Rowland heights For Obama

Obama: Health Care Reform Is Essential to Rebuilding Economy

Tapinder Katoch — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 21:25:34 EDT

By Ceci ConnollyWashington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, July 22, 2009; 9:03 PM

President Obama, confronted by increasing doubts about the impact of widespread changes to the nation's health-care system, sought to assure middle-class Americans on Wednesday that the landmark legislation he envisions would improve their quality of life and is essential to curing the nation's economic ills.
This Story
Obama: Health Care Reform Is Essential to Rebuilding Economy
Obama Explains Rush for Health Care Overhaul
"This is not just about 47 million Americans who have no health insurance," he said in a televised news conference, the fourth of his presidency. "Reform is about every American who has ever feared that they may lose their coverage."
Six months after his inauguration, Obama finds his signature domestic issue stalled on Capitol Hill. Shortly before he spoke Wednesday, Democratic leaders in Congress acknowledged that they are still struggling to agree on legislation that is expected to cost at least $1 trillion over the next decade.
With his ambitious timetable for legislative action in jeopardy, Obama took to the airwaves to repeat his case that comprehensive health-care reform is critical to the nation's overall economic well-being.
"That is why I've said that even as we rescue this economy from a full-blown crisis, we must rebuild it stronger than before," he said. "And health insurance reform is central to that effort."
Polls show that most Americans believe there is a need to improve a system that is among the costliest and least effective in the world, but there is widespread unease about how the changes might affect those who are generally satisfied with their care. Obama attempted to shift the discussion Wednesday from legislative haggling to an appeal to Americans' everyday lives.
"I realize that with all the charges and criticisms being thrown around in Washington, many Americans may be wondering, 'What's in this for me? How does my family stand to benefit from health insurance reform?' " he said in setting the theme of his speech. "Tonight I want to answer those questions."
Specifically, he promised that almost every American would benefit from a system that provides "more security and more stability." He pledged insurance market changes that would enable nearly all Americans to obtain coverage and suggested that everyone would be guaranteed preventive care, such as checkups and mammograms.
In an interview with Washington Post Editorial Page Editor Fred Hiatt earlier in the day, he also said that meaningful reform must tackle the twin challenges of covering the uninsured and containing skyrocketing medical costs.
"I think that it's important to do both," he said. "I think it's important for us to make sure that 46 million people who don't have health insurance get it. And I think it's important for us to bend the cost curve, separate and apart from coverage issues."
Obama suggested that the legislation would reduce overall health costs by eliminating expensive and unnecessary duplication and arming doctors and patients with information "about what works and what doesn't." As he put it: "Why would we want to pay for things that don't work?"
As his fellow Democrats on Capitol Hill wrestled with intraparty divisions over the legislative details, Obama took up the partisan battle with Republicans who have battered the legislation's costs and have suggested that Democrats are attempting to rush its passage.
CONTINUED 1 2 Next >

Analysis: It's Obama's Economy Now

Tapinder Katoch — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 16:27:03 EDT

By Jim Kuhnhenn, Associated Press
With four simple words -- "Give it to me!" -- President Barack Obama took possession of the economy.
For months, the White House and Obama's economic team have laid the economic crisis at the feet of President George W. Bush. But there comes a point in a Presidency when inheritance becomes ownership. Obama made that pivot Tuesday in Michigan, the state suffering the worst unemployment in the nation.
"I love these folks who helped get us in this mess and then suddenly say: 'Well, this is Obama's economy,'" the President said in a pointed deviation from his prepared text. "That's fine. Give it to me!"
It was a defiant moment, reminiscent of Bush's own "Bring 'em on!" taunt in 2003 to militants in Iraq.
Like Bush's brash challenge, Obama's could haunt him, too. It's a calculated risk that confronts his critics head-on and casts him as an activist, on-the-job President.
"My job is to solve problems, not to stand on the sidelines and harp and gripe," he said on Tuesday, his sleeves rolled up, barely disguising his targets as congressional Republicans.
Trying to Regain the Agenda
Still, most economists and Obama's own advisers foresee a slow economic recovery. The President himself conceded on Tuesday that unemployment, already at a 26-year high, will most likely "tick up for several months." Republicans see the economy as Obama's Achilles' heel come next year's elections, and they have found a political vulnerability in the continued rise in unemployment despite a $787 billion economic stimulus that Obama pushed through Congress in February.
In choosing Michigan to attach his name to the economy, Obama picked a state whose 14.1% unemployment rate could linger as evidence of policy failure. As home to the U.S. auto industry, it could also stand as an emblem of one of his first economic successes. Both General Motors and Chrysler have emerged in surprisingly swift fashion from bankruptcy protection proceedings that were imposed by the Obama Administration.
"Remember, folks said there was no way they could do it?" Obama told his audience in hard-hit Warren, Mich. "They've gotten it done already, in record time, far faster than anybody thought possible."
Coming after a week Obama spent overseas, the feisty, confrontational approach aims to regain the agenda from his critics. In one bold step this week, the Obama Administration singled out Senator Jon Kyl [R-Ariz.], a member of the Senate Republican leadership, for calling for an end to economic stimulus spending. Using Obama's Cabinet members as muscle, the White House on Tuesday made public letters from four department secretaries listing transportation, housing, Native American education, and other projects in Kyl's home state that they said would be eliminated if the senator had his way. The letter was addressed to Arizona's Republican governor, Jan Brewer.
"Where Are the Jobs?"
At the same time, Obama is appealing for patience. In his weekly radio and Internet address on Saturday and in a newspaper opinion piece, Obama argued that the stimulus program was designed as a two-year plan and that it had already halted the economic free fall. It hasn't helped Obama, however, that the jobless rate now stands at 9.5%, even though his economic team initially predicted that the stimulus would prevent unemployment from going higher than 8%.
Obama and his advisers say the recession turned out to be worse than anticipated when they made that forecast in January. Still, 2 million jobs have been lost since Congress passed the stimulus package.
"I want the President's economic stimulus to work, but guess what? It's not happening right now," Representative Candice Miller [R-Mich.] said on Tuesday, voicing a common GOP refrain. "I don't even think we have Wendy's jobs anymore. Where's the beef? Where's the jobs?"
Obama's unflinching embrace of his economic policies means he now is responsible for their consequences. If the free fall is now in check, as he claims, then the economy can no longer be Bush's legacy alone.
What's more, even amid indicators that show the economic plunge is slowing, unemployment in recent recessions has been slow to recover as quickly as the rest of the economy. And jobs are the clearest yardstick by which the public measures success. For Obama and his fellow Democrats, the danger lies in unemployment rates that remain high in time for next year's congressional elections, or in a slow recovery that peters out and leads back into a recession.
Fully in His Grasp Now
Obama has already taken ownership of the nation's foreign policy. In March, he announced a new approach in Afghanistan that included sending an additional 17,000 combat troops. Marines have just kicked off an offensive in Taliban strongholds in the south of the country. And two weeks ago, U.S. troops in Iraq handed over security in urban areas to Iraqi security forces, the first step toward meeting Obama's pledge to end an unpopular war.
Now, just days shy of the milestone six-month point of his Presidency, Obama has laid claim to the full measure of the job. When it comes to the economy, no one -- certainly not his Republican critics -- is going to keep him from taking it.
© 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. All rights reserved.

The White House, which had been leaving the legislation largely to Congress, suggests ways to rein in costs and depoliticize Medicare payments. Many Democrats welcome the president's involvement.

Tapinder Katoch — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 22:45:57 EDT

By Noam N. Levey
6:50 PM PDT, July 17, 2009 Reporting from Washington -- The Obama administration delivered to Congress its first detailed proposal for a piece of the healthcare overhaul today, suggesting that a new independent board make the decisions on how Medicare pays hospitals and doctors.

Until now, the president has carefully deferred to lawmakers developing healthcare legislation, in part because many believe that the Clinton administration's decision to write its own healthcare bill 15 years ago alienated Congress and contributed to that initiative's failure.

use Democrats' healthcare bill

But pressure has been growing on the administration and its congressional allies to do more to restrain the nation's $2.5-trillion healthcare tab. And many specialists believe one key to curbing costs is to remove reimbursement decisions, now made by Congress, from the political process.

In addition, a growing number of Democratic members want President Obama to get more directly involved in the legislative process, in part to offer them the protection of his popularity. Many are concerned about the direction of the legislation rapidly moving through Congress. Two House committees and one Senate panel approved bills this week that would greatly expand coverage, and pay for it with higher taxes on the wealthy and cuts in Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements.

Obama offered encouragement today. "I realize that the last few miles of any race are the hardest to run," he said. "But I have to say now is not the time to slow down, and now is certainly not the time to lose heart.

"Make no mistake: If we step back from this challenge at this moment, we are consigning our children to a future of skyrocketing premiums and crushing deficits. There's no argument about that."

Today, a group of freshman House Democrats traveled to the White House to meet with Obama and talk about their opposition to provisions in the House bill to raise taxes on wealthy Americans.

"The way we are paying for health reform would put a lot of strain on small business, which is particularly dangerous during a recession," said Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.), a leader of the group.

The House bill would impose a surtax on individuals who make more than $280,000 a year and couples who make more than $350,000. (Senate lawmakers have shown little interest in such an approach).

At the same time, a group of moderate "Blue Dog" Democrats in the House have been stepping up their demands that the legislation do more to increase the healthcare system's efficiency.

This week, the director of the Congressional Budget Office warned lawmakers that the bills now under discussion would not slow the growth of healthcare spending.

Obama wants lawmakers to pass bills in the House and Senate before their summer recess so the legislation can be combined when they return in September.

Many strategists believe this ambitious timeline is key to completing work on the legislation before electoral politics begin to consume Washington in 2010.

But House and Senate panels are still working away on separate bills. And six mostly centrist lawmakers, including two Republicans, sent a letter to their leaders today expressing concerns about the push to move a healthcare bill through the Senate by August.

Like Obama, Pelosi and other senior Democratic lawmakers downplayed the tussling on Capitol Hill today.

"This is the legislative process," Pelosi said at a midday news conference. "As the bill takes shape, people say, 'OK' . . . They say, 'Here are some suggestions. We have to go to the next step.' This is the wholesome dynamism of what we do here."

In an interview later, the House speaker indicated that she would be open to adjusting the bill, including limiting the new surtax to individuals making more than $500,000 and couples making more than $1 million.

Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) talked by phone with Obama this morning about the need to work with moderate Democrats and to speed up work in the Senate, according to an aide briefed on the conversation.

With its new Medicare proposal, the White House is also stepping up efforts to shape the legislation to attract more votes.

Under the proposal, which administration officials began talking with lawmakers about earlier this week, a new independent agency would be established to set reimbursement rates for hospitals and doctors -- a process that is now controlled by Congress and highly politicized.

The plan, championed by Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV (D-W.V.), would allow Congress to stop the cuts only by passing a joint resolution in a process akin to how the federal government handled the politically sensitive closure of military bases around the

Target may support call for mandatory employer insurance

Tapinder Katoch — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 01:09:38 EDT

Target Corp. may get behind a call by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. to support mandatory health insurance coverage by large companies, according to reports by Bloomberg and Dow Jones.
Minneapolis-based Target, the second-largest discount retailer in the country after Wal-Mart, can “conceptually” accept an employer mandate, the reports said.
Target refused to comment further, stating that they are monitoring developments surrounding employer-mandated health care coverage and are waiting until details of the proposed legislation are available.
However, in a May 18 news release about a partnership between Target and RedBrick Health to pilot a wellness program, Target laid out its stance on health care reform. “Target believes that simply expanding access to the current system is not sustainable and will result in higher costs for everyone,” according to the news release.
“As a result, Target supports a national framework for health care that allows multi-state employers to offer consistent and uniform benefits in a cost-effective manner.”
But Target said they would first have to see the conditions attached to the mandate before giving it their support, according to the Bloomberg.com, report
The issue of providing mandatory medical insurance has split big-business interests, as President Barack Obama pushes health care reforms. While Obama has told lawmakers that he is open to requiring large companies to provide health coverage, he would exempt small businesses.
Wal-Mart sent a letter to Obama on June 30 supporting mandatory medical insurance, calling Obama’s proposal fair and adding that the requirement would ultimately save companies money.
The retailing giant’s move was surprising to many, and drew criticism from the National Retail Federation, which opposes the measure.

Sen. Kennedy's committee passes health care bill

Tapinder Katoch — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 10:44:55 EDT

22 minutes ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate health committee has passed legislation to revamp health care, becoming the first congressional committee to act on President Barack Obama's goal of overhauling the system this year.
The Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee voted 13-10 along party lines to pass a $600-billion measure that would expand coverage to nearly all Americans by requiring individuals get insurance and employers to contribute to the cost. The bill would provide federal aid to families and individuals making less than four times the poverty level, or about $88,000 for a family of four.
Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy, the chairman, wasn't there for the milestone vote. He's being treated for brain cancer.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Democratic leaders, pledging to meet the president's goal of health care legislation before their August break, are offering a $1.5 trillion plan that for the first time would make health care a right and a responsibility for all Americans. Left to pick up most of the tab were medical providers, employers and the wealthy.
President Barack Obama has made overhauling health care in the United States the prime domestic objective of his first terms and has pushed the House and Senate aggressively to stick to the pre-vacation timetable. That would let him sign comprehensive legislation in October.
The United States is the only developed nation that does not have a health plan for all its citizens. About 50 million of America's 300 million people are without health insurance.
"We cannot allow this issue to be delayed. We cannot put it off again," Rep. Henry Waxman, a Democrat and the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce committee, said Tuesday. "We, quite frankly, cannot go home for a recess unless the House and the Senate both pass bills to reform and restructure our health care system."
In the Senate, Majority Leader Harry Reid said he wanted floor debate to begin a week from Monday. With the Senate Finance Committee still struggling to reach consensus, that timetable could slip. Even so, it underscored a renewed sense of urgency.
Obama himself was driving the action, going off-script to push the issue during a speech in the state of Michigan and scheduling a White House statement for Wednesday to reiterate that a bill will get done and focus on the role of nurses in any overhaul.
"There's going to be a major debate over the next three weeks," Obama said in the state of Michigan, deviating from his prepared text on new spending for community colleges. "And don't be fooled by folks trying to scare you saying we can't change the health care system. We have no choice but to change the health care system because right now it's broken for too many Americans."
Obama's political organization is launching a series of 30-second television ads on health care, which will begin airing Wednesday in Washington and on cable TV nationally. A version will run on local stations in eight states to prod senators to back the health care effort. They will run for two weeks.
In the ads, private citizens describe problems they have had with the medical system and say it is time for action. The sponsor is Organizing for America, Obama's campaign organization, which has become part of the national Democratic Party. The group would not disclose the cost.
In a fundraising appeal titled "Hillarycare revisited," the Republican National Committee warned about "Obamacare" and said the government "already runs car companies, banks and mortgage companies. Republicans believe that the last thing the American people want is government telling them when and where — or even whether — they can get medical treatment for their families."
The last time health care legislation came up under former President Bill Clinton in the 1990s, his wife Hillary was put in charge of drafting it.
All involved were mindful of the dwindling days before Congress leaves town. Obama wants legislation through the House and Senate before then to slow rising costs and extend coverage to the uninsured.
Under the House Democrats' plan, the federal government would be responsible for ensuring that every person, regardless of income or the state of their health, has access to an affordable insurance plan. Individuals and employers would have new obligations to get coverage, or face hefty penalties.
Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved

Obama calls community colleges 'undervalued'

Tapinder Katoch — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 18:30:11 EDT

