In 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 June 2016. This release brings the total number of records made public by this White House to more than 5.74 million—all of which can be viewed in our Disclosures section
Author: Amanda Stone
Email from Jonathan Swanson: Helping our pros get covered
President and co-founder of Thumbtack Jonathan Swanson sent the below message to a White House email list during the Millennial Outreach and Engagement Summit. Didn’t get the message? Make sure to sign up for the latest updates.
Like most business owners, I spend a lot of time looking at numbers. Are revenues up? Are costs down? The business owners we serve have many different professions — roofer, caterer, personal trainer, to name just a few — but we all share one thing in common: we are all our own accountants.
Health care is one of the most expensive aspects of running a new business. So when we started to survey the professionals we serve, particularly the young professionals, who are starting a new business, I was not surprised to learn that one in three say that health care is on their minds.
That’s why I’m excited to join a conversation about health care at the White House today on how we can help get more young professionals get covered.
You can watch this event live here:
Availability of benefits like health insurance is a major obstacle to individuals looking to start their businesses. Many of these small business owners continue to struggle to find and keep coverage and are still uninsured in greater numbers than other Americans.
By helping de-couple benefits from traditional employment arrangements, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has made a huge difference to many of our professionals, including young entrepreneurs, who are now able to stay on their parents’ health insurance plan until the age of 26 or to buy affordable coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace or HealthCare.gov. As Joe, a photographer from Maryland, told us, “Before Obamacare, I never would have been able to start my business.”
We understand that the ACA has stirred passions from all quarters, but there is no question that making benefits like health care available to more individuals makes it easier for people to start and run their own small businesses. As Nicole, a wellness professional from California, told us:
“I have several pre-existing medical conditions and had been without health insurance for quite some time. When the new system came out, I was finally able to get coverage. Knowing that I will always be able to see a doctor has lifted a giant weight off my shoulders.”
At Thumbtack, we are honored to be part of helping entrepreneurs like Nicole step out on their own — and it benefits our economy as a whole. And it’s why we’ll keep sharing information about health care and the upcoming Open Enrollment period starting on November 1 with them.
You can watch today’s conversation here.
Thanks,
Jonathan Swanson
President and Cofounder, Thumbtack.com
Need health insurance? Find out if you qualify today.
Weekly Address: Celebrating the National Museum of African American History and Culture
In this week’s address, President Obama commemorated the opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture. The President recognized the museum for celebrating the many accomplishments of the African American community – and for telling the fuller story of America by facing the uncomfortable truths of our Nation’s history all while embracing the knowledge that America is a constant work in progress.
The National Museum of African American History and Culture not only tells the African American story – it tells the American story. By telling the fuller account of the American story, the President said, the museum will give all of us a chance to reflect and set the course for generations to come.
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Related:
Weekly Address: It’s Time for Republicans in Congress To Do Their Jobs
In this week’s address, President Obama called on Republicans in Congress to do their jobs. With Congress back in session there is a lot of business that needs to get done, including funding the fight against Zika, providing resources to help the flood victims in Louisiana, and giving Supreme Court nominee Chief Judge Merrick Garland the courtesy of a fair hearing and a vote. The President said addressing these problems is all within our reach – and we need Congress to work as hard as the American people do. We should expect Republicans in Congress to do their jobs – to protect us from disease, help us recover from disaster, and keep the Supreme Court above politics.
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Congress is finally back in session this week. And there’s a long to-do list waiting for them:
Related:
Vice President Biden Heads to Capitol Hill to Tell Republicans in Congress: Do Your Job.
Learn more about the Administration’s response to the Zika virus.
Learn more about the President’s nominee for the Supreme Court.
Weekly Address: Building Upon the Legacy of Labor Day
In this week’s address, President Obama commemorated Labor Day by highlighting the economic progress we’ve made over the course of his administration. Over the past seven and a half years, we’ve rescued our economy from another depression, cut our unemployment rate in half, and unleashed the longest string total job growth on record.
The President said that although the country has made significant progress, there’s still work to do in the years to come. He emphasized that despite the boisterous political season, we must not lose sight of the policies that will actually help working families get ahead. President Obama said if we are going to restore the sense that hard work is rewarded with a fair shot to get ahead, we must build on the legacy of those who came before us – that means exercising our right to speak up in the workplace, to join a union, and to vote.
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Weekly Address: Taking Action Against the Zika Virus
This week, President Obama called on Republicans in Congress to take action and vote to fund the Administration’s response to the Zika virus. In February, the President asked Congress to fund emergency resources, including mosquito control, fast-tracking diagnostics tests and vaccines, tracking the spread of the virus, and monitoring women and babies with Zika. Unfortunately, Republicans in Congress have failed to take action on this issue.
So the President continues to direct his Administration do what it can without help from Congress, with the primary focus of protecting pregnant women and families planning to have children. Today, the CDC continues to work with state public health officials and has an emergency response team on the ground in South Florida, agencies have moved to expedite the development of a vaccine, and the administration is working with the private sector to develop more options to test and prevent infection. The President reiterated this is about more than politics and Republicans should make this their top priority when they return from their summer recess.
