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Posted by Dan Leistikow on
September 15, 2011 at 11:06 AM EDT
Ed note: This has been cross posted from energy.gov
The Washington Post’s assertions today about the Department of Energy’s loan
programs today are both incomplete and inaccurate.
Here are the facts: over the past two years, the Department of Energy’s Loan
Program has supported a robust, diverse portfolio of more than 40 projects that
are investing in pioneering companies as we work to regain American leadership
in the global race for clean energy jobs. These projects include major advances
for our renewable power industry including the world’s largest wind farm,
several of the world’s largest solar generation facilities, and one of the
country’s first commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol plants. Collectively, the
projects plan to employ more than 60,000 Americans, create tens of thousands
more indirect jobs, provide clean electricity to power three million homes, and
save more than 300 million gallons of gasoline a year, all while investing in
American competitiveness. What matters to the men and women who have those jobs
is that the investments that this Administration is making are helping to keep
factories open and running.
When the Washington Post claims that the program has created 3,500 jobs, here
is what the reporters are excluding:
- 33,000 American auto jobs saved at Ford: The Post article
does acknowledge that the program enabled Ford to modernize its factories to
produce more fuel efficient vehicles, which a Ford spokeswoman credits for
“helping retain the 33,000 jobs by ensuring our employees can build
the fuel-efficient cars people want to drive.”
- More than 7,300 construction jobs: Many of the projects
funded by the program are wind and solar power plants, which create significant
numbers of construction jobs but once built can be operated inexpensively
without a large workforce. But the Washington Post chose to ignore all of those
jobs. If a community built a new highway or a bridge that employed 200 workers
directly during construction – and many more in the supply chain — and that
also strengthened the local economy by making it faster to transport goods,
would anyone say that the project created zero jobs?
- Supply chain jobs: While these jobs aren’t reflected in
official government estimates because of the difficulty in obtaining a precisely
accurate count, that doesn’t mean they don’t exist. When a company spends $100
million or $200 million building a wind farm or a solar power plant, most of
that economic value actually goes into the supply chain – creating huge
manufacturing opportunities for the United States.
In fact, when you look at the Washington Post’s graphic, you can see that the
program has already created or saved roughly 44,000 jobs. Many of the projects
it has funded are just getting going, and many of the loans won’t even go out
the door until the next few weeks. Others have not ramped fully up to scale.
But we are on pace to achieve more than 60,000 direct jobs – and many more in
the supply chain.
Here’s a simple example:
Last year, the Department awarded a loan guarantee to build the Kahuku wind
farm in Hawaii. It employed 200 workers during construction. Those wind
turbines were built in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The project also features a state of
the art energy storage system supplied by a company in Texas. The supply chain
reached 104 U.S. businesses in 21 states. But by the Washington Post’s count,
none of those jobs – not even the 200 direct construction jobs – should
count.
What’s critically important and completely ignored by the Washington Post, is
that the value of this program can’t be measured in operating jobs alone. The
investments are helping to build a new clean energy industry here in America.
We are now on pace to double renewable energy generation from wind and solar
from the time the President took office. Yet we are still in danger of falling
behind China and other nations that are competing aggressively for leadership in
these technologies. This is a race we can and will win, but only if we make
these investments today. These investments will pay dividends not just in
today’s jobs but in entire industries and supply chains – and in cleaner air and
water for our children and grandchildren.
One of the goals of the program is to create projects that will encourage the
private sector to take the financing risk on other, similar projects on its
own. If we can show, for example, that a commercial scale cellulosic biofuel
plant in Iowa can succeed, the private sector will likely finance many more of
them around the country.
America’s economic strength has been built on technological leadership. The
next great technological revolution is the clean energy revolution, and this
Administration is committed to making sure that America will continue to lead
the world.
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Posted by Kori Schulman on
September 14, 2011 at 7:51 PM EDT
Today, Stephanie Cutter, Assistant to the President and Deputy Senior
Advisor, answered your questions on the American
Jobs Act during a session of White House Office Hours. See a transcript of
the question and answer below, or over on Storify.