Candice Williams, Marisa Schultz and James Lynch / The Detroit News
Warren -- President Barack Obama took to a stage in Warren Tuesday afternoon and provided an outline of his plan to overhaul the nation's community college system -- something he described as an "undervalued" resource. At the heart of his plan is the goal for the United States to have the highest percentage of college graduates among all nations.
"Today, I am announcing the most significant down payment yet on reaching this goal in the next 10 years," Obama said at Macomb Community College. "It's called the American Graduation Initiative. It will reform and strengthen community colleges from coast to coast so that they get the resources students and schools need -- and the results workers and businesses demand."
The president cited projections showing that jobs requiring associate degrees will grow twice as fast in the coming years as those that don't require a degree.
Advertisement
"Through this plan, we seek to help an additional 5 million Americans earn degrees and certificates in the next decade," Obama said.
Getting the nation to that level will require major investments. Under the plan, the federal government would back $10 billion in federal loans to renovate community college classrooms across the country. In addition, he proposed creation of an "online, open source clearing house" of college courses allowing students to access education courses remotely.
The MCC students who listened to the president unveil the initiative are part of a Michigan community college system that is bursting at the seams with record enrollment.
The number of students among the state's 28 community colleges reached nearly 235,000 last year, and online enrollment topped 52,000 as more displaced workers head back to school for training and high school graduates can't afford a university education.
"Clearly, capacity is an issue there," said Michael Hansen, president of the Michigan Community College Association. "There's far more demand than there is supply for online enrollment. Money would be a big help."
White House officials say the $12 billion program will be spread over a decade. It includes $9 billion to fuel community college challenge grants, $2.5 billion for construction and renovation of buildings (to leverage $10 billion in loans) and $500 million for online curriculum development. The initiative will get under way within the first six months of 2010, officials said.
"This is history," Sam Adams, 25, of St. Clair Shores said about Obama's speech. "It's exciting (Obama) is coming to Michigan to talk about what he's going to do for us."
Adams was among the roughly 2,000 students, faculty and local dignitaries who won tickets in a lottery and who started to line up more than three hours before Obama was to speak outside the college's Advanced Technology Center.
About 70 percent of the tickets were distributed by the college, and the rest went to local dignitaries and organized labor leaders.
Detroit City Council candidate Gary Brown, former Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer, Detroit Regional Chamber director Richard Blouse, state Democratic Party chairman Mark Brewer and AFSCME local president John Riehl were among those with tickets.
Brown said he got his ticket from a union representative. "Let's hear what the president has to say," he said.
Obama's speech at MCC's South Campus was his first in Michigan as president. His visit will be brief since he'll be throwing out the first pitch tonight at the baseball All-Star Game in St. Louis. He arrived at Selfridge Air National Guard base in Harrison Township at about 2:40 p.m. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing, flew on Air Force One with him. After exiting the plane, he chatted with Gov. Jennifer Granholm, climbed in his motorcade and left for MCC at about 3 p.m.
A small crowd had gathered across the street from the 127th Wing Base Operations Building by noon Tuesday, hoping to catch a glimpse of the president after Air Force One touched down.
The crowd consisted mostly of the media and retirees from the base. William McKinney, 70, of Clinton Township was among them.
"I'm excited, and hopefully I'll be able to see the president," the retired aircraft electronic technician said. He was joined by his wife, Bertha, and their 9-year-old grandson, Devlin.
Devlin, like his grandfather, was hoping to see the president.
"I've seen him on television before," he said. "I'm hoping to see him in person."
Sharlonda Buckman, executive director of the Detroit Parent Network, said she was there to hear what Obama has to say about education.
"Education is one of the biggest priorities right now, and it sounds like he cares what is happening in Detroit and Michigan," she said.
The Michigan State Police had more than a dozen mounted troopers circling the speech site to keep protesters away. A few dozen protesters instead gathered along a side street entrance carrying signs urging Obama to stop federal spending. In the hours leading up to the speech, several dozen protesters from various causes lined up on a side street along the community college to demonstrate. Afterwards, they headed to 12 Mile, a more visible location. Some held up large signs against government spending and abortion, and calling for a more green job creation.
One protester, Kim Cipriani, 48, of New Haven, showed up to protest with about 65 members of the Macomb County Republican Party. Their concern was government spending.
"If he wants to be president, he has to work," Cipriani said of Obama. "He needs to try to figure out a way not to spend and create more jobs."
"This is a huge day for Michigan and for Macomb Community College for the governor's No Worker Left Behind Programs," said Andy Levin, deputy director of the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth.
Under the program, more than 65,000 unemployed workers have gained free tuition for up to two years to earn training in industries the state hopes to lure. And many of the displaced workers have turned to community colleges, which are "bursting at the seams," Levin said.
The initiative could help community colleges boost capacity, transfer more curriculum to online programs and expand lab space in key programs, Hansen said. Already 52,000 students are enrolled in the Michigan Community College Association's Virtual Learning Collaborative, which allows students to take courses from other member colleges while still receiving support services at their "home" college and pay the same tuition rate regardless. However, Hansen cautioned: "Low-interest loans are nice, but they are still loans. When colleges are struggling financially, I don't know if they will take on more debt."
Michigan has the nation's highest unemployment rate at 14.1 percent, driven by the steep decline in manufacturing jobs precipitated by the downturn in the auto industry. Nationwide, the unemployment rate is 9.5 percent, a 26-year high.
The major community college initiative will help Obama achieve his goal of increasing enrollment by 5 million students by 2020, bringing the total to 11 million students. About 6 million Americans attend community colleges, officials said.
Kyle Kreshover, 19, a University of Michigan public policy student who is interning with Sen. Carl Levin, D-Detroit, said the president's message on how to improve higher education is important.
"The costs are going up, and anything that controls that is good," he said.
Between the federal stimulus package and his education budget, Obama has taken significant steps during his presidency to boost access to higher education. Limits on the federal Pell Grant program increased from $4,731 last year to $5,350 this year and are proposed to increase to $5,500 in 2010.
More money was added to the federal work study program under the stimulus package. And the American Opportunity Tax Credit increased from $1,800 in 2008 to $2,500 in 2009 and 2010 to cover money spent on educational expenses helping families who make up to $160,000 a year.
Michigan also received $183 million in federal work force investment act stimulus dollars that helps fund the No Worker Left Behind program, Levin said.
"In a very short period of time, President Obama has turned Americans' sights toward what we really need to do to help every young person who wants to go to college and every worker who needs to get retrained," Levin said. "And that's a very hopeful development."
cwilliams@detnews.com (586) 468-0529 Detroit News Staff Writers David Josar and Dave Shepardson contributed to this report.

Obama on burden of fixing economy: 'Give it to me'

Tapinder Katoch — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 18:28:01 EDT

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE – 22 minutes ago
WARREN, Mich. (AP) — Conceding unemployment will get worse before it shrinks, President Barack Obama on Tuesday unveiled a $12 billion plan to help community colleges prepare millions of people for a new generation of jobs. Challenging critics, he said he welcomed the task of turning around the economy.

President Barack Obama speaks at Macomb Community College, Tuesday, July 14, 2009, in Warren, Mich. (AP
resident Barack Obama speaks at Macomb Community College, Tuesday, July 14, 2009, in Warren, Mich. (AP
"I love the folks who helped get us in this mess and then suddenly say, 'Well, this is Obama's economy,'" the president told an outdoor crowd at Macomb Community College, veering off his scripted words. "That's fine. Give it to me. My job is to solve problems, not to stand on the sidelines and harp and gripe."
Obama did not identify his target for those comments, but he has been under increasing fire from Republicans over the pace of the economic recovery and the soaring deficit. He brought his message to a state reeling from the loss of auto jobs. Michigan's unemployment rate is 14.1 percent, the nation's worst.
"The hard truth is that some of the jobs that have been lost in the auto industry and elsewhere won't be coming back," Obama said. "They are the casualties of a changing economy."
To that end, he proposed an "American Graduation Initiative" to bolster the two-year community college field that serves millions of students as a launching point for careers or a step toward expanded higher education. The idea is to train people for jobs, such as those expected in the clean energy industry, when the economy turns around and begins to create jobs again instead of shedding them.
Under the plan, competitive grants would be offered to schools to try new programs or expand training and counseling.
High dropout rates would be addressed by designing programs to track students and help them earn an associate's degree or finish their education at a four-year institution. Money would also be spent to renovate and rebuild facilities, and online courses would be developed to help colleges offer more classes.
The White House says the cost would be $12 billion over 10 years; Obama says it would be paid for by ending wasteful subsidies to banks and private lenders of student loans.
"Time and again, when we have placed our bet for the future on education, we have prospered as a result," Obama said.
Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, a former education secretary, said Obama's plan is a "typical proposal" that sounds better than it is. "When our biggest problem as a country is too much debt, he's taking the entitlement spending he claims to be saving from the student loan program and adding it to the debt," Alexander said.
Obama's speech came a day after the White House issued an upbeat report predicting that health care and environment-focused jobs would help drive a jobs recovery but that education and training would have to keep up with a demand for higher-skilled workers. In the report, Obama's economic advisers said U.S. post-high school education and training need to be more effective at encouraging participants to complete their training and to respond to the labor market.
Earlier on Tuesday at the White House, Obama said he expected that the nation's unemployment rate would continue to "tick up for several months."
It is now at 9.5 percent, the highest in 26 years. Obama said renewed hiring tends to lag behind other signs of economic recovery.
In Michigan, Obama called the $12 billion in spending over the next decade "the most significant down payment" yet toward achieving his goal of having the highest college graduation rate of any nation.
Speaking in rolled-up sleeves, Obama said jobs requiring at least an associate's degree are expected to grow twice as fast as those where college education is not required.
"We will not fill those jobs, or keep those jobs on our shores, without the training offered by community colleges," Obama said.
Community colleges have been feeling pinched lately. Enrollments have been increasing for several reasons, including rising college costs at public and private institutions and the needs of people who have lost jobs and are eager to learn new skills.
About 6 million students attend community college, administration officials said. Obama is setting a goal of 5 million additional college graduates.
Meanwhile, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan told Republican senators on Tuesday at their private weekly luncheon at the Capitol that the government's $1 trillion deficit was the single biggest hurdle to economic recovery. In his speech, Obama acknowledged the problem of debt but said again that the only way to start reducing deficits is to reform the health care system, his dominant legislative priority.
Obama's trip wasn't all about policy, however. Before returning to the White House, he was dropping by Busch Stadium in St. Louis to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at Major League Baseball's annual All-Star game. It will be his first pitch as president.
Associated Press writers Ben Feller, Jim Kuhnhenn and Anne Flaherty contributed to this report.

Obama: Community colleges can help boost ailing economy

Tapinder Katoch — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 18:22:18 EDT

(CNN) -- Community colleges are only two-year institutions, but the Obama administration says they could play a key role in helping boost the ailing economy for years to come.
President Obama also announced a goal of 5 million additional community-college graduates by 2020.

To underscore that contention Tuesday, the president unveiled the American Graduation Initiative, a 10-year, $12 billion plan to invest in community colleges.
During his announcement at Macomb Community College in Warren, Michigan, Obama noted that the economic recession and a changing U.S. economy have reduced the number of automotive industry jobs, a mainstay in Michigan.
The "hard truth is that some of the jobs that have been lost in the auto industry and elsewhere won't be coming back. They are casualties of a changing economy," Obama said, adding that "even before this recession hit, we were faced with an economy that was simply not creating or sustaining enough new, well-paying jobs."
Obama called the investment in community colleges crucial because "jobs requiring at least an associate degree are projected to grow twice as fast as jobs requiring no college experience" in coming years.
"We will not fill those jobs, or keep those jobs on our shores, without the training offered by community colleges," he said.
Education Undersecretary Martha Kanter says the plan is a crucial investment because community colleges have not historically "done enough to get students through, to move them into the work force and to get them through the higher-education transfer programs."
She added that "we're very concerned about providing access and opportunity during this terrible fiscal climate."
Don't Miss
Rules to ease student loan repayments take effect
Commentary: Obama and our kids' future
The initiatives focus on four areas that officials say are aimed at giving community colleges the resources needed to modernize and assist students who are struggling, according to Kanter and other senior administration officials.
The initiatives include:
• Community college challenge grants, to help underfunded colleges that are dealing with limited capacity and to build partnerships with schools and businesses.
• The Access and Completion Fund, to provide performance-based scholarships and give colleges the tools to design more programs around work schedules.
• Modernization of community-college facilities, with $2.5 billion to help renovate facilities and keep up with maintenance costs. The renovations will create jobs, Obama said.
• Open online courses, to create options online as a tool that some think can be more effective than classroom instruction alone.
There are 6 million Americans in community colleges. The administration's initiatives are seen as the foundation to help boost enrollment and graduation rates.
Obama also announced a goal of 5 million additional community-college graduates by 2020. He said the initiative will not add to the deficit because the investment will be paid by "ending the wasteful subsidies we currently provide to banks and private lenders for student loans, which will save tens of billions of dollars over the next 10 years."
"Instead of lining the pockets of special interests, it's time this money went toward the interest of higher education in America," he said.
E-mail to a friend Share this on:Mixx Facebook Twitter Digg del.icio.us reddit MySpace StumbleUpon | Mixx it | Share

President Obama is set to unveil a plan to provide $12 billion to community colleges.

Tapinder Katoch — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 11:56:25 EDT

Today, President Obama is set to unveil a plan to provide $12 billion to community colleges. Given the emphasis on the President's other priorities like health care and cap and trade, education has received little press coverage thus far. Although some might debate whether the federal government ought to continue to ramp up its spending, if it's determined to do so, I think it's hard to argue against an initiative like this.
Fox News' White House blog has, by far, the most informative take on this new imitative that I found. So check that out if you want more detail. According to Fox, this spending would be part of the 2010 budget. It will be spent over 10 years.
Reuters also reports on Obama's plan, and explains his likely rationale through a report that his economists issued on Monday:
"Well-trained and highly-skilled workers will be best positioned to secure high-wage jobs, thereby fueling American prosperity," the report said.

"Occupations requiring higher educational attainment are projected to grow much faster than those with lower education requirements, with the fastest growth among occupations that require an associate's degree or a post-secondary vocational award," it said.
For a while now I've been an advocate for encouraging community college as an alternative to four-year college, for young people who might not have career goals where a four-year degree is necessary. If this funding makes community college a more attractive alternative for some, then I think that's a good thing. A step like this shouldn't affect anyone best suited for four-year college, as that's still generally an option after completing a 2-year associate's degree.
A few months ago, I attended a roundtable discussion at the National Association of Manufacturers. Training to obtain more skilled workers in the U.S. was one of their top priorities. In the current educational climate, it seems that most high school students either seek four-year college or nothing, giving little thought to community college or vocational schools. That's a problem for manufacturing, as skilled jobs are in high demand within the manufacturing industries where the U.S. still competes.
This initiative might also help the President in another way. If more people are pursing their associate's degree, in a bad economy, that lowers unemployment. Students are not considered unemployed. So over the next few years, which will be tough, with more Americans sitting in community college classrooms, the employment picture will look better. That's not entirely smoke and mirrors, however. Once the economy starts to really grow again, that might be just in time for some of those freshly minted community college graduates to take advantage of new jobs in a better market.

Obama confident of passing healthcare reform

Tapinder Katoch — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 02:05:08 EDT

By David Alexander
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama acknowledged on Friday that tough negotiations on overhauling U.S. healthcare lie ahead after some of his own Democrats rebelled but he expressed confidence a plan will be passed.
Obama's remarks, at the end of a Group of Eight summit in Italy, came a day after a group of 40 fiscally conservative Democrats in the House of Representatives said they had "strong reservations about the process and direction" of a healthcare plan moving in the House.
Lawmakers in the Democratic-controlled Congress are working on draft proposals to revamp the U.S. healthcare system at a cost of about $1 trillion over a decade.
Healthcare reform is a key part of the Obama administration's agenda, and finding a way to pay for the cost is proving to be a major obstacle.
"There are going to be some tough negotiations in the days and weeks to come, but I'm confident that we're going to get it done," Obama said.
As Obama traveled abroad, his domestic agenda took some blows at home. In addition to the hiccup on his healthcare plan, Democrats on Thursday put off until September work on a bill to reduce greenhouse gases blamed for global warming.
And a political scrap broke out over the effectiveness of a $787 billion economic stimulus plan pushed through Congress by Democrats in February. Republicans argued it has failed to stop the rising jobless rate while Democrats led by Vice President Joe Biden said it needs more time to work.
Obama wants Congress to send him a healthcare bill by October that will cut costs while providing medical insurance to most of the 46 million Americans who currently have no coverage.
OPPOSE PUBLIC OPTION
The conservative Democrats, known as the Blue Dog Democrats, also took aim at the president's proposal for a public insurance option to compete with private insurers in a marketplace that would provide plans for those who cannot buy coverage through their employers.
"A "Medicare-like" public option would negatively impact hospitals, doctors and patients," they wrote in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, noting that payments to doctors through the government health plan for the elderly are 20 percent to 30 percent lower than private plans.
"Using Medicare's below-market rates would seriously weaken the financial stability of our local hospitals and doctors," the letter said.
Obama has called for a marketplace with rules that would create a level playing field for public and private insurers, but many conservatives fear the public plan would have an advantage that would ultimately drive the private plans out of business.
Obama says a public plan is necessary to create a truly competitive marketplace that will drive down costs. He reasserted his support for a public plan this week after his chief of staff suggested the proposal was negotiable.
Asked at Friday's news conference when he was going to get more involved in pushing the healthcare reform issue, Obama said, "We jumped in with both feet." Continued...
View article on single pagePrevious Page 1 | 2 Next Page

Democrats Begin Door-to-Door Campaign on Health Care

Tapinder Katoch — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 18:48:58 EDT

By Bernie Becker
As the battle over health care continues on Capitol Hill, Democrats are organizing campaign-like neighborhood canvasses to spread their message.
Organizing for America, the advocacy group that grew out of President Obama’s campaign machinery, is enlisting supporters to go door-to-door across the country to talk up the White House’s health care priorities.
Brad Woodhouse, a spokesman for the Democratic National Committee, where Organizing for America is housed, said the canvassing would start in earnest this weekend and could last through August, making it the most sustained door-to-door effort the group has had since President Obama was inaugurated. (Organizing for America also arranged canvasses earlier this year during the budget negotiations, but those were confined to a single weekend.)
Katie Wright, a spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee, said in a statement that the “Democrats face an uphill battle in convincing Americans that government-run health care will not increase costs and diminish their quality of care” and that the R.N.C. was “actively engaged in working with voters” on health care reform.
The e-mail Organizing for America sent to supporters, which claims that $1.4 million is being spent daily to obstruct health care reform, says that backers of the president need to act so that his “core principles are included in any comprehensive health care reform legislation.” (It adds that canvassers often find going door-to-door rewarding.)
Lawmakers in both houses are furiously at work trying to draft and pass health care legislation before Congress recesses in August. (As The Times’s David Herszenhorn has reported, those efforts have hit some roadblocks this week.)
Print
Share Close
Linkedin
Digg
Facebook
Mixx
My Space
Yahoo! Buzz
Permalink
Sign in to Recommend
Elections, The 44th President, The Caucus, Democrats, health care, organizing for america

Obama ,staffers meet pope

Tapinder Katoch — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 18:42:32 EDT

President Barack Obama, his eldest daughter Malia and youngest Sasha, and first lady Michelle arrive at Pratica di Mare's military airport, near Rome, Friday, July 10, 2009. After attending a three-day G8 (Group of Eight) Summit meeting in L'Aquila, central Italy, President Obama sat down with Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican on Friday for a meeting in which frank but constructive talks were expected between two men who agree on helping the poor but disagree on abortion and stem cell research. (AP Photo/Riccardo De Luca)

