Yesterday Labor Secretary Hilda Solis discussed her perspective on International Women’s Day, and the First Lady's role in recognizing and exemplifying the ideals behind it.  Today, the State Department's DipNote blog tells us about the annual International Women of Courage Awards -- and will allow you to watch the ceremony live at 3:00:

First Lady Michelle Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will host the annual International Women of Courage Awards on March 10, 2010, at 3:00 p.m. EST at the Department of State. You may watch the ceremony broadcast live on DipNote.

To mark International Women's Day, the annual International Women of Courage Award recognizes women around the globe who have shown exceptional courage and leadership in advocating for women's rights and advancement. This is the only Department of State award that pays tribute to emerging women leaders worldwide, and offers a unique opportunity to recognize those who work in the field of international women's issues.

Secretary Clinton announced the 10 winners of this year's International Women of Courage (IWOC) award. The awardees are: Shukria Asil (Afghanistan), Col. Shafiqa Quraishi (Afghanistan), Androula Henriques (Cyprus), Sonia Pierre (Dominican Republic), Shadi Sadr (Iran), Ann Njogu (Kenya), Dr. Lee Ae-ran (Republic of Korea), Jansila Majeed (Sri Lanka), Sister Marie Claude Naddaf (Syria), and Jestina Mukoko (Zimbabwe).

Read more about the honorees here.

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• 8 -- The number of people every minute who are denied coverage, charged a higher rate, or otherwise discriminated against because of a pre-existing condition. [Source: HealthReform.gov]
• 8 -- The number of lobbyists hired by special interests to influence health reform for every member of Congress in 2009. [Source: Center for Public Integrity]

Ellen Linderman is a wife and farmer -- and one of those 8 people every minute that’s been discriminated against because of a pre-existing condition.  Here’s her story:

Ellen is a 61-year old farmer in Carrington, ND. She has had several difficult experiences with health care in recent years. Ellen was initially denied health insurance coverage a few years back when she and her husband (also a farmer) had to switch from the state employee plan to private insurance. However, since she had eye surgery less than six months prior to switching, she was considered high risk. The issue was eventually resolved but only after she went without coverage for several months. Health insurance reform would help people like Ellen who have a pre-existing condition and need to get insurance – insurance companies can't deny people due to a pre-existing condition.

Ellen and the hundreds of others like her who are treated unfairly because of a pre-existing condition are another reason why we just can’t wait any longer for health insurance reform.

Over the next several days, we’ll continue announce new numbers, like 8, to raise awareness about why the time is now for health reform.  We’ll promote those figures here on WhiteHouse.gov and on social networks like Facebook and Twitter.

If you’d like to help raise awareness, share this blog post with your family, friends and online networks using the ‘Share/Bookmark’ feature below.

Previous Numbers:

• 1115

If we enact health reform, it will restrict how much of your premium dollars can be spent on profits and overhead by requiring health insurance companies to spend 80-85% of the money they take in on care.

That’s worth keeping in mind. Because right after the Insurance companies announced huge rate increases for families across the country, they gathered at the luxurious Ritz Carlton in Washington to announce that they are spending $1 million on ads to defeat health reform.

That money could probably be better spent keeping rates down for customers.

Dan Pfeiffer is White House Communications Director

This morning, we see more word from opponents of health reform that they are amping up their efforts to kill the bill before it even comes to a vote.   The insurance industry lobby, which is holding its annual conference at the Ritz-Carlton today, announced that it is going to spend more than a million dollars on television ads in the coming days to try to protect the status quo; this is on top of the millions of dollars they have poured into a supposedly-grassroots effort to block reform.  And the Chamber of Commerce, which we already know has also run anti-reform ads funded by the insurance industry, is holding a conference call today with executives from a handful of industries to lay out to discuss their plans to try to block reform.

Over the coming days, you’ll hear a lot of noise from opponents of reform who are desperately trying to protect a system that earns billions in profits while rates climb so high that many Americans can’t afford coverage.   Consider that the average premium for employer-sponsored family coverage per month in 2009 is $1,115 – incidentally, that’s also just about the cost for non-members to attend the insurance industry’s conference, at $1,125.  If nothing is done to reform our broken health care system, a recent survey found that over the next ten years, out-of-pocket expenses for Americans with health insurance could increase 35 percent in every state in the country.

