Change.gov - The Official Web Site of the The U.S. Presidential Transition

As a new year begins, many Americans are reflecting on 2008 while looking ahead to the challenges and opportunities we’ll face in 2009.

The past year brought change to our country. Millions of Americans participated in our political process for the first time. Folks came together to work for common goals, and the bonds of citizenship grew stronger in cities and towns across the country.

But alongside these accomplishments, many Americans also faced tremendous economic hardship.

Too many families are dealing with the strain and loss stemming from this financial crisis. In 2009, our nation must come together to forge solutions to the challenges we face.

To start off the new year, tell us your goals for 2009 in the discussion forum below:

Note: If you held a Health Care Community Discussion and have not reported back yet, please do so here!

On December 5th, Health and Human Services Secretary-designate Tom Daschle spoke at the Colorado Health Care Summit in Denver and announced that the Transition would host Health Care Community Discussions across the country over the holidays to help his Policy Team put together their final recommendations for the new administration. Daschle told the summit that “We have to make this as inclusive a process as possible,” and DeAnn Friedholm of Consumers Union observed that “This strategy of getting out of Washington and engaging real people will help overcome the vested interests that have stood in the way of reform for way too long.” President-elect Obama also made clear that the community discussions would form a central pillar in the development of any major reform:

“Providing quality affordable health care for all Americans is one of my top priorities for this country because our long-term fiscal prospects will have a hard time improving as long as sky-rocketing health care costs are holding us all down. Yet in order for us to reform our health care system, we must first begin reforming how government communicates with the American people. These Health Care Community Discussions are a great way for the American people to have a direct say in our health care reform efforts and I encourage Americans to take part if they are able. I am looking forward to hearing back from you and from Senator Daschle in the coming weeks.”

Now, with the Holidays winding down, thousands signed up to hold discussions and hundreds have already reported back. Yesterday Daschle attended a discussion in Dublin, Indiana, and even a glimpse of the coverage shows how powerful and important each of these meetings is.

Indianapolis Star:

Daschle spent most of the meeting, which lasted more than an hour, listening to the comments and concerns of area residents, firefighters, emergency medical technicians and physicians. He sometimes asked follow-up questions and took notes. Reid Hospital Chief Executive Officer Craig Kinyon facilitated the discussion.

Daschle was affected by hearing about the difficulties Jill King of Cambridge City had getting new medical insurance because she has had three past cancers, the decision Dolly Sweet of Cambridge City made to forgo a $35,000-a-year cancer medication because of its high cost, and how Dr. James Bertsch feels forced to make decisions about a patient's care based on what insurance will pay for, not what he thinks is best.

"These (stories) are really hard to listen to in many ways," Daschle said, adding that hearing them also is a necessary part of changing health care. "We need to change the paradigm from illness to wellness."

He quoted Nelson Mandela, who said, "Many things seem impossible until they are done," and then said, "I believe it is not impossible ... together it can be done."

WRTV 6News, Indiana:

With skyrocketing costs or no coverage at all, Fire Chief Bob French was one of several people who told Daschle that people are suffering.

"Older people, they either pay their rent or buy their medicine," French said. "We don't ask if they have insurance. We put them in the ambulance and we take them in the hospital and take care of them."

Sweet said her health problems have her down a bit, but not out.

"I've got a marvelous family. I've got a husband who has learned how to cook," she said.

Daschle said he plans to attend several more forums all over the country. He and a transition team will gather information and make reform recommendations to Obama.

Associated Press:

Deanna Russell of Cambridge City said her son, Kyle, was born with a heart condition that has required several surgeries and other treatment.

Hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical bills were covered by her health plan at the Visteon auto parts plant in Connersville, but the plant has closed and she is substitute teaching. She's concerned that when he begins working, his employer's medical insurance won't cover him because of the condition.

"In many cases, that could be deadly or fatal to him," she said.

Joe Fouts, office manager for a medical practice in Cambridge City, said he regularly has patients that come into the clinic with new insurance coverage only to discover it won't pay for pre-existing condition treatments.

