have been skeptical that real bipartisan cooperation could happen in what have been heated political times over the past years, but after the President's meeting with bipartisan Congressional leaders today he sounded a note of optimism: It’s no secret that we have had differences […]
Before and after the Affordable Care Act became law, many opponents of reform predicted that Medicare Advantage plans – a type of Medicare health plan offered by a private company that contracts with Medicare to provide benefits to seniors – would be severely damaged by health reform. Today, the Washington Post looks at the reality […]
This afternoon, the White House reiterated the President's commitment to the DREAM Act, a bipartisan piece of legislation designed to stop punishing innocent young people for the actions of their parents by giving them the chance to obtain legal status by pursuing a higher education, or by serving in the U.S. armed forces for the […]
This evening, Senators will have the chance to support small businesses when they vote on a plan to eliminate a requirement that businesses report to the IRS all purchases that exceed $600. Known as the 1099 provision this policy, which had bipartisan support, helped pay for the new health reform law. The provision was intended […]
Click here to see the video. This morning the President welcomed everybody back from the Thanksgiving break, and said he was looking forward to tomorrow's bipartisan meeting with Congressional leaders, making clear that "it’s time to get back to work." Before talking about the news of the day, namely his call for cutting the deficit […]
In Tuesday Talks this week, Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu is answering your questions in a live video chat. Secretary Chu recently delivered a speech calling on the United States to sharply accelerate innovations in clean energy — citing China and other countries' recent advances in clean technology as a critical "Sputnik Moment" for […]
