Through his address, the President will thank his supporters, celebrate the ways we have changed this country for the better these past eight years, and offer his vision on where we all go from here. The President will deliver his farewell address at 9:00 PM EST on Tuesday, January 10, at McCormick Place in Chicago, Illinois. To tune in on Tuesday, visit www.whitehouse.gov/farewell.

Transcript | MP3 | MP4

The Farewell Address

This is just one story of the millions of Americans whose lives have been changed by the Affordable Care Act. This kind of change has been a long time in the making.

After nearly 100 years of talk, and decades of trying, President Obama finally made affordable, quality health care for all a reality for America. Today, 20 million more adults have health insurance. Three million additional children have health insurance than in 2008. America's uninsured rate now stands at its lowest level ever. One hundred and five million Americans no longer have lifetime limits on their coverage and 137 million Americans now have a right to coverage for critical preventive services with no out-of-pocket costs, like flu shots, yearly check-ups for women, and birth control.

No matter who you are, chances are you're benefiting from an improved health care system thanks to the Affordable Care Act. You may not realize that there's a lot to lose if Republicans succeed in repealing this law. Here's a look at a few different scenarios that reflect the lives of many Americans, and what happens with and without this law in place.

A young married couple receive news that they are going to have their first child, and decide to move closer to their family. Thanks to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) they can find health care coverage through the Marketplace even though their new jobs, which have a combined income of $40,000, do not provide coverage. 

More on how the ACA helps: 

• They are able to easily go online and compare plans to find one that works for them.  As a result of their move, they qualify for a special enrollment period, and can choose a plan that provides coverage right away. 
• What’s more, they receive financial assistance that provides over $4,250 a year to reduce their premiums, covering over 55 percent of the cost, as well as reduces their out-of-pocket costs. 
• Thanks to the consumer protections in the ACA, their plan covers maternity benefits. It also covers preventive services like prenatal care with no out-of-pocket costs. 
• She goes to a hospital that takes part in the voluntary ACA program that helps to prevent unnecessary early deliveries and maximize the health of the mom and baby. The family may also qualify for a home visit that provides best practices for new parents.  
• The baby’s immunizations and well child visit are covered with no out-of-pocket cost.

If the ACA were repealed:   

• Pregnancy could be considered a pre-existing condition, meaning when this family looked for new coverage after moving, insurers could deny them coverage or charge exorbitant rates. 
• Their plan would likely not include maternity coverage, as was the case for over 60 percent of enrollees in individual market plans in 2011. 
• They’d receive no financial assistance to help ensure they can find a good plan within their budget. They would receive no help in paying their out-of-pocket costs. 
• The programs that support healthy pregnancies, births, and newborns would no longer exist, putting the family at greater risk of health problems. 
• And the family would likely have to pay out of pocket for each visit and shot for their new baby, putting them further behind on other household payments.

A Medicare beneficiary with pre-diabetes later develops diabetes, with significant associated costs and complications. She also suffers a fall and a subsequent hospitalization. The preventive services available through the ACA help her delay the onset of diabetes, and the ACA also helps to prevent further hospitalization and reduce medical problems. This allows the new grandmother to spend more time with her granddaughter.

More on how the ACA helps:                

• She can receive a free annual wellness visit, including a diabetes screening. Her doctor diagnoses her with pre-diabetes, meaning her blood sugar is high and she is at risk for developing diabetes in the future. 
• Her physician refers her to a Diabetes Prevention Program, which Medicare will start paying for nationwide. This Program suggests improvements in her diet and encourages her to increase her physical activity, helping her lose weight and reducing her chances of developing diabetes. 
• When she suffers a serious fall and is hospitalized, her hospital has improved patient safety practices as a result of the ACA, reducing the chance of her acquiring a potentially deadly infection during her stay. 
• Additionally, her hospital has improved its coordination with home health and other post-acute care providers, providing her with a smooth transition from the hospital back to her home, helping her recover more quickly and preventing a costly readmission to the hospital. 
• While preventive measures delay her development of diabetes, after five years, she does develop diabetes and requires insulin, which she gets through her Medicare Part D prescription drug plan. As a result of the ACA phasing out the Medicare “donut hole,” affected beneficiaries have saved an average of $2,127 on prescription drugs through July 2016, and her savings on these medications will increase annually until the “donut hole” is entirely closed in 2020. 

If the ACA were repealed: 

• She would pay a copayment for her annual visit to her physician, which could cause her to skip the visit in order to save money. 
• As a result, she would not learn that she has pre-diabetes. Even if she were finally diagnosed with pre-diabetes, Medicare would not pay for the Diabetes Prevention Program, and thus she could quickly develop full-blown diabetes. 
• Because of the reopening of the Medicare “donut hole,” she would pay significantly more for her insulin and other medications, eating into her limited income and potentially causing her to skip doses in order to save money. 
• When she is finally discharged home after her fall, she would not have any assistance to help her understand her medications or how to contact the home health agency that will provide her follow up care. The unmanaged transition could lead her health to quickly deteriorate, resulting in a readmission to the hospital.  

A man with a low income suffers from undiagnosed bipolar disorder. Thanks to the ACA, he has access to private insurance, despite his pre-existing condition, and to Medicaid in his state, and both have strong protections for enrollees with mental health challenges. Because his annual income is $12,000, he qualifies for Medicaid.

More on how the ACA helps: 

• Individuals with incomes up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level are now eligible for Medicaid expansion in States that choose to expand. 
• With coverage under his State’s Medicaid expansion, he is able to get the care and treatment he needs. 
• If his income rises by $5,000, he will qualify for private individual health insurance with financial assistance. For the first time, this man cannot be denied coverage based on a pre-existing mental health condition. 
• Individual market coverage must include mental health and substance use disorder services as an “essential health benefit” and the coverage must be generally comparable to the benefits offered for medical and surgical benefits. 

If the ACA were repealed: 

• He would not afford coverage or doctor’s visits, and would have no regular source of primary care, so his condition would remain undiagnosed. 
• As a result of his lack of regular care, he would go to the emergency room frequently to receive care.
• Lacking coverage, he would be unable to afford medication or to see a psychiatrist, which would cause his condition to worsen. Such circumstances often lead to substance use disorders.

A couple with insurance through their employer gives birth to their second child, who is born with a congenital heart defect. Because of the complexity of the defect, the child requires immediate specialized care and will continue to need special heart care throughout his life.  The ACA helps this family by preventing them from reaching an annual or lifetime limit on what insurance will cover. And, this child will always be insurable even though he has a pre-existing condition.

More on how the ACA helps: 

• There is no annual or lifetime dollar limit on the couple’s insurance plan. This means that they will not have to worry about medical bankruptcy because of the high cost of their son’s care. Prior to the ACA, 105 million people with employer plans had lifetime limits on their coverage, encompassing 59 percent of all workers covered by their employer’s health plan. 
• Their employer-provided plan also must now cap the out-of-pocket costs they can pay, and since the ACA became law an additional 22 million people have gained protection against catastrophic costs. 
• In addition, the ACA allows them to keep their son on their plan until he is 26, so they do not have to worry about how he will obtain coverage in the future, which was a serious problem for many young adults. Prior to the ACA, one in three young adults between the ages of 19 and 25 were uninsured. 
• And, because of the ACA’s ban on insurer discrimination against individual’s with pre-existing conditions, these parents do not have to worry about whether their son can access coverage when he is no longer on their plan.

If the ACA were repealed: 

• This couple would face significant financial burdens in caring for their son. Given the significant costs associated with caring for complex heart defects, they could very quickly reach the lifetime limit on their plan, in addition to the significant out-of-pocket costs they would incur. 
• They would then be forced to either find a new job that provided coverage without a lifetime limit or find a way to pay for the costs of their son’s care on their own. 
• In addition, their employer’s plan would not necessarily need to cover their son until age 26, meaning that, once he is older, he would need to find an alternative source of coverage to provide for his ongoing care. 
• And, because of discrimination against individuals with pre-existing conditions, he may not ever be able to obtain coverage again.  

A 55-year-old man with a history of high cholesterol loses his job. He decides to start his own small business. The ACA helps him find affordable health coverage even though he has a pre-existing condition. And, it makes it easier for him to provide health insurance to his employees as his small business grows by providing tax credits and ensuring premium dollars go to providing care rather than padding insurers’ profits.

More on how the ACA helps: 

• He is able to obtain coverage on the Marketplace after losing his job, meaning that he is free to start his own business rather than work for a large business just to keep his health coverage. 
• He cannot be discriminated against because of his high cholesterol, which affects over 73 million Americans. 
• Moreover, if his high cholesterol leads to a heart attack or other significant health event, his insurer cannot cancel his plan over a technicality regarding the form he filled out when signing up for coverage, such as forgetting to report that he had chicken pox as a child. 
• All individual market plans now cover prescription drugs, so he can obtain medication to help address his high cholesterol and prevent future health problems. 
• As his business expands, he can use the Marketplace for small businesses to easily compare and shop for plans for his employees and offer them a range of options that work for his business and for them. 
• An ACA provision requires that plans spend at least 80 percent of premiums on covering the cost of care or making quality improvements, to ensure he is getting the best value for his dollar.  Thanks to this provision, nearly $2.8 billion in rebates have been paid to Americans from 2011-2015.
• And, because of the ACA, his small business qualifies for a tax credit worth up to 50 percent of the cost he pays for his employees’ coverage.

If the ACA were repealed: 

• This man would have significant trouble finding coverage. 
• To start his own business, he would likely have to forgo insurance, as his pre-existing condition would make it difficult to find an affordable plan. 
• He would be in danger of his insurer canceling his plan the moment he had a significant health condition, and his plan might not cover the prescription drugs he needs to treat his high cholesterol, as was the case for almost one in ten people in the individual market prior to the ACA.  
• If he were able to start his own business, he could find it difficult to provide health care for his employees, particularly given the lack of a small business tax credit to help offset costs. 
• His employees, now forced to find insurance on their own without ACA consume protections, would face the same sorts of issues he did in finding coverage. They may also prefer to work for a company that offers health benefits. 
• And his insurance company could use less of his premium dollars to provide care, instead using them to pay for marketing or company profits. 

A newly married woman with a family history of breast cancer is seeking a new individual market insurance plan. Thanks to the ACA, she can find affordable coverage despite her family history of break cancer. Her coverage will provide free preventive services to help her manage her risk of breast cancer. She is also considering starting a family.  Her coverage will also cover important preventive services for women who may become pregnant and provide her with contraception, both free of charge.

More on how the ACA helps: 

• She does not need to worry that her family history of breast cancer will be treated as a pre-existing condition that prevents her from getting an offer of coverage, being charged more for coverage, or having cancer treatment excluded from coverage. 
• Her coverage will include free breast cancer genetic test counseling and, as she gets older, free mammograms as appropriate. 
• And any coverage that she receives will provide a range of free preventive screenings that are important for women who may become pregnant. 
• It will also cover a yearly physical at no cost. 
• In addition, she will be able to obtain birth control free of charge, and her plan will be required to cover care provided at community health centers and family planning clinics.

