Category: White House

Last week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced its first public enforcement action: an order requiring Capital One Bank to refund approximately $140 million to 2 million customers who were pressured or mislead into paying for “add-on” products such as payment protection and credit monitoring when activating their Capital One credit cards. CFPB is the bureau of the federal government that’s tasked with protecting consumers by carrying out consumer financial laws, so that people are able to make financial decisions …

President Obama honors the victims of the tragedy in Colorado, those who knew and loved them, and those who are struggling to recover. This week, the President attended the Team USA basketball game, hosted the Baylor University Lady Bears basketball team, and proposed a STEM Master Teacher Corps, while the First Lady traveled to Philadelphia for ‘Let’s Move!’ and to Birmingham to tour tornado recovery, the Vice Presidnet spoke to seniors about retirement security, and the administration hosted a Google+ …

President Obama calls on Congress to act now to extend tax cuts for the 98 percent of Americans making less than $250,000 for another year This week the President signed the MAP-21 Act to extend funding for transportation and infrastructure projects and stopped student loan interest rates from doubling. He also urged Congress to cut taxes for the middle class, while the White House announced the 2012 Save Award initiative, and played host to a Google Plus Hangout

Monday, the President called on Congress to extend the middle class tax cuts for the 98 percent of Americans making less than $250,000 for another year. In fact, the President’s proposal extends tax cuts for 97 percent of all small business owners in America.  If Congress fails to act, a typical middle-class family of four will see its taxes go up by $2,200, and America’s small business owners would take a big hit. The President refuses to let that happen. This should be …

President Obama discusses legislation he signed on Friday that does two important things: It keeps thousands of construction workers on the job rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure, and it stops interest rates on federal loans from doubling this year for more than seven million students. Welcome to the West Wing Week, your guide to everything that’s happening at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. This week, the President traveled to Colorado Springs to survey fire damage and honor responders, he also celebrated Independence day …

It’s July, and because Congress finally took action, 7.4 million students no longer have to worry about the interest rates on their Stafford loans doubling. That’s great news, but it was far from certain. Just a few weeks ago, it wasn’t clear that it would happen. We got this done because of you. Americans like you spoke up on this issue. You took to Twitter and Facebook. You sent emails and talked to your friends and neighbors. And in the …

July 4th, President Obama welcomed more than 1,200 military service members and their families to the White House to celebrate the Fourth of July. The event, organized by the USO, featured a performance by country music star Brad Paisley. As Paisley and his band finished their final song (“Welcome to the Future”), fireworks began over the National Mall.

Upheld last week by the Supreme Court, President Obama’s health reform law — the Affordable Care Act — ensures hard-working, middle class families will get the security they deserve and protects every American from the worst insurance company abuses. Insurance companies no longer have unchecked power to cancel your policy, deny you coverage, or charge women more than men. Soon, no American will ever again be denied care or charged more due to a pre-existing condition, like cancer or even asthma. Preventive …

President Obama speaks to the American people from Colorado, where he toured areas impacted by the devastating Waldo Canyon fire and met with first responders as well as families affected by the fires. The President thanks the brave firefighters and countless volunteers who are providing food, water, and shelter to those in need, and makes clear that his administration will continue to bring all resources available to assist efforts to combat the fires. This week, the President spoke at the …

View the full supreme court decision here:  http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/11pdf/11-393c3a2.pdf Today, the Supreme Court issued a historic ruling: They upheld the Affordable Care Act and ensured that millions of American families will have access to health care and protection from the worst abuses of the insurance industry. Lots of people have questions about the Affordable Care Act, the Supreme Court’s decision, and their health care coverage. We’ve pulled together the most useful information — including President Obama’s remarks after the announcement — at …

President Obama’s plan to give mortgage relief to responsible homeowners boils down to one important principle. He wants to simplify the refinancing process.   And the very first step is to let people know if they would benefit from the President’s proposal — so we’ve built a tool to help answer that question.   Just enter a few basic facts about your mortgage, and this tool will help you figure out if you currently qualify for easy, low-cost refinancing — or whether, …

President Obama discusses the urgent need for Congress to act now on two common sense measures to help middle class families: preventing interest rates on federal student loans from going up and putting hundreds of thousands of construction workers back on the job. West Wing Week: 06/22/12 or “Dreamers” This week, the President talks about an important policy change on immigration that more closely aligns our policy with our values, and traveled to the Group of 20 Summit in Los …

Weekly Address: Ending the Stalemate in Washington. President Obama tells the American people that the stalemate in Washington is holding our economy back during this make-or-break moment for the middle class. Welcome to the West Wing Week, your guide to everything that’s happening at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. This week, the President welcomed the Girl Scouts, the Presidents of the Philippines and of Israel, the New York Giants, local tv anchors from around the country, and Betty White. He also kicked off …

Friday afternoon, President Obama discussed a new Department of Homeland Security policy that will allow certain young people who were brought to the United States as young children, and do not present a risk to national security or public safety, and meet several key criteria to be considered for relief from removal from the country or from entering into removal proceedings.

For many of us, buying a home is about more than a roof over our heads. It’s the place where we’ll watch our kids grow up and an investment that will guarantee our long term financial security. There’s a reason that a home is an essential part of the American dream. But right now, owning a home is a source of anxiety for millions of Americans. Last week, we heard from thousands of homeowners who are paying their bills on …

Equal pay for women is about more than just fairness. Women are breadwinners in more than 50 percent of American households, and if they’re making less than men do for the same work, families have to get with less money for childcare and tuition and rent, and small businesses have fewer customers. Everybody suffers.  President Obama supports passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act, a comprehensive and commonsense bill that updates and strengthens the Equal Pay Act of 1963, which made it illegal for employers to …

Do you support equal pay for women? It’s been nearly 50 years since Congress passed the Equal Pay Act, but today a woman who works full time still earns just 77 cents for every dollar earned by a man. That’s not just unfair. When women, who make up nearly half the workforce, bring home less money each day, it means they have less for the everyday needs of their families. That’s bad for kids, it’s bad for communities, and it’s …