This week, President Obama kicked off Filipino-American History Month with a special message celebrating the countless ways Filipino Americans have helped move our country forward. Take a look at the President’s message:
The White House
Washington
October 1, 2016
I am pleased to join in celebrating Filipino-American History Month and in recognizing Filipino Americans across our country for the many ways they have enriched our society.
An unshakable faith in the promise of America has guided people to our shores since our founding. When they arrived, many of those who first settled here suffered setbacks and faced challenges in their pursuit of the American dream. But with relentless optimism, they held their heads high and laid down their roots—building our country into the beacon of hope it is today.
The earliest Filipinos arrived at Morro Bay, California in the 16th century, and Filipino Americans have long played an integral role in shaping the life of our country. They have been the artists who challenge us, the educators who keep us informed, and the laborers of our growing economy. And throughout our history, they have served as members of our Armed Forces, helping safeguard our Nation and the values upon which we stand.
During World War II, Filipino Americans stepped forward to join our military and fight back the tide of tyranny. Many of these individuals have since petitioned for family members to join them here through our legal immigration system but have waited years to be reunited, even after their petitions were approved. This year, my Administration launched the Filipino World War II Veterans Parole program, which enables certain Filipino-American veterans to request that their family members join them in the United States as they wait for their green cards. For many, this policy will allow loved ones to provide support and care for elderly veterans and their spouses. This program is an important reminder that we must suppose those who serve our Nation not just in times of war, but throughout their lives.
As we mark this special month, we celebrate the ways Filipino Americans have lent their unique voices and talents to changing our country for the better. Their immeasurable contributions to our Nation reaffirm that as Americans we will always be bound to each other in common purpose and by our shared hopes for the future.
Barack Obama
Learn more about the contributions of Filipino WWII veterans.
Matt and Ross Duffer, the creators of the Netflix series, Stranger Things, sent the following message to the White House email list. Didn’t get the message? Sign up for updates here.
As twin brothers growing up in North Carolina, our parents gave us a Hi8 video camera in the third grade. We became obsessed with it — when other kids went to summer camp, we’d wander around our neighborhood with our friends, filming our own stories. We made movies about things we loved, like supernatural creatures and fantasy card games. (Yes, we’re “nerds.”)
Of course, looking back, these movies are pretty bad, but it didn’t matter to us at the time. We fell in the love with the idea that, as filmmakers, we could create our own imagined worlds of endless possibility — and take viewers on adventures within those worlds.
So that’s why today, we’re incredibly proud to be here at the third annual White House Student Film Festival to help the next generation of aspiring filmmakers debut their own imagined worlds. For the past few months, the White House has received hundreds of submissions from K-12 students on the theme “The World I Want To Live In” — and today, they’re premiering the finalists.
Trust us, you don’t want to miss these films — make sure to tune in live at 1pm ET to watch their debut.
We got a sneak peek of the films and these students have crazy talent. Their films paint big ideas for the future, like tackling climate change, creating equal education, and making our society more inclusive. When we were their age, were mostly thinking about things like … possessed stuffed animals and shape-shifting monsters. But hey — we all have to start somewhere!
Anyway, tomorrow, at the South by South Lawn festival, the White House will screen the three Official Selections along with appearances by some of the incredible kid cast members from our show, Stranger Things!
This is hands-down the coolest film festival we’ve attended. So join us at 1pm ET, and make sure your friends and family watch, too.
I came to the United States as a refugee when I was 11 years old. My father was a diplomat and a strong supporter of democracy in Czechoslovakia, so when the Communists took over, we were forced into exile as refugees. In November 1948, we were welcomed to the United States of America.
Becoming a U.S. citizen is the most important thing that ever happened to me. My father said that when we were in Europe during WWII people would say, “We are sorry for your troubles and hope that you have everything you need; by the way, when will you be leaving to go back home?”
But in America, people said: “We are sorry for your troubles and hope that you have everything you need; by the way, when will you become a citizen?”