If you didn’t have a chance to join us live, there are more Office Hours
focused on the American Jobs Act this week. Take a look at the schedule and
be sure to follow @WHLive for more
chances to engage.
Assistant to the President and Deputy Senior Advisor Stephanie Cutter answers
Twitter questions on the American Jobs Act during a session of White House
Office Hours. September 14th, 2011 (Photo by Mori Rothman)
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Posted by Amy Dudley on September
14, 2011 at 7:26 PM EDT
Last night, Vice President Biden and Dr. Jill Biden held a reception at the
Naval Observatory to celebrate the 17th anniversary of the Violence
Against Women Act (VAWA) being signed into law, as well as call on a new
generation to take action to reduce the high rates of violence and assault that
continues to threaten young men and women across the country.
Speaking before a crowd that included many of the men and women who supported
the Vice President’s efforts to see the Act become law on September 13, 1994,
the Vice President remarked on how it was VAWA that exposed a “flaw that lay as
part of the fabric of American society”– the fact that the mere discussion of
violence and abuse being committed against women was considered by many to be
taboo.
Beyond shattering this notion, the law redefined the way domestic violence is
handled through changes in law enforcement, improvements in the criminal justice
system and the establishment of shelters and services for victims.
-
Posted by Jack Lew on September
14, 2011 at 6:53 PM EDT
Ed note: this article has been cross-posted
from the OMB blog
When he launched the Campaign to Cut Waste in June, President Obama asked the
Vice President to take on a new role holding the Cabinet accountable for cutting
waste in their agencies to help make government more efficient and responsive to
the American people. As a part of that effort, the Vice President today convened
the first Cabinet waste reduction meeting and announced over $2 billion in
anti-waste measures.
In these challenging budgetary times, ensuring that every agency is rooting
out waste and saving taxpayer dollars is more important than ever. We have made
great strides in the last two years – shrinking contract spending for the first
time in 13 years, identifying $3 billion in cost reductions from IT projects
across government, and getting rid of property we no longer need and working
aggressively to realize the President’s goal of saving $3 billion in real estate
costs by the year 2012 – but we must continue to be vigilant and innovative
about driving efficiency. That’s why the President and Vice President have made
the Campaign to Cut Waste an Administration-wide priority.
-
President Barack Obama is shown a piece of cut aluminum during a tour of
WestStar Precision, a small business that will benefit from the proposed
American Jobs Act, in Apex, N.C., Sept. 14, 2011. With President Obama are, from
left, employee Barry Blackman, co-owners, Ervin and Susan Portman, and North
Carolina Gov. Bev Perdue. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)
While in North Carolina today, President Obama met with Erv Portman, the
owner of WestStar Precision, a company that creates parts for airplanes and one
of the 170,000 small businesses in North Carolina alone that would benefit from
the American Jobs Act. The jobs
bill that President Obama sent
to Congress this week will help companies like Erv’s by cutting taxes when
they hire new employees and raise the salaries of their current employees and by
cutting their payroll taxes in half. The President also announced
a new policy that will accelerate payments to small business government
contractors so they can reinvest that money in the economy and drive job
growth.
After talking with employees at WestStar Precision, President Obama headed
over to North Carolina State University where he was greeted by over 9,000
people who are ready to get the economy moving again, including many students.
Here’s what the President
said:
I came to talk about how America can get back to a place where we’re creating
good middle-class jobs again -– jobs that pay well; jobs that offer some
security; jobs that are available for all the young people who are going to be
graduating from N.C. State. Because I know that’s what the students are
thinking about. And we can do that if we can finally get Washington to act -–
if we can get folks to stop worrying so much about their jobs and start worrying
a little more about your jobs.
