In both the Illinois State Senate and the U.S. Senate, Obama championed efforts to expand the EITC, which is one of the most successful anti-poverty programs to date. President Obama will reward work by increasing the number of working parents eligible for EITC benefits, increasing the benefit available to parents who support their children through child support payments, and reducing the EITC marriage penalty which hurts low-income families. Under the Obama-Biden plan, full-time workers making minimum wage will get an EITC benefit up to $555, more than three times greater than the $175 benefit they get today. If the workers are responsibly supporting their children on child support, the Obama-Biden plan will give those workers a benefit of $1,110.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Yesterday, several members of the President's energy and environment team attended the Washington auto show. We asked Carol Browner, Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change, to make jot down some notes with her impressions of the show. On January 29th, the U.S. Senate approved the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009, better known as the State Children's Health Insurance Program or SCHIP. Once signed into law, this legislation will continue coverage for six to seven million children and increase that coverage to four million more.
The particular faith that motivates each of us can promote a greater good for all of us," President Obama said this morning to a crowd of about 3,500 people gathered for the National Prayer Breakfast at the Washington Hilton in the nation's capital.Last night, President Obama signed a law reauthorizing CHIP, which funds health care for families who don't qualify for Medicaid but still can't afford private insurance.That's the title of President Obama's op-ed this morning in the Washington Post, where he makes a forceful argument for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan.
On a visit to an infrastructure project in Virginia, the President announced that the Chairman and CEO of Caterpillar told him that if the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act passes, his company would be able to rehire some of the 20,000 employees it has laid off in the last few weeks."No matter what you do, you can't pass a law that makes somebody do the right thing, right?" That was Mrs. Obama's message to a group of young people she met with on a visit to the Mary’s Center for Maternal and Child Care, a Washington, D.C. nonprofit that provides a range of social services.
"Yesterday was a great day for the Latino community, as 60 Latino and Latina leaders from across the country converged in Washington for a briefing with key White House Staff," Office of Public Liaison member Stephanie Valencia writes in a guest blog post.President Obama this morning released a statement in response to the crash of Flight 3407 outside Buffalo late last night.Yesterday, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 passed through conference and is now on its way back to the House and Senate for full votes. Have a look and give us your comments.
"In the end, all of us are paying a price for this home mortgage crisis. And all of us will pay an even steeper price if we allow this crisis to continue to deepen," President Obama said today in Phoenix, AZ, announcing the Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan. "But if we act boldly and swiftly to arrest this downward spiral, every American will benefit."
It will be an enormous undertaking to ensure that the transparency and accountability that the President expects for Recovery.gov will be upheld. Peter Orszag, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), has sent a memo to the heads of federal departments and agencies explaining what's expected of them and offering advice for how to meet those high standards.
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Civil liberties experts say ongoing cases related to torture and rendition are testing the Obama administration's assertion it will be more open and transparent than the Bush administration.
Since taking office on January 20, President Barack Obama has extended Bush-era secrecy over documents authorizing waterboarding and other controversial interrogation techniques, and has resisted an appeal by a terrorism suspect seeking to challenge his arrest and detainment.
"It's not the clean break that people were looking for," said Steven Aftergood, who heads the Federation of American Scientists Project on Government Secrecy. "It's also not the last word."
Obama has been in office less than a month and several Department of Justice appointees have not yet been confirmed.
But rights groups are already worried Obama will not live up to campaign promises to create a transparent government in contrast to the secrecy of George W. Bush.
Since taking office on January 20, President Barack Obama has extended Bush-era secrecy over documents authorizing waterboarding and other controversial interrogation techniques, and has resisted an appeal by a terrorism suspect seeking to challenge his arrest and detainment.
"It's not the clean break that people were looking for," said Steven Aftergood, who heads the Federation of American Scientists Project on Government Secrecy. "It's also not the last word."
Obama has been in office less than a month and several Department of Justice appointees have not yet been confirmed.
But rights groups are already worried Obama will not live up to campaign promises to create a transparent government in contrast to the secrecy of George W. Bush.
WASHINGTON – Barack Obama's first foreign trip as president — a down-to-business visit with an essential economic ally, Canada — is light on time but loaded with touchy matters.
The world will watch Thursday as Obama gets his first chance since taking office to command an audience abroad, let alone get an impression of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. The two have not met previously.
Ottawa is awash in buzz about hosting the new president; supporters are rolling in by the busload in hopes of a glimpse. Two-thirds of Canadians wanted Obama elected, a Gallup Poll found in October. Even more said the choice of the U.S. president affected their own nation.
Canada and the United States have the largest trading relationship between any two countries in the world. And for all the talk of ending a dangerous reliance on foreign oil, the U.S. depends more on Canada for imported oil than it does any other country.
So far, as Obama grapples with a crashing economy, he has kept his focus at home. As if to underscore that urgent domestic tone, he isn't staying the night or even sticking around for dinner in Canada. He will be there for about seven hours.
The world will watch Thursday as Obama gets his first chance since taking office to command an audience abroad, let alone get an impression of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. The two have not met previously.
Ottawa is awash in buzz about hosting the new president; supporters are rolling in by the busload in hopes of a glimpse. Two-thirds of Canadians wanted Obama elected, a Gallup Poll found in October. Even more said the choice of the U.S. president affected their own nation.
Canada and the United States have the largest trading relationship between any two countries in the world. And for all the talk of ending a dangerous reliance on foreign oil, the U.S. depends more on Canada for imported oil than it does any other country.