America resettles more refugees than any other nation because it reflects one of our noblest traditions as a nation: providing support to those who are most vulnerable.
With the world facing the largest mass displacement on record since World War II, it has never been more important for world leaders to follow America’s example and work together to do more to support refugees.
Today, President Obama is hosting a Refugee Summit meeting to encourage more world leaders to step up and make new commitments to support the critical work of resettling refugees and helping them rebuild their lives. You can watch the President’s speech here at 3:35 PM Eastern.
Under President Obama, we’ve increased the number of refugees resettling this year to 85,000 – including 10,000 Syrian refugees. Starting next week, the United States will commit to resettling 110,000 refugees from around the world over the coming year.
And with refugees undergoing the most rigorous screening of any kind of traveler, he’s shown that we can welcome refugees while ensuring our own safety.
As a former Secretary of State, I can tell you that President Obama’s leadership in this global crisis is critical to our national security.
When countries with insufficient resources take in refugees, it creates more instability, not just at the frontlines of this crisis, but around the world. If we were to slam the door in the faces of refugees with certain religious backgrounds, we would defy our history and our principles of pluralism and diversity. As we talk to other nations about what more needs to be done to tackle this crisis, it’s important that President Obama is setting this example.
When I came here as a child, I will never forget sailing into New York Harbor for the first time and beholding the Statute of Liberty. I did not have to face refugee camps or the kind of danger that many refugees endure. But like all refugees, I shared a hope to live a safe life with dignity and a chance to give back to my new country.
This week, the White House is celebrating National Welcoming Week — a way to bring people together to honor the contributions of immigrants and refugees and to highlight efforts across the country to building stronger, more welcoming communities.
To kick it off, we’re hosting a roundtable discussion with Chief of Staff Denis McDonough, Director of the Domestic Policy Council Cecilia Muñoz, and former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.
You can join in right here, or share your thoughts on social media using the hashtags #RefugeesWelcome and #WelcomingWeek.
In a message to the White House email list, Cecilia Muñoz laid out how President Obama has continued to build on our country’s rich tradition of welcoming refugees across the globe:
“President Obama believes that we are stronger as a nation when we welcome immigrants and refugees into our communities and harness their skills. This year, we are proud to announce that we have met our goal of welcoming 10,000 Syrian refugees a month ahead of schedule, and we are well on our way to welcoming 85,000 refugees to our shores in 2016. And in 2017, we will seek to resettle 110,000 refugees, increasing the number of people we receive by almost 60 percent over a two-year period.”
Throughout the week, we’ll be highlighting the voices of refugees and immigrants to honor their courage and resilience and celebrate their contributions to our nation.
Gunnery Sergeant Emir Hadzic is one of those voices. Emir fled the persecution and hostility of his home country, Bosnia and Herzegovina, to become the first Bosnian-American to serve in the U.S. Marine Corps. In a letter to the President, he wrote about how his decision to serve came from wanting to give back to the “goodhearted American people” who welcomed and his family and helping them start a new life.
“The chief factor for me was a feeling of an obligation to repay a debt, as I felt indebted to the American people who welcomed my family and my people to the United States. Goodhearted American people helped us start a new life here free home persecution and hostility. I believe that we have become those Americans too. As the first Bosnian-American in the U.S. Marine Corps, I had the role of a pathfinder was well a good cultural ambassador. I believe that I succeeded.”
Check out Emir’s full letter below, and stay tuned for more stories throughout the week.
June 2, 2016
Dear Mr. President,
As I bring two decades of military service to a close, I keep reflecting over my time on duty and cannot help but walk away with a mix of pride and humility. Eight deployments, three combat tours, and many friends made, I look back with a sense of accomplishment and gratitude for the opportunity given to me.