White House, hospitals reach deal on health care

Tapinder Katoch — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 13:39:51 EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The nation's hospitals will give up $155 billion in future Medicare and Medicaid payments to help defray the cost of President Barack Obama's health care plan, a concession the White House hopes will boost an overhaul effort that's hit a roadblock in Congress.
Vice President Joe Biden announced the deal at the White House on Wednesday, with administration officials and hospital administrators at his side.
"Reform is coming. It is on track; it is coming. We have tried for decades to fix a broken system, and we have never, in my entire tenure in public life, been this close," Biden said. And in a firm message to lawmakers, Biden added, "We must -- and we will -- enact reform by the end of August."
Obama has set an ambitious timetable for legislation, with the hope of signing a comprehensive bill in October. But lawmakers returned Tuesday from their July 4 break with lots of questions about the complex legislation and deep misgivings about key elements under discussion.
Democratic senators in particular are having second thoughts about a proposed new tax on generous health insurance benefits provided by some employers. Without the tax -- Republicans favor it as a brake on cost increases -- the prospects for a bipartisan deal in the Senate appear to be in jeopardy.
Timing is critical because lawmakers might be reluctant to vote on such a charged issue as health care next year, when all House members and one-third of senators face elections.
"We're not there yet," said Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., who, as chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, has spent countless hours seeking a compromise with Republican colleagues. "I'm trying the best I can to get there soon."
Another senator deeply involved in the bipartisan negotiations said the proposed new tax on the costliest employer-paid insurance benefits is quickly losing favor with Democrats.
"It's clearly a very difficult issue," said Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., citing recent polls. "You go to the public to ask them what they think and they don't like it."
A compilation of surveys reviewed by senators showed at least 59 percent of the public opposed to taxing health care benefits to "pay for reform."
As a result, Conrad said, "we're looking at other options" to help finance a bill whose price tag is expected to reach $1 trillion or slightly more. Those other options may be hard to sell to Republicans whose support Baucus has been cultivating.
Baucus has long championed a tax on health benefits as the best way to pay for health care while simultaneously restraining the growth of the cost of coverage in the future. But the idea has drawn strong opposition from organized labor, a core Democratic constituency. House Democrats have been highly resistant, too, and Obama campaigned hard against it in last year's run for the White House.
The deal with the hospitals -- the one bright spot right now for Obama -- may also be on shaky ground. Officials said it's pegged to the Senate Finance Committee legislation that Baucus is negotiating, and whose prospects are uncertain. It would follow concessions from drug companies, and an announcement by Wal-Mart last week that it would support an employer requirement to help pay for health care.
Of the $155 billion in projected savings from hospitals, about $40 billion to $50 billion would come from reducing federal payments hospitals receive for providing care to uninsured and low-income patients, according to lobbyists. Those payments are now made through the Medicare and Medicaid programs. The Medicaid cuts would be apportioned by state, as 10 percent annual reductions beginning around 2015.
Officials of public hospitals say they have concerns such reductions could also squeeze funding for trauma centers and burn units, which receive Medicare and Medicaid money. But they wanted to see the fine print.
Other savings of about $100 billion would come from slowing increases in planned Medicare payments to hospitals. A small amount of savings would come from trimming the money hospitals get for preventing patients from being readmitted for additional care.
Hospitals would also get something out of the deal. They won an agreement that if the Finance Committee's legislation includes a public health insurance plan, it would reimburse hospitals at above the rates Medicare and Medicaid pay, which hospitals have long complained are insufficient.
The issue of a government insurance plan to compete against private companies continued to inflame sentiments on both sides of the political aisle. Republicans remain solidly opposed. Democrats, citing polls that show the public is open to the idea, are talking about a showdown on the issue.
Biden was joined at the White House by Rich Umbdenstock, president of the American Hospital Association, Richard Bracken, president of Hospital Corporation of America, Wayne Smith, president of Community Health Systems, and Sister Carol Keehan, president of Catholic Health Association of the United States.
"We know how urgently reform is needed, both for moral and economic purposes," said Keehan, who represents Catholic hospitals.
House Republican Leader John Boehner of Ohio criticized the hospital deal, saying it was negotiated out of public view. "The administration and congressional Democrats are literally bullying health care groups into cutting backroom deals to fund a government takeover of health care," Boehner said in a statement.
Associated Press writers David Espo, Erica Werner and Alan Fram contributed to this report.

Obama begins July 4th celebration at Camp David

Tapinder Katoch — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 00:32:20 EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is helping the nation celebrate its birthday and his daughter Malia celebrate hers.
The president on Friday morning flew to Camp David, Md., for the first part of the first family's Fourth of July celebration, including daughter Malia's 11th birthday on Saturday. He set off with friend Martin Nesbitt to meet first lady Michelle Obama, who was already at Camp David.
About 20 of Malia's tween-age friends will be on hand for the festivities. In an interview with The Associated Press, the president was bemused at the thought of being surrounded by so many girls. As he put it, "It's a little intimidating."
The first family returns to the White House by Saturday evening to host 1,200 military families for a Fourth of July barbecue on the South Lawn.
(This version CORRECTS APNewsNow; UPDATES to reflect Obama has already set off. corrects last sentence to say the Obamas are returning on Saturday not Friday.)
Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Obama’s Health Care Town Hall

Tapinder Katoch — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 11:02:35 EDT

July 1, 2009, 1:16 pm
Obama’s Health Care Town HallBy Jeff ZelenyDoug Mills/The New York Times President Obama embraced Debby Smith, a liver cancer patient, at a health care forum in Annandale, Va.
ANNANDALE, Va. – Another week, another town meeting on health care.
President Obama is set to arrive here shortly, in this suburban community outside of Washington, to continue his push to overhaul the nation’s health care system. The session is not broadcast on network television, unlike last week’s prime-time forum on ABC News, but rather on the White House Web site and a variety of social networking sites.
At the Northern Virginia Community College, about 200 people in the studio audience have taken their seats. The president will take questions from them, as well as from people who submitted their queries through the White House’s official Facebook, You Tube and Twitter pages.
It is the second online forum the White House has staged this year. In March, the president took questions from people via the Web as he was sitting in the East Wing. This time, he’s taken the show on the road. A video monitor here says, “The White House is Open for Questions.”
Here on the East Coast, it starts at 1:15 p.m., and can be followed here .
The White House is working to intensify a grass-roots push for its health care plan. With Congress on recess this week, the event here in Annandale is one of several intended to highlight the president’s urgent call to reduce costs to the health care system and lower the number of uninsured Americans.
“One of the reasons the president is out there today is for people to get a better understanding of what his health plan will do,” said Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary, briefing reporters back at the White House on Wednesday afternoon.
If you’re so inclined, tuned in. The White House show is about to begin.
The Republican National Committee is watching, too, and offering a live online response

PRSIDENT OBAMA AGENDA: JOBS, RUSSIA, HEALT

Tapinder Katoch — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 10:57:27 EDT

Posted: Thursday, July 02, 2009 9:17 AM by Domenico Montanaro
Filed Under: Barack Obama

Obama meets with business leaders at the White House privately to discuss how "they've been able to create jobs despite the economic doldrums," the AP says. Obama will speak from the Rose Garden afterward. Also, the president will sit down with the AP in advance of his trip to Russia, Italy and Ghana next week. Obama heads to Camp David at the end of his day.

Ahead of the first leg of his trip to Russia, Russia's President Dmitri Medvedev urged Obama to put aside their differences. "The new U.S. administration headed by President Obama is now demonstrating readiness to change the situation, and build more effective ... relations," Medvedev said in a video on the Kremlin Web site, per Reuters. "We are ready for this. ... "Now is not the time to discover who is in a more difficult position or who is tougher. It is time to join efforts. We must improve our relations to solve multiple global problems through joint efforts."
The New York Times: "President Obama returned to the familiar trappings of a political campaign on Wednesday, holding a town-hall-style meeting where he sought to heighten the urgency surrounding the health care debate and dismissed critics who say the issue is too complex to tackle during his first year in office... With members of Congress away for the week, the president had the stage to himself as he promoted his plan to lower the cost of health care and make coverage more accessible. He cast his proposal as a cost-saver, rather than a giant expenditure, saying the economy was not likely to rally without reversing 'the crushing cost of health care.'"
The New York Daily News: "President Obama played the comforter-in-chief Wednesday when a woman with kidney cancer, no insurance and little hope went looking for help at his health care summit. Obama gave an emotional Debby Smith a hug and a promise, but she also may have given him a hand by making herself a living argument for his health reform."
A new Quinnipiac poll has Obama’s job approval at 57%-33%.
Michael Scherer has a piece in the latest issue of Time, in which he writes about Vice President Biden and his role overseeing the implementation of the stimulus. “What really haunts the White House is the fear that much of the money might be spent less efficiently than it could have been... Hanging over all these concerns is the prospect that a second stimulus bill may be needed to bail out states in late 2010 or 2011... Meanwhile, behind the scenes, Biden has ordered his staff to return any call or e-mail from states and localities seeking guidance within 24 hours.”
EMAIL THIS

Obama widens mortgage refi program

Tapinder Katoch — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 02:14:09 EDT

With home prices still falling, administration opens up rescue program to homeowners whose loans are 125% of their home's value.
View photos
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The Obama administration is widening its mortgage refinancing program to allow more borrowers hit hard by falling home prices to take part.
Borrowers whose loans are now worth up to 125% of their home's value are now eligible to refinance their homes under the Obama foreclosure prevention plan announced in February. Previously, the limit was 105%.
The move acknowledges that home prices in many areas have fallen so far that many people were shut out of the program.
Some 67% of homeowners in Las Vegas -- one of the hardest hit areas and where Housing Secretary Shaun Donovan announced the expansion Wednesday -- owe more than their homes are worth.
More than one in five borrowers are now underwater, with homes in parts of California and Florida losing more than 50% of their value, according to Zillow.com, a real estate Web site. Some 20 million people own homes worth less than their mortgages.
"The president's Making Home Affordable plan is already helping far more than any previous foreclosure initiative and with today's announcement we will extend its reach still further," said Donovan.
How many more people will be drawn to the program now, however, remains a question, especially since mortgage rates are on the rise. Administration officials do not have an estimate.
Refinancings slow to ramp up
Some 20,000 loans have been refinanced so far, according to the Treasury Department.
The initiative waives the requirement that homeowners have at least 20% equity in their home, allowing them to take advantage of today's lower rates. Homeowners must still meet other criteria, including being current on their payments and having loans that are owned or backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. The administration has set up a Web site, http://www.makinghomeaffordable.gov/, with more information.

Obama: Community service is a national duty

Tapinder Katoch — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 21:55:16 EDT

By JULIE PACE – 5 days ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama urged all Americans Thursday to find a way to serve their country this summer.
The president and first lady Michelle Obama did their part at Fort McNair, helping volunteers load 15,000 backpacks with books, healthy snacks and toys for children of the men and women of the armed forces.
"Serving our country is not just something that we should expect our members of our armed forces to do," Obama said, "That's something that we should expect all of us as citizens to do."
The Obamas were joined by their daughters, Malia and Sasha, members of Congress and their families, and volunteers from nonprofit organizations.
Promoting volunteerism and community service has been a priority for the Obamas. The president often credits his work as a community organizer in his early 20s for giving him direction in life.
This week, Obama kicked off the "United We Serve" program, a service initiative led by the government-run Corporation for National and Community Service. The effort is aimed at getting people to tackle problems in the areas of education, health, energy and the environment and community renewal.
Obama said community service is one way Americans can "make this country stronger."
The initiative will continue through Sept. 11, which recently was designated by Congress as a National Day of Service and Remembrance.
Earlier this year, the president signed a $5.7 billion national service bill that triples the size of the AmeriCorps service program over the next eight years. It also expands ways for students to earn money for college by helping those in their neighborhoods.
People can find local needs and volunteer opportunities online at http://www.serve.gov. Organizations can also post service events on the Web site.
Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Obama calls immigration system ‘broken'

Tapinder Katoch — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 21:53:55 EDT

By GARY MARTIN and RICHARD S. DUNHAM
Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle Washington BureauJune 25, 2009, 11:25PM Share Print Share Del.icio.usDiggTwitterYahoo! Buzz FacebookStumbleUponResources Speak outBlog: Immigration watch GraphicsGraphic: Locations of new border checkpoints MoreComplete coverage of immigration issues
WASHINGTON — White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel bluntly admitted Thursday that “the votes aren’t there” to win comprehensive immigration legislation — even as President Barack Obama met with a bipartisan group of lawmakers in an attempt to jump-start stalled reform efforts.
Calling it one of the most critical issues facing the nation, Obama told the lawmakers, including Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn and Rep. Lamar Smith, R-San Antonio, that the U.S. immigration system is “broken and needs fixing.”
But Obama and Emanuel signaled that political obstacles are likely to make it difficult to reach consensus on sticking points such as guest workers and the legal status for 12 million immigrants here illegally.
“It’s going to require some heavy lifting, it’s going to require a victory of practicality and common sense and good policy-making over short-term politics,” Obama said.
After meeting with 34 lawmakers and Cabinet officials in the State Dining Room at the White House, Obama said he is encouraged “that after all the overheated rhetoric and occasional demagoguery on all sides around this issue, we’ve got a responsible set of leaders sitting around the table who want to actively get something done.”
Obama appointed Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to lead working groups to hash through the more politically volatile issues.
GOP lawmakers called the closed-door meeting with Obama a good first step but remained skeptical that compromise could be reached quickly.
“This is tough stuff. Tough politics,” said Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla., a co-sponsor of a 2007 immigration bill that died in the Senate.
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., another co-sponsor of that bill, agreed that reaching consensus on some issues would be difficult. He cited organized labor opposition to temporary worker programs as one stumbling block that could trip up progress on overall reform.
At a breakfast meeting with reporters, Emanuel said supporters of immigration reform lacked the votes to push through a comprehensive plan now — and he was not optimistic about winning approval this year, despite the president’s declaration that his administration is “fully behind an effort to achieve comprehensive immigration reform.”
White House aides said a compromise could be reached that would allow Congress to pass a bill late in 2009 or early 2010.
Some Republicans have criticized the president for not presenting a legislative plan to Congress.
Cornyn, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary subcommittee on immigration, said that without a bill or legislative blueprint, the White House meeting was merely a “photo op.”
Others, like Smith, the ranking Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, called the White House meeting substantive but questioned the administration’s commitment to work site enforcement.
Jennifer Dlouhy of the Washington bureau contributed to this report.
gmartin@express-news.net
richard.dunham@chron.com

Wal-Mart supports employer-mandated health coverage

Tapinder Katoch — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 21:51:30 EDT

1 of 1Full Size Market News Nikkei edges down 0.9 percent, financials retreat Wall St brakes on confidence data, but has upbeat Q2 | Video Oil falls 2 percent, U.S. consumer confidence weighs More Business & Investing News...
By Nicole Maestri
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N), the world's largest retailer, said on Tuesday that it supports President Barack Obama's push to require large employers to offer health insurance to workers.
"We are for an employer mandate which is fair and broad in its coverage," stated a letter addressed to Obama and signed by Mike Duke, the chief executive of Wal-Mart; Andy Stern, the president of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and John Podesta, the CEO of the Center for American Progress.
Wal-Mart's public statement of support for employer mandated coverage comes as Obama pushes for an overhaul of the $2.5 trillion U.S. healthcare system. He has made a healthcare plan that reins in costs and covers most of the roughly 46 million uninsured Americans one of his top priorities.
While the president has left much of the details of health reform to Congress, he has told U.S. lawmakers he is open to requiring larger companies to provide coverage for employees but exempting smaller businesses.
In recent years, Wal-Mart, the nation's largest private employer, has come under fire by labor-backed critic groups that accused it of mistreating employees and not offering adequate healthcare coverage.
Wal-Mart has worked to counter critics by promoting its healthcare initiatives, such as its $4 generic drug program. In 2007, it also joined with the SEIU, which has more than 1 million members, in calling for universal health-care coverage for all Americans by 2012.
Wal-Mart said it supports an employer mandate that covers as many businesses as possible, as well as part-time and full-time employees. The requirement would ultimately save companies money, it added.
"This choice will require employers to consider the trade-off of agreeing to a coverage mandate and additional taxes versus the promise of reduced health care cost increases," it said.
It also said health care reform legislation should include provisions that reduce health costs, and that the retailer would support legislation that would put a public healthcare plan in place should private health insurers fail to meet price and competition targets, also known as a "trigger" provision.
(Reporting by Nicole Maestri; Additional reporting by Susan Heavey in Adelphi, Maryland; Editing by Tim Dobbyn and Richard Chang)

Obama: Troop pullout from Iraqi towns a milestone

Tapinder Katoch — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 21:48:33 EDT

Reuters
Tuesday, June 30, 2009; 3:40 PM

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Tuesday lauded the pullout of U.S. forces from towns and cities in Iraq as an important step toward a full U.S. troop withdrawal by 2012, but warned of "difficult days" ahead.
"Today's transition is further proof that those who have tried to pull Iraq into the abyss of disunion and civil war are on the wrong side of history," Obama said at the White House.
Obama, who has made ending the six-year-old Iraq war a top foreign policy priority, was speaking hours after a car bomb in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk killed at least 30 people and wounded 65 others.
The bombing underscored the fragility of Iraq's security.
The country was almost torn apart by tit-for-tat sectarian attacks in 2006-2007 that killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions more. Despite major bombings in recent weeks, U.S. officials say overall levels of violence are down.
"There will be difficult days ahead," Obama said. "We see that already in the senseless bombing in Kirkuk earlier today. And there are those who will test Iraqi security forces and the resolve of the Iraqi people through more sectarian bombings. ... But I'm confident that those forces will fail."
Obama said U.S. forces had met a June 30 deadline to complete their withdrawal from urban areas and hand over full control to Iraqi security forces. All U.S. troops are due to withdraw from Iraq by 2012, after invading to topple Saddam Hussein in 2003.
Obama said Iraq's future was now "in the hands of its own people," and its Sunni, Shi'ite and Kurdish leaders had to make some hard choices to resolve disputes that have been obstacles to real political reconciliation.
(Reporting by Ross Colvin; Editing by Will Dunham)

Plan Unveiled for Protection of Consumers

Tapinder Katoch — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 21:42:30 EDT

