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Writers needed. Help search for and post interesting news and/or press releases.
A recent White House press release states that the Council of Economic Advisers released a report examining the challenges faced by smaller businesses and the likely impacts of health care reform on these businesses and the workers they employ.
The key findings of the report include several topics. The first point is that small businesses are crucial to the economy and are an important source of job growth in the United States.
In addition, the report finds, the current health care system is not working for these businesses and their employees. Small businesses pay up to 18 percent higher premiums than larger businesses pay for the same policies. This makes them less likely to provide health insurance for their employees. According to the report, less than 50 percent of businesses with 3 to 9 employees provides insurance. And, sadly, the number of small businesses providing insurance for employees is declining.
The health care reform legislation currently being considered will help these businesses. Those who meet certain criteria will be able to participate in an "insurance exchange" which will better coverage at lower cost than the current market. In addition, they will be able to receive tax credits to help in funding their insurance programs.
Not only small business owners will benefit from this legislation. Employees who work for companies that don't provide insurance, or those who are self-employed, will also benefit. Low-income individuals and families would receive sliding scale subsidies to help them purchase insurance. Additionally, health insurers would not be allowed to screen potential enrollees for pre-existing conditions.
If you are interested in further details, read the entire press release, with links to more information.
WASHINGTON D.C. – This week, several high-ranking members of the Obama-Biden Administration highlighted some of their agencies’ efforts to improve energy efficiency and, in turn, save money, create jobs, and reduce dangerous carbon pollution.
The week’s activities – featuring top officials from the Departments of Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Veterans Affairs – come as part of an administration-wide initiative to begin weatherizing and retrofitting our nation’s building stock. Citing the huge rewards American families stand to reap from energy efficiency upgrades, Vice President Joe Biden first called for that concerted effort at a Middle Class Task Force Meeting in late May.
"By retrofitting and improving American buildings to waste less energy, we can save Americans billions of dollars in energy costs. At the same time, we can create jobs and reduce the strain on our nation’s power grid. Reducing the load on our coal-fired power plants would, in turn, cut air pollution - letting our kids and seniors breathe a little easier," said Van Jones, Special Advisor for Green Jobs at the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). The Vice President tasked CEQ with overseeing the initiative.
"In other words, an aggressive program to retrofit America will create more work, more wealth, and better health for all Americans," Jones said.
The following events and announcements took place this week.
- On Monday, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood visited Seattle to showcase Sound Transit’s University Link project, which received $44 million thanks to the Recovery Act. The University Link expansion line is Sound Transit’s first major project to be designed and built in an environmentally friendly way. When the University Link project was still in the design phase, Sound Transit conducted a comprehensive evaluation and analysis of strategies to reduce the project’s long-term energy consumption, reduce environmental impacts of construction and operation, plan for re-use and recycling of materials used in construction, and improve pedestrian and bicycle access to stations.
- In Las Vegas Wednesday, Deputy Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Ron Sims awarded a $1.3 million grant to retrofit carports at three community facilities with solar panels and capacity. These carports will be able to generate power for the attached facilities, conserving electricity and thus saving money for Las Vegas’ taxpayers.
- Also Wednesday, noting the large amounts of energy used by hospitals, Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki announced that his department is targeting nearly one-quarter of its $1.4 billion in funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to investments in clean energy generation and energy conservation. The department will direct more than $68 million to renewable sources, including solar, wind and geothermal energy and has dedicated nearly $238 million toward retrofitting existing buildings to use energy and water more efficiently.
- And on Friday, HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan attended a groundbreaking of a public housing development project in Minneapolis that is using $3.6 million in Public Housing Capital Funds, provided through the Recovery Act, to renovate four high-rise developments with 539 public housing units. These renovations will include significant energy efficiency upgrades. The Minneapolis Public Housing Authority (MPHA) is receiving $18.2 million in Recovery Act Public Housing Capital Funds.
Keep up with what's going on at the White House - read the White House press releases every day.
On April 1, Presidents Obama and Medvedev agreed in London that America and Russian negotiators would begin work on a new, comprehensive, legally binding agreement on reducing and limiting strategic offensive arms to replace the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), which expires on December 5, 2009.