I immigrated to the United States shortly before the cessation of hostilities in my native country of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Many broken peace deals resulted in continued bloodshed and a genocide. However, the Dayton Peace Accord lasted and brought peace. There are many factors that contributed to the success of that peace accord, as there were many factors that contributed toward my decision to serve in the American armed forces. The chief factor for me was a feeling of an obligation to repay a debt, as I felt indebted to the American people who welcomed my family and my people to the United States. Goodhearted American people helped us start a new life here free home persecution and hostility. I believe that we have become those Americans too. As the first Bosnian-American in the U.S. Marine Corps, I had the role of a pathfinder was well a good cultural ambassador. I believe that I succeeded.
Although I am one of many Bosnian-Americans who served in the U.S. armed forces, I am also one of many more Americans of Islamic faith who serve. I want to thank you Mr. President, for “watching our six” during these challenging times in the political discourse. I do thank your predecessors for doing the same in the past. We love God, we love our country, and we love our neighbors too. Anyone who challenges that, deserves to be challenged back. On the global stage, thank you for your steadfast leadership and prudent patience. Thank you for being a man of action when warranted, but also for being a man of peace. I know war and I know peace, and as the ancient saying goes: “War is sweet to those that never have experienced it.” Finally, thank you for being a principled leader as our Commander in Chief whose vision is through a wide lens and an eye on “the big picture.”
I thank God for guiding me along, even carrying at times. I thank America for opportunities it gave me and for opportunities it continues to provide.
As I go home to Saint Louis, forging a new path, I wish you and your family the best as you being a new journey in 2017 as well.
This morning, Channapha Khamvongsa, the Executive Director of Legacies of War, sent the following message to the White House email list to share her perspective on why President Obama’s historic visit to Laos is so important. Didn’t get the message? Sign up for email updates here.
When I was 6 years old, my family fled Laos, a country in Southeast Asia the size of Minnesota. As refugees welcomed by the United States, my parents’ wish for their children was to not look back, but to take every opportunity provided in our new homeland to live a happy, fulfilled life.
It wasn’t until I was an adult, long after we settled in Virginia, that I learned of the painful past my parents had left behind.
During the Vietnam War, the U.S. dropped more than 2 million tons of bombs over Laos — more than the number of bombs dropped on Germany and Japan combined during all of World War II. Sadly, the people in Laos continue to feel the tragic consequences, long after the last bomb fell.
Too many of these bombs did not detonate at the time. The war left most of the land contaminated with active, unexploded ordnance (UXO), in the form of cluster bombs, bullets, grenades, and mines. They’ve taken the lives of over 20,000 Lao — often a child playing outside, or a farmer who has no choice but to cultivate on contaminated fields.
As a Lao American, I felt I couldn’t help but do something. So I devoted the past 12 years of my life to promoting greater awareness of the aftermath of war and to advocating for the resources needed to address its painful legacy.
That’s why I’m so proud to say that this week, President Obama became the first U.S. president to visit Laos, where he discussed his work to address this legacy of war and a new path forward to rebuild our relationship with Laos.
Part of my job is to visit with dozens of families in Laos who have lost a child, father, mother, husband, wife or neighbor to a 40-year-old bomb. Just last week, I met five boys who were recently involved in an accident. Their bodies were covered with fresh wounds and stitches that will leave scars for years to come. Fortunately, they survived, but they might not be so lucky next time.
Every day, teams of clearance technicians go out into the fields to detect and safely clear these bombs. It’s painstaking work. But in a country that depends on agriculture for economic development, it couldn’t be more important.
Under President Obama’s administration, and with our advocacy and support from Congress, funding for UXO clearance and support has more than tripled. And today, the President announced additional support.
These critical resources support the teams of clearance workers, as well as additional projects like a national survey to locate unexploded ordnance, support for survivors, and better public awareness on how to avoid these bombs.
When our family left Laos, I never thought I would see my birth country again.
And I never thought that an American president would come to Laos to acknowledge the wounds that we still suffer from a decades-old war while offering resources to build a new legacy of peace.
