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Yesterday, President Obama traveled to the University of Iowa where he held a roundtable with a few Hawkeyes who receive Stafford federal student loans. Following the roundtable he spoke to a larger crowd of students about the importance of keeping these interest rates from doubling on July 1. Rates are set to spike on July 1 in Congress doesn’t act. And for each year Congress allows the rate to double, the average student with these loans will rack up an additional $1,000 in debt. That’s unacceptable. He’ll continue to fight to keep these rates low and he’ll continue to fight to create an economy that’s built to last. Keeping these rates low is not only good for students, it’s good for the economy.
As the President told students yesterday, “You are the economy. If you’ve got skills, if you’ve got talents, if you’re starting a business, if companies are locating here in Iowa because it’s got a well-trained workforce, that’s the economy. That’s how we’re going to compete. Making sure our next generation earns the best education possible is exactly America’s business.”
It’s time for Congress to act. Higher education shouldn’t be a luxury, it’s an economic imperative that every family should be able to afford.
Over the past few days Republicans started to climb on board with this idea. That’s a good sign. They still support a budget that could cut sharply the Pell Grant for millions of students, and could eliminate access to work-study job opportunities for one hundred thousand students by 2014 in order to fund tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires. But, it’s good news that they’re coming around to prevent these interest rates from doubling.
Now, leaders in Washington simply need to work together to get this done in a responsible way. Students can’t afford to be saddled additional debt because their elected officials in Washington continue to fight political battles. No more games. No more political posturing. Washington needs to work together on behalf of millions of students all across the country.
Let’s take a look at today's front pages in Iowa:
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April 26, 2012
03:37 PM EDTYou might have heard about a partisan report on how the health care law will affect some businesses across the country. We can’t speak to these individual anecdotes. But we know that analysts and experts have examined the law and concluded that the health care law will reduce costs for businesses. And we know we can’t afford to return to the broken health care system that was threatening businesses and families across the country and put insurance companies back in control.
Over the past decade, health insurance costs for employers who provide insurance to their workers increased by 113 percent. Losses due to productivity and absenteeism related to health are estimated to be more than $250 billion annually. America spends more than 17 percent of GDP on health care, far more than our competitor nations. Health reform will help reduce these costs and put businesses on a stronger financial footing.
In fact, countless experts have also examined the Affordable Care Act and found it includes major reforms that will help control health care costs. A team of economists including several Nobel Prize Winners wrote: “[T]he Affordable Care Act contains essentially every cost-containment provision policy analysts have considered effective in reducing the rate of medical spending.”
Here are some key facts to keep in mind if you’re reviewing the new report. Under the Affordable Care Act:
- Businesses Will Save Money: In 2014, small businesses, on average, could save up to $350 per family policy and many may be eligible for tax credits of up to 50 percent of their premiums. And according to an analysis of the law, all businesses will see lower premiums of $2,000 per family by 2019.
- Businesses Will Continue to Offer Coverage: Independent experts from Avalere Health, The Urban Institute, The RAND Corporation, and Mercer agree that businesses will continue to provide coverage to their workers after the health care law is implemented.
- Businesses Are Already Benefitting from Health Reform: Already, the law has helped businesses make health insurance more affordable through tax credits for small businesses, resources to help pay the high cost of early retirees’ care and new rules that hold insurance companies accountable for high premium hikes. For example, the small business tax credits will benefit an estimated two million workers who get their insurance from 360,000 small employers who will receive the credit for 2011.
- Two Years Into Implementation, Businesses are Creating Jobs: Congressional Republicans predicted that the Affordable Care Act would cause businesses to shed jobs. But in the two years since the law was enacted, the economy created 3.9 million private sector jobs.
- Medicare Remains Strong: Contrary to predictions from House Republicans, Medicare and Medicare Advantage remain strong. Since 2010, Medicare Advantage premiums have fallen by 16 percent on average and enrollment has risen by about 17 percent since this time last year. Just this week, the Medicare Trustees report was released, showing the positive impact of the law which extended the life of the Trust Fund by 8 years.
Some Republicans want to go back to the days when insurance companies could deny your coverage or jack up your rates whenever and however they pleased without any accountability. Republicans in Congress shouldn’t try to refight the fights of the last three years. Instead, both parties need to come together to create an America built to last where everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules.