If the ACA were repealed: 

• This woman could face significant problems finding coverage and making family planning decisions that are right for her.
• She could be excluded from coverage or charged exorbitant rates because of her family history.
• If she were able to find coverage, it would likely not provide preventive services free of charge, making it more difficult to manage her risk of breast cancer. 
• She would find it more difficult to engage in effective family planning.  Screenings could be costly, and she would have to pay for contraceptive coverage as well. 
• She would not be guaranteed an annual well woman’s visit without out of pocket costs. 
• And there would be no guarantee that her plan would cover care at nearby community health centers or family planning clinics, which could require her to travel significant distances to get needed care at an affordable cost. 

Jeanne Lambrew is Deputy Assistant to the President for Health Policy.

"What do school counselors do?"

Many people ask me that question -- and there are a variety of responses depending on whom you ask. I prefer to reframe the question: "How are my students different because of what I do as a school counselor?"

As a school counselor at a career center in western Michigan, a major portion of my role is helping students determine their post-graduation plan of action and providing them with the support they need to make the decisions that are right for them and help them to Reach Higher. I don’t take my responsibilities lightly; the work we do as school counselors can impact our students for generations to come.

Regardless of the grade levels we serve, no student can fall through the cracks on our watch. School counselors must work to eliminate barriers to their success by ensuring -- to the best of our ability -- that all students receive the support they deserve. We need to be their greatest advocates.

That's why it is an honor to be selected as the American School Counselor Association's 2017 School Counselor of the Year and to be recognized by the First Lady and our school counselor-in-chief, Michelle Obama.

In her service as First Lady, she’s worked to inspire every student in America to complete their education past high school -- and to eliminate the barriers that face too many of our students. She’s elevated National College Signing Day and raised visibility for first-generation college graduates like herself. And Mrs. Obama’s support of the school counseling profession and acknowledgement of what we do for students inspires me to continue working every day for the benefit of the students I support.

So I hope you can join us for today’s special event that will highlight and recognize the amazing work of the nation's top school counselors. You can watch the 2017 School Counselor of the Year ceremony right here.

Learn more about the First Lady's work to help more students reach higher for college and beyond.

THIRTEEN KEY POINTS ON LABOR MARKET PROGRESS OVER THE LAST EIGHT YEARS

1. U.S. businesses have now added 15.8 million jobs since private-sector job growth turned positive in early 2010. Today, we learned that private employment rose by 144,000 jobs in December. Total nonfarm employment rose by 156,000 jobs, slightly below the monthly average for 2016 as a whole but substantially higher than the pace of about 80,000 jobs per month that CEA estimates is necessary to maintain a low and stable unemployment rate given the impact of demographic trends on labor force participation. The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.7 percent in December, less than half its peak during the recession, while the labor force participation rate—which has been largely unchanged over the past three years despite downward pressure from demographic trends—increased to 62.7 percent. Average hourly earnings for all private workers increased 2.9 percent over the past year, the fastest twelve-month pace since the end of the recession and above the pace of inflation in 2016.

2. Since job growth turned positive in October 2010, the U.S. economy has added jobs for 75 straight months—the longest streak of job growth on record and more than two years longer than the next-longest streak. Over this period, nonfarm employment growth has averaged a robust 199,000 jobs a month. On a calendar-year basis, the pace of job growth peaked at 251,000 jobs a month in 2014, the best year for job creation since the 1990s. In 2016, job growth remained strong, averaging 180,000 jobs a month. As of December 2016, total nonfarm employment exceeded its pre-recession peak by 6.9 million jobs. All of the net job creation in the current recovery has been in the private sector, as private-sector payroll employment exceeded its pre-recession peak by 7.0 million jobs as of December.

3. The unemployment rate has been cut by more than half since its peak in 2009, falling much faster and further than expected. After peaking at 10.0 percent in October 2009, the unemployment rate fell rapidly over the course of the recovery, and by mid-2015 had recovered fully to its pre-recession average. Since then, it has fallen even further, standing at 4.7 percent at the end of 2016. The rapid decline in the unemployment rate came far more quickly than most economists predicted: as recently as March 2014, private forecasters expected the unemployment rate to remain above 5.0 percent until at least 2020.

4. Real hourly wages have grown faster over the current business cycle than in any cycle since the early 1970s. In recent years, American workers have seen sustained real wage gains, as hourly earnings have grown faster than inflation. The chart below plots the average annual growth of real hourly earnings for private production and nonsupervisory workers—a group comprising about four-fifths of private nonfarm employment—over each business cycle, including both recessions and recoveries. (Economists prefer comparing across entire business cycles, as they generally represent economically comparable periods.) Since the beginning of the current business cycle in December 2007, real wages have grown at a rate of 0.8 percent a year, faster than in any other cycle since 1973.

5. Since the end of 2012, real wages for non-managerial workers have grown nearly 18 times faster than they did from 1980 to 2007. In fact, since the end of 2012, real wages for private production and nonsupervisory workers have grown over 5 percent cumulatively, more than double their 2.1-percent total growth from the business cycle peak in 1980 to the business cycle peak in 2007—a sign of the remarkable progress made by American families in the current recovery after years of slow growth in wages.

6. Robust real wage growth and strong employment growth have translated into rising real incomes for households, with the largest gains going to low- and middle-income families. From 2014 to 2015, real median household income increased by $2,800, or 5.2 percent, the largest annual increase on record. Gains were even larger in the lower half of the income distribution, ranging from an increase of 5.5 percent for households at the 40th percentile to an increase of nearly 8 percent for households at the 10th percentile. While households in the top half of the income distribution also saw increases, their gains were smaller, with an increase of 2.9 percent at the 90th percentile of household income. Growth in both real wages and employment in 2016 point to continued gains in real incomes for American households.

7. On net, essentially all of the increase in employment over the recovery has been in full-time jobs. As measured by the household survey, U.S. employment reached a trough in December 2009. Since then, full-time employment has increased by 13.7 million. In contrast, part-time employment has increased by just 420,000 over the course of the recovery.

8. Broader measures of labor underutilization have also steadily improved, and all but one are below their pre-recession averages. The headline unemployment rate, the U-3 rate, includes unemployed persons who have looked for work in the last four weeks. Broader measures of labor underutilization each include a progressively larger group of individuals: U-4 counts discouraged workers in addition to the unemployed, U-5 adds in others who are marginally attached to the labor force, and U-6 also includes people working part-time who would prefer a full-time job (“part-time for economic reasons”). Like the headline unemployment rate, all of these measures saw large increases during the recession, with the U-6 rate in particular reaching a record high. However, U-3, U-4, and U-5 all recovered fully to their respective pre-recession averages in the summer of 2015 and have fallen further since. As of December, the U-6 rate was just 0.1 percentage point above its pre-recession average.

9. Real average hourly wages have risen in every major industry over the current business cycle—and in nearly all, the pace of increase has been faster than in the previous cycle. Since the beginning of the current business cycle, real wages for non-managerial workers have grown at an average rate of 0.8 percent a year. However, this average masks considerable variation in real wage growth among workers in different industries. As the chart below shows, workers in all major sectors have seen real increases in their hourly earnings, ranging from average gains of 0.1 percent a year for workers in the transportation and warehousing industry to gains of 1.7 percent a year for workers in the financial activities sector. For nearly all major industries, real wage gains so far in the current business cycle have outpaced gains in the 2000s business cycle.

10. Unemployment rates for all major demographic groups have recovered to below their respective pre-recession averages, though more work remains to close longstanding disparities in the labor market. The unemployment rates for African Americans and Hispanic Americans peaked at 16.8 percent and 13.0 percent, respectively, after experiencing larger percentage-point increases from their pre-recession averages than the overall unemployment rate did. By mid-2015, both the African-American and Hispanic-American unemployment rates had recovered to their respective pre-recession averages. Similarly, the unemployment rates for white Americans and for Asian Americans, which have historically tended to be lower than the overall unemployment rate, have more than recovered to their pre-recession averages. Still, the fact that the unemployment rates for African Americans and Hispanic Americans are much higher than the overall unemployment rate is a reminder that much more work remains to ensure that the benefits of the strong labor market are shared among all Americans, including through efforts like the My Brother’s Keeper initiative.

11. Initial claims for unemployment insurance (UI) have been below 300,000 for 96 consecutive weeks, the longest such streak since 1970. During the Great Recession, claims for unemployment insurance—which are an important leading indicator of recessions—rose sharply to near-record highs. However, they have since declined to well below their pre-recession average, and average weekly initial claims in 2016 were the lowest of any calendar year since 1973. Still, the share of unemployed workers eligible for unemployment insurance has fallen in recent years, in part as a result of reductions in coverage within States’ UI programs. A number of reforms—including several in the President’s Fiscal Year 2017 Budget—would build on the strengths of the UI system to ensure that it both provides effective assistance for those who lose a job through no fault of their own and helps to stabilize the U.S. economy during future downturns.  

12. Two-thirds of States have seen their unemployment rates fall below their pre-recession averages. There was extremely wide variation in the effect of the Great Recession on unemployment rates across States and the District of Columbia, with increases ranging from nearly 200 percent (Nevada) to just 13 percent (Alaska) of their respective pre-recession averages. As of November 2016, however, 34 States and the District of Columbia have seen their unemployment rates recover fully, with a number of States seeing unemployment rates substantially below their pre-recession averages. The sixteen States that still have elevated unemployment rates include the six that saw the largest percentage increases in their unemployment rates in the recession. 

13. Since 2010, the United States has put more people back to work than all the other G-7 economies combined. The rebound of the U.S. economy from the Great Recession occurred much faster than in most other advanced economies and compares favorably with the historical record of countries recovering from systemic financial crises. As shown in the chart below, the United States has been responsible for a disproportionate share of employment growth in the G-7 economies during the recovery. Although the United States comprises about two-fifths of total employment in the G-7, it has been responsible for more than 55 percent of the net employment growth since 2010, a further sign of the strength and resilience of the U.S. economy and the importance of the policies of the last eight years in putting it on a sounder footing.

As the Administration stresses every month, the monthly employment and unemployment figures can be volatile, and payroll employment estimates can be subject to substantial revision. Therefore, it is important not to read too much into any one monthly report, and it is informative to consider each report in the context of other data as they become available.

• ArchiveSocial, a social media archiving platform, is hosting an open archive consolidating more than a quarter-million White House social media posts that are easily searchable by date, platform, and keyword. The open archive is now available to the public at http://ObamaWhiteHouseArchive.social
• Rhizome, a digital art organization, is publishing a series of multi-media, digital essays that explain Internet culture associated with the Obama administration—starting with the history of the “Thanks Obama” meme, the First Lady’s Turnip Vine, and the #LoveWins hashtag on Instagram and Twitter. Learn more on Rhizome’s website. 
• MIT Media Lab’s Electome group and Derek Lieu, a programmer, both used topical analysis to understand what issues the White House was talking about most on Twitter. Electome’s interactive tool compares Administration tweets with a sampling of citizen tweets, and Derek’s analysis examines and how White House tweet topics fluctuated over the course of the Administration.
• GIPHY, a GIF search engine, will launch a page that enables the public to view all of the GIFs that the White House has ever shared, as well as a collection of all of the White House’s Vines. The page will also include many other White House related GIFs that have been pulled together by GIPHY's Editorial team. Check it out at giphy.com/Obama
• A new Twitter bot built by the Portland, Oregon-based studio, Feel Train, will republish White House tweets over the next eight years to mark some of the most significant moments of the Obama administration as experienced on Twitter. Follow along by visiting @Relive44 on Twitter.
• Students will be diving into our social media data, too. At the University of Texas-Austin, students in Dr. Amelia Acker’s graduate seminar will be utilizing White House social media data in their final projects. And NYU’s Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP) Fellows are hosting an “Obamathon” on January 6th—a special hackathon to spawn the creation of new projects, like the ones listed above.
• Internet Archive is making White House social media data available to download from their website—ensuring it’s publicly-accessible for years to come—and hosting a public hackathon this Saturday, January 7th.