By MICHAEL R. CRITTENDEN and JANE J. KIM
WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration's proposed consumer-protection agency would have broad oversight for a range of products, beefing up the government's regulation of credit cards, mortgages and gift cards, as well as expanding its authority over financial firms.
Draft legislation unveiled Tuesday by the Treasury Department would for the first time make a single entity, the Consumer Financial Protection Agency, responsible for writing and enforcing rules across a range of financial products used by consumers.
Real Time Economics

What Would Consumer Protection Agency Do?
"This agency will have only one mission -- to protect consumers," Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said.
Securities products overseen by the Securities and Exchange Commission and most of the insurance industry wouldn't fall under the new agency's oversight, a Treasury official said. But the agency would have subpoena power and would be funded in part by the financial-services industry.
The Treasury and White House plan to work with Democratic leaders in Congress to try to move the legislation quickly.
The measure is expected to draw opposition from the financial-services and business communities, which argue that the new agency would stifle product innovation and prevent firms from offering tailored products to customers.
"Basically, the government is deciding what every bank in every circumstance should offer," said Ed Yingling, president and chief executive of the American Bankers Association.
The proposed new agency is part of the Obama administration's efforts to revamp regulation of the U.S. financial system.
The new agency's reach would allow it to streamline federal mortgage-disclosure rules, and enforce recently enacted credit-card rules, Mr. Barr said. It could also potentially write rules to require banks to get permission from customers before enrolling them in costly overdraft plans.
Write to Michael R. Crittenden at michael.crittenden@dowjones.com and Jane J. Kim at jane.kim@wsj.com

Hundreds rally for health care reform

Tapinder Katoch — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 20:24:53 EDT

ASHEVILLE — Carmen Ramos-Kennedy says she's a healthy person who takes care of herself, but her health insurance premiums do nothing but go up.
credit: Leslie Boyd, lboyd@citizen-times.com « LAST1/25NEXT »
WNC for Change staged a public rally for health care reform 10 a.m.-noon Saturday at Pritchard Park. About 300 people attended. Purchase this photo »
Related stories
• Hundreds rally for health care reform
• Rally for health care reform seeks inclusion of single-payer option

“I have a story like millions of other people — I am being priced out of insurance coverage,” Ramos-Kennedy said Saturday while waiting for U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler to arrive at the Westgate shopping center in West Asheville. “Right now, I'm almost at $2,000 a month. That's a mortgage payment. That's my own selfish story. I can't afford to pay much more than that.
“It's got to change. It can't go one like this.”
Shuler, D-Waynesville, spoke to about 50 people gathered outside the shopping center about support for health care reform legislation. The congressman told the groups it's going to take baby steps to accomplish some tasks to allow the economy to rebound.
“Do I see a single-payer system at this point in time? The president told me himself, it's just not the right time,” Shuler said.
Shuler said access to health care must be available to everyone. There are four counties in North Carolina's 11th Congressional District that don't have a hospital. Lawmakers must also find ways to use the health care system to encourage people to adopt healthy lifestyles, he added.
“Some people will say, ‘You can't tell me to exercise, and you can't tell me what to eat,' but there are probably some ways that we could encourage you to do that,” Shuler said.
WNC for Change director Paul Choi said there's strong local support for a single-payer, or government-run, health care system. Choi presented Shuler with a petition of 1,195 signatures collected since June 21 in support of health care reform.
WNC for Change is a grass-roots organization that grew out of President Barack Obama's campaign.
Health care, Choi said, boils down to a moral issue.
“We're here to show people that it's just unconscionable to have 45 million uninsured people in this country as well as millions more who are underinsured,” he said. “Health care is a right.”
Earlier Saturday, an estimated 300 people attended a health care reform rally at Pritchard Park in downtown Asheville organized by WNC for Change.
Among the speakers at the event were Buncombe County Commission Chairman David Gantt, Asheville Mayor Terry Bellamy and Asheville Citizen-Times reporter Leslie Boyd, who was the keynote speaker.
Several local physicians and activists spoke about the need for reform and urged voters to lobby their legislators for single-payer or a strong public option.

Obama’s health plan a step in right direction

Tapinder Katoch — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 20:20:15 EDT

Susan Elzey
Special to the Register & Bee
Published: June 27, 2009
With 46 million uninsured people in the United States, it’s easy to find folks who agree it’s past time to reform the present health care system, but agreeing on the details and how it is going to be funded, is another question.
Local health care professionals gave their opinions on the plan to overhaul American’s health care system that President Barack Obama presented before the American Medical Association on June 15.
“We’ve got to do something — it’s way past time,” said Kay Crane, executive director of Piedmont Access to Health Services, which is a federal qualified community health care center. About 40 percent of PATHS’ patients are uninsured.
Like other local health professionals contacted, Crane knows story after story of people who have died or come close to dying because of a lack of insurance. For Crane, one such story was that of her sister, who, lacking money for diagnosis and treatment, died of breast cancer, she said.
Crane admits that Obama’s plan may not be perfect, but says it’s better than what Americans have now.
“I would like people to keep an open mind and not to listen to liberals or conservatives,” she said. “This can’t be Democratic or Republican. If we don’t come up with a plan this administration, I think it’s time for people to take to the streets.”
Dr. Gary Miller, an alternate delegate to the AMA, was present at the convention where Obama presented his plan.
“I and many were pleased he took the time to talk to the medical profession,” Miller said. “Years ago under the Clinton administration, the medical profession got left out … Obama is trying to forge a bill with the backing of everybody. The idea is to help patients, and everybody might have to compromise.”

Bearing the burden
Jerel Humphrey, CEO of Danville Regional Medical Center, said that the “most critical issue facing hospitals is the growing number of uninsured patients, which puts pressure on everyone.”
Danville Regional spent more than $21 million in 2008 on charity care and bad debt, he said.
“Hospitals, like DRMC, face an increasing burden of uncompensated care every day,” he said. “Many of our residents are uninsured, poor or elderly. All Americans need affordable health insurance coverage, so they have access to quality, affordable health care.”
Humphrey said that most people would agree the basic principles of Obama’s health care reform are worthy: reducing health care cost increases, allowing Americans to choose their own doctor and health plan and enabling Americans to have quality affordable health care.
“The question is how we achieve them,” he said.
Denise Buckner, executive director of the Free Clinic of Danville, which bears much of the burden of the area’s uninsured said the clinic has had many discussions regarding the new health care proposals.
“We certainly hold to the belief that all citizens should have access to health care, and that is why so many free clinics have sprung up all over the nation,” she said. “The need is great, and with the declining economy, the numbers of uninsured are increasing. It is a concern for everyone.”
She said that the clinic doesn’t take a political stance on issues and can’t base any current decisions on “anything other than serving the current need of this community.”

Malpractice caps
Miller takes issue with Obama’s announcement that he did not support caps on medical malpractice awards — the only time Obama got booed at the convention.
“I personally think caps are beneficial because they lower benefits and keep physicians in business,” Miller said. “Premiums can be $600,000 to $700,000 for every physician in a practice — even those who haven’t been sued. We have a cap in Virginia at $2 million, which covers the vast majority of lawsuits.”
Crane also agrees that reform is needed with malpractice insurance.
“Our providers are covered under the Federal Tort Act, so when people sue, they are suing the federal government,” she said, “but if the plan could help other providers reduce their cost of malpractice insurance, doctors wouldn’t have to run every test in the book because they are afraid of getting sued.”
Miller said that it’s hard to measure how much malpractice torts cost everyone as physicians order more tests every day to cover themselves if sued for malpractice.
“Malpractice costs have gone up to eight times of what they were 15 years ago,” he said.
Another one of Obama’s proposals Miller supports is forbidding insurance companies from denying coverage because of pre-existing conditions.
“That is unpopular with doctors and patients, with everybody,” he said, “but the insurance companies will definitely fight that.”

Paying for it
While Humphrey said access to health insurance would be the most helpful of the proposed plan, he is also concerned about how the costs would be monitored as well as the plan’s effect on insurance companies.
“The public option presents concern in that it would compete with private insurance, under-pricing premiums such that no other plans could be competitive and likely result in payments to hospitals that are below costs,” he said. “The government could arbitrarily — because it could — decide how much to pay the hospital and doctors and leave only a government-run ‘single-payer’ system.”
Miller, however, said Obama clearly stated in his speech that he is against a single-payer, national health care plan.
Crane believes the resulting competition would be one of the advantages to a public insurance option.
“In our area, we have only Anthem and Gateway Health Alliance, but a national health plan would force competition,” she said.
Then there is the question of how to pay for a public insurance option, which is estimated to be close to a trillion dollars.
Obama pledged in his speech to the AMA that any health care reform must not add to the federal deficit and listed his ideas to fund about $950 billion through such ways as limiting tax deductions to wealthy Americans, enacting spending cuts, cutting waste and inefficiency and reducing payments to hospitals for treating uninsured patients.
“Paying for it is the issue,” Miller said. “If we had the money to pay for this, we wouldn’t have opposition. Of course, every hospital is required to see indigent patients and should, so if no one is uninsured, we could take that money.”
Crane sees Obama’s plan as “basic quality health care.”
“If you want Cadillac care, you can still get Anthem,” she said. “The government is putting aside money for this plan, and some will come from revamping Medicare and Medicaid.”
Miller worries about reducing Medicare and Medicaid payments, however, feeling that if reimbursements get any lower, even more doctors will opt out of participating in the programs.
“From what I understand,” Crane said, “this plan, if people will give it a chance, will provide quality, affordable health care with the choice of keeping your own doctor, and I see it as a uniquely American solution. It is not from Canada or Germany.”

Taking responsibility
Obama listed as the second step in his plan to “invest more in preventative care” and urged Americans to be more responsible for their own health and the health of their children.
Miller, who gets up at 5 every morning to exercise, agrees.
“The American public needs to take responsibility for their health and get up off the couch and exercise,” he said. “You need to exercise 30 minutes a day four to five times a day at a minimum, and people shouldn’t eat foods known to be unhealthy, such as fried and fast foods.
“If people were healthier, they wouldn’t get sick and enter the system. We should be putting money into preventative care and getting ourselves and children eating healthier and exercising.
“We’ve met the enemy, and it is us.”
• Contact Elzey at selzey@registerbee.com or (434) 791-7991.

Bill Seeks to End Delays in Veterans’ Care

Tapinder Katoch — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 20:16:06 EDT

By JAMES DAOPublished: June 23, 2009
The House approved legislation on Tuesday that is intended to prevent delays in federal financing for veterans’ health care programs, a problem that has disrupted services provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs for decades, officials say.
Skip to next paragraph Blog The Caucus
The latest on President Obama, the new administration and other news from Washington and around the nation. Join the discussion.
More Politics News
The bill, which has been a major lobbying priority of veterans’ organizations in Washington, would allow Congress to appropriate funds for health care programs one year in advance.
Officials say that for 19 of the last 22 years, the department’s budget has been approved late, usually because of fiscal wrangling on Capitol Hill. As a result, veterans’ groups and officials say, the directors of veterans’ health care centers and clinics have often been unable to proceed on time with new services, staff expansions or renovations.
“Our veterans pay the price with fewer doctors, longer waiting times and more restricted access for the six million veterans using V.A. health care,” said Representative Bob Filner, Democrat of California and chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.
Under current rules, if a new budget is not in place by the start of the federal fiscal year on Oct. 1, the Department of Veterans Affairs is required to operate on its previous year’s budget. Often, those budgets have lacked money to pay for even existing programs because of inflation, contractual increases and growing caseloads.
Programs have often been postponed or canceled while hospitals and clinics await their new budgets, officials said.
“If there were scheduled pay raises, we wouldn’t have sufficient funds to maintain the status quo, because the pay raise would have to be paid,” said Bob Perreault, a former director of veterans’ health centers in Atlanta, Philadelphia and Charleston, S.C. “That means we would not buy equipment and not do maintenance projects.”
Veterans’ groups say the problem has become more troubling as caseloads have grown with veterans returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“When you have a flat-line budget, you can’t treat the new people coming into the system, which leads to rationing,” said Peter Dickinson, a consultant to Disabled American Veterans, an advocacy group.
A similar bill sponsored by Senator Daniel K. Akaka, Democrat of Hawaii and the chairman of the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, has bipartisan support and is expected to pass the full Senate.
President Obama has endorsed the idea of advance appropriations for veterans’ health care. In testimony before the House veterans committee in March, Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki said: “The care our veterans receive should never be hindered by budget delays. I share the president’s concern as well as his support for advance appropriations as a way to provide uninterrupted care.”
In addition, the House Appropriations Committee approved a bill that appropriates $48.2 billion for veterans’ medical care in the 2011 fiscal year.

Advocates collect health care horror stories

Tapinder Katoch — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 20:11:03 EDT

Advocates collect health care horror stories
By MICHAEL MOORE of the Missoulian
Carolyn Renman, left, gives her health care story to Ashley Parks at a Missoula downtown market on Saturday. Wearing hospital garb, Parks was one of about 25 volunteers collecting people's stories to send to President Barack Obama and congressional representatives.
Photo by TOM BAUER/Missoulian
Meg Sarnecki sees and hears health care nightmares nearly every day.

Hardly surprising, given that she's a doctor at Missoula County's Partnership Health Center, which serves uninsured and underinsured patients.

“You see something remarkable almost every day,” she said. “And not in a good way.”
On Saturday morning, Sarnecki was collecting health care stories again. But this time she was doing it as part of a nationwide effort to provide information to President Barack Obama and congressional representatives working to reform the nation's broken health care system.

“I see what's wrong with our system every day, and I know we can do better,” she said. “Ninety percent of the people I see don't have insurance, and they've delayed getting care for so long that they've often gotten themselves into pretty bad shape.”

Sarnecki was one of about 25 volunteers who collected stories at Missoula's downtown markets Saturday morning. The event was sponsored by Organizing For America, an arm of the national Democratic Party, and was styled as the National Health Care Day of Service.

“We believe everyone has a health care story,” said Jeremy Smith, a volunteer organizer for OFA. “Your story shows your stake in health care.”

In fact, most folks did have a story. Even the folks who said they didn't.

“I had several people who said they didn't really have much to say, but once you asked a few questions, they really opened up,” said Ashley Parks, a volunteer who works at Hellgate High School.

Saturday's stories spanned the broad spectrum that is health care in America.

A few stories were upbeat, told by people who had insurance that works as advertised.

But most had complaints - about insurance and its associated hassles, about the inability to find a doctor and, mostly, about the inability to pay for either affordable care or insurance.

Justin Burkey works for the U.S. Forest Service and has a Blue Cross plan. Sometimes it works well, sometimes not.

“I think what frustrates me the most is not being able to tell why the costs are what they are,” he said. “What I'd like to see in reform is some accountability, so we know who is paying for what.”

Tracy Davis, who works at a local fitness business, is bothered by paying for prescriptions.

“We have a co-pay, but I have to pay upfront and then try to get reimbursed by the insurance company,” she said. “It's never easy.”

Suzette Dussault's story encapsulated much of what's wrong in American health care. In 2007, she was hit by a truck while riding her bike. Her own insurance company paid 80 percent of her medical costs, and she and her insurer sued the trucking company for those costs and the remaining bill.

“All of that is pretty frustrating, but I expected it to be,” she said. “What I didn't expect is that the clinic where I got treated would sue me for the unpaid part of the bill while I am trying to collect from the people who did the harm in the first place.”

But that's what happened. That story left Sarnecki shaking her head.

“All these stories make it really clear that we have serious problems in our country,” she said.

Dussault, like many others, favors a single-payer system that would provide universal health care. What she and others seemed certain of was this: “Health insurance does not mean health care.”

And that, Sarnecki said, is where Congress must focus as it wrestles with reform.

“We've got to get back in the business of taking care of people before they have major problems that are costly to fix,” she said. “I've seen people who've had cancers that could have been treated, but they didn't come in because they couldn't pay. We've got to change that.”

Reporter Michael Moore can be reached at 523-5252 or at mmoore@missoulian.com.

researchers at the liberal Economic Policy Institute: Including a public plan will actually reduce the overall costs of health care

Tapinder Katoch — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 20:06:32 EDT

These critics are looking at it backwards, say researchers at the liberal Economic Policy Institute: Including a public plan will actually reduce the overall costs of health care:
While a public plan would indeed likely raise the level of federal government health spending, it is just as likely to reduce total national health spending. Independent research evaluating proposals produced by EPI and other sources has consistently found that a public plan would save money and result in better health outcomes by providing all Americans regular access to health care.
Indeed, they point out, one independent analysis found that having a public plan could actually save the US up to $1 trillion over ten years, while providing health care to all. Some of the elements of the plan contributing to that figure include increased competition among health care providers and lower administrative costs.
It’s a compelling argument, and one that deserves to have a more central place in this debate, lest we nickel-and-dime ourselves into an anemic health care plan that ends up costing us more in the long run, while abandoning the goal of health care for the currently uninsured.
Posted by David Futrelle June 28, 2009 3:14 pm

Leader as samurai

Tapinder Katoch — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 11:34:11 EDT

I

If you watch television news, you may have seen President Barack Obama’s impressive display of focused presence this past week, as a very large fly insistently buzzed around his head during a taping of a CNBC interview by veteran journalist Jim Harwood, who also writes for The New York Times. Not all outlets played the slightly longer segment that offers a bit more context. In the longer version, Obama is answering a question in his typically thoughtful, measured way. When it becomes clear that the fly would not be waved away, Obama smiles, calmly interrupts himself and signals the crew that he’ll stop, where he wants to pick up when the taping resumes, and then puts his attention on addressing the distraction. He becomes very quiet and still, and in seconds kills the fly with a swift single movement of his hand.
It wasn’t so much that the President of the United States happened to kill a fly with his bare hands in front of a television crew for what’s advertised as the leading business news cable channel. It was the way it happened. The serenity, the fluidness of his shift in attention, his movement and even the lightness of his mood was what struck people as worth comment, even if broadcasters did not clearly articulate that. This leader demonstrates a disciplined ability to focus his full attention and then shift that focus, his entire being, in a public environment in a manner that is reminiscent of an accomplished martial artist’s – if not a samurai’s -- many years of practice. It’s something we can all learn from. Many of us are experiencing escalating demands for our attention, even as we are challenged with what’s next for us personally and for our organizations. There is much to distract us, and even cause fear and paralysis.Obama effortlessly modeled how we can address such challenges. In the moment and one at a time.Obama is said to work out daily, and as president, eat breakfast and dinner with his family most days. Self-care, a focus on what really matters, rituals with loved ones, and a sense of humor ground us so we can continuously bring our full selves to one moment after another, to access our creativity and wisdom in the midst of uncertainty.One way to recognize we’re not fully present, and therefore, limited in the ability to act is to notice when attention is on that which we don’t want, or what “shouldn’t” be happening. Focusing on a negative is a clear sign we are not in the moment. We are “with” our assessments, not the moment, where we have the power to take focused action. We can use this as a cue to reclaim the full range of our gifts – and our power-- and bring complete focus to the moment at hand.What practices and self-care ground you?