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President Barack Obama listens to senior Marissa Boles during a roundtable discussion with students currently receiving Stafford federal student loans at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, April 25, 2012. Also participating in the discussion were students Blake Anderson, center, Myranda Burnett, Jordan Garrsion-Nickerson and Martin Lopez. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)
President Obama wrapped up a three-city tour in Iowa today by speaking to students at the University of Iowa about the best tool they’ve got for achieving the American promise: a college education.
This country has always made a commitment to put a good education within the reach of everybody who's willing to work for it. That’s part of what made us special. That’s what kept us at the forefront of business and science and technology and medicine. That’s a commitment that we need to reaffirm today.
Now, here's the challenge we've got. Since most of you were born, tuition and fees at America’s colleges have more than doubled. And that forces students like you to take out more loans and rack up more debt. The average student who borrows to pay for college now graduates with about $25,000 in student loan debt. And in this state, it’s even higher. Americans now owe more on their student loans than they owe on credit cards.
And living with that debt means you’ve got to make some pretty tough choices. It might mean putting off buying a first home or chasing that great startup idea that you’ve got. Maybe you’ll have to wait a little bit longer to start a family or save for retirement. And when a big chunk of every paycheck goes towards loan debt, that’s not just tough on you, that’s not just tough on middle-class families -- that’s not good for our economy, because that money that could be going into businesses is going just to service debt.
To make matters worse, interest rates on federal Stafford loans are set to double in July, saddling more than 7 million students with an additional $1,000 in debt. Congress has the power to stop this from happening, however, and as he did in North Carolina and Colorado earlier this week, the President asked students to tell their members of Congress one thing: Don’t Double My Rate.
Raise your voice and reach out to your networks if you agree that student loan rates should not double on July 1.
- Twitter: Use the hashtag #DontDoubleMyRate
- Facebook: Update your status and profile image
- Google+: Use the hashtag #DontDoubleMyRate
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Approximately 7.4 million students will rack up an additional $1,000 in debt if Congress doesn’t stop the interest rate on federal student loans from doubling on July 1.
President Obama is on road this week in North Carolina, Colorado, and Iowa talking to college students about the steps his Administration is taking to keep college affordable, because he knows that college isn’t just the best investment young people can make in their future—it’s the best investment they can make in their country’s future.
More than that, a college degree is essentially a prerequisite in today’s economy. Right now, the unemployment rate for Americans with a college degree or more is about half the national average. Their incomes are twice as high as those who don’t have a high school diploma.
But the cost of college is on the rise, and students are taking on more and more debt to pay for the education they need. President Obama has worked to help make sure that every student who is willing to work hard can earn a college degree. Now he’s calling on Congress to do their part by passing legislation that will prevent interest rates on federal Stafford loans from doubling in July.
Raise your voice and reach out to your networks if you agree that student loan rates should not double on July 1.
- Twitter: Use the hashtag #DontDoubleMyRate
- Facebook: Update your status and profile image
- Google+: Use the hashtag #DontDoubleMyRate
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April 25, 2012
12:05 PM EDTThis week, Republicans in Congress are considering budget bills that give more power to health insurance companies, raise taxes for middle-class Americans, and threaten health care coverage for children – all by rolling back rolling back important provisions of the Affordable Care Act.
Under the new health care law, states have new tools and resources to hold insurance companies accountable. Today, states are using these resources to ensure insurers are spending your premium dollars wisely, reviewing proposed rate increases to see if they are reasonable. In 2014, states will use these resources to continue to ensure that insurance companies play by the rules in new Affordable Insurance Exchanges, where insurers will compete to offer you quality coverage at a fair price. Already, 33 states and the District of Columbia have received Exchange establishment grants, including 15 states with Republican or independent Governors. In contrast, Republican Representatives in Congress want to cut this funding for states, stopping them in their tracks and taking us back to the days where insurance companies, not American families, were in charge of health care.
Under the new health care law, middle-class families will receive the largest health care tax cut in history through new tax credits to help you afford health insurance offered through Exchanges. In contrast, House Republicans support a proposal that would raise taxes for certain middle-class families whose income changes during the year, for example, by putting in overtime or earning a promotion. By making it harder for families to juggle health care costs, this proposal could cause 350,000 people to lose their health coverage altogether.