The White House convened these citizens in the hopes that their creations would inspire people (like you) to dive into the archives themselves—to build research tools, art projects, and the like. That’s why, starting today, you can download the White House’s Twitter, Facebook, and Vine archives yourself. All of the tweets published by President Obama and the First Lady are available, as well. We can’t wait to see what you make. 

Good morning everyone! Thank you Officer Mouse, Acting District Director Tarango and Acting Field Office Director Enis.

And most of all, thank you to my newly minted, fellow Americans! Our newest citizens, I am honored to be here and share in this special day with all of you.  

I’d like to start with comic book superheroes. All superheroes have an ‘origin story’ which is the back-story that reveals how a character or a group of people came to where they are now. For example, Superman’s origin story is about being an immigrant—from another planet, of course. And let’s not leave out Wonder Woman, she’s also an immigrant. Both came here as outsiders to help fight for peace, justice, and liberty.

The origin story of this country begins with the Native Americans. And now, our shared country is the story of immigrants. For more than 200 years now, we’ve been building our strength as a nation through immigration. Just like a family, as a nation, we’ve had good times and bad. Easier times and harder times. But, through our collective efforts, we have persevered. Thanks to you we will continue to create a diverse nation with a wide variety of ideas, heritage, religion, and even food. 

And there have been questions about the value of immigration. A question of if the whole is greater than the sum of its parts? Every time this has happened, we have decided as a nation that immigration is our superpower. And the results have benefited all of us.

In 2016, Nobel Prizes were given to 6 scientists at American universities, in Chemistry, in Physics, and in Economics. The common thread? All 6 of these scientists were born outside of the United States.

Companies like Intel, YouTube, Google, and Tesla are creating the economy of the future. What do they share? All were founded or co-founded by immigrants. In fact, of the US-based startups that were valued at $1 billion or more in 2016, half were founded or co-founded by immigrants. 

And me. The reason this event is so special for me, is that I’m an immigrant. I was born in New Delhi, India. I immigrated to the United States when I was young. We moved to Boston, where my father was a professor. An immigrant professor who would go on to create a dozen companies. Later in my life, I met the woman who was to be my wife. She too, an immigrant. We have two kids. They are both children of immigrants. And I wouldn’t want to raise them anywhere else. So, this is deeply personal to me.

A little over a year ago, President Obama gave remarks at an event like this. While he is a hard act to follow, he is an excellent act to imitate. I’m going to borrow some of his words here. He said:

The truth is, being an American is hard. Being part of a democratic government is hard. Being a citizen is hard. It is a challenge. It’s supposed to be. There’s no respite from our ideals. All of us are called to live up to our expectations for ourselves -- not just when it’s convenient, but when it’s inconvenient. When it’s tough. When we’re afraid. The tension throughout our history between welcoming or rejecting the stranger, it’s about more than just immigration. It’s about the meaning of America, what kind of country do we want to be. It’s about the capacity of each generation to honor the creed as old as our founding: “E Pluribus Unum” -- that out of many, we are one.

We also have another saying at the White House that comes from our President: #YesWeCan. We say it when things are hard. When things are tough. It’s a rallying cry that we are not scared of the future. That #YesWeCan build the future. 

You have just taken an oath and committed to making this country your home. My nation is now your nation. My children’s nation is now your children’s nation. This is our nation.  You have stepped forward to stand up for the ideals, values, and carry the country forward.  You are each superheroes with your own origin stories. Now, your origin story, my origin story, and the county’s origin story all become our origin story.

Everything we do needs to be infused with the sense of possibility.

When I see the challenges we face, I do not have fear. I have hope. Because I am here, today, with you: fellow citizens with a shared bond forged under the same pledge adding to the rich foundation of this country.  Because together we can.  #YesWeCan. 

Thank you. May God bless you. And may God bless the United States of America.

In 1796, as George Washington set the precedent for a peaceful, democratic transfer of power, he also set a precedent by penning a farewell address to the American people. And over the 220 years since, many American presidents have followed his lead.

On Tuesday, January 10, I'll go home to Chicago to say my grateful farewell to you, even if you can't be there in person.

I'm just beginning to write my remarks. But I'm thinking about them as a chance to say thank you for this amazing journey, to celebrate the ways you've changed this country for the better these past eight years, and to offer some thoughts on where we all go from here.

Since 2009, we've faced our fair share of challenges, and come through them stronger. That's because we have never let go of a belief that has guided us ever since our founding—our conviction that, together, we can change this country for the better.

So I hope you'll join me one last time.

Because, for me, it's always been about you.

President Barack Obama

The Farewell Address

Transcript | MP3 | MP4

January

Watch: President Obama Delivers his Final State of the Union Address

February

Watch: "What's the secret to still dancing at 106?"

March

Watch: West Wing Week 3/25/16 or, “¡Hola, Cuba!”

Watch: President Obama and the First Family Take a Walk in Old Havana

April

Watch: President Obama Explores America's Newest National Monument

May

Watch: President Obama Meets With His Kid Science Advisors

June

Watch: President Obama meets "Little Miss Flint"

July

Watch: Celebrating the 26th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act

August

Watch: President Obama visits Midway Atoll

September

Watch: Dear President Obama: "We Will Give Him a Family"

October

Watch: A Peek Inside SXSL: A Festival at the White House

November

Watch: President Obama in Athens, Greece

December

Watch: First Family Attends The Christmas Tree Lighting

Check out some of our favorite videos from the past eight years.

The President released the following statement regarding today's actions:

"Today, I have ordered a number of actions in response to the Russian government’s aggressive harassment of U.S. officials and cyber operations aimed at the U.S. election. These actions follow repeated private and public warnings that we have issued to the Russian government, and are a necessary and appropriate response to efforts to harm U.S. interests in violation of established international norms of behavior.

All Americans should be alarmed by Russia’s actions. In October, my Administration publicized our assessment that Russia took actions intended to interfere with the U.S. election process. These data theft and disclosure activities could only have been directed by the highest levels of the Russian government. Moreover, our diplomats have experienced an unacceptable level of harassment in Moscow by Russian security services and police over the last year. Such activities have consequences. Today, I have ordered a number of actions in response.

I have issued an executive order that provides additional authority for responding to certain cyber activity that seeks to interfere with or undermine our election processes and institutions, or those of our allies or partners. Using this new authority, I have sanctioned nine entities and individuals: the GRU and the FSB, two Russian intelligence services; four individual officers of the GRU; and three companies that provided material support to the GRU’s cyber operations. In addition, the Secretary of the Treasury is designating two Russian individuals for using cyber-enabled means to cause misappropriation of funds and personal identifying information. The State Department is also shutting down two Russian compounds, in Maryland and New York, used by Russian personnel for intelligence-related purposes, and is declaring “persona non grata” 35 Russian intelligence operatives. Finally, the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are releasing declassified technical information on Russian civilian and military intelligence service cyber activity, to help network defenders in the United States and abroad identify, detect, and disrupt Russia’s global campaign of malicious cyber activities.

These actions are not the sum total of our response to Russia’s aggressive activities. We will continue to take a variety of actions at a time and place of our choosing, some of which will not be publicized. In addition to holding Russia accountable for what it has done, the United States and friends and allies around the world must work together to oppose Russia’s efforts to undermine established international norms of behavior, and interfere with democratic governance. To that end, my Administration will be providing a report to Congress in the coming days about Russia’s efforts to interfere in our election, as well as malicious cyber activity related to our election cycle in previous elections."

Here are some of the ways in which President Obama is taking action:

Sanctioning Malicious Russian Cyber Activity

In response to the threat to U.S. national security posed by Russian interference in our elections, the President has approved an amendment to Executive Order 13964. As originally issued in April 2015, this Executive Order created a new, targeted authority for the U.S. government to respond more effectively to the most significant of cyber threats, particularly in situations where malicious cyber actors operate beyond the reach of existing authorities. The original Executive Order focused on cyber-enabled malicious activities that:

• Harm or significantly compromise the provision of services by entities in a critical infrastructure sector;
• Significantly disrupt the availability of a computer or network of computers (for example, through a distributed denial-of-service attack); or
• Cause a significant misappropriation of funds or economic resources, trade secrets, personal identifiers, or financial information for commercial or competitive advantage or private financial gain (for example, by stealing large quantities of credit card information, trade secrets, or sensitive information).

Read more about today's sanctions on Russia here.

Responding to Russian Harassment of U.S. Personnel

Over the past two years, harassment of our diplomatic personnel in Russia by security personnel and police has increased significantly and gone far beyond international diplomatic norms of behavior. Other Western Embassies have reported similar concerns. In response to this harassment, the President has authorized the following actions:

Today the State Department declared 35 Russian government officials from the Russian Embassy in Washington and the Russian Consulate in San Francisco “persona non grata.” They were acting in a manner inconsistent with their diplomatic status. Those individuals and their families were given 72 hours to leave the United States.

In addition to this action, the Department of State has provided notice that as of noon on Friday, December 30, Russian access will be denied to two Russian government-owned compounds, one in Maryland and one in New York.

Raising Awareness About Russian Malicious Cyber Activity

The Department of Homeland Security and Federal Bureau of Investigation are releasing a Joint Analysis Report (JAR) that contains declassified technical information on Russian civilian and military intelligence services’ malicious cyber activity, to better help network defenders in the United States and abroad identify, detect, and disrupt Russia’s global campaign of malicious cyber activities.

• The JAR includes information on computers around the world that Russian intelligence services have co-opted without the knowledge of their owners in order to conduct their malicious activity in a way that makes it difficult to trace back to Russia. In some cases, the cybersecurity community was aware of this infrastructure, in other cases, this information is newly declassified by the U.S. government.
• The report also includes data that enables cyber security firms and other network defenders to identify certain malware that the Russian intelligence services use. Network defenders can use this information to identify and block Russian malware, forcing the Russian intelligence services to re-engineer their malware. This information is newly de-classified.
• Finally, the JAR includes information on how Russian intelligence services typically conduct their activities. This information can help network defenders better identify new tactics or techniques that a malicious actor might deploy or detect and disrupt an ongoing intrusion.

Read more about this action here.

As the Administration stated today, cyber threats pose one of the most serious economic and national security challenges the United States faces today. For the last eight years, this Administration has pursued a comprehensive strategy to confront these threats. And as we have demonstrated by these actions today, we intend to continue to employ the full range of authorities and tools, including diplomatic engagement, trade policy tools, and law enforcement mechanisms, to counter the threat posed by malicious cyber actors, regardless of their country of origin, to protect the national security of the United States.

Here's a look at the specifics on how the Administration is responding to Russia: 

• Department of State actions in response to Russian harassment
• Treasury sanctions on two individuals for malicious cyber enabled activity
• Joint DHS, ODNI, FBI statement on Russian malicious cyber activity 
• DHS and FBI Joint Analysis Report

Learn More Read the Executive Order

Ned Price is a Special Assistant to the President and spokesperson for the National Security Council. 