Obama to meet Pope on July 10: Vatican source

Tapinder Katoch — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 11:27:39 EDT

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama will meet Pope Benedict for the first time on July 10 during a visit to Italy to attend a G8 heads of state meeting, a Vatican source said Wednesday.
Obama has angered many American Catholics with his support for abortion rights for women and his decision to lift restrictions on stem cell research.
The Vatican source said Obama would hold a brief audience with the Pope in the afternoon, after the conclusion of the July 8-10 summit of the Group of Eight industrialized nations.
A Vatican spokesman declined to confirm or deny the timing of the meeting.
The Vatican and Italian Church leaders condemned Obama's decision in March to lift restrictions on federal funding for human embryonic stem cell research put in place by his predecessor George W. Bush.
His subsequent invitation to speak at Notre Dame, a premier U.S. Catholic university, sparked criticism last month. While some heckled Obama during his speech, his appeal for a "fair-minded" discussion on abortion was received with several standing ovations. The G8 summit is due to discuss a response to the ongoing international economic crisis and global warming. It will take place in the central Italian city of L'Aquila, which bore the brunt of an earthquake in April that killed nearly 300 people.
(Editing by Lin Noueihed)

Obama Condemns Iran’s Iron Fist Against Protests

Tapinder Katoch — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 11:12:59 EDT

Obama Condemns Iran’s Iron Fist Against Protests

Brendan Smialowski for The New York Times
President Obama held the first afternoon press conference of his presidency on Tuesday at the White House.
By HELENE COOPER and DAVID E. SANGERPublished: June 23, 2009
WASHINGTON — President Obama hardened his tone toward Iran on Tuesday, condemning the government for its crackdown against election protesters and accusing Iran’s leaders of fabricating charges against the United States.
Skip to next paragraph Social Upheaval in Iran

Related
Crackdowns on Protesters Drape Tehran in Silence (June 24, 2009)
Canada and Newsweek Seek Release of Reporter Detained in Iran (June 24, 2009) Blog The Caucus
The latest on President Obama, the new administration and other news from Washington and around the nation. Join the discussion.
More Politics News
In his strongest comments since the crisis erupted 10 days ago, Mr. Obama used unambiguous language to assail the Iranian government during a news conference at the White House, calling himself “appalled and outraged by the threats, beatings and imprisonments of the past few days.”
He praised what he called the courage and dignity of the demonstrators, especially the women who have been marching, and said that he had watched the “heartbreaking” video of a 26-year-old Iranian woman whose last seconds of life were captured by video camera after she was shot on a Tehran street.
“While this loss is raw and extraordinarily painful,” he said, “we also know this: Those who stand up for justice are always on the right side of history.”
Yet beyond muscular words, Mr. Obama has limited tools for bringing pressure to bear on the Iranian government, which for years has been brushing off international calls for it to curb its nuclear program.
After the news conference, administration officials said there was little they could do to influence the outcome of the confrontation between the government and the protesters. And more so now than even a few days ago, they said, the prospects for any dialogue with Iran over its nuclear program appear all but dead for the immediate future, though they held out hope that Iran, assuming it has a stable government, could respond to Mr. Obama’s overtures later in the year.
At home, Mr. Obama has been under intense pressure, especially from conservatives, to align the United States more forcefully with the protesters. On Tuesday, he dismissed suggestions that he had changed his tone toward Iran in response to critical comments from Senator John McCain of Arizona and other Republicans.
In sometimes testy exchanges with reporters at the news conference, Mr. Obama defended himself, contending that even the moderate tone he had struck previously had been twisted by Iran’s government to suggest that the protests had been engineered by the United States.
“They’ve got some of the comments that I’ve made being mistranslated in Iran, suggesting that I’m telling rioters to go out and riot some more,” Mr. Obama said, referring to accounts that the White House said surfaced late last week and over the weekend. “There are reports suggesting that the C.I.A. is behind all this. All of which is patently false. But it gives you a sense of the narrative that the Iranian government would love to play into.”
But after the crackdown over the weekend that left an untold number of protesters dead — and after the wide dissemination of the video of the last moments of Neda Agha-Soltan, the Iranian woman who appeared to lock eyes with the camera as she died after being shot — White House officials decided that Mr. Obama had to take a tougher stand.
“The situation looked very different on Saturday than it did when he first spoke in the Oval Office a week ago,” one of Mr. Obama’s media advisers said.
“It was the bloodshed” that led to the change in tone, he said.
While Mr. Obama did not rule out the possibility of engaging with Iran over the nuclear issue, administration officials and European diplomats say that the door to talks has all but closed, at least for now.
“I think that under these circumstances, no one is going to be able to pursue anything because there is nothing to pursue,” said Trita Parsi, the president of the National Iranian American Council, who has been consulting with White House officials “on a daily basis,” he said, about the unfolding situation in Iran.
Mr. Parsi said that all past assumptions about where Iran was headed had been cast aside by the disputed election results and the response of the protesters.
Administration officials acknowledged that after reading reams of intelligence reports, watching videos of the street demonstrations and absorbing the trickle of intelligence from Iran, they were unable to predict how the protests might turn out.
During the news conference, Mr. Obama maintained that he had been consistent in his tone toward Iran all along. “As soon as violence broke out — in fact, in anticipation of potential violence — we were very clear in saying that violence was unacceptable, that that was not how governments operate with respect to their people,” Mr. Obama said.
But the language Mr. Obama used on Tuesday was more forceful and less ambiguous than his previous statements. In an interview with CNBC and The New York Times last week, he said that as far as America’s national interests were concerned, there was not much difference between Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and his challenger, Mir Hussein Moussavi.
In his first public comment on the situation on June 15, Mr. Obama said he was troubled by the postelection violence and called on Iran’s leaders to respect free speech and the democratic process. The next day, on June 16, he said he had “deep concerns” about the elections but also said that it would be counterproductive for the United States “to be seen as meddling.”
In the internal discussions at the White House about how to handle Iran, Mr. Obama’s aides are clearly struggling with how to reconcile two different goals: supporting a nascent, unpredicted movement in the streets that could weaken the country’s top clerics, and following the diplomatic mixture of pressure and diplomacy that Mr. Obama settled on months ago as a strategy to halt Iran’s nuclear work.
The protests, administration officials said, create the first possibility in 30 years that the mullahs’ grip on Iran might be loosened. Even if the street protests are put down, one official said, “a fissure has opened up that cannot be completely closed.”
Clearly those events took the administration by surprise: none of the possibilities for the election that were laid out for Mr. Obama a month ago, one official said, included the possibility of a violently disputed election.
Yet in the long run, Mr. Obama’s aides say, they are not certain that the protests will change the fundamental calculus about the risks Iran poses to its neighbors or the United States. One of Mr. Obama’s strategists noted that “one has to be concerned that while all this is happening the centrifuges are still spinning,” a reference to the machines used to enrich uranium.
Sign in to Recommend Next Article in US (8 of 33) » A version of this article appeared in print on June

Obama signs anti-smoking bill, cites own struggle

Tapinder Katoch — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 17:35:24 EDT

Play Video Video:Obama: World is watching Iran BBC
Slideshow:Tobacco Industry Play Video Video:Obama: New consumer protections 'essential' AP Play Video Video:Roundtable: Obama Approval Falling to Earth? ABC News AP – President Barack Obama, surrounded by members of Congress, and others, signs the Family Smoking Prevention … By PHILIP ELLIOTT, Associated Press Writer Philip Elliott, Associated Press Writer – 51 mins ago
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama cited his own long struggle to quit the cigarettes he got hooked on as a teenager as he signed the nation's strongest-ever anti-smoking bill Monday and praised it for providing critically needed protections for kids.

"The decades-long effort to protect our children from the harmful effects of tobacco has emerged victorious," Obama said at a signing ceremony in the White House Rose Garden.

The bill marks the latest legislative victory for Obama's first five months. Among his other successes: a $787 billion economic stimulus bill, legislation to expand a state program providing children's health insurance and a bill making it easier for workers to sue for pay discrimination.

The president has frequently spoken, in the White House and on the campaign trail, of his own struggles to quit smoking. He brought it up during Monday's ceremony while criticizing the tobacco industry for marketing its products to young people.

Obama said almost 90 percent of people who smoke began at age 18 or younger, snared in a dangerous and hard-to-kick habit.

"I know — I was one of these teenagers," Obama said. "So I know how difficult it can be to break this habit when it's been with you for a long time."

Before dozens of invited guests, including children from the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, the president signed legislation giving the Food and Drug Administration unprecedented authority to regulate tobacco.

Obama accused the tobacco industry of targeting young people, exposing them to a "constant and insidious barrage of advertising where they live, where they learn and where they play. Most insidiously, they are offered products with flavorings that mask the taste of tobacco and make it even more tempting."

The new law bans candy and fruit flavors in tobacco products, and it limits advertising that could attract young people.

The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act also allows the FDA to lower the amount of addiction-causing nicotine in tobacco products and block misleading labels such "low tar" and "light." Tobacco companies also will be required to cover their cartons with large graphic warnings.

The law won't let the FDA ban nicotine or tobacco outright.

"It is a law that will save American lives," Obama said.

Anti-smoking advocates looked forward to the bill after years of attempts to control an industry so fundamental to the U.S. that carved tobacco leaves adorn some parts of the Capitol.

Opponents from tobacco-growing states such as top-producing North Carolina argued that the FDA had proved through a series of food safety failures that it was not up to the job of regulation. They also said that instead of unrealistically trying to get smokers to quit or to prevent others from starting, lawmakers should ensure that people have other options, like smokeless tobacco.

As president, George W. Bush opposed the legislation and threatened a veto after it passed the House last year. The Obama administration, by contrast, issued a statement declaring strong support for the measure.

Presient Obama takes healthcare campaign to doctors

Tapinder Katoch — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 02:14:10 EDT

By Lisa Wangsness Globe Staff / June 16, 2009
Email|
Print|
Reprints|
Yahoo! Buzz|
ShareThis
Text size – +
WASHINGTON - President Obama yesterday took the fight for a public healthcare option to a skeptical audience, telling the American Medical Association that a government plan that would compete with private insurers is "not your enemy; it is your friend."
DiscussCOMMENTS (0)
Addressing a key constituency whose rejection of Bill Clinton's healthcare plan helped crush it 15 years ago, Obama said he believes a public plan would "put affordable healthcare within reach for millions of Americans."
He also told doctors that if health costs keep growing at current rates, the pressure could destabilize the healthcare system and threaten all reimbursements.
Doctors, hospitals, and other providers worry they would lose money under a government insurance plan if it used the power of its size to dictate payment rates that are much lower than what private insurers pay. That is essentially what Medicare and Medicaid do now, and many providers make up their losses by charging private insurers more.
The AMA has not ruled out embracing some form of a public option, but its members have been concerned about Obama's intentions.
Obama tried to reassure doctors by saying the reform bill was not a "Trojan horse" for a Canadian-style single-payer system, as insurance companies and other opponents contend. But he stopped short of saying a public plan would pay doctors as much as private insurers do.
Instead, he said the legislation would include broad changes to the way doctors are paid for their services, so that rather than getting paid by the visit, procedure, or test - a model that encourages unnecessary expense - they would be paid for their overall treatment of a patient.
Doctors would ultimately benefit because they would be able to "focus on patient care," he said, and health costs would be brought under control.
Obama got a mostly warm reception; Dr. Mario E. Motta, president of the Massachusetts Medical Society, who was in Chicago for the president's speech, said he believes the mainstream of the AMA is more flexible than it may seem.
"If a public plan was designed specifically the way he phrased it today - to give another option, to make sure all Americans are insured - and if its rates were adequate for physicians and it could pressure insurers to behave more responsibly," he said, doctors would sign on. But they will not support a plan that pays Medicare rates, which can be 20 percent lower than what private insurers pay physicians.
The question of whether to have a government-sponsored health insurance program - and how it should be financed and governed, and who would be eligible - is one of the most difficult political questions facing Congress.
Proponents say a public plan could cut administrative costs, bargain for lower prices, impose stricter quality guidelines, and pressure private insurers to do the same.Continued...
Opponents say the insurance industry, unable to compete with a powerful government plan, would eventually collapse and leave patients with no choices.
Dr. Donald Palmisano, a former AMA president and head of the Coalition to Protect Patients' Rights, a leading conservative group on healthcare legislation, criticized Obama for focusing on government solutions.
"More than 80 percent of Americans currently have health insurance, and the vast majority of them are overwhelmingly satisfied with their coverage, so let's fix the problem we have - not one that doesn't exist," he said in a statement.
An analysis by the nonpartisan Lewin Group found that a limited public insurance plan paying Medicare rates could offer premiums 30 percent below market, but that a large public option plan could devastate the private insurance industry. If anyone could join, 131 million people would enroll, the study found, causing private insurers to lose 70 percent of their business.
"That would effectively end the employer-based healthcare system as we know it today," said Robert Zirkelbach, a spokesman for the insurance industry lobby.
Key committees in the House and Senate are scheduled to begin finalizing bills this week.
Both the left and right have staked out positions: Many liberal Democratic leaders have suggested they want a strong Medicare-style public plan; most Republicans firmly oppose that approach, fearing it could hurt private insurers.
Moderate Democrats, and a few Republicans, are pushing various forms of a weaker public plan that would pose less of a threat to private insurers but would provide an affordable alternative for people who cannot get insurance through their employers.
Senator Charles Schumer, Democrat of New York, has proposed setting ground rules for a public plan that would force it to compete on a level playing field with private insurers. But several moderate Democratic senators and many of the 100 or so moderate "Blue Dogs" and New Democrats in the House remain concerned.
In an effort to broker a compromise, Senator Kent Conrad, Democrat of North Dakota, has proposed allowing federally chartered "co-ops" to operate like independent nonprofit insurers.
But Jacob Hacker, co-director of the Center for Health, Economic, and Family Security at University of California, Berkeley, wrote in a piece on The New Republic website Sunday that Conrad's co-ops would be too small to exert the necessary pressure on the private industry to lower costs or improve quality, undermining two major purposes of the public option.
Motta said the Massachusetts chapter of the AMA supports a limited public option and is fighting to defeat a resolution against one. At a discussion the other day, Motta said, he asked how many of the doctors loved their insurance companies.
"And not one hand rose," he said. "I think there is a sense that things need to change, despite the vocal minority."
Lisa Wangsness can be reached at lwangsness@globe.com.
© Copyright 2009 Globe Newspaper Company.
Single Page
1
2
Next

Greater power to curb smoking

Tapinder Katoch — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 02:24:50 EDT

On nicotine, it specified that the level can be set by the FDA but not to zero. Officials of Philip Morris, USA, the largest cigarette manufacturer, were party to the negotiations. -- ST PHOTO: MALCOLM MCLEOD
WASHINGTON - CONGRESS' strongest anti-smoking law in decades gives regulators new power to limit nicotine in cigarettes, drastically curtail advertising and ban candied tobacco products aimed at young people.
At the same time, it orders the Food and Drug Administration, the country's main regulator of foodstuffs and medicines, not to ban either cigarettes or nicotine, the substance that makes smoking tobacco addictive.
NEW MEASURES TO DETER SMOKERSRegulators could prohibit tobacco companies from using candy or other flavors in cigarettes that tend to attract young smokers, and restrict advertising in publications often read by teenagers. Rules on sales to minors would be toughened, as would warning labels.