President Barack Obama delivers remarks on the American Jobs Act in the
William Neal Reynolds Coliseum at North Carolina State University in Raleigh,
N.C., Sept. 14, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
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Posted by Jeff Zients on
September 14, 2011 at 3:02 PM EDT
Today, the President announced a new policy that will accelerate payments to
small business contractors so they can reinvest that money in the economy and
drive job growth.
Small businesses are the primary engine of job creation and job growth across
the country. However, in today’s economic climate many face tight budgets and
limited resources. With these challenges in mind, last week in his address to
Congress the President emphasized the need to take common sense steps to give
small businesses the flexibility they need to invest and hire. And that is what
we are doing today.
The Federal Government pays small businesses nearly $100 billion each year
for goods and services. By taking actions that will enable these payments to be
made as promptly as possible, we will improve cash flow for small businesses and
provide them with a more predictable stream of resources.
-
Posted by Jack Lew on September
14, 2011 at 2:35 PM EDT
When he launched the Campaign to Cut Waste in June, President Obama asked the
Vice President to take on a new role holding the Cabinet accountable for cutting
waste in their agencies to help make government more efficient and responsive to
the American people. As a part of that effort, the Vice President today convened
the first Cabinet waste reduction meeting and announced over $2 billion in
anti-waste measures.
In these challenging budgetary times, ensuring that every agency is rooting
out waste and saving taxpayer dollars is more important than ever. We have made
great strides in the last two years – shrinking contract spending for the first
time in 13 years, identifying $3 billion in cost reductions from IT projects
across government, and getting rid of property we no longer need and working
aggressively to realize the President’s goal of saving $3 billion in real estate
costs by the year 2012 – but we must continue to be vigilant and innovative
about driving efficiency. That’s why the President and Vice President have made
the Campaign to Cut Waste an Administration-wide priority.
-
Posted by Dr. Jill Biden on
September 14, 2011 at 2:05 PM EDT
I’m writing today about a very special project, the Joining Forces
Community Challenge.
In that past few years, the First Lady and I have seen incredible examples of
people and organizations reaching out to our military families in creative and
meaningful ways. Individuals and groups are coming together in communities all
across this country to make a difference in the lives of our service members by
hosting baby showers, providing free accounting help during tax season, or
recognizing military families during community events. As an Army mom, I am
especially grateful for this outreach.
To recognize and celebrate these individuals and organizations, the First
Lady and I launched the Joining Forces Community Challenge earlier this summer.
The challenge will award several national prizes later this year that recognize
citizens and organizations for their efforts in support of military
families.
First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden greet people while visiting the
Warrior and Family Support Center in San Antonio, Texas, April 13, 2011. The
First Lady and Dr. Biden met with service members and their families during
their visit to the facility, which helps care for family members of Wounded
Warriors whose recovery is expected to last a long period of time. The center
was built with private donations and is run by volunteers from the surrounding
community. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)
-
Posted by Cecilia Muñoz on
September 14, 2011 at 11:46 AM EDT
Ed. Note: The event has now ended. Watch video
and see photos from the event.
Today, President Obama will visit Raleigh, North Carolina to continue the
conversation with Americans on why Congress needs to pass the American Jobs Act to put workers
back to work. Watch the President live beginning at 12:55 p.m. EDT at WhiteHouse.gov/live.
In advance of the President’s visit, Governor Beverly Perdue and mayors
across North Carolina explained the importance of passing the American Jobs Act.
Governor Beverly Perdue said, “My top priority is creating jobs. I’m pleased
that the President put forward the American Jobs Act. Congress should pass a
plan quickly that encourages companies to hire, helps unemployed people get back
to work, and puts more money in the pockets of working families.”
-
Posted by Phyllis Caldwell and Raphael
Bostic on September 14, 2011 at 11:35 AM EDT
Ed note: This post has been cross-posted from treasury.gov
Foreclosure can have a devastating effect on families and communities.