Transcript | MP4 | MP3

Just last month, on Veterans Day, the President spoke of the critical role of our service member institutions:

“It’s the example of the single-most diverse institution in our country – soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, and coastguardsmen who represent every corner of our country, every shade of humanity, immigrant and native-born, Christian, Muslim, Jew, and nonbeliever alike, all forged into common service.”

That is why today, the President established a new federal Interagency Working Group charged with enhancing access to services and benefits for new American service members, veterans, and their families. 

Like other immigrants and refugees, these new Americans are a source of our nation’s strength and exemplify their commitment to the past, present, and future of our country. These brave new Americans have taken the extraordinary step of answer the call of duty to support and defend our country—some even before becoming American citizens. Like other immigrants and refugees, these new Americans are a source of our nation’s strength and exemplify their commitment to the past, present, and future of our country.

Over the past decade, the Departments of Defense, Veterans Affairs, and Homeland Security have strengthened partnerships to provide services and opportunities to service members, veterans, and their families interacting with the U.S. immigration system. Indeed, since 2001, more than 110,000 service members have been naturalized and many were assisted in the process through partnerships such as the “Naturalization at Basic Training Initiative,” which gives non-citizen enlistees the opportunity to naturalize during basic training. Despite these efforts, service members, veterans, and their families too often still face barriers to accessing immigration benefits and other assistance for which they may be eligible.  

Over the past 8 years, President Obama has spoken at several naturalization ceremonies for service members and their families, including two ceremonies held at the White House on the Fourth of July.  These ceremonies have provided the President with the opportunity to be among the first to welcome these newest Americans, each with their own path.  

“Some of you came here as children, brought by parents who dreamed of giving you the opportunities that they had never had. Others of you came as adults, finding your way through a new country and a new culture and a new language. All of you did something profound: You chose to serve. You put on the uniform of a country that was not yet fully your own. In a time of war, some of you deployed into harm’s way. You displayed the values that we celebrate every Fourth of July -- duty, responsibility, and patriotism.”

It is our hope that through this Presidential Memorandum and the new Interagency Working Group it establishes, new American service members, veterans and their families will be better able to receive the services and benefits to which they are entitled and be able to live their lives to the fullest—just as they deserve. 

Read the Presidential Memorandum here. 

The challenge many families face finding affordable diapers is just one example of the many ways in which families with young children face constraints in making investments in their children's development, including high-quality care and education experiences, as discussed in a new CEA issues brief released today. 

From the start of their children’s lives, the high costs driven by “Surge Pricing for Diapers” strain young families’ finances and jeopardize their health. Low-income parents with infants and toddlers spend 14 percent of their income on diapers alone – leaving less room to cover rent, food, or heat.  Unsurprisingly, nearly one in three low-income families report that they lack the diapers they need for their babies, causing some caregivers to stretch the time between diaper changes to make their limited resources last.  This pressure can lead to serious health problems for children and unimaginable stress for parents.  That public health crisis is why, earlier this year, the White House challenged the private sector to employ innovative technologies and business models to help struggling families access the basic necessities they need to care for their children.

Today, we’re excited to report that these innovative efforts are working – and expanding.

• Since its unveiling in March, the JetCares Community Diaper Program — a collaboration between Jet.com and First Quality — has shipped nearly five million diapers to non-profits in forty-eight states. Thanks to this program, some participating non-profits have doubled the number of diapers they can distribute to low-income families with the same underlying funds . Best of all, the model has proven sustainable for the participating companies, and Jet.com launched a new tool that now allows consumers to support this cause as well. 
• Today, Huggies is announcing a new diaper program providing bulk shipments of diapers to National Diaper Bank Network locations at competitive prices beginning in 2017. Through “No Baby Unhugged”, Huggies and its partners have donated more than 48 million diapers and wipes in 2016 alone.
• Pampers built on its 10-year partnership with Feeding America to donate a total of nearly 19 million diapers and 19 million baby wipes to food banks across the country this year.
• LA-based Baby2Baby is on track to distribute 5 million diapers this year to over 120 non-profit partner organizations across the country - a new record for the organization.
• The Honest Company has donated 3.3 million diapers and 1 million other baby, personal care, and household products to the National Diaper Bank Network and other community partners this year.

Today the White House wants to pause to recognize the continued commitment of these organizations to closing the #DiaperGap, and their amazing progress to date.

Though the progress is encouraging, there is still more work to do to ensure that all families have access to the basics their babies need.  Find out how you can get involved today.

How you can get involved:

• Join the conversation online using #DiaperGap
• Share your own story about why it’s important for all families to have access to affordable diapers.
• Host a ”Diaper Drive” in your community.
• Read the President’s take on this need for action in his Mother’s Day Medium Post on the #Diapergap.
• Learn more about barriers in accessing the tools of the new economy and innovative solutions in this “Surge Pricing for Diapers” Medium post.
• Find out what public health issues are at stake in this post by Cecilia Muñoz. 

Luke Tate is the Special Assistant to the President for Economic Mobility.

SEVEN KEY POINTS ON MACROECONOMIC PROGRESS OVER THE LAST EIGHT YEARS

1. According to BEA’s third estimate, real gross domestic product (GDP) increased 3.5 percent at an annual rate in the third quarter of 2016, an upward revision of 0.3 percentage point (p.p.) from the second estimate. Real consumer spending grew a strong 3.0 percent in the third quarter following robust growth in the second quarter. Inventory investment—one of the most volatile components of GDP—added 0.5 percentage point to GDP growth in the third quarter after subtracting 1.2 percentage points in the second quarter. Residential investment declined for the second quarter in a row, though at a slower pace in the third quarter than in the second. Notably, exports grew 10.0 percent at an annual rate in the third quarter, their fastest quarterly growth since late 2013, boosted by a likely transitory jump in agricultural exports.

Real gross domestic income (GDI)—an alternative measure of output—increased 4.8 percent at an annual rate in the third quarter. (In theory, GDP and GDI should be equal, but in practice they usually differ because they use different data sources and methods.) The average of real GDP and real GDI, which CEA refers to as real gross domestic output (GDO), increased 4.1 percent at an annual rate in the third quarter. CEA research suggests that GDO is a better measure of economic activity than GDP (though not typically stronger or weaker).

The 0.3-p.p. upward revision to GDP growth was more than accounted for by upward revisions to consumer spending, business fixed investment, and State and local government spending. However, the overall contour of third-quarter growth was largely unchanged from last month’s second estimate.

2. Strong consumer spending growth over the current recovery has been supported by growth in real incomes, improvements in household balance sheets, and high levels of consumer confidence. Consumer spending accounts for over two-thirds of GDP, and has contributed disproportionately to overall real GDP growth in recent years. This strength in domestic demand reflects improved economic conditions for American households across a wide range of measures. Real wages have grown faster over the current business cycle than in any since the early 1970s (measured peak to peak), and from 2014 to 2015 real median household income increased 5.2 percent, the fastest growth on record. Meanwhile, as a share of disposable income, household debt service—the amount that households must spend on interest and principal payments for their outstanding debt—has fallen sharply in recent years, driven both by low interest rates and by sharp reductions in outstanding household debt relative to income. Taken together, these factors have left households with more disposable income available for consumer purchases. Finally, consumers have been increasingly confident in recent years. As the chart below shows, the University of Michigan index of consumer sentiment—which tends to closely track real consumer spending growth—is close to its highest level in ten years.

3. The recent slowdown in real business fixed investment growth can be explained largely by changes in the rate of U.S. and foreign GDP growth, as discussed in Chapter 2 of the 2017 Economic Report of the President. While business fixed investment—private spending on structures and equipment, as well as expenditures on intellectual property products such as software and research and development (R&D)—constitutes just 12 percent of GDP, it is crucial to long-run growth because it provides workers with more capital and improves technology, thus contributing to productivity growth. Business fixed investment growth has slowed since 2014; while oil-related investment has dragged on overall investment growth due to low oil prices, non-oil related investment growth has slowed somewhat as well. CEA analysis finds that much of the slowdown in investment growth can be explained using an “accelerator model,” which assumes that businesses invest if they expect rising demand growth for their products, meaning that rising GDP growth rates will lead to faster investment growth. The analysis also finds that several factors that have historically impacted investment growth—including credit constraints and other financial stress—have little explanatory power in understanding the recent slowdown. However, because the model predicts that investment follows changes in the rate of GDP growth, it predicts a rebound in the future, since U.S. and global output growth are expected to stabilize or pick up slightly in the years ahead.

4. Ten years after the first signs of decline in the U.S. housing market, housing activity and investment have gradually recovered, with room for future expansion. Recovery in the housing sector has been supported by strong job growth, rising real wages, and low mortgage rates, with growth in real residential investment outpacing overall real GDP growth over the course of the recovery from the Great Recession. Even with the solid growth in recent years, there is room for further expansion in residential construction. As the chart below shows, housing starts remain well below the level needed to keep pace with population growth, household formation, and typical rates of housing stock replacement. CEA analysis suggests that excess housing supply from overbuilding during the 2000s has been more than offset by underbuilding in recent years. Low household formation, particularly among young adults, may be playing a role in reducing demand for housing. On the supply side, local barriers to housing development in high-demand areas may also be one factor holding back new residential construction. Still, residential investment has further room to grow in future quarters, presenting upside potential for domestic demand in the near-to-medium term. 

5. Trends in real State and local government purchases have differed sharply from prior business cycles, with meaningful contractions amid budgetary cuts. Although in a typical recovery State and local spending tends to grow quickly and at a similar pace as in the pre-recession period, State and local spending contracted sharply in the current business cycle and, after seven years, has still not rebounded to its pre-crisis levels. During the four quarters of 2010, State and local purchases subtracted 0.5 percentage point from GDP growth and then subtracted about another 0.3 percentage point in both 2011 and 2012. Spending in this sector stabilized in 2013, added modestly to GDP growth during the four quarters of 2014 and 2015, and had a negligible impact on GDP during the first three quarters of 2016. Real State and local government purchases, as well as State and local government employment, remain below their respective pre-crisis levels. If State and local government purchases had increased at the average rate of expansions excluding the current cycle (as shown in the chart below), real GDP growth would have been approximately 0.4 percentage point faster per year on average in the current recovery. Due in part to contractions in State and local government spending, total real government purchases are below their level at the business cycle peak in 2007; in other words, all of the growth in real GDP in the current business cycle is attributable to the private sector.

6. Growth in U.S. exports closely tracks global demand, with slowing global growth creating key headwinds to U.S. growth in recent years. The volume of U.S. exports to foreign countries is sensitive to foreign GDP growth, and, as shown in the chart below, four-quarter foreign GDP growth—when weighting countries by their relative importance to U.S. trade—explains much of the variance in U.S. export growth. Over the last five years, global growth has consistently underperformed relative to forecasts, and in its October World Economic Outlook, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) revised down its forecast of global growth for the four quarters of 2016. Still, the IMF currently forecasts global growth to pick up in 2017, suggesting less downward pressure on U.S. export growth—and on the manufacturing sector, which tends to be more export-oriented than other industries—from weak foreign demand going forward.