"People leave crying," Fouts said.

Washington Post:

Even before taking office or introducing concrete policy proposals, the administration-in-waiting is moving to build public support around the broad notion that the U.S. health system needs an overhaul. To Washington veterans, the approach may seem backward, or even naive, but Obama is betting that the energetic, technology-savvy supporters who fueled his candidacy will act as a potent counterbalance to the traditionally powerful special interests that have defeated similar reform efforts.

New York Times:

After listening for nearly 90 minutes, Mr. Daschle said the system could be changed by citizens’ active participation.

“When we combine all the stories we heard in this small town of Dublin and multiply that by 300 million people, we can begin to imagine the scope of the problem,” he said. “But I’m hopeful that the country has come together to say: ‘Enough already. We have to fix this.’”

Again, the Transition’s health care team is going through each and every report we get back, so if you held a community discussion please let us know what you talked about and learned. We will also have video from the Indiana meeting and others within the next week, so check back, and in the meantime here are some photos from a discussion Secretary-designate Daschle attended today in Washington, DC.

During this brief transition period, we've rolled out important new tools to let users interact with our team in a transparent and meaningful way.

Our first run of Open for Questions was one such feature, with nearly 1,000,000 votes cast on questions from the Change.gov community.

In this round, you can still view all of the questions that have been submitted -- or you can break down the questions by category for easier navigation. For instance, you can read the top-ranking question regarding Energy and the Environment and browse through other questions on the same topic by clicking on that issue.

We think this change is valuable. It serves the other key purpose of features like Open for Questions: making your input easy to pass on to the members of our Transition team that are crafting solutions to these vital issues right now.

Check out the Open for Questions feature here. We'll close this round of questions and put together our responses in the new year.

For many people, this holiday season comes at a time of great hardship, but also of great hope: that we can come together as a nation and serve one another. Whether you’re celebrating at home, traveling to visit relatives or stationed overseas, tell us your stories about reaching out to friends and loved ones. And if you’re able to reach even farther than that – to neighbors, to local charities, to organizations that promote your most cherished ideals, then let us know about that, too. We look forward to reading your stories and ideas about how we can all come together to start a new chapter for our country.

Happy holidays from change.gov!

In this week's weekly address, President-elect Barack Obama calls on Americans to honor our service men and women and to think of those Americans being hurt by our sluggish economy.

"This season of giving should also be a time to renew a sense of common purpose and shared citizenship," he says. "Now more than ever, we must rededicate ourselves to the notion that we share a common destiny as Americans – that I am my brother’s keeper, I am my sister’s keeper. Now, we must all do our part to serve one another; to seek new ideas and new innovation; and to start a new chapter for our great country."

Watch the full address or read the text below.

Good morning. This week, Americans are gathering with family and friends across the country to celebrate the blessings of Christmas and the holiday season.

As we celebrate this joyous time of year, our thoughts turn to the brave men and women who serve our country far from home. Their extraordinary and selfless sacrifice is an inspiration to us all, and part of the unbroken line of heroism that has made our freedom and prosperity possible for over two centuries.

Many troops are serving their second, third, or fourth tour of duty. And we are reminded that they are more than dedicated Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coast Guard – they are devoted fathers and mothers; husbands and wives; sons and daughters; and sisters and brothers.

This holiday season, their families celebrate with a joy that is muted knowing that a loved one is absent, and sometimes in danger. In towns and cities across America, there is an empty seat at the dinner table; in distant bases and on ships at sea, our servicemen and women can only wonder at the look on their child’s face as they open a gift back home.

Our troops and military families have won the respect and gratitude of their broader American family. Michelle and I have them in our prayers this Christmas, and we must all continue to offer them our full support in the weeks and months to come. .

These are also tough times for many Americans struggling in our sluggish economy. As we count the higher blessings of faith and family, we know that millions of Americans don’t have a job. Many more are struggling to pay the bills or stay in their homes. From students to seniors, the future seems uncertain.