I am grateful for his leadership and so especially proud today to be American and Lao.
Each night, the President Obama reads 10 letters sent to him by the American people. This week, he responded to one that wasn’t the typical letter.
Kathleen wrote to the President through Facebook Messenger — a newly launched way for ordinary Americans to send a note to the President. Kathleen, who will be the first in her family to get a college degree, wrote about how President Obama inspires her to make the world a better and more equal place.
Take a look at Kathleen’s Facebook message to the President and his response.
Dear Mr. President,
You might not be able to read this, but I do hope it reaches you somehow. I wanted to tell you how much you have inspired and empowered me. I come form a family that is very old-fashioned. When I was younger in my teens I’d say, I can remember many times when I disagreed with my parents way of thinking. They believed that the woman is meant to stay home with the children and the man is meant to work. They believed that women are supposed to be silent and follow commands. I was the opposite and pushed those boundaries in my household often. My father told me often growing up that I should “mind your manners and hold your tongue when speaking to a man.” Thanks Goodness I never listened. I always spoke up, always voiced my opinion, and always fought for what I believed. As I got older I started to see the world around me change. People were casting aside old ways of thinking and embracing a new way of thinking. This new way of thinking said that all people should be and can be truly equal and that anyone can be anything with no restrictions. This is a movement I saw start when you became President. You changed the way America thought and looked at the world. You broke barriers that people had been struggling with for generations. And you continue to push against and break barriers for those that will follow behind you. Thank you for that. I am 23 years old now and pursuing an education. I will be the first in my family to get a college degree. And someday, I hope to make the world a better and more equal place like you have. Thank you for all you’ve done & continued to do, Mr. President. You are blessing and a role model to me.
Here’s how the President responded:
The White House
Washington
August 24, 2016
Dear Kathleen:
Thank you for your note, which was the first one sent from Facebook Messenger to reach my desk. When women succeed, America succeeds, and while we have made great progress toward gender equality, we have more work to do to upend old ways of thinking and enact lasting change. My Administration is committed to building a future where girls across our country and around the world are free to live out their dreams.
Thanks again for writing to me. I was glad to hear your story and I hope you’re proud of all you’ve accomplished. As you continue to advance your education, find your voice, and seek out opportunities to make the world a better place, I encourage you to keep speaking up on the issues that matter to you.
Nearly 100 years ago, bands of dedicated women who had marched and organized for the right to vote finally won a victory on August 26, 1920, when the 19th Amendment was certified and the right to vote was secured.
To celebrate Women’s Equality Day and pay tribute to the trailblazers and suffragists who fought for equality for women and girls, we wanted to share a letter exchange between President Obama and three young women.
Delaney, along with her friends Carrigan and Bree, wrote to the President with a problem: some boys in their neighborhood said that “girls cannot change the world.”
Here is the handwritten letter from Delaney and her friends (complete with some pretty cool stickers). Read President Obama’s response — and make sure to check out Delaney’s reaction.
Dear Mr. President
Two boys that are in our neighborhood said that girls can not change the world. I hope you can give us some advice to change the world or to help us standup to the two boys.
from,
Delaney, Carrigan, and Bree
The President’s response to Delaney and her friends:
The White House
Washington
December 8, 2015
Dear Delaney:
Thanks for writing to me with your friends to let me know what was going on in your neighborhood. Don’t listen to those boys — girls can change the world, and your letter gave me the sense that you are a strong group of young ladies who will always speak up when things don’t seem right.
In the years ahead, remember that nothing is beyond your reach as long as you set your sights high and stay involved in the issues that matter to you Know that our Nation is one where everyone can pursue their dreams and that with hard work, you can accomplish anything you can imagine. I’m confident all three of you have bright futures ahead — and if any boys tell you otherwise, let them know that their President said they better start recognizing that girls change the world every day.