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Learn more about the Administration’s response to the Zika virus.
More than 5.64 Million Records Released
In 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 May 2016. This release brings the total number of records made public by this White House to more than 5.64 million—all of which can be viewed in our Disclosures section.
Email from Max Levchin: The next great immigrant inventor
Max Levchin, co-founder of PayPal, Affirm, Glow, and Slide, sent the below message to White House email lists. Didn’t get the message? Sign up here for updates.
In 1991, with just a few hundred dollars to our name, my family and I immigrated to the United States from the USSR, and landed in Chicago a couple of days after I turned 16 years old.
Coming from a family of scientists, I was always strongly encouraged to seek out the best education available. Graduating high school in 1993, I went to study Computer Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, one of America’s best schools in the discipline.
The Internet’s popularity had just begun to explode, opportunities were limitless, and everyone around me was dreaming up startup company ideas. I started no fewer than four companies while finishing up my degree, and every single one of them failed. Undeterred, I drove cross-country to Silicon Valley, and co-founded my fifth company — PayPal.
Recruiting as many college friends as I could to join the venture, the next few years were spent building the foundation of what is now a $45 billion company, employing over nearly 17,000 people.
Because of PayPal’s success, I was afforded the opportunity to support and fuel the start of many other great companies. I was able to co-found Glow and Affirm, and I was the first investor and chairman of Yelp — a company that now employs more than 4,000 people. I’ve served on corporate boards of Yahoo!, Yelp, and Evernote, as well as the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Consumer Advisory Board. I’ve had the privilege to invest in over 100 startups, and advise numerous others.
I believe that the most promising entrepreneurs from around the world should have the same opportunity I had — the chance to deliver on their potential, here in America.
My story isn’t unique — America is a nation of immigrants and has always been a magnet for strivers, innovators, and entrepreneurs from every corner of the globe.
Immigrants co-founded as many as a quarter of the high-tech startups in communities all across this country — and over half of the startups in Silicon Valley. One in every 10 people employed at a privately-owned U.S. company works at an immigrant-owned firm — that’s nearly 4 million people. Immigrants or children of immigrants founded more than 40 percent of Fortune 500 companies.
And the next great companies are being conceived right now, in countless dorm rooms and garages around the world. So many of these entrepreneurs yearn to grow their companies here in America, where the opportunities are still limitless. And when these companies are started and capitalized here, it creates jobs for Americans and grows our economy.
Thanks,
Max Levchin
Co-Founder of PayPal, Affirm, Glow, and Slide
Email from Cheyenne: Find your park this week!
Cheyenne, a rising fifth grader from Maryland, sent the below message to the White House email list. Didn’t get the message? Sign up here for updates.
My name is Cheyenne and I am a rising 5th grader at an elementary school in Maryland.
This Thursday, August 25, the National Park Service turns 100 years old.
Parks are very important to me. When you go to parks, you are able to see just how beautiful and awesome the outdoors can be and how we must be good stewards of our planet.
Sure, you can go on an adventure in a video game, or see someone else’s adventure on social media, but think of how much better it would be to LIVE the adventure! With so many national parks in the country, no video game or TV show can beat the fun adventures that exist outside!
Our school is part of National Park Trust’s Buddy Bison environmental education program and that’s how I learned about the President’s Every Kid in a Park initiative. This program, which will start its second year on September 1, gives passes to all 4th graders in the country so that they and their families can visit any national park and public land for free for a full year.
My Every Kid in a Park pass not only provides free entry into all national parks, but also serves as a reminder that I need to keep discovering and exploring new outdoor and historic places. Last June, my classmates and I went to National Colonial Farm at Piscataway Park in Maryland. I enjoyed pretending that we were time travelers going to the 1800s to fix some other time travelers’ mistakes. It was so much fun!
My park visits with my school and family inspired me to write my own book, For the Love of Water, since I learned that it is important that we protect our earth’s water. I have even thought about becoming a park ranger!
Thank you President Obama and the many others who gave 4th graders passes to visit these amazing parts of our country. Even as a 5th grader, without my pass, I want to go to more national parks very soon.
You too can find a park to visit — just go to FindYourPark.com
I hope that everyone will join in the celebration of the National Park Service’s 100 years of existence and have the chance to get outside and explore the great outdoors!
Thank you!
Cheyenne
Weekly Address: Providing a Better, Cleaner, Safer Future for Our Children
In this week’s address, President Obama discussed the progress we have made to combat global climate change. During the Obama Administration, we have made ambitious investments in clean energy and achieved reductions in carbon emissions – increasing wind power and solar power, and decreasing the amount of carbon pollution from our energy sector to its lowest level in 25 years. We have also set standards to increase the distance cars and light trucks can travel on a gallon of gas every year through 2025.
The President noted that although America has become a global leader in the fight against climate change, there’s still work to do. Together, we must continue to work domestically and build upon the progress we’ve made along with other countries – such as the Paris Agreement, the most ambitious climate change agreement in history. President Obama said if we continue to work together, we will leave a better, cleaner, safer future for our children.
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Learn more about the President’s record on climate change.