That is why this season of giving should also be a time to renew a sense of common purpose and shared citizenship. Now, more than ever, we must rededicate ourselves to the notion that we share a common destiny as Americans – that I am my brother’s keeper, I am my sister’s keeper. Now, we must all do our part to serve one another; to seek new ideas and new innovation; and to start a new chapter for our great country.

That is the spirit that will guide my Administration in the New Year. If the American people come together and put their shoulder to the wheel of history, then I know that we can put our people back to work and point our country in a new direction. That is how we will see ourselves through this time of crisis, and reach the promise of a brighter day.

After all, that is what Americans have always done.

232 years ago, when America was newly born as a nation, George Washington and his Army faced impossible odds as they struggled to free themselves from the grip of an empire.

It was Christmas Day -- December 25th, 1776 – that they fought through ice and cold to make an improbable crossing of the Delaware River. They caught the enemy off guard, won victories in Trenton and Princeton, and gave new momentum to a beleaguered Army and new hope to the cause of Independence.

Many ages have passed since that first American Christmas. We have crossed many rivers as a people. But the lessons that have carried us through are the same lessons that we celebrate every Christmas season -- the same lessons that guide us to this very day: that hope endures, and that a new birth of peace is always possible.

Vice President-elect Joe Biden made the case for a bold economic recovery package in a meeting in Washington this morning with the Obama-Biden administration's top economic advisors.

"Economists rarely agree, but on this score there's overwhelming agreement that we need a robust and sustained economic recovery package," he said at the meeting. "There's virtually no disagreement on that point, with economists from left to right agreeing that the greater threat to our economy lies in doing too little."

Biden was flanked by Larry Summers, Director-designate of the National Economic Council, and Melody Barnes, Director-designate of the Domestic Policy Council, both of whom highlighted the areas the plan's job-creation initiatives will focus on: health care, schools, infrastructure, and energy.

"We think it's an opportunity to turn crisis into opportunity to make sure ... that mobility and opportunity are in fact the hallmark of this administration," Director-designate Barnes said.

Vice President-elect Biden also noted several times that though the package is likely to be very large, there will be strict accountability and no earmarks.

"I know it's Christmas but President-elect Obama and I are absolutely determined that this economic recovery package will not become a Christmas Tree," he said.

View photos from the meeting below.

Vice President-elect Biden is in Washington today to be briefed by Larry Summers, Director of the National Economic Council, and other White House economic advisors on new economic developments and the upcoming economic recovery package.

The meeting starts at 10:45 eastern. 

Two weeks ago Vice President-elect Joe Biden showed his commitment to the middle class and restoring the health of our economy by selecting Jared Bernstein for a newly-created post, Chief Economist and Economic Policy Advisor to the Vice President. Yesterday, the Obama Transition team announced that the Vice President-elect would also chair the President-elect’s "White House Task Force on Working Families." The Task Force will be comprised of cabinet members like Hilda Solis, Tom Daschle, Bill Richardson and Arne Duncan as well as key advisors Melody Barnes, Peter Orszag, Larry Summers, and Christina Romer. Through regular meetings and outreach with representatives of labor, business, and the advocacy communities, it will work towards raising the living standards of middle-class families and the following goals:

• Expanding education and lifelong training opportunities
• Improving work and family balance
• Restoring labor standards, including workplace safety
• Helping to protect middle-class and working-family incomes
• Protecting retirement security

The Vice President-elect discussed the Task Force on ABC’s “This Week” yesterday:

BIDEN: It is a specific responsibility in terms of -- it is a discrete job that is going to last only for a certain period of time.

STEPHANOPOULOS: What will it do?

BIDEN: What it's going to do, it's going to include other Cabinet members, including Labor, HHS, OMB, Education, etc, and my focus is going to be, I'm going to chair this group and it is designed to do the one thing we use as a yardstick of economic success of our administration, is the middle class growing? Is the middle class getting better? Is the middle class no longer being left behind? And we'll look at everything from college affordability to after school programs. The things that affect people's daily lives. I will be the guy honchoing that policy.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Will you then have line authority? If you determine that a policy…

BIDEN: No.