Under the new health care law, states have new resources to maintain coverage for low-income children through Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). CHIP is a bipartisan program that offers health coverage to children in families that earn too much to qualify for Medicaid and too little to afford private insurance. Under the Republican plan, 300,000 kids would lose CHIP coverage according to CBO.
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On Tuesday, President Obama stopped by Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, where he had a message for Congress: This is not the time to make school more expensive for our young people. Or, as rapper Black Thought of house band The Roots put it, "If Congress doesn't act, it's the students who pay."
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President Barack Obama delivers remarks on interest rates on student loans at the University of Colorado Coors Event Center in Boulder, Colo., April 24, 2012. (Official White House Photo by by Chuck Kennedy)
If Congress doesn't act, more than 7.4 million students with federal student loans will see their interest rates double on July 1 of this year. President Obama believes that this is unacceptable: Higher education cannot be a luxury in this country. It’s an economic imperative that every family must be able to afford.
On Tuesday, the President visited universities in Colorado and North Carolina to talk with students about the importance of keeping interest rates on student loans low so that more Americans can get a fair shot at an affordable college education that will provide the skills they need to find a good job, and a clear path to middle class. President Obama also paid a visit to Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, which was taping at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he "slow jammed" the news, explaining, "Now is not the time to make school more expensive for our young people."
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Ed. note: This event has ended.
Dr. Biden participates in a Joining Forces anniversary event at Lee Hall Elementary School in Newport News, Va. to discuss the unique needs 1.3 million military-connected children in schools face. Watch live here, starting at 9:30 AM ET.
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This week, the Senate will consider bipartisan legislation, introduced by Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Mike Crapo (R-ID), that would reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). First authored by then-Senator Biden in 1994, VAWA provides funding to states and local communities to improve the criminal justice response to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking. VAWA supports specialized law enforcement units to investigate these crimes and helps prosecutors get dangerous offenders off the streets. Since the passage of the act, annual incidents of domestic violence have dropped by more than 60 percent.
While tremendous progress has been made, violence is still a significant problem facing women, men, families, and communities. On average, 3 women a day die as a result of domestic violence. The hidden crime of stalking affects 1 in 6 women and sexual assault remains the most underreported violent crime in the country. 1 in 5 women and 1 in 71 men have been sexually assaulted at some time in their lives. The Leahy-Crapo bill to reauthorize VAWA addresses today’s most pressing issues and builds on what we have learned over the past 17 years. We must continue moving forward to reduce violence against all women.
Native American women suffer from violent crime at some of the highest rates in the United States. One regional survey conducted by University of Oklahoma researchers showed that nearly three out of five Native American women had been assaulted by their spouses or intimate partners. In addition, a recent Center for Disease Control (CDC) study found that 46 percent of Native American women have experienced rape, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime. Tribal leaders say there are countless more victims of domestic violence and sexual assault whose stories may never be told.
With non-Indians constituting more than 76 percent of the overall population living on reservations and other Indian lands, interracial dating and marriage are common, and many of the abusers of Native American women are non-Indian men. Too often, non-Indian men who batter their Indian wives and girlfriends go unpunished because tribes cannot prosecute non-Indians, even if the offender lives on the reservation and is married to a tribal member, and because Federal law‐enforcement resources are hours away from reservations and stretched thin.
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April 24, 2012
06:05 PM EDT
Vice President Joe Biden, Senator Bill Nelson, and Congressman Alcee Hastings take an airboat tour of the Everglades outside Miami, Florida, April 23, 2012. Also pictured is Shannon Estenoz, Director of the Office of Everglades Restoration Initiatives. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann)
Yesterday, Vice President Biden visited one of our nation’s most magnificent natural treasures – the Everglades. Joined by two long-time champions for the Everglades, Senator Bill Nelson and Congressman Alcee Hastings, he took an airboat tour in Everglades National Park and then delivered remarks to highlight our Administration’s unprecedented investment in restoring this ecosystem.
Everglades restoration is one of the Administration’s top environmental priorities because these efforts benefit the environment, economy, and communities across South Florida. Restoration ensures that this iconic landscape will be here for our children and grandchildren to enjoy. It will build Florida’s economy, as every year over four million visitors from across the world are attracted to National Parks and National Wildlife Refuges in the region. And restoration will replenish the Everglades’ aquifers that serve as the primary source of water for almost one-third of Florida’s population.