7. The aging of the U.S. population, a trend that will continue in the coming years, has placed constraints on growth in potential real GDP. The growth of the working-age (15-64) population in the United States has slowed notably in recent decades, putting downward pressure on labor force participation and real GDP growth. The working-age population grew 1.4 percent at an annual rate in the 1960s through the 1980s, but just 0.6 percent during the current business cycle. (The rate of growth of the prime-age [25-54] population has declined even more steeply, and the prime-age population even contracted between 2012 and 2015.) The decline in the growth rate of the working-age population is expected to continue through 2028, suggesting continued demographic headwinds to overall growth for at least the next decade. As noted in Chapter 2 of the 2017 Economic Report of the President, research has found that demographic shifts towards an older workforce may have also reduced productivity growth in recent years, though projections of the composition of the labor force suggest that the drag on productivity from demographics may soon abate. Still, slowing productivity growth remains a key structural challenge that the United States shares with all other major advanced economies.

As the Administration stresses every quarter, GDP figures can be volatile and are subject to substantial revision. Therefore, it is important not to read too much into any single report, and it is informative to consider each report in the context of other data as they become available.

Today, in order to ready the United States for a future in which artificial intelligence (AI) plays a growing role, the White House released a report on Artificial Intelligence, Automation, and the Economy. This report follows up on the Administration’s previous report, Preparing for the Future of Artificial Intelligence, which was released in October 2016, and which recommended that the White House publish a report on the economic impacts of artificial intelligence by the end of 2016.

Accelerating AI capabilities will enable automation of some tasks that have long required human labor. These transformations will open up new opportunities for individuals, the economy, and society, but they will also disrupt the current livelihoods of millions of Americans. The new report examines the expected impact of AI-driven automation on the economy, and describes broad strategies that could increase the benefits of AI and mitigate its costs.

AI-driven automation will transform the economy over the coming years and decades. The challenge for policymakers will be to update, strengthen, and adapt policies to respond to the economic effects of AI.

Although it is difficult to predict these economic effects precisely, the report suggests that policymakers should prepare for five primary economic effects:

• Positive contributions to aggregate productivity growth;
• Changes in the skills demanded by the job market, including greater demand for higher-level technical skills;
• Uneven distribution of impact, across sectors, wage levels, education levels, job types, and locations;
• Churning of the job market as some jobs disappear while others are created; and
• The loss of jobs for some workers in the short-run, and possibly longer depending on policy responses.

There is substantial uncertainty about how strongly these effects will be felt and how rapidly they will arrive. It is possible that AI will not have large, new effects on the economy, such that the coming years are subject to the same basic workforce trends seen in recent decades—some of which are positive, and others which are worrisome and may require policy changes. At the other end of the range of possibilities, the economy might experience a larger shock, with accelerating changes in the job market, and significantly more workers in need of assistance and retraining as their skills no longer match the demands of the job market. Given available evidence, it is not possible to make specific predictions, so policymakers must be prepared for a range of potential outcomes. At a minimum, some occupations such as drivers and cashiers are likely to face displacement from or a restructuring of their current jobs.

Because the effects of AI-driven automation will be felt across the whole economy, and the areas of greatest impact may be difficult to predict, policy responses must be targeted to the whole economy. In addition, the economic effects of AI-driven automation may be difficult to separate from those of other factors such as other forms of technological change, globalization, reduction in market competition and worker bargaining power, and the effects of past public policy choices. Even if it is not possible to determine how much of the current transformation of the economy is caused by each of these factors, the policy challenges raised by the disruptions remain, and require a broad policy response.

In the cases where it is possible to direct mitigations to particularly affected places and sectors, those approaches should be pursued. But more generally, the report suggests three broad strategies for addressing the impacts of AI-driven automation across the whole U.S. economy:

1. Invest in and develop AI for its many benefits;
2. Educate and train Americans for jobs of the future; and
3. Aid workers in the transition and empower workers to ensure broadly shared growth.

The report details what can be done to execute on these strategies. Continued engagement between government, industry, technical and policy experts, and the public should play an important role in moving the Nation toward policies that create broadly shared prosperity, unlock the creative potential of American companies and workers, advance diversity and inclusion of the technical community in AI, and ensure the Nation’s continued leadership in the creation and use of AI.
Beyond this report, more work remains, to further explore the policy implications of AI. Most notably, AI creates important opportunities in cyberdefense, and can improve systems to detect fraudulent transactions and messages. 

Today, President Obama granted clemency to 231 deserving individuals — the most individual acts of clemency granted in a single day by any president in this nation’s history. With today’s 153 commutations, the President has now commuted the sentences of 1,176 individuals, including 395 life sentences. The President also granted pardons to 78 individuals, bringing his total number of pardons to 148. Today’s acts of clemency — and the mercy the President has shown his 1,324 clemency recipients — exemplify his belief that America is a nation of second chances.

The 231 individuals granted clemency today have all demonstrated that they are ready to make use — or have already made use — of a second chance. While each clemency recipient’s story is unique, the common thread of rehabilitation underlies all of them. For the pardon recipient, it is the story of an individual who has led a productive and law-abiding post-conviction life, including by contributing to the community in a meaningful way. For the commutation recipient, it is the story of an individual who has made the most of his or her time in prison, by participating in educational courses, vocational training, and drug treatment. These are the stories that demonstrate the successes that can be achieved — by both individuals and society — in a nation of second chances.

Today’s grants signify the President’s continued commitment to exercising his clemency authority through the remainder of his time in office. In 2016 alone, the President has granted clemency to more than 1,000 deserving individuals. The President continues to review clemency applications on an individualized basis to determine whether a particular applicant has demonstrated a readiness to make use of his or her second chance, and I expect that the President will issue more grants of both commutations and pardons before he leaves office. The mercy that the President has shown his 1,324 clemency recipients is remarkable, but we must remember that clemency is a tool of last resort and that only Congress can achieve the broader reforms needed to ensure over the long run that our criminal justice system operates more fairly and effectively in the service of public safety.

Neil Eggleston is White House Counsel to the President.

My name is Julia de la Rosa, and I am a Cuban cuentapropista -- or Cuban entrepreneur. Over 20 years ago, my husband and I started our own business in Cuba providing lodging and transportation to visitors in our neighborhood in Havana. Everything about my business was on a very small scale: We had two bedrooms and one old car, and we did almost everything ourselves.

Today marks two years from when the President decided to normalize America's relationship with my country.

As a cuentapropista, I watched this historic change help my business grow in ways I would have never expected. The demand for our services dramatically increased with the growing number of visitors, so we had the opportunity to expand. We now run a real bed and breakfast with 10 bedrooms, and have 17 people working with us as we provide services 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Now, we’re starting a small taxi company, as transportation requests have increased -- especially in old, classic cars. Thanks to these new times, we can even come to the U.S. to buy pieces to restore our eight American cars.

And this change has made a difference for Americans, too.

More than 500,000 Americans visited Cuba last year. Ten U.S. airlines are flying between American and Cuba citizens. And American cruise lines will soon start pulling into our ports. That’s going to mean a lot for Cuba’s development. 

But this new relationship has not only changed my business, it’s changed my life. Like many others Cubans, I have family in the U.S., and thanks to President Obama’s decision to re-establish relations, my biggest dream could finally come true -- to travel to Miami to meet my father's family. I am incredibly grateful to President Obama for his leadership in forging this historic change for the U.S. and Cuba, and for what it will mean to both the Cuban and American people for generations to come.

Hope to see you in Havana soon,

Julia de la Rosa

Transcript | MP4 | MP3

Dig Deeper

Today, as part of HUD’s ConnectHome initiative to bring high-speed internet to low-income households with school-aged children in HUD-assisted housing, T-Mobile, the City of New York, and the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) have committed to do their part to close the digital divide in New York. I joined Mayor Bill De Blasio, NYCHA, and T-Mobile executives to announce that 5,000 internet-connected tablets will be given to families with children living in public housing in the Bronx.

We’ve come a long way since July 2015, when President Obama launched ConnectHome 1,500 miles away from New York in Choctaw Nation. At the time, President Obama stressed the urgency of closing what’s known as the “homework gap.” It’s the digital divide at home that prevents children from accessing the tools and resources needed to be successful at school. At HUD, we know that in a 21st century global economy, this gap is quickly leaving too many folks behind. High-speed internet access is no longer a luxury — it’s a necessity.

Today’s announcement reflects the promise of ConnectHome by bringing the private and public sectors together to unlock the power of high-speed internet for low-income families. Each tablet has been donated by our latest national stakeholder, T-Mobile, and will be connected to high-speed internet through sharply discounted service paid for by the City of New York. Together, the commitment will have a tremendous impact, opening the doors of opportunity for thousands of deserving kids and families in New York.

It also builds on tremendous collaboration seen in the 28 ConnectHome pilot communities across the country. internet Service Providers, including Cox Communications, AT&T, Google Fiber, and Comcast, have each extended free or low-cost internet offers that together reach 43 states and hundreds of thousands of public housing residents. In addition, to ensure that families make the most of their new connections, organizations like EveryoneOn, Boys & Girls Club, College Board, Common Sense Media, Best Buy, and GitHub are providing technical training, digital literacy and college prep programs, and devices for newly connected families. From Rockford, Illinois, to Washington, DC, to Kansas City, Missouri, ConnectHome has spurred new innovations in public-private partnerships that are changing tens of thousands of lives.

The federal government has an important role to play in closing the digital divide and creating opportunity for low-income families. Today’s announcement coincides with the completion of two new rules this week that will encourage — and in some cases require — public housing authorities to install high-speed internet infrastructure in new construction and significant rehabilitation projects. And to help communities do more to get kids connected and conduct digital literacy trainings, HUD and the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) will deploy a cohort of AmeriCorps VISTA members to support the ConnectHome Initiative throughout the 28 pilot communities.

Last week, I had the opportunity to meet Hayden Stonebarger, a 14-year-old member of Choctaw Nation who was inspired by President Obama’s challenge. He’s a member of the Choctaw Nation Youth Advisory Board (YAB), an organization of students who strive to make a difference in their community. Through the YAB’s work on the local ConnectHome program, Hayden helps connect the elders of his community to the internet and shows them how to access vital resources like ordering their medicine online. These connections also help to bridge generations by empowering elders to share their life experiences and traditional culture with the students, while providing them a regular visit to look forward to. With help from ConnectHome, Choctaw Nation has been able to offer no-cost internet service and devices to all of its residents living in HUD-assisted housing.

As President Obama has said, programs like ConnectHome work because community leaders, nonprofits, and the private sector are all stepping up to do their part. Success will require everyone to be involved and engaged to ensure a bright future for our children. At HUD, we are proud to answer the President’s call to action to open the doors of opportunity to every American.

—President Obama at the 2016 Hanukkah celebration 

This week, President and First Lady Obama welcomed more than 1,000 people to join in two White House Hanukkah receptions. Over the past eight years, the President has established a tradition of inviting special guests to light Menorahs of great significance here in the White House. In his final year, the President invited family members of the late Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel and the late Israeli Prime Minister and President Shimon Peres to join him and the First Lady in celebrating Hanukkah.

The Menorah at the first reception was made in kindergarten by Shira Wiesel, the granddaughter of Elie Wiesel. This menorah, though young in shelf life, carries with it the enduring spirit of a people, and of a special family. Elie Wiesel bore witness to one of the darkest chapters in history. He devoted his life to shedding light on the horrors of the Holocaust through acclaimed books like “Night.” Shira’s menorah is more than the innocent creativity of a young school child. It is a testament to the resilience of a family and of a people; it is a flicker of hope in the promise of a new generation; it is the next chapter to the living memorial that was and will forever be Elie Wiesel.