Your friend,
Barack Obama
Delaney was excited to get the President’s response — here’s what she wrote back:
Dear Mr President
I wanted to thank you from the bottom of my heart for the letter. I loved the letter it is the best. I got the package and I had no clue what was inside and when I opened I looked inside and saw the letter and I was so happy and excited that you saw my letter and wrote back that I started to cry. I hope I will get to meet you one day because you inspired me by saying girls change the world every day. So thank you for the letter. Your the best!
This week is the 100th anniversary of the creation of America’s National Park Service, marking a time to reflect on the history of America’s iconic landscapes and historical sites, and to take action that will inspire the next century of conservation and historic preservation.
Learn more about our newest national monument and President Obama’s record of conservation:
The new national monument will protect approximately 87,500 acres, including the stunning East Branch of the Penobscot River and a portion of the Maine Woods. In addition to protecting spectacular geology, significant biodiversity and recreational opportunities, the new monument will help support climate resiliency in the region. The protected area — together with the neighboring Baxter State Park to the west — will ensure that this large landscape remains intact, bolstering the forest’s resilience against the impacts of climate change.
Today’s designation builds on the President’s strong record of protecting our nation’s natural resources. To date, he has permanently protected more than 265 million acres of America’s public lands and waters — more than any other president in history.
Here’s a look at what President Obama has done to preserve the richness of our national parks and public lands for future generations:
Encouraged every kid to experience our great outdoors, including through launching an “Every Kid in a Park” initiative to provide all fourth-grade students and their families free admission to all public lands and waters for a full year.
Created heritage initiatives to recognize the cultural history of all Americans through theme studies and designations.
Created thousands of jobs for young adults and veterans to help better protect, restore, and manage our country’s parks and public lands and waters, including through the establishment of the 21st Century Conservation Service Corps.
Designated national monuments to reflect the diverse stories of Americans including the Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality National Monument, the Pullman National Monument, the Honouliuli National Monument and most recently, the Stonewall National Monument, the nation’s first National Monument honoring LGBT rights.
Increased public access to the outdoors for underserved communities with little access to public lands.
Taken steps to better recognize and commemorate culturally significant sites, including renaming the tallest mountain in North America “Denali” to reflect the heritage of Alaska Natives.
Increased recognition of the economic benefit of the outdoors, including launching an effort to begin measuring the economic impact of outdoor recreation on the American economy.
Celebrated 99 victories for wildlife conservation, including more recoveries under the Endangered Species Act than any previous administration, often using public lands protections to restore populations.
Dedicated unprecedented attention and resources to restoring iconic places like the Chesapeake Bay, California Bay-Delta, Great Lakes and Everglades.
Reformed energy development on America’s public lands and waters, including implementing new landscape-level planning across the country.
Defended iconic landscapes and natural treasures, including taking action to block damaging uranium mining around the Grand Canyon and designating Alaska’s Bristol Bay as off limits from future oil and gas leasing.
Signed the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009, the most extensive expansion of land and water conservation in more than a generation, which designated more than 2 million acres of Federal wilderness and protected thousands of miles of trails and more than one thousand miles of rivers.
Today, President Obama shared his official summer reading list — a mix of fiction and non-fiction, including a Pulitzer Prize-winning surf memoir, a psychological thriller, and a science fiction novel. Check out the list:
“Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life” by William Finnegan
“The Underground Railroad” by Colson Whitehead
“H Is for Hawk” by Helen Macdonald
“The Girl on the Train” by Paula Hawkins
“Seveneves” by Neal Stephenson
And in case you missed it, here’s what made the cut last year:
Watch President Obama’s remarks in Atlanta, Georgia at 1:35pm ET.
What service means to Carmen McGinnis, a former Marine
Carmen McGinnis, a former Marine who now helps other veterans as a staff member at DAV (Disabled American Veterans), sent the below message to the White House email list. Didn’t get the email? Sign up for updates here.
I knew I wanted to be a Marine by the time I was 16.