That’s why it is important for the American people to hear what the insurance industry and their allies won’t be saying: that reform will actually bring down costs for American small businesses and workers. 

As a result of health insurance reform, millions of small businesses nationwide could qualify for a tax credit to make coverage for their employees even more affordable.  Reform will prevent insurance discrimination based on health status, meaning that small businesses will no longer be unfairly subjected to arbitrary premium hikes if a worker falls ill.  Reform will create a health insurance exchange that pools small businesses and their employees with millions of other Americans to increase purchasing power and competition in the insurance market – a luxury that is afforded only to large firms under the status quo.  And for the millions of young adults who work at small businesses, health insurance reform will also allow them to stay on their parents’ employer-based insurance until the age of 26, providing an essential option for coverage.

Health reform will also put Americans in control of their health care coverage.  It will end discrimination against Americans with pre-existing conditions.  It will make insurance more affordable by providing the largest middle class tax cut for health care, thereby helping over 31 million more Americans afford health care.  It will hold insurance companies accountable by laying out common-sense rules of the road to keep premiums down and prevent insurance industry abuses and denial of care.

And it puts our budget and economy on a more stable path by reducing the deficit by $100 billion over the next ten years by cutting government overspending and reining in waste, fraud and abuse.

So when you see those insurance-industry funded ads or hear the same old rhetoric from insurance industry allies, remember that they’re fighting to protect their bottom line – and keep the facts in mind.  The reality is that health insurance reform will put Americans in control of their own health care and bring down costs for American workers and small businesses.

Dan Pfeiffer is White House Communications Director

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• $1,115 – that’s the average premium for employer-sponsored family coverage per month in 2009.  Annually, that amounts to $13,375 – or roughly the yearly income of someone working a minimum wage job. (Source)
• And if nothing is done to reform our broken health care system, a recent survey found that over the next ten years, out-of-pocket expenses for Americans with health insurance could increase 35 percent in every state in the country. (Source)

This week -- in an effort to put the past year’s debate over health insurance reform into perspective -- we’re launching, “Health Reform by the Numbers,” an online campaign using key figures, like $1,115, to raise awareness about why we just can’t wait for reform.  We’ll announce a new number each day and promote them here on Whitehouse.gov and on social networks, like Facebook and Twitter.

If you’d like to help raise awareness, share this blog post with your family, friends and online networks using the ‘Share/Bookmark’ feature below.

Yesterday, Leslie Banks, one of the many Americans burdened by skyrocketing health insurance costs, introduced President Obama at a reform event in Philadelphia.  Here’s her story:

On February 11th Leslie wrote the President  an e-mail expressing her frustration with the cost of health insurance. Leslie is a self-employed, single mother with type 2 diabetes, whose daughter is a sophomore in college at Temple University.  In January 2010, Leslie received a notice from her health insurance provider that her plan was being dropped. To keep the same benefits, the premiums for her and her daughter would more than double.  Leslie was told by the insurance company that there was an across the board premium hike and there was nothing she could do.  If she paid the same monthly premium amount as before, the deductible would increase from $500 to $5,000, and they would no longer have preventive care or prescription coverage.  Leslie is not eligible for the insurance company’s HMO due to her pre-existing condition.  Under health reform, Leslie and her daughter will have access to affordable health insurance in the new health insurance exchange, including guaranteed benefits such as preventive care and prescription drugs as well as important consumer protections.  In addition, insurance companies will no longer be able to deny coverage based on pre-existing conditions, and they will be held accountable to prevent insurance industry abuses.

For those like Leslie who are buckling under the weight of crippling health insurance costs – they can’t wait any longer for reform.  As the President said yesterday, "We can’t have a system that works better for the insurance companies than it does for the American people.  We need to give families and businesses more control over their own health insurance. And that’s why we need to pass health care reform -- not next year, not five years from now, not 10 years from now, but now."