According to recent data, roughly one in 11 homeowners has missed two or more
mortgage payments. As many Americans struggle with their mortgage payments and
don’t know where to turn for help, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) have joined forces with
the Ad Council to launch a new
phase of the Foreclosure Prevention Assistance Public Service Advertising (PSA)
Campaign.
http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/DAJr2r-m2kE?rel=0
-
Posted by Jon Carson on September
14, 2011 at 10:07 AM EDT
The purpose of the American
Jobs Act, which President
Obama sent to Congress this week, is simple: put more people back to work
and put more money in the pockets of working Americans. The President’s plan
will rebuild the economy the American way — based on balance, fairness and the
same set of rules for everyone from Wall Street to Main Street.
The American Jobs Act reflects a commitment to strengthen the recovery and
help increase access to jobs for all Americans. To see what impact the Jobs Act
will have on your community, click on the link below.
-
President Barack Obama delivers remarks to students, faculty and staff at
Fort Hayes Arts and Academic High School in Columbus, Ohio, Sept. 13, 2011. The
President highlights his American Jobs Act proposal to put workers back on the
job by rebuilding and modernizing schools across the country. (Official White
House Photo by Pete Souza)
It was a hot afternoon in Columbus, Ohio today when President
Obama spoke to an enthusiastic crowd of over 3,000 people at Fort Hayes Arts
and Academic High School. He laid out how the American Jobs Act will put
teachers back in the classroom and get construction workers, carpenters and
electricians back on the job modernizing
America’s schools.
Even though the September sun felt more like midsummer, students are back in
school at Fort Hayes and on days like today they’re glad to have
air-conditioning, one of many recent renovations to buildings on campus that
were originally built during the Civil War. The American Jobs Act would make it
possible to renovate at least 35,000 schools like Fort Hayes across the country.
As the President said, putting construction workers back on the job rebuilding
schools is just common sense for the economy and for the education of our
kids:
When buildings are that old, they start falling apart. They start leaking,
and ceiling tiles start to cave in, and there’s no heat in the winter or
air-conditioning in the summer. Some of the schools the ventilation is so poor
it can make students sick.
How do we expect our kids to do their very best in a situation like that?
The answer is we can’t. Every child deserves a great school, and we can give it
to them, but we got to pass this bill.
-
Today, David Plouffe, Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor, answered
your questions on the American Jobs Act during a special session of White House
Office Hours. See a recap of the Twitter Q&A below, or over on Storify.
If you didn’t have a chance to join us live, there are more Office Hours
focused on the American
Jobs Act this week. Take a look at the schedule
and be sure to follow @WHLive for
more chances to engage.
Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor David Plouffe responds to
questions on Twitter during a session of White House Office Hours focused on the
American Jobs Act. September 13, 2011.
-
Posted by Jon Carson on September
13, 2011 at 5:22 PM EDT
Yesterday, President Obama sent The
American Jobs Act to Congress and urged Congress to pass the bill right away
to get the economy moving. Organizations and businesses continue
to respond to the President’s call to put partisanship aside and do what is
right for the American people. Here is what organizations around the country are
saying about the American Jobs Act:
UNITE HERE, John W. Wilhelm, President
On behalf of UNITE HERE’s 250,000 members who work in the hotel, food
service, gaming and manufacturing industries, I applaud the President’s vigorous
and inspired push to put America back to work. We join him in calling for the
Congress to act and to act now!
Public Transportation Association (APTA), William Millar,
President
On behalf of the more than 1,500 members of the American Public
Transportation Association I commend President Obama for his remarks last night
that highlighted creating and supporting jobs through investing in
transportation infrastructure. The $50 billion in direct funding proposed in the
American Jobs Act will go a long way to jump start needed transportation
investments. Every $1 billion in public transportation investment supports or
creates 36,000 jobs. Also, for every $1 invested in public transportation, $4
is generated in economic returns.