STEPHANOPOULOS: … isn't serving the middle class you'll have the authority to change it?

BIDEN: No, what I have the authority to do is to try to get a consensus among those people I just mentioned. If in fact there is no consensus, go to the president of the United States and say, Mr. President, I think we should be doing this, Cabinet member so and so thinks that, you're going to have to resolve what it is we think we should do. But we're going to present him with a package as to what are the main elements of restoring the middle class.

In a separate interview with Larry King airing on CNN tonight, the Vice President-elect was asked about the prospects for America’s economic outlook turning around:

King: In your book, you say a question you got from people a lot during the campaign was, "Are we going to be OK?" So I'll ask it of you.

Biden: Yes, we are. We're going to be OK, not because of Barack Obama and Joe Biden. We're going to be OK because of the American people. They have more grit, determination and courage than you can imagine.

In the latest weekly address, President-elect Barack Obama took a bold stand for making decisions based on science and facts rather than ideology as he introduced leading members of his science and technology team.

"The truth is that promoting science isn't just about providing resources -- it's about protecting free and open inquiry," President-elect Obama said. "It's about ensuring that facts and evidence are never twisted or obscured by politics or ideology. It's about listening to what our scientists have to say, even when it's inconvenient -- especially when it's inconvenient. Because the highest purpose of science is the search for knowledge, truth and a greater understanding of the world around us. That will be my goal as President of the United States -- and I could not have a better team to guide me in this work."

President-elect Obama announced his appointment of Dr. John Holdren as Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and Co-Chair of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST). He also announced Dr. Harold Varmus and Dr. Eric Lander as the other co-chairs of PCAST, which the President-elect said he hopes will be "a vigorous external advisory council that will shape my thinking on the scientific aspects of my policy priorities." Addtionally, he named Dr. Jane Lubchenco as his choice to lead the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

"I am confident that if we recommit ourselves to discovery," President-elect Obama said," if we support science education to create the next generation of scientists and engineers right here in America; if we have the vision to believe and invest in things unseen, then we can lead the world into a new future of peace and prosperity."

Watch the weekly address and read the text below.

Over the past few weeks, Vice President-Elect Biden and I have announced some of the leaders who will advise us as we seek to meet America's twenty-first century challenges, from strengthening our security, to rebuilding our economy, to preserving our planet for our children and grandchildren. Today, I am pleased to announce members of my science and technology team whose work will be critical to these efforts.

Whether it's the science to slow global warming; the technology to protect our troops and confront bioterror and weapons of mass destruction; the research to find life-saving cures; or the innovations to remake our industries and create twenty-first century jobs -- today, more than ever before, science holds the key to our survival as a planet and our security and prosperity as a nation. It is time we once again put science at the top of our agenda and worked to restore America's place as the world leader in science and technology.

Right now, in labs, classrooms and companies across America, our leading minds are hard at work chasing the next big idea, on the cusp of breakthroughs that could revolutionize our lives. But history tells us that they cannot do it alone. From landing on the moon, to sequencing the human genome, to inventing the Internet, America has been the first to cross that new frontier because we had leaders who paved the way: leaders like President Kennedy, who inspired us to push the boundaries of the known world and achieve the impossible; leaders who not only invested in our scientists, but who respected the integrity of the scientific process.

Because the truth is that promoting science isn't just about providing resources -- it's about protecting free and open inquiry. It's about ensuring that facts and evidence are never twisted or obscured by politics or ideology. It's about listening to what our scientists have to say, even when it's inconvenient -- especially when it's inconvenient. Because the highest purpose of science is the search for knowledge, truth and a greater understanding of the world around us. That will be my goal as President of the United States -- and I could not have a better team to guide me in this work.

Dr. John Holdren has agreed to serve as Assistant to the President for Science and Technology and Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. John is a professor and Director of the Program on Science, Technology, and Public Policy at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, as well as President and Director of the Woods Hole Research Center. A physicist renowned for his work on climate and energy, he's received numerous honors and awards for his contributions and has been one of the most passionate and persistent voices of our time about the growing threat of climate change. I look forward to his wise counsel in the years ahead.