Tobacco companies would have to get FDA approval for new products, and would be barred from using terms such as 'light' or 'mild' that imply a smaller health risk.... moreAdvocates of the legislation say the changes are necessary to marshal government powers to save some of the 400,000 people who die in the United States from smoking every year and to reduce the US$100 billion (S$145 billion) in annual health care costs linked to tobacco.
The legislation, one of the most dramatic anti-smoking initiatives since the US surgeon general's warning 45 years ago that tobacco causes lung cancer, would give the FDA authority to regulate the content, marketing and advertising of cigarettes and other tobacco products.
On nicotine, it specified that the level can be set by the FDA but not to zero.
Officials of Philip Morris, USA, the largest cigarette manufacturer, were party to the negotiations.
Thursday's 79-17 Senate vote sends the measure back to the House of Representatives, which in April passed a similar but not identical version. House acceptance of the Senate bill would send it directly to President Barack Obama, who supports the action.
Supporters of FDA regulation of tobacco have struggled for more than a decade to overcome powerful resistance from the industry and elsewhere. In 2000, the US Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that the agency did not have the authority under current law to regulate tobacco products, and the former George W. Bush administration opposed several previous efforts by Congress to write a new law.
Thursday's legislation gives the FDA power to evaluate contents of tobacco products and to order changes or bans on those that constitute a danger to public health, except for nicotine yields.
Opponents, led by Republican Sen. Richard Burr of the tobacco-growing state of North Carolina, argued that the FDA, in charge of ensuring the safety of food and drug products, was the wrong

Obama launches ocean protection plan

Tapinder Katoch — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 02:20:55 EDT

Fri Jun 12, 2009 6:47pm EDT
By Doug Palmer
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama launched a plan on Friday to protect the oceans, U.S. coasts and Great Lakes from the threats of climate change, pollution and overfishing.
"The oceans are critical to supporting life," Obama said in statement designating June as National Oceans Month. "The base of the oceanic ecosystem provides most of the oxygen we breathe, so oceans are critical to our survival."
Obama set up a task force led by chief White House environmental adviser Nancy Sutley to recommend a national policy to protect and restore "the health of ocean, coastal and Great Lakes ecosystems and resources" within 90 days.
The initiative comes as Obama is pressing Congress to pass sweeping new legislation to reduce the use of fossil fuels that emit carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases blamed for global climate change.
Oceans cover 70 percent of the Earth's surface and are a major source of jobs, food and energy resources. They are also critical to the transportation of people and goods and the mobility of U.S. armed forces.
Oceans "not only affect climate processes, but they are also under stress from the impacts of climate change," the White House said in a statement.
Other challenges are pollution, degraded coastal water quality, habitat loss, fishing impacts, invasive species, disease, rising sea levels and acidification, it said.
The environmental group Oceana praised Obama's action, hoping it would bring a "unifying vision" to the 140 U.S. laws and 20 federal agencies involved in oceans management.
"With the oceans facing the triple threats of overfishing, pollution and climate change, they need attention at the highest levels of government," Oceana chief executive Andy Sharpless said.
(Reporting by Doug Palmer; editing by Anthony Boadle)

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved

President Obama outlines healthcare savings

Tapinder Katoch — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 02:13:51 EDT

His proposed 10-year reform programme is estimated to cost about $1 trillion, and aims to make healthcare available to all Americans.
He said the savings would "rein in unnecessary spending and increase efficiency and the quality of care".
The US spends more than $2 trillion a year on healthcare, although nearly 50m people have no medical insurance.
In his weekly radio address, President Obama said: "I have made a firm commitment that healthcare reform will not add to the federal deficit over the next decade."
Cutting waste
His announcement of the additional $313bn comes on top of the $635bn down payment on reform detailed in the budget proposal submitted to Congress this year.
The savings will incorporate cutting waste in the Medicare programme for the elderly and Medicaid programme for poor people.
Mr Obama, who has pledged to halve the budget deficit he inherited from the Bush administration by 2013, said Medicare and Medicaid could leave the country "with a mountain of debt" that future generations would not be able to pay.
"We cannot continue down this path," he noted.
"I do not accept a future where Americans forego healthcare because they can't pay for it, and more and more families go without coverage at all."
Health reform was one of Mr Obama's key election promises, as he focused on providing healthcare for the 46 million citizens, about 15% of the population, who do have any medical coverage.

Obama Fast-Tracks Health Care Reform

Tapinder Katoch — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 01:11:50 EDT

Even as the President Urges Senate Democrats to Move Quickly, a Congressional Budget Office Ruling Lowers a Hurdle that Tripped Up the Clinton-Era Reform EffortBy GAIL RUSSELL CHADDOCK
Staff Writer
June 6, 2009
1 comment FONT SIZE EMAIL PRINT RSS DIGG SHARE
President Obama, with a strong assist from Congress's budget watchdog, is moving healthcare reform to the fast track on Capitol Hill -- with or without Republican support.
President Barack Obama is forging ahead with healthcare reform. But will he have the support of Republicans as well as Democrats?(ABC News Photo Illustration)
The next two months are a "make or break period" for getting healthcare done, the president told Senate Democrats at a White House meeting on Tuesday. Mr. Obama says he still wants a bipartisan plan, but Republicans worry that Tuesday's Democrats-only meeting signals a new tack that may leave them behind.
Call it un-HillaryCare. The president's rush to closure, even before details of the plan are in place, is in sharp contrast to the White House-driven healthcare reform effort in the first two years of the Clinton administration.
Obama is leaving the drafting of the plan largely to Congress, where competing plans are emerging on both sides of the aisle this week. Meanwhile, the White House is making the overall case for reform and generating a sense of inevitability that a plan will clear Congress this year.

Obama to lay out 8 keys to health plan

Tapinder Katoch — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 23:20:30 EST

Barack Obama
Presidential Transition
Play Video ABC News – Obama: Health Care Reform 'Will Not Wait'
Slideshow:President Barack Obama
Play Video Video:Obama: Health care must be reformed now AP
Play Video Video:Loss of Daschle clouds health reform prospects AP
AFP – US President Barack Obama makes a statement from the Diplomatic Room of the White House.(AFP/Jim Watson)
The Obama administration will announce a 10-year, $634 billion reserve fund Thursday aimed at expanding health care coverage – and will pay for half the plan with a new tax hike on wealthy Americans that surprised health care advocates and angered Republicans.
Ahead of Thursday’s budget release, administration officials said Obama will adhere to eight principles to guide his health reform effort, including allowing patients to maintain their choice of insurers and doctors, POLITICO has learned.
The officials, speaking on a conference call Wednesday to health-care insiders, described Obama’s plan as a “down-payment” on a covering all Americans. In fact, the Obama team is coining a new phrase – that he’ll “aim for universality,” without offering specifics of how he would reach that goal, or when. He wants Congress to fill in the details.
“The goal is still to bring down the cost of care and to get universal coverage,” said an administration source.
In the conference call, White House health care officials repeatedly stressed how critical the budget was to the larger health care reform effort.
"We can't underestimate the importance of rallying around this budget and making sure that in fact it goes forward and serves as a footprint for something bigger and something larger with regard to our health care plan," said Melody Barnes, director of the White House Domestic Policy Council.
And he’ll pay for half his plan — $318 billion over 10 years – with new tax hike on Americans making more than $250,000.
Obama had pledged throughout his campaign to roll back Bush tax cuts for Americans making more than $250,000 a year in fiscal year 2011 – a plan that also will be included in Thursday’s budget — but this is different, aimed at reducing the itemized deduction rate for those taxpayers.
Some advocates for universal health coverage said they were surprised to learn that Obama would turn to a tax increase to create a dedicated fund for his program. The other half of the $634 billion would come from changes in savings in Medicare, including ending subsides to private insurance companies that participate in the Medicare Advantage programs in rural areas.
But the tax increase also opened Obama up to criticism from the congressional Republicans, who sensed an opening to attack Obama over one of the oldest political fault lines in Wahsington, tax increases.
"Everyone agrees that all Americans deserve access to affordable health care, but is increasing taxes during an economic recession, especially on small businesses, the right way to accomplish that goal? Given the size of our $1.2 trillion deficit, a proposal costing up to $1 trillion must raise troubling questions," House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) said in a statement.
Under current law, high earners who are in the 35 percent tax bracket can take deductions at that rate. Under Obama’s plan, they would be capped at 28 percent – meaning instead of getting $3,500 back from $10,000 in mortgage interest or other deductions, these taxpayers would get $2,800. The plan would phase in during fiscal year 2011, just as Obama plans to let the Bush tax cuts expire.
Ahead of the release of his budget Thursday, Obama has endorsed eight guiding principles for health reform, the White House officials said on the conference call. They stressed that they intend to work with lawmakers and other stakeholders on how to accomplish the goals, but the principles will lay down a marker for any congressional plan.
Other goals include maintaining choice of insurance and doctors, ensuring affordable coverage, protecting Americans financial health, investing in prevention and wellness, improving patient safety and quality of care and is fiscally responsible, sustainable and portable.
Early reviews for Obama's effort were favorable from health-care advocates.
"We think this is an enormously positive step in the right direction," said Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA, a consumer health advocacy group. "What is so remarkable is within 24 hours of saying health care reform must be done, the president showed his commitment to putting significant money on the table in a fiscally responsible way."
Anna Burger, secretary-treasurer of Service Employees International Union, said Congress “must continue to step up with the same commitment and work with the president to pass comprehensive health care reform this year.”
“The American people expect solutions, not excuses,” Burger said.
Obama previewed his broader plans for health care in his address to Congress Tuesday night, saying his budget contained "a commitment to comprehensive health care reform - a down payment on the principle that we must have quality, affordable health care for every American."
Obama has generally shied away from using the term "universal health care" and the $634 billion is not being billed as an achievement of that goal but a big step in that direction. About 47 million Americans don't have health insurance.
OMB chief Peter Orszag is to announce the plan while outlining Obama's budget in a press conference Thursday.

One last question

Tapinder Katoch — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 23:14:40 EST

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1m_k2dCj0M&eurl=http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2009/02/62687523/1?se=yahoorefer&feature=player_embedded
It was quite a moment at the end of President Obama's town hall meeting in Fort Myers, Fla., yesterday. As The News-Press writes, 19-year-old Julio Osegueda "rocketed from a Cape Coral teenager who flips burgers for $7.85 an hour at a McDonald's to an instant celebrity of sorts."
And he got a temporary job.
For those who didn't see what happened at the town hall when Osegueda asked the president about when he and other low-wage workers might be able to get job benefits, here's the video:

"I have never felt this good except maybe when I got my PlayStation 3 for Christmas," Osegueda told the News-Press later.
After the event, the newspaper adds, Osegueda:
Picked up another job -- if just for a day -- as the color announcer for the Fort Myers Miracle baseball team's radio broadcast for its home opener April 10. The one-day gig typically pays $25, but the Miracle said the salary is negotiable.

"I'll be ready," he said about his debut.

obama democrats news

Tapinder Katoch — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 00:17:23 EST

UPDATE 2-US Treasury to roll out financial rescue plan
By obama democrat - 9:09pm - 1 author - 0 replies
Holder Confirmed As the First Black Attorney General
By obama democrat - 9:07pm - 1 author - 0 replies
Sources: Sen. Judd Gregg accepts commerce secretary post
By obama democrat - 9:02pm - 1 author - 0 replies House OKs $819B stimulus bill with GOP opposition
By obama democrat - Jan 28 - 1 author - 0 replies Next week the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act is due to be passed by Congress and sent to the President
By obama democrat - Jan 27 - 1 author - 0 replies Obama tells Muslim world: 'Americans are not your enemy'
By obama democrat - Jan 26 - 1 author - 0 replies Remarks by the Presidenton Jobs, Energy Independence, and Climate Change
By obama democrat - Jan 26 - 1 author - 0 replies Monday, January 26th, 2009 at 6:30 pm Press Briefing Highlights
By obama democrat - Jan 26 - 1 author - 0 replies

Next week the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act is due to be passed by Congress and sent to the President

Tapinder Katoch — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 23:34:04 EST

(Washington, DC) The Senate passage of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act is a long-awaited victory for women’s rights, removing a critical hurdle in restoring the ability of victims of wage discrimination to fight for equal pay for equal work, the National Women’s Law Center said today. A statement from Marcia D. Greenberger, Co-President of the National Women’s Law Center, follows.
“The Senate passage of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act means that women’s ability to challenge unequal pay will be restored. We celebrate today with women and their families who can once again stand up and fight for the pay they so desperately need and deserve.
“Lilly Ledbetter’s story represents an unfortunate turn in our nation’s laws. The Supreme Court’s 5-4 ruling in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. in 2007 left women without the most basic legal means to fight for equal pay. But President Obama has pledged to sign the Ledbetter bill and soon our country’s workers will be a part of a different story – one that rejects discrimination and holds employers accountable for injustice.
“The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act restores the law that existed for decades in virtually every region of the country prior to the Ledbetter decision and gives women back critical tools they need to fight wage discrimination in court. The Ledbetter bill makes it clear that each discriminatory paycheck is a new act of discrimination that resets the 180-day limit to file a claim. In doing so, it reestablishes the law’s incentive for employers to correct discriminatory pay practices. Employers will no longer have the free pass to continue to discriminate against their employees without ever having to worry about being held accountable. At the same time, plaintiffs still can only recover back pay for a period of no more than two years before they challenge the discrimination.
“The Senate was right to defeat the amendments offered today. An amended bill would not have fully restored the protections women had before the Ledbetter decision. It would have created new and untested legal standards, leading to more litigation and less equal pay. The Senate deserves the thanks of families across the country for joining the House in passing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. We look forward to our new President signing the bill into law, and righting a festering wrong that five justices had done to the nation’s basic equal pay protections.”
The Ledbetter bill now goes back to the House of Representatives for a final – and what is expected to be quick – vote before it is sent to President Obama for his signature.
To speak with Marcia D. Greenberger or Lilly Ledbetter, contact Ranit Schmelzer at 202-588-5180. For more information about the campaign for pay equity, visit www.nwlc.org/fairpay. A fact sheet on Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. is available here: http://www.nwlc.org/pdf/Broad_Ledbetter_Fact_Sheet_111008.pdf
A fact sheet on the wage gap is available here: http://www.nwlc.org/pdf/Pay_Equity_Fact_Sheet_Nov2008.pdf

ObamaDemocrats(join this group)

Tapinder Katoch — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 02:27:03 EST

ObamaDemocrats Visit this group

Subscribe to ObamaDemocrats(GoogleGroup)

Tapinder Katoch — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 02:22:41 EST

Subscribe to ObamaDemocrats Email: Visit this group

WHITE HOUSE CONNECTION

Tapinder Katoch — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 13:42:06 EST

THE BRIEFING ROOM
Weekly Video Address
The Blog
Slideshows
Proclamations
Executive Orders & Presidential Memoranda
Nominations & Appointments
THE AGENDA
Civil Rights
Defense
Disabilities
Economy
Education
Energy & Environment
Ethics
Family
Fiscal
Foreign Policy
Health Care
Homeland Security
Immigration
Iraq
Poverty
Rural
Seniors & Social Security
Service
Taxes
Technology
Urban Policy
Veterans
Women
Additional Issues
THE ADMINISTRATION
President Barack Obama
Vice President Joe Biden
First Lady Michelle Obama
Dr. Jill Biden
The Cabinet
White House Staff
Executive Office of the President
ABOUT THE WHITE HOUSE
History
Presidents
First Ladies
Vice President's Residence & Office
Eisenhower Executive Office Building
The Oval Office
Camp David
Air Force One
White House Fellows
White House Internships
White House 101
Tours & Events
OUR GOVERNMENT
The Executive Branch
The Legislative Branch
The Judicial Branch
The Constitution
Federal Agencies & Commissions
Elections & Voting
State & Local Government
Resources
CONTACT

The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, DC 20500

Questions?
Comments@whitehouse.gov

Obama plans fast action on financial regulation-NYT

Tapinder Katoch — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 10:20:15 EST

NEW YORK, Jan 24 (Reuters) - The Obama administration plans to tighten the nation's financial regulatory system, including stricter federal rules for hedge funds, credit rating agencies and mortgage brokers, the New York Times reported in Sunday editions.
The broad changes include increased oversight of the complex financial instruments that helped spawn the current economic crisis, the newspaper said on its website Saturday night.
The newspaper based its story on interviews with officials as well as confirmation hearings for senior administration appointees, and a recent report by an international committee led by Paul Volcker, one of President Obama's chief economic advisers.
These officials want rules that would eliminate conflicts of interest at credit rating agencies that gave top investment grades to the ultimately shaky financial instruments that have been one source of market turmoil.
The officials pointed out that under the present system, the agencies are paid by companies to help them structure financial instruments -- which the agencies then grade.
"Until we deal with the compensation model, we're not going to deal with the conflict of interest and people are not going to have confidence that the ratings are worth relying on, worth the paper they're printed on," the newspaper quoted the newly confirmed Securities and Exchange Commission head Mary Schapiro as saying.
Treasury secretary Timothy Geithner made similar written and verbal comments before Senate Finance Committee, it said.
The officials said the Obama administration has embraced one of the themes of the Volcker report as a guiding principle -- that major companies and financial instruments that are mostly unsupervised must be brought back under a larger regulatory umbrella.
While some actions will be require legislation, others should be achievable through regulations adopted by federal agencies, the Times said. Continued...
1 | 2 Next >
© Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. | Learn more about Thomson Reuters

Obama - the first 100 hours

Tapinder Katoch — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 12:33:49 EST

Oliver Burkeman and Ed Pilkington
The Guardian, Saturday 24 January 2009
Article history