International Federation of Professional & Technical Engineers
(IFPTE), Gregory J. Junemann, President
The President’s plan is needed now, more than ever, and we encourage all
Americans and every member of Congress to get on board in pushing this plan into
law. President Obama made a great speech in outlining his plan for the
restoration of the nation’s economy. And he called on all of us—each and every
one of us—to support him. We must answer his call with meaningful action. Reach
out to every member of Congress and demand the swift passage of the American
Jobs Act.
Fraternal Order of Police, Chuck Caterbury, National
President
President Obama has presented us with a sound, no nonsense, blueprint for
getting Americans back to work and jumpstarting the economy. We support and
applaud this effort and will work to ensure its passage by
Congress.
-
Posted by Susan B. Carbon on
September 13, 2011 at 3:50 PM EDT
- http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/0u_0ZdI3GDY?rel=0&hd=1Ed. Note: Cross-posted from the Department of Justice blog.
Learn how you can take action to stop violence against women at WhiteHouse.gov/1is2many.Marking the 17th anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) helps
us both appreciate the great strides that have been made in addressing all types
of violence against women and recognize the fact that more needs to be done to
create a society free from domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence
and stalking. The Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women (OVW)
remains committed to addressing these crimes in a broad and comprehensive
manner.The concept of a coordinated community response is one of the most critical
and visible achievements of VAWA. In the years since VAWA’s enactment by
Congress in 1994, we have witnessed a sea-change in the ways that communities
respond to domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and dating violence.
VAWA encourages communities to bring together stakeholders from diverse
backgrounds to share information and to use their distinct roles to improve our
responses to and prevention of violence against women. These groups include, but
are not limited to: victim advocates, police officers, prosecutors, judges,
probation and corrections officials, health care professionals, leaders within
faith communities, and survivors of violence. New programs and amendments have
strengthened the law and enhanced our work.
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First Lady Michelle Obama addresses the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt National
Design Awards luncheon in the East Room of the White House, Sept. 13, 2011.
Standing behind Mrs. Obama is Wayne Clough, Secretary of the Smithsonian
Institution. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)
Some of the nation’s leading design talents joined First Lady Michelle Obama
today to help educate Washington DC teens about career opportunities in their
field. The designers, who are being honored by the Cooper Hewitt Design Museum
for their extraordinary contributions to design in 10 different categories, took
part in a Teen Design Fair before attending a luncheon at the White House, which
was hosted by Mrs. Obama.
During her remarks at the luncheon, the First Lady praised the winners for
breathing “new life into our homes and our workplaces, the clothes we wear, the
products we use every day, and even the most basic ways we process information.
A trip to the park is just a bit more refreshing. A book or a chart more
readable.” She also addressed the aspiring designers in the room, and
emphasized the hard work that goes into great design:
I want you young folks, and as you look around the room, understand that you
see some of the sharpest minds alive, some of the most accomplished designers in
the world. But understand that none of these people came here ready-made — all
right? They’re here today because they hatched an idea or they followed a dream
– and more importantly, they worked every day, they worked hard every day, to
get here.
So to the young people here, I want you to realize that you can share a meal
with some of our nation’s greatest talent, you can walk on the same floors as
Presidents and as heads of state. And if you work hard enough, if you believe in
yourself, you can earn an award just like this in a few decades…
The 2011 National Design
Awards recipients are:
- Lifetime Achievement: Matthew Carter
- Design Mind: Steven Heller
- Corporate and Institutional Achievement: Knoll
- Architecture Design: Architecture Research Office
- Communication Design: Rick Valicenti
- Fashion Design: J. Mendel
- Interaction Design: Ben Fry
- Interior Design: Shelton, Mindel & Associates
- Landscape Architecture: Gustafson Guthrie Nichol
- Product Design: Continuum
-
President Barack Obama drops by an Interactive One panel discussion in the
South Court Auditorium in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, Sept. 12,
2011. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Yesterday, the White House hosted an “Open for Questions” event with
InteractiveOne, a network of sites that includes NewsOne.com,
TheGrio.com,
TheUrbanDaily.com, HelloBeautiful.com, and BlackPlanet.com. During the discussion,
President Obama made a surprise
appearance to speak about the American Jobs Act that he sent
to Congress earlier in the day and to answer questions.