John will also serve as a Co-Chair of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology -- or PCAST -- as will Dr. Harold Varmus and Dr. Eric Lander. Together, they will work to remake PCAST into a vigorous external advisory council that will shape my thinking on the scientific aspects of my policy priorities.

Dr. Varmus is no stranger to this work. He is not just a path-breaking scientist, having won a Nobel Prize for his research on the causes of cancer -- he also served as Director of the National Institutes of Health during the Clinton Administration. I am grateful he has answered the call to serve once again.

Dr. Eric Lander is the Founding Director of the Broad Institute at MIT and Harvard and was one of the driving forces behind mapping the human genome -- one of the greatest scientific achievements in history. I know he will be a powerful voice in my Administration as we seek to find the causes and cures of our most devastating diseases.

Finally, Dr. Jane Lubchenco has accepted my nomination as the Administrator of NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which is devoted to conserving our marine and coastal resources and monitoring our weather. An internationally known environmental scientist and ecologist and former President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Jane has advised the President and Congress on scientific matters, and I am confident she will provide passionate and dedicated leadership at NOAA.

Working with these leaders, we will seek to draw on the power of science to both meet our challenges across the globe and revitalize our economy here at home. And I'll be speaking more after the New Year about how my Administration will engage leaders in the technology community and harness technology and innovation to create jobs, enhance America's competitiveness and advance our national priorities.

I am confident that if we recommit ourselves to discovery; if we support science education to create the next generation of scientists and engineers right here in America; if we have the vision to believe and invest in things unseen, then we can lead the world into a new future of peace and prosperity.

Thank you.

"Jobs and wages" are the way to measure the strength of the economy, President-elect Barack Obama said as he announced additional members of his economic team, including the Secretaries-designate of Labor and Transportation.

"I know we will be headed in the right direction again when we are creating jobs, instead of losing them, and when Americans are gaining ground in terms of their incomes, instead of treading water or falling behind," President-elect Obama said.

He announceed Congresswoman Hilda Solis as Secretary of Labor; former Congressman Ray LaHood as Secretary of Transportation; Karen Mills as Administrator of the Small Business Administration; and former Mayor Ron Kirk as United States Trade Representative.

"The appointees announced today will play an integral role in our efforts to turn our economy around," he said.

In addition to announcing the appointments, the President-elect opened the press conference with remarks on what he called the Bush administration's "necessary step" of promising emergency loans to the auto industry.

"The auto companies must not squander this chance to reform bad management practices and begin the long-term restructuring that is absolutely necessary to save this critical industry and the millions of American jobs that depend on it, while also creating the fuel-efficient cars of the future," he said.

You can see photos from the event and read the text of the President-elect's remarks below.

Good afternoon. 

Before we begin, I’d like to say a few words about the necessary step taken today to help avoid a collapse in our auto industry that would have devastating consequences for our economy and our workers.  With the short-term assistance provided by this package, the auto companies must bring all their stakeholders together – including labor, dealers, creditors and suppliers – to make the hard choices necessary to achieve long-term viability.  The auto companies must not squander this chance to reform bad management practices and begin the long-term restructuring that is absolutely necessary to save this critical industry and the millions of American jobs that depend on it, while also creating the fuel-efficient cars of the future.

Whenever I have been asked how I measure the strength of the American economy, my answer is simple: jobs and wages. I know we will be headed in the right direction again when we are creating jobs, instead of losing them, and when Americans are gaining ground in terms of their incomes, instead of treading water or falling behind.  In recent weeks, I’ve announced members of my economic team who will help us make progress in these areas.

Today, I’m announcing several other appointees who will play an integral role in our efforts to turn our economy around: Congresswoman Hilda Solis as Secretary of Labor; former Congressman Ray LaHood as Secretary of Transportation; Karen Mills as Administrator of the Small Business Administration; and Mayor Ron Kirk as United States Trade Representative. Together with the appointees I’ve already announced, these leaders will help craft a 21st Century Economic Recovery Plan, with the goal of creating two and a half million new jobs and strengthening our economy for the future.