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Ed. Note: Watch the President speak on interest rates on student loans live from Boulder at 8:45 p.m. ET. And don't miss watching the President slow jam the news on Late Night tonight with Jimmy Fallon.
More than 7.4 million students with federal student loans will see their interest rates double on July 1, unless Congress steps in and maintains the current rate. Earlier today, in North Carolina, President Obama spoke with students about the critical need for Congress to act and called upon you - the American people - to speak out.
Tens of thousands of you said “don’t double my rate” on Twitter, Facebook and Google+. After the President's speech, the hashtag was trending on Twitter in the United States and also worldwide.
Take a look what people are saying below and contribute to the conversation by using the hashtag #DontDoubleMyRate. You can also see more stories on Storify.com.
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April 24, 2012
03:25 PM EDT“Knowing that your ideas…might change the future is something that I like,” says Eva, a high school student from California, who is featured in a new video released today by the White House Council on Women and Girls.
Girls in STEM, featuring young women scientists and engineers who wowed the President and the nation at the White House Science Fair in February, shines a spotlight on these extraordinary young role models and their exciting projects – ranging from a machine that detects buried landmines, to a prosthetic hand device, to a lunchbox that uses UV light to kill bacteria on food.
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President Obama was at the University of North Carolina this afternoon asking students to tell their members of Congress one thing: Don’t double my rates.
Five years ago, Congress cut the rates on federal student loans in half. That was a good thing to do. But on July 1st -- that’s a little over two months from now -- that rate cut expires. And if Congress does nothing, the interest rates on those loans will double overnight.... And just to give you some sense of perspective -- for each year that Congress doesn’t act, the average student with these loans will rack up an additional $1,000 in debt -- an extra thousand dollars. That’s basically a tax hike for more than 7 million students across America -- more than 160,000 students here in North Carolina alone.
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President Barack Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan congratulate 2012 National Teacher of the Year, Rebecca Mieliwocki, in the East Room of the White House, April 24, 2012. The President hosted the event honoring the 2012 National and State Teachers of the Year. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
In a country blessed with an abundance of extraordinary educators, what does it take to stand out as the Teacher of the Year? According to President Obama, who today honored Rebecca Mieliwocki, a 7th grade English teacher from Burbank, CA , it is passion that makes great teachers go "above and beyond."
When kids finish a year in Rebecca’s class, they’re better readers and writers than when they started. But even more than that, they know how important they are. And they understand how bright their futures can be. And they know that if they work at it, there’s no limit to what they can achieve.
The President and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan welcomed Mieliwocki and all the recipients of the nation's highest honor for educators, the 2012 National and State Teachers of the Year, to the White House for a ceremony in the East Room. In his remarks, the President highlighted the crucial work America's teachers do for all of society:
Even in the best of times, teachers are asked to do more with less. And today, with our economy still recovering from the worst recession since the Great Depression, states and communities have to stretch budgets tighter than ever.
So we’ve got a particular responsibility as elected officials in difficult times, instead of bashing teachers to support them. We should be giving states the resources to keep good teachers on the job and reward the best ones. And we should grant our educators the flexibility to teach with creativity and passion in the classroom and not just teaching to the test. And we should allow schools to replace teachers, who, even with the right resources and support, just aren’t helping our kids to learn.
Because we’ve all got something at stake here. Our parents, our grandparents -- they didn't build the world’s most prosperous economy and the strongest middle class in the world out of thin air. It started with a world-class education system. That was the foundation. And in the long run, no issue will have a bigger impact in our success as a country and the success of our citizens.
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Did you know that women who work in science, technology, math and engineering, or STEM, fields take home paychecks worth 33 percent more on average than their counterparts in non-STEM fields? But women while women fill close to half of all the jobs in the United States, they hold less than 25 percent of the jobs in STEM fields.
Increasing the number of women in STEM jobs isn’t going to happen any time soon. Currently just 15 percent of all women entering college plan to major in a related field, compared to one-third of male freshmen. Women earn just one in four of the engineering and computer science degrees awarded in the United States.
Making sure that young women receive the exposure, encouragement, and support they need to enter careers in these fields will help them land better paying jobs, and allow our economy to benefit from the full range and diversity of its talent.
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Sexual assault is a pervasive problem in the United States. One in five women report having been raped in their lifetimes, and many experience ongoing physical and emotional trauma related to this crime. The Obama Administration has taken on this serious issue, and has announced new initiatives across the federal government to respond to and prevent sexual assault.
