21st Century Government Latest News
Delivering on A Promise of Justice
Posted by on March 29, 2012 at 11:07 AM EST
On behalf of the entire team of the Migrant Farmworker Justice Project of Florida Legal Services, I am deeply honored to be selected to receive the White House Champions of Change Award.
Over thirty-five years ago as a law student at Harvard Law School, I, like so many others, was inspired by the example of Cesar Chavez to pursue a career as a farm worker legal services lawyer. Over the years, I have been privileged to work with many fine attorneys and support staff who heeded the same call. In isolated rural communities across this nation, these often unsung “champions of change” have fought for the rights of the most vulnerable workers in our society.
Today as in the past, the majority of farm workers in the United States live in poverty, endure poor working conditions and receive little or no government assistance. At least 50% and probably closer to 2/3 of the farm workers are not legally present in the United States and do not have work authorization. These conditions lead to an unstable labor market which requires constant replenishment with new workers from abroad. Real change requires diverting the costs of instability from the farm workers back to the employers, taxpayers, and consumers who benefit from their work.
Getting to Know More About Ethics.gov
Posted by on March 15, 2012 at 1:35 PM ESTLast week, right before we launched Ethics.gov -- which brings data from across the federal government to one place where it can all be searched -- Chris Vein, the Deputy United States Chief Technology Officer, sat down to talk about how the site works and walk through its features. Check it out:
Learn more about EthicsWe Can’t Wait: Strengthening Our Democracy Through Open Government
Posted by on March 8, 2012 at 11:12 AM ESTAt the United Nations General Assembly in September 2010, President Obama said: “The common thread of progress is the principle that government is accountable to its citizens.” A government, however, is only truly accountable to its citizens when it is transparent and subject to citizens’ direct participation.
These principles have guided the Administration from the beginning. On his first full day in office, President Obama signed the Memorandum on Transparency and Open Government—a document that has helped to guide the federal government into a new era of openness and public engagement. Since then, the President has redoubled his Administration’s efforts to live up to that early promise—creating Data.gov to increase public access to government information, aggressively tracking the federal government’s use of federal dollars with websites like Recovery.gov and USASpending.gov, introducing the “We the People” initiative to give all Americans an opportunity to petition the government on a range of issues affecting our nation, calling for a large-scale transformation in how agencies maintain their records, and launching an effort to cut waste and streamline government operations.
These efforts and others demonstrate that President Obama has made open government a high priority. In furtherance of that commitment and in celebration of Sunshine Week, the President is taking yet another step that ensures an unprecedented level of openness in government.
Learn more about EthicsNearly 2.1 Million Records Released
Posted by on February 24, 2012 at 3:00 PM ESTIn September 2009, the President announced that—for the first time in history—White House visitor records would be made available to the public on an ongoing basis. Today, the White House releases visitor records that were generated in November 2011. Today’s release also includes visitor records generated prior to September 16, 2009 that were requested by members of the public in January 2011 pursuant to the White House voluntary disclosure policy. Today’s release brings the total number of records made public by this White House to nearly 2.1 million—all of which can be viewed in our Disclosures section.
Ed. note: For more information, check out Ethics.gov.
Learn more about EthicsMore Than Two Million Records Released
Posted by on January 27, 2012 at 3:06 PM ESTIn September 2009, the President announced that—for the first time in history—White House visitor records would be made available to the public on an ongoing basis. Today, the White House releases visitor records that were generated in October 2011. Today’s release also includes visitor records generated prior to September 16, 2009 that were requested by members of the public in December 2011 pursuant to the White House voluntary disclosure policy. This release marks a new milestone, bringing the total number of records made public by this White House to more than two million—all of which can be viewed in our Disclosures section.
Ed. Note: For more information, check out Ethics.gov.
Learn more about EthicsPresident Obama Delivers the 2012 State of the Union
Posted by on January 25, 2012 at 12:42 AM ESTTonight, as President Obama wrapped up his State of the Union, he said, "As long as we are joined in common purpose, as long as we maintain our common resolve, our journey moves forward, and our future is hopeful, and the state of our Union will always be strong."
Throughout the speech, he discussed ideas for building an America that lasts. He called it a blueprint for the future and talked about ways to make his vision reality. Learn more about those ideas.
Miss something the President said? To read the full remarks, go here. Or watch the video.
Want to get more out of the enhanced version of the State of the Union? Check out the slides after the jump.
Learn more about Civil Rights, Defense, Economy, Education, Energy and Environment, Ethics, Fiscal Responsibility, Foreign Policy, Health Care, Immigration, Poverty, Taxes, Technology, Veterans, Additional Issues
- &lsaquo previous
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- …
- next &rsaquo