I was inspired by my uncle, who was a door gunner in Vietnam for two tours. He never really talked about it, but I always knew how proud he was to be a Marine. People told me that I couldn’t or wouldn’t join — but that only made me more determined.
So, on the afternoon of the day after my 17th birthday, I enlisted in the Marine Corps. That day happened to be September 11, 2001.
I was deployed to southwest Afghanistan in 2004 and served as a radar repairman with ballistic missile defense. It was there, just outside of Kandahar, where I injured my back for the first time.
Then, I was accepted into the competitive Marine Security Guard School and served as a guard at American embassies across the world — throughout that time, my back was injured again and again. I also acquired severe insomnia from shift work and survived a sexual assault that made me feel isolated.
These injuries left me in constant pain. Along with experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder, I endured some of the darkest times in my life.
But soon, I found an opportunity that gave me hope.
I took a position at DAV (Disabled American Veterans), an organization that empowers disabled veterans and their families to lead their lives with the full range of benefits available to them. Today, I serve as a National Service Officer, where I get to draw on my own experiences to help other disabled veterans with their recovery, through compassion and empathy.
In this work, I have seen firsthand how President Obama’s efforts to serve veterans have made an impact. I appreciate his actions to ensure that the backlog of disability claims and appeals gets addressed. And I personally saw the number of mental health professionals increase in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Addressing mental health for veterans still needs work, but it’s better than it was.
That’s why I’m proud to welcome President Obama at the Disabled Veterans Convention today in Atlanta, Georgia, where he’ll speak about the progress we’ve made for veterans and the ways we can continue expanding opportunities for our service members, veterans, and their families. I hope you’ll watch along with me at 1:35 pm Eastern.
I feel that I’ve survived what I’ve survived for a reason: to learn that my real strength comes from helping others. I absolutely love that I get to wake up every day and help change people’s lives. Not many people can say that.
Thanks for listening,
Carmen
Carmen McGinnis
National Area Supervisor at DAV
Denver, Colorado
Our record on serving veterans and the work ahead
Over the past seven and a half years, the President has maintained a steadfast commitment to serve our nation’s veterans.
From delivering more health care than ever before, to providing veterans the benefits they have earned in a timely way, to expanding cutting edge research in areas like Post-Traumatic Stress (PTS) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), to helping veterans get the education and jobs they need to succeed, the Administration has an indisputable record of support for our veterans.
Today, the President will announce two new milestones in this effort:
Since launching a nationwide strategy in 2010 to prevent and end homelessness, the Administration has worked with state and local partners to cut veteran homelessness nearly in half.
As part of the President’s Precision Medicine Initiative (PMI), 500,000 veterans have voluntarily donated their health data to the future of science and medicine through the VA’s Million Veteran Program (MVP), marking a critical halfway point to the goal of signing up one million veterans.
Moving forward, the President and the entire Administration will keep fighting in five core areas of service to our nation’s veterans.
1. Health care
An essential part of this commitment is ensuring veterans receive the health care they need, when they need it. VA continues to make progress in this effort, increasing access to care and ensuring veterans are satisfied with their care.
VA has dramatically increased access to care for our veterans, completing approximately 57.84 million appointments from June 2015 through May 2016, and completing nearly 97% of the appointments within 30 days.
VA has increased its total clinical work by 10% over the last two years. That translates into roughly 20 million more hours spent providing care for veterans.
90% of veterans surveyed are either “satisfied” or “completely satisfied” with the timeliness of their care.
But there’s still more work to be done. Here are just a few ways the VA continues to execute on a number of strategies to increase access to care:
Expanding care in the community – VA continues to increase options for care for veterans, authorizing 3.2 million instances of care in the community from June 2015 through May 2016, 7% more than the prior year. In addition, VA put forward a comprehensive plan last October to rationalize its various care in the community programs, creating a single program that is easy to understand, simple to administer, and meets the needs of veterans, community providers, and VA staff.