With all of us working together, we’ll send the message loud and clear -- the time is now for health insurance reform. Check out what we’re doing to raise awareness on Facebook, Twitter, and help spread the word by sharing this post.

Change.  Finding common ground.  These are hallmarks of this Administration.  And today, we move one step closer to full access to books and materials for millions of Americans with print and other disabilities.  While much work remains to be done, the community of stakeholders has taken a noteworthy and important step forward.

The Reading Rights Coalition, the Authors Guild, and the Association of American Publishers have issued a joint statement stating “that the contents of books should be as accessible to individuals with print disabilities as they are to everyone else.”  They further agreed to work together to reach this desired goal.

As a person who is blind myself and thoroughly enjoys reading, I applaud these groups and organizations for coming together to bring about needed change.  We look forward to continuing to work with all Americans to support access to materials for persons with print disabilities.

Kareem Dale is Special Assistant to the President for Disability Policy

It was a beautiful day in the Keystone State where earlier today President Obama spoke at Arcadia University in Glenside, PA. He addressed an energized crowd about the urgent need for health care reform in the face of rapidly rising health care costs. The President cited a recent conference call by Goldman Sachs in which an insurance broker told investors to expect insurance companies to continue to raise premiums because they know that they can turn more of a profit on customers they keep, despite pricing more and more people out of the market.

So how much higher do premiums have to rise until we do something about it?  How many more Americans have to lose their health insurance?  How many more businesses have to drop coverage?

The President emphasized the sky-rocketing costs of health care, as exemplified by the woman who introduced him. Leslie Banks is a self-employed single mother with type 2 diabetes whose insurance provider recently notified her that her premiums would be more than doubling. To maintain the same monthly rate, her deductible would shoot from $500 to $5,000 and she would lose preventative care and prescription coverage. With a pre-existing condition keeping her from joining the company's HMO, Leslie is stuck between a rock and a hard place. With health reform, people like Leslie and her daughter will experience relief from such practices.

The President also called for an up-or-down vote from Congress, and said it is what the American people deserve.

The United States Congress owes the American people a final, up or down vote on health care. It’s time to make a decision.  The time for talk is over.  We need to see where people stand. 

Updated to include the President's remarks from the Rose Garden this afternoon.

THE PRESIDENT:  Good afternoon, everybody.  Today, the people of Iraq went to the polls to choose their leaders in Iraq’s second national election.  By any measure, this was an important milestone in Iraqi history.  Dozens of parties and coalitions fielded thousands of parliamentary candidates, men and women.  Ballots were cast at some 50,000 voting booths.  And in a strong turnout, millions of Iraqis exercised their right to vote, with enthusiasm and optimism.     

Today’s voting makes it clear that the future of Iraq belongs to the people of Iraq.  The election was organized and administered by Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission, with critical support from the United Nations.  Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis served as poll station workers and as observers.
 
As expected, there were some incidents of violence, as al Qaeda in Iraq and other extremists tried to disrupt Iraq’s progress by murdering innocent Iraqis who were exercising their democratic rights.  But overall, the level of security and the prevention of destabilizing attacks speaks to the growing capability and professionalism of Iraqi Security Forces, which took the lead in providing protection at the polls. 

I also want to express my admiration for the thousands of Americans on the ground in Iraq -- for our civilians and our men and women in uniform who continue to support our Iraqi partners. This election is also a tribute to all who have served and sacrificed in Iraq over the last seven years, including many who have given their lives. 

We are mindful, however, that today’s voting is the beginning and not the end of a long electoral and constitutional process.  The ballots must be counted.  Complaints must be heard, and Iraq -- with the support of the United Nations -- has a process in place to investigate and adjudicate any allegations of fraud.  A parliament must be seated, leaders must be chosen, and a new government must be formed.  All of these important steps will take time -- not weeks, but months. 

In this process, the United States does not support particular candidates or coalitions.  We support the right of the Iraqi people to choose their own leaders.  And I commend the Iraqi government for putting plans into place to ensure security and basic services for the Iraqi people during this time of transition. 