Obama and his wife and daughters. Photograph: Chuck Kennedy/AP
1 Said: "So help me God." The phrase is not required by the constitution, so it's arguable that he, Barack Obama, was president by the time he said it, making these his first words in office.
2 Delivered a 17-minute inauguration address, telling the crowds it was time to "pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and begin again the work of remaking America".
3 Invoked biggest cheer of the day from the 2 million-plus crowd with the words: "Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many ... But know this, America - they will be met."
4 Then the words: "We reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals." George Bush, sitting to his left, looks decidedly uncomfortable.
5 With his wife, Michelle, escorted George and Laura Bush to the waiting helicopter, where the two men hugged before the former president began his journey home to Texas.
6 As the helicopter disappeared into clear skies, Obama now had Washington, and the United States, all to himself. His relief was palpable.
7 Inside the Capitol building, signed his first documents as president, including cabinet nominations.
8 "I'm a lefty. Get used to it," he said, as he signed. Obama is the fourth southpaw, or left-handed, president out of the past five (Dubya is right-handed).
9 Signed a proclamation declaring 20 January 2009 a national day of renewal and reconciliation.
10 Completed the signing session, looking wistfully at the object in his left hand. "I was told not to swipe the pen," he said.
11 Attended a lunch with congressional leaders, where he dined on a menu from Lincoln's day: pheasant, duck and apple cake served on replica Lincoln White House china.
12 Addressed the assembled crowd, minus Ted Kennedy, who was removed on a stretcher with medical difficulties.
13 Entered his limousine, nicknamed The Beast, to begin the parade down Pennsylvania Avenue to his new home at number 1600.
14 The armour-plated Beast has tinted windows, but through them Obama could be seen clearly practising his military salute.
15 Walked two stretches of the 1.7-mile route, waving at the crowds lining the street.
16 Briefly entered the White House with his family - the Obamas' first moments in their new home.
17 As he entered the North Porticoe into the central entrance, he passed a portrait of the elder George Bush on his left and Bill Clinton on the right. Straight ahead of him, above the door to the Blue Room, was the seal of the US president. His seal.
18 Took his position in the reviewing stand outside the White House, to watch 40 bands and other groups parade past, including the World Famous Lawn Rangers from Illinois, who pushed decorated lawn mowers.
19 Tried out that salute, as cadets marched by. Not bad, though he needs to keep his hand straight.
20 Instructed military prosecutors to seek a 120-day halt to legal proceedings involving detainees at Guantánamo Bay.
21 Issued an order instructing government agencies to halt all pending regulations signed by Bush - a way of combating efforts by the outgoing administration to force through last-minute changes without congressional approval.
22 Danced with Michelle to Beyonce's rendition of At Last, by Etta James, as the opening dance of the Neighbourhood Ball.
23 Appeared to step on the train of Michelle's custom-designed gown by Jason Wu, but otherwise showed himself to be a decent dancer.
24 Gave a brief interview to ABC News, whose reporter said: "Mr President - sounds good, doesn't it?" "It's got a certain ring to it," he replied.
25 Danced and spoke again at the Home State Ball, for Illinois and Hawaii.
26 A quick transfer to the Commander-in-Chief ball, with many military attendees, and a satellite link to war zones. Obama danced with Army Sergeant Margaret Herrera of Texas, who burst into tears.
27 Visited the Youth Ball, for people aged between 18 and 35.
28 Visited the Home State Ball for Delaware and Pennsylvania, in honour of Joe Biden, his vice-president.
29 Briefly visited the Mid-Atlantic Ball.
30 ... And the Western Ball ...
31 ... And the Midwestern Ball ...
32 ... And the Southern Ball ...
33 ... And the Eastern Ball. The couple looked increasingly exhausted as the evening progressed, and sped up their appearances, ending the night ahead of schedule.
34 Back to White House at 12.55am to spend his first night there.
35 The Obamas slept in the master bedroom in the private residence on the first floor of the White House. Their daughters, Malia and Sasha, who were treated to a treasure hunt by White House staff on their first evening culminating with a surprise visit by their favourite music act the Jonas Brothers, slept in bedrooms over the corridor once occupied by Amy Carter, Tricia Nixon, Luci Johnson and Caroline Kennedy.
36 Four hours of sleep and he was up and at it on his first full day. Lights were reported in the private residence at 5am.
37 Obama probably squeezed in a visit to the exercise room on the second floor. He has daily 45-minute gym sessions.
38 Spent his first 10 minutes alone in the Oval Office.
39 Got to sit for the first time behind the Resolute desk, a gift from Queen Victoria to America in 1880.
40 Read the letter that Bush had left for him, according to tradition, in the top drawer of the desk, marked: "To #44, From #43". Its contents have not been revealed.
41 Discussed the day's events with his chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel. It's their first Oval Office meeting.
42 Posed for pictures taken by his personal White House photographer of him and Emanuel in deep discussion. Press photographers later expressed their anger that they weren't invited to capture the moment.
43 Briefly spoke with his wife, Michelle, in the Oval Office.
44 Attended morning-after post-inauguration service with his family, the Bidens, and the Clintons, at the Washington National Cathedral.
45 Laughed when Rev Samuel Lloyd proclaimed: "This is their first full day on the job and the best way we can imagine to begin is by praying for them."
46 Listened, with head bowed, to the first sermon at a president's inaugural church service delivered by Rev Sharon Watkins.
47 Telephoned the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas - according to Abbas's spokesman, the call was Obama's first to a foreign leader.
48 Phoned the Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert.
49 Phoned King Abdullah of Jordan.
50 Phoned Egypt's president, Hosni Mubarak. The Middle Eastern calls, Obama's press spokesman said, were intended "to communicate his commitment to active engagement in pursuit of Arab-Israeli peace from the beginning of his term".
51 Issued executive order limiting the powers of former presidents and vice-presidents to block the release of sensitive records of their time in the White House. It would allow the administration to approve release of former vice-president Dick Cheney's records, among others, against his objections.
52 Issued instruction to government agencies to be more responsive to freedom of information requests.
53 Announced a tightening of rules on ex-lobbyists working in government.
54 Announced a pay freeze for his staff earning $100,000 (£73,000) or more. "Families are tightening their belts, and so should Washington," he said.
55 Witnessed the swearing-in of about 50 senior members of White House staff.
56 Told his top team that "transparency and the rule of law will be the touchstones of this presidency".
57 Biden made a joke about Chief Justice Roberts's flubbing of the presidential oath as he prepared to lead the swearing in. Obama did not look amused. Was this one transparency too far?
58 Personally greeted each of the newly sworn-in staff.
59 Obama hosted an "open house" in the White House for 200 people who had been granted tickets on a first-come, first-served basis; some were in tears.
60 "Welcome, enjoy yourself," the president told one young man. "Roam around. Don't break anything."
61 Met the joint chiefs of staff and other members of his national security team to discuss Iraq and Afghanistan. His first chance to check out the wizardry in the Situation Room, with its screens receiving satellite images from around the world and its banks of incoming top-secret messages.
62 Met economic advisors to discuss his stimulus package, which could be worth $900bn.
63 Re-swore the oath of office in the White House Map Room out of an "abundance of caution". Or alternatively as a way of killing off the storm of right-wing agitprop that has been tearing through the internet suggesting that the first botched attempt at the oath means Obama is not rightfully president.
64 This time they got it right. Roberts asked "Are you ready to take the oath?" Obama replied: "I am, and we're going to do it very slowly."
65 "We decided it was so much fun." Obama joked to reporters after the event. "The bad news ... is there's 12 more balls."
66 Ate dinner with his family at the White House on Wednesday evening in the private dining room on the first floor.
67 Was waited upon by the 95-strong White House staff. Barack and Michelle will not have to make their own bed for as long as they are in the mansion, though Malia and Sasha will, at their mother's insistence.
68 Gave a speech at a Wednesday night Thank You Ball for campaign workers at the Washington DC Armoury. "You guys dress a lot sharper than you did in Iowa!" he told the crowd.
69 Walked up and down the rope line shaking campaign workers' hands - officially, the final act of the inauguration celebrations.
70 On Thursday morning, said goodbye to his daughters, Sasha and Malia, who were returning to Washington's Sidwell Friends school after two days off for the inauguration.
71 Back to the gym for likely work-out.
72 Absorbed the news that the specially commissioned piece of music by John Williams played "live" at his inauguration by a quartet of world-class musicians had in fact been recorded two days' previously.
73 Released statement on the 36th anniversary of the landmark Roe v Wade supreme court judgment, reaffirming his commitment to protecting abortion rights.
74 To applause, signed executive order requiring the closure of the military prison at Guantánamo within one year.
75 Obama said: "The message we are sending around the world is that the United States intends to prosecute the ongoing struggle against violence and terrorism ... and we are going to do so in a manner that is consistent with our values and our ideals." Was Bush watching on TV at home in Dallas cringing?
76 Signed second executive order requiring the closure of the CIA's network of secret overseas prisons, and making a commitment to not using torture in interrogations.
77 Signed third executive order establishing an interagency taskforce on detainees, including Hillary Clinton and the defence secretary, Robert Gates, to decide what to do with the remaining Guantánamo inmates.
78 Signed directive to delay proceedings in the case of Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri, currently awaiting a hearing at the supreme court, so that the president's team can review it. Marri is accused of being an al-Qaida sleeper agent.
79 Visited the state department, where Clinton had earlier made an introductory address to staff.
80 Watched, with impassive face, as Clinton said that she had appointed two special envoys to world trouble zones. The appointments had previously been billed as Obama's own. Was this a taste of rivalry to come?
81 Endured second gaffe by his vice-president in a week. Biden stepped into the tension between Obama and Clinton, saying at first that the president would announce the envoys and then hurriedly saying Clinton would present them.
82 Clinton got to name George Mitchell, the former Senate majority leader and Irish peace negotiator, as special envoy to the Middle East peace process. Obama later claimed him as his envoy. Who is in charge here?
83 Clinton named the former UN ambassador Richard Holbrooke as special representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan. Obama later names him as his envoy. Bully to you, secretary of state!
84 Called on Hamas to end its rocket fire into Israel, and for Israel to "complete the withdrawal of its forces from Gaza", adding that Gaza's borders should be opened to humanitarian aid.
85 Paid brief surprise visit to the White House press area, startling journalists. "Good to see you guys. I just wanted to make sure that I had a chance to say hello," he said. "I gotta say, it's smaller than I thought."
86 Observing that CNN and Rupert Murdoch's Fox News had adjacent booths, he likened them to the goal for Israel and the Palestinians: "Living side by side in peace and security," he noted.
87 Slight tetchiness entered the proceedings when a reporter asked a serious question about his nomination of a former lobbyist as number two at the Pentagon. "I can't come in and shake hands if I'm gonna get grilled every time," Obama said.
88 Said that he had won his fight to keep a Blackberry. The president will be given a $3,000 special version with encryption to secure his email exchanges with a very limited number of vetted correspondents.
89 Convened meeting with congressional leaders on the economic crisis.
90 Invited Republican leaders into the White House to air their discontent over the bail-out package. He is proving himself to be adept in defusing potential enemies.
91 Sat in on the daily briefing of the National Security Council giving updates on threats around the world.
92 Approves first American missile strikes under his presidency on tribal areas of Pakistan.
93 Started the first of what will now be a new daily series of briefings on the economy led by Larry Summers.
94 Budget meeting. With projections of an annual deficit of more than $1tr this year, there was plenty to talk about.
95 Rounded off a gruelling first three days with a meeting in the Oval Office with Timothy Geithner, his nominee for treasury secretary who is still embroiled in a drawn-out confirmation process in the Senate.
96 The Obamas had a choice of possible entertainments to round off their week. The choicest of all, most past presidents agree, is the private theatre, where they can watch Hollywood films before they are put on general release.
97 Back to the gym. There is no way Obama would miss his work-out on a Saturday.
98 Finally, a chance to take in the White House and its grounds at a slightly more relaxed tempo. The Obamas have said they will continue to spend weekends in their Chicago home, but this weekend is likely to be a time for acclimatising in their new residence.
99 Obama may take the opportunity to test out the White House basketball court. The court has been modified to put up two nets, allowing for a full game.
100 Obama retreats to his office on the first floor, puts his feet up on the desk, leans back and goes to light one of the cigarettes he has been struggling to give up. But alas smoking is banned in the White House.

Obama's orders start detainee policy overhaul

Tapinder Katoch — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 11:03:40 EST

President Barack Obama signs and executive order, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2009, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, one of which would close the prison at Guantánamo Bay. CHARLES DHARAPAK / ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo
Related Content
Gates says 'challenge' in closing Guantánamo
Kansas wary of being new home for Guantánamo detainees
Obama orders review in al Qaeda sleeper case
Obama intel nominee says no torture on his watch
By JONATHAN S. LANDAYMcClatchy Newspapers
WASHINGTON -- The three executive orders that President Barack Obama signed on Thursday to shut the Guantánamo Bay and CIA prisons began to untangle some of the legal, diplomatic and practical knots created by the Bush administration's war on terror policies.
They marked a clear break with policies such as indefinite detention without charges or trial, which have been widely criticized as violations of U.S. and international legal principles and protections.
The executive orders also embodied what appeared to be Obama's repudiation of the Bush administration's view that the Constitution gives the president unlimited powers when it comes to the conduct of war.
The first of Obama's three orders directed the closure of the Guantánamo prison within a year and a freeze on military commissions, the panels of military officers created to try terror suspects.
Unlike criminal proceedings in civilian courts, the commissions allow the government to introduce hearsay, evidence obtained by coercive means and secret materials that defendants and their lawyers are prohibited from seeing.
A review of the cases against the estimated 245 prisoners at Guantánamo is to begin immediately to determine who can be freed and transferred to third countries because they face persecution or torture by their own governments.
A senior administration official, who asked not to be named because of the sensitive nature of the matter, said the review would "happen on a rolling basis," with Obama authorizing transfers as they're recommended.
A second executive order created a special task force headed by the incoming attorney general and Defense Secretary Robert Gates that will recommend within 180 days new policies for detaining, trying, transferring or releasing suspected terrorists that adhere to U.S. and international laws.
The third order revokes the Bush administration legal re-interpretations of interrogation methods permitted under the 1949 Geneva Conventions. It requires all interrogators, including those working for the CIA, to adhere to a revised U.S. Army Field Manual. The manual and the U.S. criminal code bars techniques such as waterboarding, which simulates drowning, that's considered torture.
Tougher decisions still await Obama, however. The first is what to do with detainees who are considered terrorist threats but can't be tried because of a lack of evidence against them or because evidence is tainted by interrogation methods that some U.S. officials consider torture or too highly classified to use in court.
Some experts want Congress to authorize a special counterterrorism court, court-martial-style tribunals or indefinite preventive detention. Others urge turning the detainees over to the criminal justice system and freeing them if there isn't enough evidence to indict them.
Obama also will have to decide, based on high-level reviews authorized in his executive orders, which detainees can be freed and which can be prosecuted, what kind of court to try them in and where to hold them inside the U.S.
"What started today was a process that the president committed to during the campaign," said White House spokesman Robert Gibbs. "That process started today with his signature. That process will go on until the issues that were outlined are appropriately determined."
"Determined" means closing the Guantánamo detention center, according to Obama's nominee for director of national intelligence.

Full Story
1
2
Next »

Obama signs order to close Guantanamo in a year

Tapinder Katoch — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 12:17:44 EST

Play Video AFP – Obama to close Guantanamo Bay camp
Slideshow: President Barack Obama
Play Video Video: Obama takes second Presidential oath Reuters
Play Video Video: Obama to act swiftly on economy BBC
AP – President Barack Obama signs an executive order closing the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Thursday, Jan. …
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama began overhauling U.S. treatment of terror suspects Thursday, signing orders to close the Guantanamo Bay detention center, review military war crimes trials and ban the harshest interrogation methods.
"We intend to win this fight. We're going to win it on our terms," Obama said as he signed three executive orders and a presidential directive in the Oval Office. Obama explained each order before he put his pen to them and occasionally solicited input from White House counsel Greg Craig to make sure he was describing them correctly.
With his action, Obama started changing how the United States prosecutes and questions al-Qaida, Taliban or other foreign fighters who pose a threat to Americans — and overhauling America's image abroad, battered by accusations of the use of torture and the indefinite detention of suspects at the Guantanamo prison in Cuba.
"The message that we are sending the world is that the United States intends to prosecute the ongoing struggle against violence and terrorism and we are going to do so vigilantly and we are going to do so effectively and we are going to do so in a manner that is consistent with our values and our ideals," the president said.
The centerpiece order would close the much-maligned Guantanamo facility within a year, a complicated process with many unanswered questions that was nonetheless a key campaign promise of Obama's. The administration already has suspended trials for terrorist suspects at Guantanamo for 120 days pending a review of the military tribunals.
In the other actions, Obama:
_Created a task force that would have 30 days to recommend policies on handling terror suspects who are detained in the future. Specifically, the group would look at where those detainees should be housed since Guantanamo is closing.
_Required all U.S. personnel to follow the U.S. Army Field Manual while interrogating detainees. The manual explicitly prohibits threats, coercion, physical abuse and waterboarding, a technique that creates the sensation of drowning and has been termed a form of torture by critics. However, a Capitol Hill aide says that the administration also is planning a study of more aggressive interrogation methods that could be added to the Army manual — which would create a significant loophole to Obama's action Thursday.
"We believe that the Army Field Manual reflects the best judgment of our military, that we can abide by a rule that says we don't torture, but that we can still effectively obtain the intelligence that we need," Obama said. He said his action reflects an understanding that "we are willing to observe core standards of conduct, not just when it's easy, but also when it's hard."
_Directed the Justice Department to review the case of Qatar native Ali al-Marri, who is the only enemy combatant currently being held on U.S. soil. The review will look at whether al-Marri has the right to sue the government for his freedom, a right the Supreme Court already has given to Guantanamo detainees. The directive will ask the high court for a stay in al-Marri's appeals case while the review is ongoing. The government says al-Marri is an al-Qaida sleeper agent.
An estimated 245 men are being held at the U.S. naval base in Cuba, most of whom have been detained for years without being charged with a crime. Among the sticky issues the Obama administration has to resolve are where to put those detainees — whether back in their home countries or at other federal detention centers — and how to prosecute some of them for war crimes.
In his first Oval Office signing ceremony, Obama was surrounded by retired senior military leaders. He described them as outstanding Americans who have defended the country — and its ideals.

BLACK IN WHITE HOUSE-BARRIER BROKEN ONCE FOR ALL

Tapinder Katoch — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 22:16:51 EST

20.January 2009, 19:55
It was an historic day for the United States of America: President-elect Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th president, and the first African-American president in the nation's history. Speaking to the hundreds of thousands present at the National Mall, and millions watching on television, President Barack Obama delivered his inauguration address.
Picture: REUTERS
U.S. President Barack Obama delivers his speech after taking the Oath of Office to become the 44th President of the United States, during the inauguration ceremony in Washington, January 20, 2009. Obama became the first African-American president in U.S. history.
The following is the full text of U.S. President Barack Obama’s inauguration address on Tuesday. Obama, a Democrat, was sworn in on the steps of the Capitol as the 44th U.S. president around noon EST (1700 GMT), taking over from President George W. Bush, a Republican.
"My fellow citizens:
I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.
Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents.
So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.
Related Articles
Barack Obama is sworn in as president
Huge crowds throng Mall, threat is investigated
Obama to meet with military officials on Wednesday
Obama offered Biden job as secretary of state
Obama-mania sweeps into Washington
Inauguration will mark milestone in racial history
Smart Power - A new approach in U.S. foreign policy
Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, U2 play for Obama
Barack Obama rolls into Washington, D.C.
The long-weekend of change
Barack Obama and his moment in history

That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.
These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land – a nagging fear that America’s decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.
Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America – they will be met. On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.
On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.
We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.
In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted – for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame.
Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things – some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.
For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.
For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.
For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn.
Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.