Watch the President's remarks at the afternoon Hanukkah reception: 

The Menorah in the second reception belongs to the family of late Israeli President Shimon Peres. During the Holocaust, the menorah was entrusted to a righteous neighbor, who promised to safeguard it in case the family was captured. But one year later, despite the risks, the family quietly locked the doors and closed the windows. They unpacked the menorah and lit the candles to remember and honor the miracle of the Hanukkah story. Days later, German officers raided and burned down the neighbor’s house. All was destroyed, except this menorah.

The Walden family survived the raid and the war, and eventually moved to Israel in 1952. Among their meager belongings, they brought their menorah. Two decades later, their son Raphael married Tsvia Peres, the only daughter of Sonia and Shimon Peres, one of Israel’s founding fathers and most prominent lights. The two families have since gathered together every Hanukkah to light this menorah and recall the miracle of its existence and the Jewish people’s continued survival.

Both of the these Menorahs underscore the spirit of Hanukkah and remind us that light will prevail even in the darkest of times. We are honored to light the Menorah for the last time at the White House alongside both the Wiesel and Peres families.

Watch the President's remarks at the evening Hanukkah reception: 

From all of us at the White House, Chag Orim Sameach and Happy Hanukkah!

This morning, the Council of Economic Advisers released the 71st annual Economic Report of the President. This year’s Report reviews the economic record of the Obama Administration, focusing both on how successful policies have promoted economic growth that is robust and widely shared and on the work that remains in the years ahead.

As discussed in Chapter 1 of the Report, the robust response to the crisis in 2008 and 2009 helped avert a second Great Depression. After eight years of recovery, it is easy to forget how close the U.S. economy came to another depression during the crisis. In fact, by a number of macroeconomic measures—including household wealth, employment, and trade flows—the first year of the Great Recession saw declines that were as large as or even substantially larger than at the outset of the Great Depression in 1929-30. However, the forceful policy response by the Obama Administration and partners across the Federal Government—including the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and subsequent fiscal actions, the auto industry rescue, a robust monetary policy response, and actions to stabilize the financial sector—combined with the resilience of American businesses and families to help stave off a second Great Depression. As a result, the unemployment rate has been cut from a peak of 10.0 percent in the wake of the crisis to 4.6 percent in November, falling further and faster than expected.

The U.S. economy has made strong progress in the eight years since the crisis across a broad range of macroeconomic measures, as discussed in Chapter 2 of the Report. As of the third quarter of 2016, the U.S. economy was 11.5 percent larger than its peak before the crisis. The economy has added 14.8 million jobs over 74 months, the longest streak of total job growth on record. Since early 2010, U.S. businesses have added 15.6 million jobs. Real wage growth has been faster in the current business cycle than in any since the early 1970s, and wage growth has accelerated in recent years. The combination of strong employment and wage growth has led to rising incomes for American families. From 2014 to 2015, real median household income grew by 5.2 percent, the fastest annual growth on record, and the United States saw its largest one-year drop in the poverty rate since the 1960s. 

The response to the crisis averted a sharper downturn and put the economy back on a path to sustainable, shared growth. Even so, a number of decades-long trends that preceded the crisis still remained, preventing middle-class Americans from seeing gains in their incomes and standards of living. Addressing these barriers to inclusive growth has been the cornerstone of the Administration’s economic policy:

The tax and health care policies President Obama fought for and signed into law represent a historic accomplishment in reducing inequality, as discussed in Chapter 3 of the Report. Together, changes in tax policy and the coverage provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will increase the share of after-tax income received by the bottom quintile of households in 2017 by 18 percent—equivalent to more than a decade of average income gains—and the share received by the second quintile by 6 percent. At the same time, these actions will reduce the share received by the top 1 percent by 7 percent. Tax changes enacted since 2009 have boosted the share of after-tax income received by the bottom 99 percent of families by more than the tax changes of any previous administration since at least 1960, and President Obama has overseen the largest increase in Federal investment to reduce inequality since the Great Society programs of the Johnson Administration.

As discussed in Chapter 4 of the Report, the Administration has made extraordinary progress in ensuring that all Americans have access to affordable, high-quality health care. Because of the ACA, approximately 20 million additional adults now have health insurance, and the uninsured rate stands at its lowest level ever. Evidence demonstrates that broader insurance coverage is improving access to care, health, and financial security for the newly insured, while reducing the burden of uncompensated care for the health care system as a whole. The ACA has also provided key consumer protections and improvements for those who already had health insurance. Meanwhile, prices of health care goods and services have grown at a slower rate under the ACA than during any comparable period since these data began in 1959, and recent years have also seen exceptionally slow growth in per-enrollee spending in both public programs and private insurance.

President Obama has overseen significant new investments and reforms in higher education, as noted in Chapter 5 of the Report. To help expand college opportunity, the President doubled investments in higher education affordability through Pell Grants and the American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC). To help more students choose a college that provides a solid investment, the Administration provided the most comprehensive and accessible information about college costs and outcomes through the College Scorecard, simplified the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), and protected students from low-quality schools through a package of important consumer protection regulations, including the landmark Gainful Employment regulations. To help borrowers manage debt after college, income-driven repayment options like the President’s Pay as You Earn (PAYE) plan have allowed borrowers to cap their monthly student loan payments at as little as 10 percent of discretionary income and have expanded repayment periods, better aligning the timing of student loan payments with the timing of earnings benefits from attending college (which are typically realized over a longer time horizon). CEA analysis finds that the Pell Grant expansions since 2008-09 enabled at least 250,000 students to access or complete a college degree in 2014-15, leading to an additional $20 billion in aggregate earnings, a nearly two-to-one return on investment.

Reforms to the financial system, reviewed in Chapter 6 of the Report, have made the sector more resilient and curtailed the risky behavior that set off the crisis. Financial reforms under the Obama Administration have helped make the financial system more secure by requiring financial firms to hold more liquid assets, increase capital levels, and reduce risk-taking. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act reshaped the regulatory landscape, bringing shadow banking institutions under the regulatory umbrella, creating a body charged with a holistic view of systemic risk, and creating a new agency charged with protecting consumers in their financial interactions. The recovering economy and implementation of financial reform have been accompanied by strong performance of a wide variety of financial market indicators. Banks are healthier and stronger; regulators are better able to monitor for systemic risk; once-opaque derivatives markets are safer and more transparent; credit ratings agencies are subject to more effective oversight and increased transparency; and investor protections have been strengthened. Banks and other financial institutions now abide by rules designed to make them safer and end the threat of “too-big-to-fail.”

Finally, the Administration has provided global leadership in fighting climate change through a diverse set of policy approaches, as noted in Chapter 7 of the Report. In early 2009, the President signed into law a historic investment of more than $90 billion in clean energy through ARRA, helping to spur both a dramatic increase in clean energy capacity and advances in clean energy technology. The President’s 2013 Climate Action Plan mapped out a new framework for the transition to a more energy-efficient economy with lower greenhouse gas emissions. Other steps included the first-ever Federal greenhouse gas pollution standards for power plants, light-duty cars and trucks, and commercial trucks, buses, and vans; investments in research and development to support innovative clean energy technologies; enhanced incentives for renewable energy and improvements in the energy efficiency of homes and appliances; and stronger international cooperation, including via the historic Paris Agreement. The Administration has used rigorous regulatory impact analysis to ensure that environmental regulations are undertaken in an efficient and cost-effective manner. There are already signs of progress: while the U.S. economy has continued to grow, it is becoming less energy- and carbon-intensive as both our fossil fuel mix becomes cleaner (due to rising natural gas use) and renewable energy takes an increasingly large role in U.S. energy generation. U.S. carbon dioxide emissions from the energy sector fell by 9.5 percent from 2008 to 2015, and in the first half of 2016 were at their lowest level in 25 years.

While the Administration has taken great strides in promoting stronger and more widely shared growth, much work remains in the years ahead. Productivity growth—an important determinant of increases in living standards—has slowed across advanced economies, including the United States (though U.S. productivity growth has still been faster than that of any other G-7 economy). The United States has seen a faster increase in inequality in recent decades than any of the major advanced economies, and despite the historic progress made over the last eight years, the level of U.S. inequality remains high. Labor force participation faces headwinds both from the aging of the U.S. population and from the long-run challenge of declining participation by Americans in their prime working years. And more work remains to ensure that economic growth is sustainable and does not come at the expense of future prosperity by taking steps to protect against future recessions and by addressing both the short- and long-run effects of climate change.

The actions undertaken by the Obama Administration in the midst of the crisis not only helped prevent a second Great Depression, they set the U.S. economy on a path to becoming stronger, more resilient, and better positioned for the 21st century. In the years ahead, promoting inclusive, sustainable growth will remain the key objective. While much work remains, the experience of the past eight years shows that, by acting decisively and by choosing the right policies for working Americans, the United States can build a stronger and more prosperous economy for generations to come.

Sandra Black and Jay Shambaugh are Members of the Council of Economic Advisers. Matt Fiedler is Chief Economist at the Council of Economic Advisers.

President Obama will deliver remarks at the Summit to lift up what’s working and applaud efforts to scale and sustain this critical work for the long-term. Here’s how you can get involved and take action right now.

#IamMBK Digital Day of Action:

Today, Wednesday, December 14, we are launching a #IamMBK Day of Action to encourage more Americans to become mentors and do their part to help all kids achieve their dreams.

Visit the Digital Day of Action website for more details, including sample tweets, shareable graphics, and videos you can post. Here’s a quick summary of how you can post, share, and tweet your support of this critical work.

1. Post your support: Share with your followers the reasons that you support My Brother’s Keeper using the hashtag #IamMBK on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

2. Share an infographic: Lift up the #IamMBK Digital Day of Action and help ignite the conversation by posting an infographic and driving your followers to mentor.gov to get involved.

3. Share a mentoring image: Post of an image of a child you’ve mentored or of an individual that has mentored you. Tell your audience a little about that person in your post and direct them to mentor.gov to sign up to become a mentor. Don’t forget to include #IamMBK!

4. Share a video: Record a video/snap telling your followers about the importance of mentorship and encouraging them to get involved in their local MBK community; direct them to mentor.gov to learn more. Don’t forget to include #IamMBK!

MBK National Summit Livestream:

Watch President Obama’s remarks at 4:45pm ET, and be sure to check out the dynamic speakers at the forefront of the MBK movement. Access the livestream from 12:30pm ET to 6:30pm ET at WH.gov/live. See more information below on the sessions and speakers you won’t want to miss.

The MBK Summit is being co-hosted by the White House, the U.S. Department of Education, the MBK Alliance, Bloomberg Associates, and the Executives’ Alliance for Boys and Men of Color. See the line-up of speakers and sessions below.