Nowhere is our responsibility greater than in the military. Women and men who step forward to serve our country must be protected from this devastating crime, and offenders must be held appropriately accountable. Secretary Panetta has said loud and clear that sexual assault has no place in the United States military. Together with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dempsey, the Secretary is taking important steps toward achieving this vision.
On April 20, Secretary Panetta issued a directive that will require certain sexual assault complaints to be elevated to more senior levels of command. This significant change means that more experienced commanders will be making the initial disposition decisions for these cases. Specifically, the officers handling these cases will be at least in the grade of 0-6, meaning at least a colonel in the Army, Marine Corps and Air Force; a captain in the Navy, and must possess at least special court martial convening authority. This new policy underscores the gravity of these crimes and may give victims greater confidence to come forward.
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Women and girls continue to be significantly underrepresented in the STEM fields – a trend that starts early and comes at a serious cost to both the career prospects of our young women and the success of our economy. By ensuring women and girls receive the exposure, encouragement, and support they need to enter and succeed in STEM fields, this country can benefit from the full range and diversity of its talent.
The White House Council on Women and Girls is excited to announce a White House event that features a panel of trailblazing women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields who will share their experiences and encourage young women to follow in their footsteps – or blaze a trail of their own. Watch the event live at www.wh.gov/live tomorrow, Tuesday, April 24, 2012 at 10:30am ET. During the event, panelists will answer questions from a live audience and also take questions submitted online. Ask your questions here or on Twitter using the hashtag #GirlsInSTEM.
This event will also include the very first public screening of “Girls in STEM,” a video on girls in STEM, featuring footage from girls who participated in the 2012 White House Science Fair.
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President Barack Obama strikes the Heisman pose after accepting a football from quarterback Tim Jefferson, left, during the Commander-in-Chief Trophy presentation to the United States Air Force Academy football team in the East Room of the White House, April 23, 2012. The Air Force beat Army and Navy in 2011 to claim the trophy for the 18th time. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Today the President congratulated the Fighting Falcons of the United States Air Force Academy on winning their Commander-in-Chief trophy--the second win and a row, and their 18th of all time.
The team had to fight hard the whole season, and its seniors distinguished themselves as some of the most talented in school history. Brady Amack and Jon Davis put together the sixth-ranking passing defense in the country. Asher Clark led the nation’s third-best rushing attack. Tim Jefferson will graduate as the winningest Air Force quarterback of all time and the first quarterback in service academy history to lead his team to four consecutive bowl games.
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President Barack Obama delivers remarks at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., April 23, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Today, President Obama spoke at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum about honoring the pledge of “never again” by making sure we are doing everything we can to prevent and end atrocities and save lives.
After being introduced by Professor Elie Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor, the President spoke of the importance of telling our children—and all future generations—about that dark and evil time in human history when six million innocent men, women, and children were murdered just because they were Jewish.
We must tell our children. But more than that, we must teach them. Because remembrance without resolve is a hollow gesture. Awareness without action changes nothing. In this sense, "never again" is a challenge to us all -- to pause and to look within.
For the Holocaust may have reached its barbaric climax at Treblinka and Auschwitz and Belzec, but it started in the hearts of ordinary men and women. And we have seen it again -- madness that can sweep through peoples, sweep through nations, embed itself. The killings in Cambodia, the killings in Rwanda, the killings in Bosnia, the killings in Darfur -- they shock our conscience, but they are the awful extreme of a spectrum of ignorance and intolerance that we see every day; the bigotry that says another person is less than my equal, less than human. These are the seeds of hate that we cannot let take root in our heart.
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If Congress doesn’t act, interest rates will double on July 1 for more than 7.4 million students with subsidized federal Stafford Loans. The average student affected by these changes will rack up an additional $1,000 in debt over the life of their loan.
At a time when young people are taking on more and more debt to finance the college education they need, Congress would rather give tax breaks to millionaires and billionaires than prevent loan rates from doubling for students.
Higher education is not a luxury: it is an economic imperative that every hard working and responsible student should be able to afford. As he did in his State of the Union address, President Obama is calling on Congress to put forward legislation to stop interest rates from doubling so that more Americans get a fair shot at an affordable college education, the skills they need to find a good job, and a clear path to the middle class.
Read more about President Obama's proposals to keep college affordable for students and their families
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