On July 6, Presidents Medvedev and Obama signed a Joint Understanding to guide the remainder of the negotiations. The Joint Understanding commits the United States and Russia to reduce their strategic warheads to a range of 1500-1675, and their strategic delivery vehicles to a range of 500-1100. Under the expiring START and the Moscow treaties the maximum allowable levels of warheads is 2200 and the maximum allowable level of launch vehicles is 1600.
These numbers reflect a new level of reductions of strategic offensive arms and delivery vehicles that will be lower than those in any existing arms control agreements. The new treaty will include effective verification measures drawn from the experience of the Parties in implementing START. The new agreement will enhance the security of both the U.S. and Russia, as well as provide predictability and stability in strategic offensive forces. A follow-on agreement to START directly supports the goals outlined by the President during his speech in Prague and will demonstrate Russian and American leadership in strengthening the Non-Proliferation Treaty.
The U.S. and Russian negotiating teams met in April, May, June, and July, and will continue their work toward finalizing an agreement for signature and ratification at the earliest possible date.
The two Presidents agreed to create a Bilateral Presidential Commission, which they will chair and Secretary of State Clinton and Foreign Minister Lavrov will coordinate. The Commission will include the following working groups. Additional working groups will be created and announced in the coming months, along with sub-groups under each working group as appropriate. Secretary Clinton will travel to Moscow in the fall for the first meeting of the Commission coordinators.
Commission Co-Chairs: President Dmitry A. Medvedev, President Barack Obama
Commission Coordinators: Sergey V. Lavrov, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State
Working Groups:
- Nuclear Energy and Nuclear Security: Sergei V. Kiriyenko, Head of Rosatom, and Daniel Poneman, Deputy Secretary of Energy
- Arms Control and International Security: Sergei A. Ryabkov, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Ellen Tauscher, Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs
- Foreign Policy and Fighting Terrorism: Sergei A. Ryabkov, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, and William Burns, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs
- Drug Trafficking: Viktor P. Ivanov, Director, Federal Drug Enforcement Service, and R. Gil Kerlikowske, Director, Office of National Drug Control Policy
- Business Development and Economic Relations: Elvira Nabiullina, Minister of Economic Development, Gary Locke, Secretary of Commerce
- Energy and Environment: Sergei I. Shmatko, Minister of Energy, and Steven Chu, Secretary of Energy
- Agriculture: Yelena B. Skrynnik, Minister of Agriculture, and Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Agriculture
- Science and Technologies: Andrei A. Fursenko, Minister of Education and Science, and John Holdren, Director, Office of Science and Technology Policy
- Space Cooperation: Anatoly N. Perminov, Head of Roskosmos, and Administrator, NASA
- Health: Tatyana A. Golikova, Minister of Health, and Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services
- Cooperation in Prevention and Handling of Emergency Situations: Sergey K. Shoygu, Head of Emergency Situations Ministry, and Craig Fugate, Administrator, FEMA
- Civil Society: Vladislav Surkov, First Deputy Chief of Staff, Presidential Administration, and Michael McFaul, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Russia , National Security Council
- Educational and Cultural Exchanges: Mikhail E. Shvydkoy, Special Presidential Representative for International Culture Cooperation, and Judith McHale, Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs
WASHINGTON—The White House today announced that Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, Education Secretary Arne Duncan, and Homeland Security Advisor John Brennan will host an all-day H1N1 Flu Preparedness Summit with states to further prepare this nation for the possibility of a more severe outbreak of H1N1 flu. The Summit will be held on July 9, 2009 at the Natcher Conference Center at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland.
WHO
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Vice President Biden Commends Department of Education for Accelerating Recovery Act Funds
"Last week, the President asked me to work with the Cabinet to find ways to accelerate our already stepped-up Recovery Act efforts. I’m pleased to announce today that the Department of Education will be making over $2.5 billion in Recovery Act funds available to states in the coming days to support state education budgets, thereby helping states in fiscal distress. These Recovery Act funds will enable states to move quickly to protect critical jobs and will help states cope with their immediate budgetary challenges. I applaud Secretary Arne Duncan and his team for moving so quickly, and will continue to press the Cabinet to find ways to accelerate the pace of Recovery Act spending."
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