12:30 PM: Opening & Welcome Remarks

• Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor to the President
• Michael Smith, Special Assistant to the President and Director of My Brother’s Keeper
• Rafael López, Commissioner of the Administration on Children, Youth and Families (ACYF), Department of Health and Human Services

1 PM: Panel: MBK: Youth Voices

• Frank Cobbs IV, Participant in MBK-Fulton County, GA and student at St. Johns College, NYC
• Devin Edwards, Participant in MBK-Boston and student at Bunker Hill Community College, Boston MA
• Luis Ramirez, Participant in MBKA Oakland Career and Opportunity Fair
• Jamal Jones, Baltimore Algebra Project

1:40 PM: Panel: Shaping Policy, Transforming Lives

• Wade Henderson, President and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights
• Broderick Johnson, Assistant to the President and Chair of the My Brother’s Keeper Task Force
• Tom Perez, Secretary of the Department of Labor
• John King, Secretary of the Department of Education
• Rashad Robinson, Executive Director, Color of Change

2:20 PM: Panel: MBK Communities: Infrastructure and Impact

• Linda Gibbs, Principal, Bloomberg Associates
• Mayor Martin J. Walsh, Boston, MA
• Mayor Betsy Hodges, Minneapolis, MN
• Assemblyman Michael Blake, Bronx, NY
• Sarah Eagle Heart (Oglala Lakota), CEO, Native Americans in Philanthropy
• Malachi Hernandez, Participant in MBK-Boston

3 PM: Panel: The Power of a Mentor; Igniting a Movement

• David Dietz, Specialist, Social Responsibility, The National Basketball Association
• Bob Lanier, NBA Hall of Famer
• Dr. William R. Hite, Superintendent of The School District of Philadelphia, Success Mentor
• Jerron Hawkins, White House Mentee and student at Howard University, Washington, DC

3:40 PM: Fireside Chat with Former Mayor Michael Nutter, Philadelphia, PA and Quamiir Trice, Participant in MBK-Philadelphia and student at Howard University, Washington, DC

4:10 PM: Implicit Bias Training led by Bryant Marks, Ph.D, Commissioner, White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans

4:45 PM: Remarks by the President

5:10 PM: Panel: All Hands on Deck: Cross-Sector Solutions for Change

• Blair Taylor, CEO, My Brother’s Keeper Alliance
• Tonya Allen, President and CEO, Skillman Foundation
• Christopher Oechsli, President and CEO, The Atlantic Philanthropies
• Tony West, Executive Vice President, Government Affairs, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, PepsiCo
• Lashon Amado, Opportunity Youth United

Baltimore is home to dedicated and creative public servants inside and out of government, many of whom are national leaders and experts in their field. Working with these leaders and with Maryland’s Congressional Delegation, the Taskforce focused on jobs, public health and safety. The Taskforce also prioritized investing in the long-term prosperity of the city through transportation, infrastructure, and the environment.

Today, the White House is releasing a new report that highlights the progress of the Taskforce and its accomplishments over the past eighteen months.

For example, to help address Baltimore’s unemployment rate, the Taskforce focused on creating new workforce programs, providing new opportunities for young people, and supporting small businesses. The Department of Labor funded One Baltimore for Jobs, a new initiative out of the Mayor’s Office that has helped hundreds of Baltimoreans land new jobs. In collaboration with the Taskforce and many public and private sector partners, Baltimore City also successfully grew the city’s youth summer jobs program by 60%, creating new professional opportunities for 6,000 young people over the course of two summers.

To address public safety and public health, the Taskforce focused on protecting young people in and out of school, funding programs to make streets and neighborhoods safer, and reforming the Baltimore Police Department. For example, the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services identified $1 million in funding over two years to keep Baltimore City Health Department’s Safe Streets program alive. With this funding, the Baltimore City Health Department was able to sustain and expand current violence prevention efforts in Park Heights, Sandtown Winchester, Cherry Hill and East Baltimore, and significantly reduce gun violence among youth ages 14 to 24.

To lay the foundations for future prosperity, the Taskforce focused on investing in transportation, establishing new anchor institutions and commercial hubs, improving Baltimore’s parks and green spaces, increasing food access, and building civic capacity. For example, the Department of Transportation supported Baltimore City and the State of Maryland with two $10 million TIGER transportation grants for the Port of Baltimore and for improvements to North Avenue, respectively.

In many cases, from public health to workforce programs, the initiatives up and running in Baltimore are becoming national models, reflecting the commitment and caliber of the city’s citizens and leaders. 

The Administration’s work in Baltimore reflects a broader push by President Obama to change how the Federal government works with cities, towns, and other communities. The President’s “community solutions” approach emphasizes closer coordination, data-based decision-making, and rigorous evaluation.

Citizens and local leaders in communities like Baltimore need a Federal Government that is more effective, responsive, and collaborative in addressing their needs and challenges. Far too often, the Federal Government has taken a “one-size-fits-all” approach to working with communities and left local leaders on their own to navigate Federal resources and programs.

Responding to the call for change from local officials and leaders nationwide, and grounded in the belief that the best solutions come from the bottom up, not from the top down, under the Obama Administration, Federal agencies have increasingly taken on a different approach to working with communities to deliver better outcomes in more than 1,800 cities, towns, regions, and tribal communities nationwide. The Federal-local partnership in the City of Baltimore exemplifies the Administration’s “Community Solutions” approach, which calls for an integrated Federal government to align resources and cultivate working relationships with local stakeholders to respond to the needs of the community.

Because of the groundwork that the Obama Administration has laid, the Federal government will continue to take a “community solutions” approach in its work in Baltimore and other cities, ensuring that the progress that the Taskforce has made in Baltimore is only the foundation for future Federal investments and partnerships.

Nate Loewentheil, Special Assistant to President for Economic Policy 

Read the Vice President's Message Watch the President's Remarks

Today, President Obama signed into law the 21st Century Cures Act, bipartisan legislation that will go a long way toward bringing about the medical breakthroughs we need to meet some of the biggest health challenges facing Americans today. No matter what corner of the country you live in, you or someone in your life has been touched by cancer, the opioid epidemic, devastating illnesses or serious mental health issues. The Cures Act makes significant investments in innovative technologies and research that could find a cure for Alzheimer's, end cancer as we know it, and help those who are seeking treatment for opioid addiction. 

Read these three letters to learn why President Obama is so committed to investing in the future of health in America. 

Eugene Ammon, Jr., Columbus, OH

Transcript: 

Hello Mr. President, my name is Eugene Ammon. I am from Columbus Ohio. I am sending this message in regards to the growing concern in this country about addiction especially the growing number of people who die each year because of this. I personally lost my mother 18 months ago to a heroin overdose and will most likely be attending my sisters funeral, a mother of 3, by the years end as she is also an addict and has been diagnosed with heart problems and Hep C. Both i assume due to her addiction and her life style that has led her to being arrested for soliciting more times than i can count. 

My concern is that this has opened my eyes as to how only those with an abundance of resources have steady and consistent access to the treatment necessary to actually treat themselves. My sister was recently released out into the world, again, without anywhere to go as waiting lists for facilities combined with over crowding in the jail system meant she would be put in a position no one could possibly succeed in. 

There are facilities available but they need you to be insured. To be blunt but even with the expanded access to health insurance this is not something a prostitute with a heroin problem is walking around with. 

Let me be clear that her decisions are hers and hers alone. They were my mothers decisions. However I cant help but wonder what kind of difference it would make if one could have access to this kind of help the moment they wanted it. I feel there are enough resources to make this a reality, I also think this would be cheaper over the long run than the countless unpaid ER visits that are occurring everyday from things like overdoses and infections. 

Its too late for my family. Its too late for me. Its not too late for countless others. 

I don't know what they policy answers are. I as an average american can only reach out to those who might with what i see as a problem and hope someone notices or cares. I do know this is health crisis not just a criminal one and i hope for a policy approach sooner rather than later that will deal with this as such. 

If you or anyone happens to read this i thank you for your time. 

More Americans now die every year from drug overdoses than in motor vehicle crashes, and the majority involve opioids. The Cures Act invests $1 billion dollars to combat the heroin and prescription opioid epidemic, as the President’s called for in his budget. The Administration is committed to ensuring that these funds are disbursed quickly and effectively starting in early 2017.

The Opioid Epidemic

KathRYn Green, Santa Monica, California

Transcript: 

Dear President Obama and Vice President Biden,

My name is Kathryn Green and I'm a mother of a 14 month old daughter, a high school teacher in Los Angeles, and a wife of a husband who is battling brain cancer. While this is the first time I'm writing to offer my deepest condolences for the loss of the Vice President's son, his family was in my prayers upon hearing the news, and will continue to be. I read in the news this morning that the Vice President was visiting the Fred Hutchinson Research Center on Monday, and I wanted to thank him for continuing to bring this terrible disease into the spotlight, and thank you both for being that ever-hopeful light in finding a way to manage cancer with your Moonshot initiative. I sat with my daughter on my lap and listened to the State of the Union address, and at one years old, I was delighted that she clapped along as the audience applauded. There are so many problems and issues that need healing in this country, and I'm deeply grateful that both President Obama and Vice President Biden are standing with the patients, families, and communities who have been touched by this disease. I will continue to follow your administrations lead and support you in your endeavors, however they manifest over the next few months and years. It is with the most sincerity and humbleness that I ask for your office to continue supporting the institutes, scientists, and research centers, who will, no doubt. be the harbinger of a bright future in a diagnosis which sees only dark clouds ahead. Thank you again for all of the work you have done, and will continue to do. I will be cheering from the sidelines, and envisioning better days to come. 

Warmly,

Kathryn Green

In his last State of the Union address, President Obama asked Vice President Joe Biden to be at the head of "mission control" in a new moonshot effort to end cancer as we know it. The Cancer Moonshot's ultimate goal is to make a decade’s worth of advances in cancer prevention, diagnosis, and treatment, in five years. The Cures Act invests $1.8 billion in this initiative -- important funding that will support investment in promising new therapies like cancer immunotherapy, new prevention tools, cancer vaccine development, novel early detection tools, and pediatric cancer interventions.  

The Cancer Moonshot

Michelle McRee, Atwater, California 

Michelle McRee first wrote the President in December of 2015 in frustration over her 15-year-old granddaughter's inability to receive the mental health services she needed. She questioned whether the health care law and the U.S. health care system would ever be able to address her daughters needs: "I am sick and I am disgusted with knowing that in a few weeks my grandchild will be coming home with another 'band-aid' to treat her disorders," she wrote. "I live in fear of the day that my daughter will tell me that my grandchild has taken her own life, due to a mental health disorder that she can receive only minimal treatment for." 

The President responded to let her know he was listening and directed his team to help advise her on the best way to find support. This is her letter in response: 

Transcript: 

Dear Mr. President, 

I wanted to take a moment to thank you for listening. Your administration's response and assistance, at your behalf, has shown us how agencies can work together to help families such as ours. When I first wrote to you last fall, about my grandchild's situation and our frustrations in getting the recommended care for her, I did so not just out of frustration but out of bitter anger as well. Since then I have learned a lot. I learned that the resources were already there and had been for quite some time. While it is true that finding these resources is more difficult than it should be, it is up to us parents and guardians to be proactive for our children from the very beginning, not after the fifth hospitalization and out of bitter frustration. 

I blamed you and I blamed your healthcare policy for our struggles and i have since learned that wasn't fair. While I am not a member of your political party (no, I didn't vote for you) and have often been critical of this new healthcare policy, I am forever grateful to you sir, for taking the time to listen, to help, and to make my grandchild's day when she read your letter. 