So far, as Obama grapples with a crashing economy, he has kept his focus at home. As if to underscore that urgent domestic tone, he isn't staying the night or even sticking around for dinner in Canada. He will be there for about seven hours.
JAKARTA, Indonesia – U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham on Thursday relentlessly hammered home the Obama administration's message that America is under new management and ready to listen and engage the world.
"When the United States is absent, people believe that we are not interested and that can create a vacuum that destructive forces can fill," she told a group of journalists after meeting with Indonesia's leader on the second leg of a weeklong Asia tour. "We don't want to be absent. We want to be present."
Earlier, she took to the airwaves, appearing on the most popular youth show in the world's most populous Muslim nation to deliver her message and bring greetings from President Barack Obama, who spent part of his childhood here.
"There is so much excitement in the air here," she told an enthusiastic studio audience on the MTV-style "Dahsyat" show, which translates in English to "Awesome." She said she had just spoken with Obama who wished them all well, drawing cheers.
"When the United States is absent, people believe that we are not interested and that can create a vacuum that destructive forces can fill," she told a group of journalists after meeting with Indonesia's leader on the second leg of a weeklong Asia tour. "We don't want to be absent. We want to be present."
Earlier, she took to the airwaves, appearing on the most popular youth show in the world's most populous Muslim nation to deliver her message and bring greetings from President Barack Obama, who spent part of his childhood here.
"There is so much excitement in the air here," she told an enthusiastic studio audience on the MTV-style "Dahsyat" show, which translates in English to "Awesome." She said she had just spoken with Obama who wished them all well, drawing cheers.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Obama administration's $275 billion program to stem a wave of U.S. home foreclosures will start having an impact as soon as March, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation chairman Sheila Bair said on Thursday.
"I think you'll start seeing an immediate impact in the increase of meaningful loan modifications in March, when the program becomes effective," Bair said on ABC's "Good Morning America."
The plan, unveiled on Wednesday, would allow up to 4 million borrowers facing foreclosure to get their payments reduced through modifications jointly paid for by lenders and the U.S. Treasury.
An additional 5 million who cannot qualify for conventional refinancing because their home values have dropped could refinance through housing finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Bair said applicants would need to show that it makes financial sense for them to stay in their homes if payments are reduced.
"We'll take time to work through these incomes, verify the incomes, and get the payments to an affordable level, but I believe you'll start seeing a real impact in March, with meaningful long-term, sustainable modifications," she said.
(Reporting by Andy Sullivan, editing by Mohammad Zargham)
"I think you'll start seeing an immediate impact in the increase of meaningful loan modifications in March, when the program becomes effective," Bair said on ABC's "Good Morning America."
The plan, unveiled on Wednesday, would allow up to 4 million borrowers facing foreclosure to get their payments reduced through modifications jointly paid for by lenders and the U.S. Treasury.
An additional 5 million who cannot qualify for conventional refinancing because their home values have dropped could refinance through housing finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Bair said applicants would need to show that it makes financial sense for them to stay in their homes if payments are reduced.
"We'll take time to work through these incomes, verify the incomes, and get the payments to an affordable level, but I believe you'll start seeing a real impact in March, with meaningful long-term, sustainable modifications," she said.
(Reporting by Andy Sullivan, editing by Mohammad Zargham)
After school there is this tutoring program that i go to and it is called The Greater East Foundation/ Peer Power. When the program first started off, my team, AMILLIE, was winning everything. Now, there is this team named g-swag that wins everything. I know that we are not always going to be on top, but the program said that our prizes and rewards were based upon our attendance and the whole entire team always misses days from the program and somehow always wins the most money. I`m not just in it for the money, but if they keep wining everything then i`m not going to be waisting my time going to this program anymore.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
While checking out today's piece about the construction of Old Man Brad Pitt in The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, I was reminded that I was more impressed in the movie by whatever they did at the end that legitimately made him look very young than I was by the flashier business with his shriveled old-man head.
Because -- I swear -- my thought at the time was, "He looks exactly like he looked when he was on Growing Pains playing a high-school student." (I am a fount of knowledge that way.) And so, for reference, about a minute and a half into in the clip above: Brad Pitt as a high-school student. Or possibly a very old Benjamin Button.
Because -- I swear -- my thought at the time was, "He looks exactly like he looked when he was on Growing Pains playing a high-school student." (I am a fount of knowledge that way.) And so, for reference, about a minute and a half into in the clip above: Brad Pitt as a high-school student. Or possibly a very old Benjamin Button.
Reaching out to the world’s most populous Muslim nation and the boyhood home of her boss, President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton arrived in Indonesia on Wednesday, saying she wanted to pay tribute to its hard-won democracy.
“Indonesia has experienced a great transformation in the last 10 years,” she said, hearkening to the Asian financial crisis of 1998, which triggered the ouster of the autocratic regime of President Suharto.
Mrs. Clinton said that her decision to come here — a 3,600-mile detour from her tour of Japan, South Korea, and China — was also driven by a desire to recognize Southeast Asia, a region that senior Obama administration officials said had been neglected by the Bush White House.
“Indonesia has experienced a great transformation in the last 10 years,” she said, hearkening to the Asian financial crisis of 1998, which triggered the ouster of the autocratic regime of President Suharto.
Mrs. Clinton said that her decision to come here — a 3,600-mile detour from her tour of Japan, South Korea, and China — was also driven by a desire to recognize Southeast Asia, a region that senior Obama administration officials said had been neglected by the Bush White House.
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