We know that there will be very difficult days ahead in Iraq -- there will probably be more violence.  But like any sovereign, independent nation, Iraq must be free to chart its own course.  No one should seek to influence, exploit, or disrupt this period of transition.  Now is the time for every neighbor and nation to respect Iraq’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.    

A new Iraqi government will face important decisions about Iraq’s future.  But as today’s voting demonstrates, the Iraq people want disagreements to be debated and decided through a political process that provides security and prosperity for all Iraqis.  

And as they go forward, the Iraqi people must know that the United States will fulfill its obligations.  We will continue with the responsible removal of United States forces from Iraq. Indeed, for the first time in years, there are no -- now fewer than 100,000 American troops serving in Iraq.   By the end of August, our combat mission will end.  As I said last year when I announced our new strategy in Iraq, we will continue to advise and assist Iraqi Security Forces, carry out targeted counterterrorism operations with our Iraqi partners, and protect our forces and civilians.  And by the end of next year, all U.S. troops will be out of Iraq.

In the weeks and months ahead, the United States will continue to work closely with the Iraqi people as we expand our broad-based partnership based on mutual interest and mutual respect.  And in that effort, I’m pleased that Vice President Biden will continue to play a leading role.

On behalf of the American people, I congratulate the Iraqi people on their courage throughout this historic election.  Today, in the face of violence from those who would only destroy, Iraqis took a step forward in the hard work of building up their country.  The United States will continue to help them in that effort as we responsibly end this war, and support the Iraqi people as they take control of their future.

Thanks very much.

Earlier today, the White House issued the following statement from President Obama on the Iraqi elections:

I congratulate the people of Iraq for casting their ballots in this important parliamentary election. I have great respect for the millions of Iraqis who refused to be deterred by acts of violence, and who exercised their right to vote today. Their participation demonstrates that the Iraqi people have chosen to shape their future through the political process.

I commend the Iraqi government and Iraqi Security Forces for providing security at nearly 50,000 voting booths at more than 8,000 polling stations across Iraq. We mourn the tragic loss of life today, and honor the courage and resilience of the Iraqi people who once again defied threats to advance their democracy.  Hundreds of thousands of Iraqi poll workers contributed to the effort, as well as domestic party and civil society observers. Iraqi citizens around the world also participated in these elections, including Iraqis living in the U.S. who voted in Arlington (VA), Chicago, Dallas, Dearborn, Nashville, Phoenix, San Diego, and San Francisco.

The important work of Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) will continue in the days to come as it counts ballots, tabulates results and investigates complaints. We also salute the invaluable assistance provided by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI).

The statement is also available in Arabic: Download the PDF.

During his speech in Cairo on June 4, 2009, the President articulated a vision for a New Beginning with Muslims around the world -- one based on mutual respect and the pursuit of partnerships in areas of mutual interest.  Around the world, from Rabat to Jakarta, the United States is engaging Muslim communities around the world and building mutually beneficial partnerships that expand opportunity.  As part of our commitment to dialogue, our embassies have held roundtables with thousands of students, civil society leaders and entrepreneurs, among others, and senior officials like Secretary Clinton have held televised townhalls. 

Over the past nine months, the Administration has been delivering on the specific commitments the President made in his speech – from appointing science envoys, creating a Technology and Innovation Fund, and expanding exchanges to hosting a Summit on Entrepreneurship in April.  But, the U.S. Government has done far more than deliver the specific commitments from President Obama's speech.  For example, while we have partnered with the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) to eradicate polio, we also worked with Saudi Arabia to prevent the spread of H1N1 influenza during hajj. 

The speech in Cairo expressed an overarching vision for our engagement.  To help pursue that vision, the President recently appointed Rashad Hussain to be his Special Envoy to the OIC.  Rashad has played an important role in developing the New Beginning we seek with Muslim communities around the world.  In his new position, he will continue to play a key role in expanding our engagement with Muslims around the world. Get to know Rashad in this video:

And in case you missed it last year, Rashad was profiled with two other Muslim Americans working in the Federal Government:

Pradeep Ramamurthy is the Senior Director for Global Engagement with the National Security Council