This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions – that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking
America. For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act - not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology’s wonders to raise health care’s quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.
Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions - who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans.
Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.
What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them – that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works – whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public’s dollars will be held to account - to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day – because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.
Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control – and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous.
More Pictures President Obama
The 44th president is sworn in
Inauguration Day
An historic day in Washington, D.C.
Team Obama
Obama’s cabinet is taking shape
Barack Obama Trivia
Learn more about the 44th U.S. President
The 44 US Presidents
From Washington to Obama
Michelle Obama
The new First Lady of the U.S.A.
Meet the Presidents
Obama meets his predecessors

The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our Gross Domestic Product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart – not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.
As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience’s sake.
And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.
Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.
We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort – even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.
For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus – and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.
To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society’s ills on the West – know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.
To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world’s resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.
As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment – a moment that will define a generation – it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.
For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter’s courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent’s willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.
Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends – hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism – these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility – a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.
This is the price and the promise of citizenship.
This is the source of our confidence – the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.
Tags
Barack Obama
president
inauguration
speech
transcript
White House
Capitol

This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed – why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.
So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America’s birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:
Let it be told to the future world...that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive...that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet.
America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children’s children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God’s grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations."
Back to English News homepage

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA

Tapinder Katoch — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 18:24:18 EST

THE ADMINISTRATION
President Barack Obama
Vice President Joe Biden
First Lady Michelle Obama
Dr. Jill Biden
The Cabinet
White House Staff
Executive Office of the President
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA
Barack H. Obama is the 44th President of the United States.
His story is the American story — values from the heartland, a middle-class upbringing in a strong family, hard work and education as the means of getting ahead, and the conviction that a life so blessed should be lived in service to others.
With a father from Kenya and a mother from Kansas, President Obama was born in Hawaii on August 4, 1961. He was raised with help from his grandfather, who served in Patton's army, and his grandmother, who worked her way up from the secretarial pool to middle management at a bank.
After working his way through college with the help of scholarships and student loans, President Obama moved to Chicago, where he worked with a group of churches to help rebuild communities devastated by the closure of local steel plants.
He went on to attend law school, where he became the first African-American president of the Harvard Law Review. Upon graduation, he returned to Chicago to help lead a voter registration drive, teach constitutional law at the University of Chicago, and remain active in his community.
President Obama's years of public service are based around his unwavering belief in the ability to unite people around a politics of purpose. In the Illinois State Senate, he passed the first major ethics reform in 25 years, cut taxes for working families, and expanded health care for children and their parents. As a United States Senator, he reached across the aisle to pass groundbreaking lobbying reform, lock up the world's most dangerous weapons, and bring transparency to government by putting federal spending online.
He was elected the 44th President of the United States on November 4, 2008, and sworn in on January 20, 2009. He and his wife, Michelle, are the proud parents of two daughters, Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7.

Most Viewed pictures

Tapinder Katoch — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 17:05:10 EST

Sasha Obama, left, laughs with her father President Barack Obama ...Today, January 20, 2009, 4 hours ago | (AP)
(AP) - Sasha Obama, left, laughs with her father President Barack Obama following his inaugural address at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2009. At rear is first lady Michelle Obama. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

U.S. President Barack Obama leans in to kiss his younger daughter ...Today, January 20, 2009, 4 hours ago | (Reuters)
(Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama leans in to kiss his younger daughter Sasha as his wife Michelle and older daughter Malia watch after he is sworn-in as the 44th President of the United States in Washington January 20, 2009. REUTERS/Jim Young (UNITED STATES)

President George W. Bush waves to Michelle Obama, wife of President-elect ...Today, January 20, 2009, 4 hours ago | (AP)
(AP) - President George W. Bush waves to Michelle Obama, wife of President-elect Barack Obama and daughter, Malia, as he arrives for swearing-in ceremonies at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2009. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)

Barack Obama is accompanied by his wife Michelle and daughters ...Today, January 20, 2009, 4 hours ago | (Reuters)
(Reuters) - Barack Obama is accompanied by his wife Michelle and daughters Malia and Sasha while he takes the Oath of Office as the 44th President of the United States in Washington, January 20, 2009. Obama became the first African-American president in U.S. history. REUTERS/Rick Wilking (UNITED STATES)

President Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States, ...Today, January 20, 2009, 4 hours ago | (Reuters)
(Reuters) - President Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States, waves after his inaugural address in Washington January 20, 2009. Former President George W. Bush and Laura Bush are at right. Michelle Obama and daughter Sasha are to the left of President Obama. REUTERS/Jason Reed (UNITED STATES)

Maya Soetoro-Ng, Barack Obama's sister, right, stands with his ...Today, January 20, 2009, 4 hours ago | (AP)
(AP) - Maya Soetoro-Ng, Barack Obama's sister, right, stands with his daughters, Sasha, right, and Malia as they arrive for the inauguration ceremony at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2009. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

U.S. President Barack Obama leans in to kiss his youngest daughter ...Today, January 20, 2009, 4 hours ago | (Reuters)
(Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama leans in to kiss his youngest daughter Sasha as his wife Michelle and oldest daughter Malia look in after being sworn-in as the 44th President of the United States during inauguration ceremony in Washington, January 20, 2009. REUTERS/Jim Young (UNITED STATES)

President Barack Obama is congratulated by Chief Justice John ...Today, January 20, 2009, 5 hours ago | (AP)
(AP) - President Barack Obama is congratulated by Chief Justice John Roberts after Obama was sworn in at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2009. Looking on are first lady Michelle Obama and daughter, Malia. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)

The 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama, takes ...Today, January 20, 2009, 5 hours ago | (Reuters)
(Reuters) - The 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama, takes the oath given by US. Supreme Chief Justice John Roberts, Jr. (lower right) during the inauguration ceremony in Washington, January 20, 2009. Daughters Malia and Sasha (R) look on, as Michelle Obama holds the Bible used by President Abraham Lincoln at his inauguration in 1861. REUTERS/Jim Bourg (UNITED STATES)

Barack Obama takes the Oath of Office as the 44th president ...Today, January 20, 2009, 5 hours ago | (Reuters)
(Reuters) - Barack Obama takes the Oath of Office as the 44th president of the United States from U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts as his wife Michelle, and daughters Malia and Sasha watch during the inauguration ceremony in Washington, January 20, 2009. REUTERS/Brian Snyder (UNITED STATES)

Barack Obama, his wife Michelle and daughters Malia and Sasha ...Today, January 20, 2009, 5 hours ago | (Reuters)
(Reuters) - Barack Obama, his wife Michelle and daughters Malia and Sasha wave during his inauguration as the 44th President of the United States in Washington, January 20, 2009. Obama became the first African-American president in U.S. history. REUTERS/Rick Wilking (UNITED STATES)

Barack Obama, right, joined by his wife Michelle, second from ...Today, January 20, 2009, 5 hours ago | (AP)
(AP) - Barack Obama, right, joined by his wife Michelle, second from right, and daughters Sasha, second from left, and Malia, takes the oath of office from Chief Justice John Roberts to become the 44th president of the United States at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2009. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Barack Obama the 44th President of the United States takes the ...Today, January 20, 2009, 5 hours ago | (Reuters)
(Reuters) - Barack Obama the 44th President of the United States takes the Oath of Office as his wife Michelle (3rd L), and daughters Malia and Sasha and former President George W Bush (L) and former Vice President Dick Cheney (2nd L) look on during the inauguration ceremony in Washington, January 20, 2009. U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts administered the oath as Obama became the first African-American president in U.S. history. REUTERS/Rick Wilking (UNITED STATES)

U.S. President Barack Obama moves to kiss his daughter, Malia, ...Today, January 20, 2009, 5 hours ago | (Reuters)
(Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama moves to kiss his daughter, Malia, as his wife Michelle and daughter Sasha look on during the inauguration ceremony in Washington, January 20, 2009. Obama became the first African-American president in U.S. history. REUTERS/Jim Young (UNITED STATES)

U.S. President Barack Obama kisses his daughter Malia as first ...Today, January 20, 2009, 5 hours ago | (Reuters)
(Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama kisses his daughter Malia as first lady Michelle Obama and their younger daughter Sasha (lower R) look on after the Oath of Office was given at the inauguration ceremony in Washington, January 20, 2009. REUTERS/Jim Bourg (UNITED STATES)

Barack Obama, left, joined by his wife Michelle, second from ...Today, January 20, 2009, 5 hours ago | (AP)
(AP) - Barack Obama, left, joined by his wife Michelle, second from left, and daughters Sasha, third from left, and Malia, takes the oath of office from Chief Justice John Roberts to become the 44th president of the United States at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2009. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

President Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States, ...Today, January 20, 2009, 5 hours ago | (Reuters)
(Reuters) - President Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States, kisses his wife Michelle after being sworn in during the inauguration ceremony in Washington, January 20, 2009. REUTERS/Jim Bourg (UNITED STATES)

President Barack Obama, right, is congratulated by daughter ...Today, January 20, 2009, 5 hours ago | (AP)
(AP) - President Barack Obama, right, is congratulated by daughter Sasha, lower left, as first lady Michelle Obama looks on after taking the oath of office at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2009. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Barack Obama, right, takes the oath of office from Chief Justice ...Today, January 20, 2009, 5 hours ago | (AP)
(AP) - Barack Obama, right, takes the oath of office from Chief Justice John Roberts to become the 44th president of the United States at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2009, as his wife Michelle holds the Lincoln Bible and his daughters, Malia, lower left, and Sasha watch. (AP Photo/Win McNamee, Pool)

Barack H. Obama (L) shakes the hand of Chief Justice John Roberts ...Today, January 20, 2009, 5 hours ago | (Reuters)
(Reuters) - Barack H. Obama (L) shakes the hand of Chief Justice John Roberts after his swearing in as the 44th president of the United Statesas on the West Front of the Capitol as his wife Michelle looks on in Washington, January 20, 2009. Obama became the first African-American to be elected to the office of President in the history of the United States. REUTERS/Mark Wilson/Pool (UNITED STATES)

President Barack Obama is sworn in as the 44th President of ...Today, January 20, 2009, 5 hours ago | (Reuters)
(Reuters) - President Barack Obama is sworn in as the 44th President of the United States during the inauguration ceremony in Washington, January 20, 2009. Michelle Obama watches at right. The Bible Obama uses is the same one that President Abraham Lincoln used at his Inauguration in 1861. REUTERS/Jason Reed (UNITED STATES)

President Barack Obama (L) is sworn in as the 44th President ...Today, January 20, 2009, 5 hours ago | (Reuters)
(Reuters) - President Barack Obama (L) is sworn in as the 44th President of the United States by Chief Justice John Roberts, Jr. (R) during the inauguration ceremony in Washington, January 20, 2009. Michelle Obama holds the Bible used President Abraham Lincoln used at his Inauguration in 1861. Daughters Malia (C) and Sasha, second from right, look on with former President George W. Bush, Laura Bush, former President Bill Clinton, upper right. REUTERS/Jason Reed (UNITED STATES)

Barack Obama greets his wife Michelle and daughters Malia and ...Today, January 20, 2009, 5 hours ago | (Reuters)
(Reuters) - Barack Obama greets his wife Michelle and daughters Malia and Sasha (R) after being sworn-in as the 44th President of the United States during inauguration ceremony in Washington January 20, 2009. REUTERS/Jim Young (UNITED STATES)

The 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama, takes ...Today, January 20, 2009, 5 hours ago | (Reuters)
(Reuters) - The 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama, takes the oath given by US. Supreme Chief Justice John Roberts, Jr. (lower R) during the inauguration ceremony in Washington, January 20, 2009. Michelle Obama holds a Bible used by President Abraham Lincoln at his inauguration in 1861. Daughter Malia (R) looks on. REUTERS/Jim Bourg (UNITED STATES)

Barack Obama takes the Oath of Office as the 44th President ...Today, January 20, 2009, 5 hours ago | (Reuters)
(Reuters) - Barack Obama takes the Oath of Office as the 44th President of the United States as he is sworn in by U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts with his wife Michelle and daughters Malia and Sasha by his side during the inauguration ceremony in Washington January 20, 2009. REUTERS/Jim Young (UNITED STATES)

U.S. President Barack Obama kisses his wife, Michelle, after ...Today, January 20, 2009, 5 hours ago | (Reuters)
(Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama kisses his wife, Michelle, after taking the Oath of Office as the 44th President of the United States during the inauguration ceremony in Washington, January 20, 2009. Obama became the first African-American president in U.S. history. REUTERS/Jim Young (UNITED STATES)

Barack Obama takes the Oath of Office as the 44th President ...Today, January 20, 2009, 5 hours ago | (Reuters)
(Reuters) - Barack Obama takes the Oath of Office as the 44th President of the United States as he is sworn in by U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts with his wife Michelle and daughters Malia and Sasha by his side during the inauguration ceremony in Washington January 20, 2009. REUTERS/Jim Young (UNITED STATES)

President Barack Obama, left, is congratulated by his family, ...Today, January 20, 2009, 5 hours ago | (AP)
(AP) - President Barack Obama, left, is congratulated by his family, first lady Michelle Obama, second from left, and daughters Malia, second from right, and Sasha following his inauguration at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2009. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

President Barack Obama is sworn in as the 44th President of ...Today, January 20, 2009, 5 hours ago | (Reuters)
(Reuters) - President Barack Obama is sworn in as the 44th President of the United States during the inauguration ceremony in Washington, January 20, 2009. Michelle Obama watches at right. The Bible Obama uses is the same one that President Abraham Lincoln used at his Inauguration in 1861. REUTERS/Jason Reed (UNITED STATES)

Barack Obama takes the Oath of Office as the 44th President ...Today, January 20, 2009, 5 hours ago | (Reuters)
(Reuters) - Barack Obama takes the Oath of Office as the 44th President of the United States as he is sworn in by U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts with his wife Michelle by his side during the inauguration ceremony in Washington, January 20, 2009. Obama became the first African-American president in U.S. history. REUTERS/Jim Young (UNITED STATES)

Michelle Obama holds the Lincoln Bible as she arrives at the ...Today, January 20, 2009, 5 hours ago | (Reuters)
(Reuters) - Michelle Obama holds the Lincoln Bible as she arrives at the inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States of America on the West Front of the Capitol in Washington, January 20, 2009. Obama becomes the first African-American to be elected to the office of President in the history of the United States. REUTERS/Mark Wilson/Pool (UNITED STATES)

Vice President-elect Joe Biden greets Sasha Obama as Michelle ...Today, January 20, 2009, 6 hours ago | (AP)
(AP) - Vice President-elect Joe Biden greets Sasha Obama as Michelle Obama talks to her daughter Malia before the inauguration ceremony at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2009. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Michelle Obama holds the Lincoln Bible as she arrives at the ...Today, January 20, 2009, 6 hours ago | (AP)
(AP) - Michelle Obama holds the Lincoln Bible as she arrives at the inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States of America on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol Tuesday, Jan 20, 2009, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Wilson, Pool)

Incoming U.S. first lady Michelle Obama and Jill Biden, wife ...Today, January 20, 2009, 6 hours ago | (Reuters)
(Reuters) - Incoming U.S. first lady Michelle Obama and Jill Biden, wife of incoming U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, arrive for the inauguration ceremony of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States, in Washington, January 20, 2009. REUTERS/Jim Young (UNITED STATES)

President-elect Barack Obama embraces his daughter Malia as ...Today, January 20, 2009, 6 hours ago | (AP)
(AP) - President-elect Barack Obama embraces his daughter Malia as his wife Michelle, and younger daughter Sasha look on as they arrive for the inauguration ceremony at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2009. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Michelle Obama waves as she arrives for the inauguration ceremony ...Today, January 20, 2009, 6 hours ago | (Reuters)
(Reuters) - Michelle Obama waves as she arrives for the inauguration ceremony of her husband Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States in Washington, January 20, 2009. REUTERS/Jim Young (UNITED STATES)

First lady Laura Bush, right, walks out with Michelle Obama, ...Today, January 20, 2009, 6 hours ago | (AP)
(AP) - First lady Laura Bush, right, walks out with Michelle Obama, left, wife of President-elect Barack Obama, from the North Portico of the White House enroute to Capitol Hill for inauguration in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2009.(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Michelle Obama, left, and Jill Biden, wife of Vice President-elect ...Today, January 20, 2009, 6 hours ago | (AP)
(AP) - Michelle Obama, left, and Jill Biden, wife of Vice President-elect Joe Biden, arrive for the inauguration ceremny at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2009. (AP Photo/Jeff Christensen)

Michelle Obama slaps hands with relatives of Vice President ...Today, January 20, 2009, 7 hours ago | (Reuters)
(Reuters) - Michelle Obama slaps hands with relatives of Vice President Joe Biden as she takes to the stage to make remarks to the audience during the 'Kids' Inaugural: We Are the Future' concert in Washington January 19, 2009. (Mike Segar/Reuters)

President elect Barack Obama and his wife Michelle depart Blair ...Today, January 20, 2009, 8 hours ago | (Reuters)
(Reuters) - President elect Barack Obama and his wife Michelle depart Blair House for private church services before the inauguration ceremony in Washington, January 20, 2009. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque (UNITED STATES)

Show all items