Category: White House

On Monday we “celebrated” Tax Freedom Day, which means the average American worked every day up until April 21st in order to pay their taxes.President Ronald Reagan hits the nail on the head when he stated, “The American people are not undertaxed, the government in Washington is overfed.” A third of your year shouldn’t belong to the government, and I will continue working in the House to reduce the tax burden on middle class Americans. Other issues we continue to …

In this week’s address, the President highlights small business owners across the country acting to raise wages for their workers, and calls on Congress to give America a raise so more hard-working Americans have the opportunity to get ahead. Welcome to the West Wing Week, your guide to everything that’s happening at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. This week, the White House celebrated Easter, and the President began a week-long trip to Asia, while the First Lady and Dr. Biden hosted a …

In this week’s address, the President offers his warmest greetings as millions of Americans celebrate Easter this Sunday and recounts the Passover Seder he hosted at the White House earlier this week, joining Jewish families around the world in their celebration. The President looks forward to taking part with his family in the hope and joy of the Easter season and reminds all Americans, no matter their faith, of the common thread that binds us. Christian leaders from across the …

In his 2011 State of the Union address, President Obama promised that, for the first time ever, American taxpayers could go online and see exactly how their federal tax dollars are spent. And for the fourth year in a row, he’s keeping that promise. Enter a few pieces of information to get a breakdown of how your tax dollars are spent on priorities like education, veterans benefits, or health care. Calculate your receipt and learn where your tax dollars are …

In this week’s address, the President underscored the importance of ensuring equal pay for equal work and highlighted the steps his Administration has taken to expand opportunity and narrow the pay gap that exists between men and women. This week, the President honored Equal Pay Day and signed two executive orders to support efforts to level the playing field for women, pushed for better access to skills-based high school training, hosted the Prime Minister of Tunisia, and traveled with the …

In this week’s address, the President highlighted the important differences between the budget he’s put forward — built on opportunity for all — and the budget House Republicans are advocating for, which stacks the deck against the middle class. While the President is focused on building lasting economic security and ensuring that hardworking Americans have the opportunity to get ahead, Republicans are advancing the same old top-down approach of cutting taxes for the wealthiest Americans and slashing important investments in …

Monday night, the first open enrollment period under the Affordable Care Act came to an end. And Tuesday afternoon, we announced that 7.1 million Americans have now signed up for private insurance plans through the new Health Insurance Marketplaces. 7.1 million. That doesn’t count the more than 3 million young adults who have gained insurance under this law by staying on their families’ plans. It doesn’t count the millions more who have gotten covered through the expansion of Medicaid and …

This past Sunday marked the four year anniversary of Obamacare becoming law, a day marked by broken promises, numerous delays, and special exemptions. Just this Tuesday, the President offered the 30th delay to his signature legislative accomplishment. Before and after Obamacare was enacted, the President promised that “if you like your health care plan, you can keep it.”  This statement was repeated by the President’s allies in Congress, defended by his allies in the media, and for which he was …

In this week’s address, Vice President Biden discusses the importance of raising the federal minimum wage. It’s good for workers, it’s good for business, and it would help close the gender pay gap, as women make up more than half of the workers who stand to benefit from a raise. And as the Vice President highlights, Congress should boost the federal minimum wage because it’s what a majority of the American people want. Welcome to a special, travel edition of …

Monday, President Obama answered questions on Quora, a leading question-and-answer website, about Affordable Care Act enrollment and how the law affects young people across America. The deadline to enroll for health care coverage for this year is March 31 — only seven days from now — so if you’re not covered yet, sign up today at HealthCare.gov. And if you do have health insurance, make sure to tell your friends, family, and co-workers why they need to get covered. Visit …

In this week’s address, President Obama highlights the importance of making sure our economy rewards the hard work of every American — including America’s women. This week, the President celebrated St. Patrick’s day alongside the Prime Minister of Ireland, continued to work toward a diplomatic resolution to the conflict in Ukraine, hosted Palestinian President Abbas, awarded 24 Medals of Honor, and traveled to Florida to speak on the importance of supporting working families.

In this week’s address, President Obama highlighted the action he took this week to reward hard work by strengthening overtime pay protections. As part of this year of action, the President has ordered the Secretary of Labor to modernize our country’s overtime rules to ensure that millions of American workers are paid a fair wage for a hard day’s work. While our economy is moving forward, the middle class and those fighting to get into it are still struggling and …

In this week’s address, President Obama highlighted the momentum building across the country to give Americans a raise and reiterated his call for Congress to increase the minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10. The President has already signed an executive order to raise the minimum wage for people working under new federal contracts. Companies large and small are choosing to give workers a raise because they know it’s good business. And Governors across the country are answering the President’s call …

President Obama said he took action this week to launch new manufacturing hubs and expand a competition to fund transformative infrastructure projects. Both are policies aimed at expanding economic opportunity for all by creating jobs and ensuring the long-term strength of the American economy. Congress can boost this effort by passing a bipartisan proposal to create a nationwide network of high-tech manufacturing hubs and taking steps to invest in our nation’s infrastructure – rebuilding our transportation system, creating new construction …

Let’s Move! — First Lady Michelle Obama’s initiative to end childhood obesity within a generation — just turned 4. We’re celebrating all week, and we want you to join us. The First Lady wants you to share how you’re moving by using the hashtag #LetsMove on social media to share a photo of your favorite activity or healthy snack. If enough people get involved, President Obama and Vice President Biden will share how they get moving, too. To kick off …

President Obama says this is a year of action, and he will do everything he can to restore opportunity for all. The President already lifted the wages for federal contract workers, and he calls on the American people to tell Congress to finish the job by boosting the federal minimum wage for all workers to $10.10 and give America a raise. This week, the President traveled to the North American Leaders Summit in Toluca, Mexico, to California to address the …

This week, President Obama took action to lift more workers’ wages by requiring that federal contractors pay their employees a fair wage of at least $10.10 an hour. In this week’s address, he highlights that executive action and calls on Congress to pass a bill to raise the federal minimum wage for all workers. This week, the President hosted the first state visit for the French President in 20 years, signed the farm bill, and raised the minimum wage for …

In this week’s address, President Obama says he will do everything he can to make a difference for the middle class and those working to get into the middle class, so that we can expand opportunity for all and build an economy that works for the American people. Good Luck, Team USA! As Team USA represents us on the world stage and goes for the gold, folks here at home will be cheering them on every step of the way. …

The White House is releasing a special video message from the First Lady in which she talks about being the first in her family to attend college. This video is part of the “I’m First” storytelling project, which lifts up the stories of first-generation college students in order to inspire future generations.  As the First Lady says in her video, “no matter where you come from or how much money your family has, I want you to know that you …

In his weekly address, President Obama discussed the goals he laid out in the State of the Union address to expand opportunity for all — so that every American can get ahead and have a shot at creating a better life for their kids. This anniversary episode, hosted by the President, coincides with this year’s State of the Union Address. We’ll take you behind the scenes and on the road to speak directly with Americans like you about your lives …