Increasing clinic hours – Over the last 2 years, VA has increased total clinical work by 10%, which translates into roughly 20 million more hours of care for veterans.
Getting veterans off wait lists – VA has hosted two National Access Stand Down events at all VA Medical Centers, with the goal of addressing urgent health care needs and getting veterans off of waiting lists.
Making enrollment easier – In June 2016, VA released a new digital health care application, making it easier for veterans to enroll in VA health care.
Three and a half years ago, nearly 610,000 veterans disability claims were stuck in a backlog waiting for longer than 125 days, and the VA did not have the capacity to keep up with an increasing number of claims. But by transforming internal processes and putting in place a new electronic system to move beyond the archaic paper-based system that was in place, VA has made extraordinary progress. Take a look:
VA has reduced the disability compensation claims backlog by nearly 90% over the last three and a half years, taking the number from a high of over 610,000 to under 80,000 today.
A combination of increased productivity and modernized technology has allowed the VA to process a record-breaking 1.4 million claims in the last fiscal year alone.
Veterans with a pending claim are waiting, on average, 192 days less for a claim decision, from a peak of 282 days in March 2013 to 90 days today.
VA has put forward an aggressive plan to modernize the appeals process, ensuring that the vast majority of veterans who, today, are waiting an average of at least three years on their appeals, can have a clear path forward within one year.
The VA has taken what steps it can to improve the current claims appeals process, including introducing a new tool to improve internal processing. But what is needed is broad reform, and the problem is only going to get worse until Congress acts. That is why the President is reiterating his call for comprehensive legislative modernization of the appeals process.
Ending veteran homelessness is a national imperative. And beginning in 2010 with the release of Opening Doors, the nation’s first-ever strategic plan to prevent and end homelessness, the Administration has dedicated itself to this goal. Here’s the progress we’ve made:
Overall veteran homelessness has decreased by 47% since 2010, and unsheltered homelessness has decreased by 56%.
Cities and states across the country – from the Commonwealth of Virginia and the State of Connecticut, to the cities of New Orleans and Houston – have announced that they have put an end to veteran homelessness.
The First Lady and Dr. Biden have launched the Mayors Challenge to End Veteran Homelessness, with over 800 city and county officials signing on to end veteran homelessness.
The Administration is also announcing that, later this fall, the First Lady will be holding an event with local officials, non-profits, federal partners, private sector partners, advocates, and veterans to celebrate this extraordinary progress, announce additional milestones in the fight to end veteran homelessness, and underscore the federal, state and local partnerships that have been essential to our success, as a blueprint for this critical work to continue in coming years.
When veterans return home from their service to our country, we must ensure they have the opportunities and resources they need to succeed. The Administration continues to work to make sure veterans are provided opportunities to fulfill the American dream. Take a look:
• The veteran unemployment rate has now dropped to 4.2%, compared to a high of 9.9% in January 2011.
• The unemployment rate for Post-9/11 veterans is 4.4% today, down from a high of 15.2% in January 2011.
• Since the launch of the Joining Forces initiative in 2011, more than 1.2 million veterans and military spouses have been trained or hired.
• In May 2016, the First Lady announced a commitment of an additional 170,000 new hiring and training commitments from 50 companies in the telecommunications, aerospace, and tech sectors over the next five years.
The President has also made it a priority to ensure veterans and their families have access to the high-quality education they need to succeed. And that starts with the Post-9/11 GI Bill. Since its inception in 2009, the Post-9/11 GI Bill has provided $65.2 billion in education benefits to over 1.6 million individuals.
All 50 states, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. territories are now providing recently transitioning veterans and their dependents with in-state tuition rates at public institutions of higher learning.
The GI Bill Comparison Tool has received over 3.2 million unique page views with over one million schools searched since it was launched in 2014. The GI Bill Comparison helps estimate GI Bill benefits, research certain school attributes, and compare educational institutions.
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