If jobs and incomes are our yardsticks, then the success of the American worker is key to the success of the American economy.  For the past eight years, the Department of Labor has not lived up to its role either as an advocate for hardworking families or as an arbiter of fairness in relations between labor and management. That will change when Hilda Solis is Secretary of Labor. Under her leadership, I am confident that the Department of Labor will once again stand up for working families.

Hilda has always been an advocate for everyday people. When she received an award several years ago, she said, “Fighting for what is just is not always popular, but it is necessary.” And that is exactly what she has done throughout her career, blazing new trails every step of the way. Whether it’s creating green jobs that pay well and can’t be outsourced or expanding access to affordable health care or raising the minimum wage in California, Hilda has been a champion of our middle class. And I know that Hilda will show the same kind of leadership as Secretary of Labor that she showed in California and on the Education and Labor Committee by protecting workers’ rights – from organizing to collective bargaining, from keeping our workplaces safe to making our unions strong.

Standing up for our workers means putting them back to work and fueling economic growth. Our economy boomed in the 20th Century when President Eisenhower remade the American landscape by building the interstate highway system. Now we need to remake our transportation system for the 21st Century. Doing so will not only help us meet our energy challenge by building more efficient cars, buses, and subways or make Americans safer by rebuilding our crumbling roads and bridges – it will create millions of new jobs in the process.

Few understand our infrastructure challenge better than the outstanding public servant I am asking to lead the Department of Transportation – Ray LaHood. As a Congressman from Illinois, Ray served six years on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, leading efforts to modernize our aviation system by renewing our aging airports and ensuring that air traffic controllers were using cutting edge technology. Throughout his career, Ray has fought to improve mass transit and invest in our highways. But he has not only helped rebuild our landscape, he has helped beautify it by creating opportunities for bikers and runners to enjoy our great outdoors.  When I began this appointment process, I said I was committed to finding the best person for the job, regardless of party. Ray’s appointment reflects that bipartisan spirit – a spirit we need to reclaim in this country to make progress for the American people.

To strengthen our economy, we must also strengthen the small businesses that are its backbone. I can think of no one better to lead this effort as Administrator of the Small Business Administration than Karen Mills. With Karen at the helm, America’s small businesses will have a partner in Washington, helping them create jobs and spur growth in communities across this country.  A venture capitalist who invests in small businesses, Karen understands the challenges faced by both small business owners and the workers they employ. With a background in the private sector and experience helping Maine’s governor promote growth across the state, I am confident that Karen will lead an SBA that will not only help small business owners realize their dreams, but help our nation rebuild our economy.

We also know that the success of American businesses, small and large, depends on their ability to sell their products across the globe. That is why we must engage in strong, robust trade and open doors for American products. In our global economy, we must compete and win if we are going to strengthen our middle class and forge bonds with other nations that can contribute to peace and stability around the world. But I also believe that any trade agreement we sign must be written not just with the interests of big corporations in mind, but with the interests of our whole nation and our workers at heart.

Ron Kirk understands this better than just about anyone. As Mayor of Dallas, Ron helped steer one of the world’s largest economies. He has seen the promise of trade, but also its pitfalls. And he knows there is nothing inconsistent about standing up for free trade and standing up for American workers. During his tenure as Mayor, Ron brought different groups together to create jobs, invest in the community, and spur economic growth. As a leader, negotiator, and principled proponent of trade, Ron will help make sure that any agreements I sign as President protect the rights of all workers, promote the interests of all Americans, and preserve the planet we all share. 

With these outstanding appointees, I have filled out our economic team, and done so at an earlier point than any President in history, because we face challenges unlike any we have faced in generations.

Daunting as the challenges we are inheriting may be, I’m convinced that our team and the American people are prepared to meet them. It will take longer than any of us would like – years, and not months.  It will get worse before it gets better. But it will get better – if we’re willing to act boldly and swiftly. And that is what we will do when I am President of the United States.