Administration officials including Melody Barnes, Director of the Domestic
Policy Council; Shaun Donovan, US Secretary for Housing and Urban Development;
Jason Furman, Principal Deputy Director of the National Economic Council; Marie
Johns, Deputy Administrator of the US Small Business Administration; and
Ambassador Ron Kirk, US Trade Representative answered questions on a range of
topics submitted by InteractiveOne readers, as well as questions from a live
audience and from Twitter.
Watch the video of President
Obama’s surprise visit or check out the full panel discussion below:
-
On Thursday, September 15th at 2:00PM EDT, the
White House will host a special “Open for Questions” event.
Last week, President Obama unveiled the
American Jobs Act before a Joint Session of Congress and yesterday the
President sent
the American Jobs Act to Congress. This plan puts more people back to work
and puts more money in the pockets of working Americans. On Thursday,
September 15th at 2:00PM EDT Obama Administration officials
will answer questions submitted through Facebook, Twitter, and the White House
website during a live event that you won’t want to miss.
Participating Obama Administration include:
- Jason Furman, Asistant to the President & Principal Deputy Director of
the NEC
- Jon Carson, Deputy Assistant to the President & Director of the Office
of Public Engagement
Right now, you can submit questions through:
On September 15th at 2:00 p.m. EDT, you can watch and engage
live:
-
Posted by Secretary Tom Vilsack
on September 13, 2011 at 12:18 PM EDT
On Saturday, I visited the Port of Miami to see firsthand the success story
of American agriculture and the jobs it is creating. Despite historic natural
disasters, our agriculture business is booming.
Last year, almost $920 million in agricultural goods moved through the port,
nearly double the amount from 2006. And this year it’s on pace to exceed that
total by 8.5 percent. Those exports alone are helping support nearly 8,400
American jobs.
At the same time, the port is beginning work on a major tunnel and a
deep-dredge project that will provide jobs for construction workers to keep it
among the busiest in the nation. These are steps – much like those proposed by
President Obama in the American
Jobs Act – that are already underway to grow the economy and create
jobs.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack speaks at the Port of Miami on Saturday,
September 10, 2011 after meeting with leaders from agriculture and business
industries. (Photo by Ryan Holloway in Miami-Dade County)
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Posted by Kathleen Sebelius on
September 13, 2011 at 10:27 AM EDT
Ed note: This post has been cross-posted from healthcare.gov
We know that young adults are the age group most likely to be uninsured and
before health reform was enacted, many young Americans lost their health
insurance when they left home or graduated from school. This meant that your
sons or daughters – who might be college students or in their first job – were
often forced to choose between paying their rent or maintaining their health
insurance. A policy in the Affordable Care Act changes this, by allowing young
adults to be on
their parents’ plan until age 26.
Today, a new
report shows that the Affordable Care Act is working. According to the
Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey released today, there was a
significant increase in the number of 18-24 year olds with health insurance in
the U.S. over the past year.
The report showed that the percentage of young adults with insurance
increased from 70.7% in 2009 to 72.8% in 2010. That translates into 500,000
more young people with insurance. We expect even more will gain coverage in
2011 when the policy is fully phased in.
Young people sometimes think they’re invincible, but it’s important for
everyone to have insurance. One car accident, one slip in a shower, or one
sudden illness can result in months or even years of health care bills that can
bankrupt the average family if that son or daughter is uninsured.
This 2% increase in coverage for young people came as the number of Americans
under 65 with insurance went down slightly. The Affordable Care Act will help
provide coverage at a decent price for millions of uninsured Americans starting
in 2014, when millions of Americans will have access to affordable insurance
options.
To read more about the health insurance coverage data released today, please
visit
this page.
Megan Rising Energy Campaign Manager Climate & Energy Program Union of Concerned Scientists
Kevin Knobloch President