Since becoming my grandchild's caregiver, and during being the primary caregiver for my parents before their deaths these past couple years, I have lost a lot. I have had to make the choice to give up a job (twice now), I am losing my car due to being financially unable to afford it, and we may have to move soon. Unfortunately. those choices have to be made because our system, both state and federal, does have many gaps. But they were choices that I made fully aware and the only thing that i have lost are just that ... "things", and can be replaced. I cannot replace the time I had with my parents, nor the joy in seeing my grandchild progress daily in learning to cope in healthy ways with her disorders whil still remaining here at home. I cannot replace the gratitude of having one of the best mental health support teams that I have ever had the honor of knowing. And I cannot replace the humbling realization that we can, and are often, wrong in where we place blame. That my government didn't fail my grandchild. My goverment stepped in and provided the professional support for us to help my grandchild. 

Again, I thank you President Obama for what you have done for my family. I wish you and your family many happy years. 

Sincerely,

Michelle R. McRee 

The Cures Act includes bipartisan mental health provisions, including improved coordination between primary care and behavioral health services, reauthorization of important programs focused on suicide prevention and other prevention services, and mental health and substance use disorder parity provisions that build on the work of the President's Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Parity Task Force. 

Mental Health & Substance Abuse Report

The Cures Act also makes a significant investment of nearly $3 billion to continue the President's signature biomedical research initiatives -- the BRAIN and Precision Medicine Initiatives -- over the next decade to tackle diseases like Alzheimer's and create new research models to find cures and better target treatments. 

Read what that Precision Medicine Initiative has meant in another letter writer's life here. Then dig deeper into the medical possibilities and hope that these initiatives -- and support from the Cures Act -- can deliver in the near future. 

Precision Medicine Initiative BRAIN Initiative

Last Monday night, forty-four years after the people of Delaware first sent me to the United States Senate, I presided over a Senate vote for one of the last times.

As Vice President of the United States and president of the Senate, I served as the presiding officer as the Senate moved forward on the 21st Century Cures Act, a bill that will harness America’s best minds in science, medicine, and technology to tackle the biggest health challenges of our time.

This bill will help us combat the heroin and prescription opioid epidemic ripping apart families and communities. It invests in programs to improve mental health treatment and suicide prevention. It will provide resources for President Obama’s BRAIN and Precision Medicine initiatives, so that our world-class researchers can figure out how to better prevent, treat, and eventually cure Alzheimer's, epilepsy, and traumatic brain injuries.

And this is the part that's personal for me and for millions of Americans: The 21st Century Cures Act invests $1.8 billion to help us end cancer as we know it. For over a year, I've been leading our National Cancer Moonshot to fundamentally change the culture of our fight against cancer and inject a sense of urgency into it. This bill goes a long way to help us -- investing in promising new therapies, enhancing prevention and detection efforts in every community regardless of zip code, and bringing us closer to the day when there are vaccines for all kinds of cancer, just as we have them for measles or mumps.

God willing, this bill will save lives.

While I was presiding in the Senate, my colleagues from both sides of the aisle renamed the section of this bill on cancer research for my son, Beau, who lost his battle with brain cancer, but like countless Americans who lost their own battles, inspires us to do everything we can for the loved ones we can save. My thanks goes out to the bipartisan leadership -- Democrats and Republicans in the House and the Senate -- who ensured that this important bill became law. Without this true bipartisan support, this piece of legislation, which will help millions of Americans, would not have been possible.

Today, President Obama will sign the 21st Century Cures Act into law. One last time in our Administration, I will stand right by him at a signing ceremony -- proud of our country, and proud of the work we’ve done to give people hope.

I hope you'll join me.

Thanks,

Joe

To sign up for health care coverage, visit HealthCare.gov or call 1-800-318-2596. 
 

Transcript | MP4 | MP3

You heard it from Shaq himself: on Monday, December 12, the White House will host a competitive gaming event to help people sign up for health care coverage at HealthCare.gov. Tune in to twitch.tv/GetCovered at 4 PM Eastern to join in!

Millions of Americans participate in eSports (that’s Electronic Sports, or competitive video games) to connect with friends, to challenge themselves, to root for their favorite eSports team, and to be part of a rapidly growing community. In fact, more people now watch major eSports competitions than the number of people who watch the NBA finals or World Series.

As eSports grow in popularity and become increasingly mainstream, gamers are increasing in numbers and diversity. About 77 percent of men between ages 18-29 say that they play games, and so do 57 percent of women in the same age group.

Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, 20 million Americans now know the peace of mind and financial security of having health insurance. Young adults had the highest uninsured rates before the Affordable Care Act and have seen the sharpest drop in uninsured rates since 2010. But millions of millennials remain uninsured, and many of those uninsured young adults could qualify for tax credits on the Health Insurance Marketplace to keep insurance affordable. In fact, most HealthCare.gov consumers can find a plan for under $75 a month, less than their cell phone bill.

Gamers, like everyone, deserve high-quality health care coverage. Engaging the expanding gamer community is part of the Administration’s effort to meet people where they are to help them find a health care plan that’s best for them. That’s why last year, many from the eSports industry, including ESL, Twitch.tv and GEER, helped launch an initiative to encourage more gamers to sign up for health care at HealthCare.gov. And this year, HHS has forged innovative partnerships with digital platforms to help young adults understand that quality, affordable health care is within reach.

I know the power of video games first hand, and how incredible the gaming community can be. In high school, I had severe health challenges that led to hospitalization (and fortunately my care was covered as a dependent under my parent’s plan). During my recovery after the hospital, I helped lead a guild in the popular multiplayer online game World of Warcraft. Playing the game was empowering; it gave me a community where I could be myself, and I met players who became lasting friends, like Aceris the Druid, who’s also a librarian in Boston, or Chyra the Healer, who’s also a Maker in Michigan. 

And we also absolutely rekt (humiliatingly defeated) our opponents in PvP (Player versus Player). The competitions brought us together, helped make our group a family, and made us part of a community. We looked out for each other. Gamers have other gamers’ backs FTW (For the Win).

So join us and members of the gaming community for a live-streamed event at twitch.tv/GetCovered on Monday, December 12, and help your fellow gamers #GetCovered at HealthCare.gov.

Erik Martin is a Policy Advisor for the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. 

Growing up, I never once thought that my gender could influence my perceived worth. I was lucky that my mother and father set a standard for me that as long as I worked hard and earned it, I could do anything or be anyone that I wanted, and expect to be treated the same as everybody else.

My mother was an amazing public school teacher, and while the hours were often long and intense, she never questioned whether her work was valued the same as her male counterparts. To a fault, I continued to believe that policies and practices like this were a given, never once wondering if it would be any different in any other sector.

The truth is that fair pay policies are not the norm. Many people are unaware that women and men are not equally paid for equal work. That is, until people start talking about it.

As Director of the White House Business Council, it has been an honor to work for a President and Administration that places such high importance on women’s equality and opportunity. The President signed into law Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act as his first piece of legislation, and the work to support America’s working families has continued from there. He created a National Equal Pay Task Force, signed a Presidential Memorandum directing the Office of Personnel Management to develop a government-wide strategy to address the gender pay gap in the federal workforce, and issued an Executive Order to protect employees from being discriminated against for wanting to inquire or discuss their compensation.

And as part of the United State of Women Summit in June, the White House issued a call to action to America’s businesses, both large and small, to pledge to be open and transparent about their pay-bands and to address unconscious bias and structural barriers.

Today, we’re announcing 44 new employers who have signed on to the Equal Pay Pledge, bringing the total number to over 100 businesses who have embraced equal pay policies and who understand that doing good is also good for business.

Women make up nearly half of the U.S. labor force and more women than ever are the breadwinners in their families. Companies like SoulCycle, whose studio leadership positions are 86 percent held by women, understand that empowering women leads to a thriving culture and business. 
And if companies already implement these types of policies, they understand that those policies are just the beginning, not the end. Companies like Adobe have already published their pay data but will continue their commitment to these measures. Companies like Autodesk know that reviewing their data regularly is important, but so is the constant self-reflection to make sure they are living up to their own standards. 

I am proud to stand with the over 100 businesses who are taking on a critical role to reduce the national gender pay gap and create a world where our daughters have the same chance to pursue their dreams as our sons. 

Learn more about the Equal Pay Pledge, and see the full list of companies that have signed on.

Tens of millions of Americans currently suffer from hearing loss, often age-related, but many either don’t realize they’ve been affected or cannot afford basic hearing aids—which currently cost an average of $2,300 apiece. (That means, for a pair, most consumers are forced to plunk down a hefty sum of more than $4,600.)

Today, consumers can buy simple corrective lenses—reading glasses—over the counter, but the same is not true for hearing aids. And while hearing aids do not restore perfect hearing, allowing over-the-counter sale would facilitate the availability of more innovative, lower-cost products, enabling millions of people who are negatively impacted by hearing loss to better their daily lives. 

Why this matters, by the numbers:

30 million

30 million Americans currently suffer from hearing loss, which is often age-related.

>$2,300

Hearing aids currently cost an average of more than $2,300 apiece (i.e. for both ears, they cost an average of more than $4,600.) Over-the-counter products offer the prospect of bringing these costs down into the hundreds—instead of thousands—of dollars.

< 1/5

Due to the high cost and the overly burdensome steps needed to access hearing aids, fewer than one in five Americans who could benefit from technology to help them hear better actually get the assistance of a hearing aid. Many of these consumers who don’t suffer from severe hearing loss just need help hearing a little better in a loud restaurant, for example.

10,000

Roughly 10,000 Americans are turning 65 every single day. Over 25 percent of Americans aged 60-69 have hearing loss, and that rises to over 50 percent for 70-79 years of age and over 75 percent for Americans aged 80+ years. The ongoing retirement of the baby boomers and increased longevity mean that the number of Americans who could benefit from an over-the-counter hearing aid will only be growing. That’s why AARP and the Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) have both supported allowing an over-the-counter product.

6

Currently only six manufacturers produce nearly all hearing aids, and only one of those companies is based in the United States. Opening up the hearing aid market to innovative, lower-cost, over-the-counter options brings with it the prospect of expanding the number of options for consumers and creating opportunities for economic growth and job creation in the United States. That’s why consumer electronics stakeholders representing innovative American companies have supported expanding the options and technologies available.

So, what happens next?

As a first step toward breaking down barriers, FDA has announced that it does not intend to enforce the requirement for American adults to get a medical evaluation before obtaining most hearing aids. The vast majority of people waive this requirement already. Currently, audiological services are bundled into the overall price of a hearing aid—and the market is constrained by bulk purchasing arrangements between hearing aid dispensers and the major manufacturers. Allowing the sale of over-the-counter hearing aids has the potential to deliver tens of millions of Americans the prospect of better hearing at much lower cost by increasing competition and innovation in the hearing aid market.

In 2015, the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) examined the technology, regulation, and marketplace of hearing aids, leading them to recommend that FDA approve an over-the-counter device.  Now—after a two-year study by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine that also called for an over-the-counter product in alignment with the PCAST recommendation—FDA is announcing it’s ready to take the necessary steps to move forward. Today’s actions are yet another in a series in response to President Obama’s Executive Order promoting competition to benefit consumers, workers, and small businesses.

The Bottom Line

Today’s announcement could start a movement toward over-the-counter hearing aids that will cost a fraction of the $2,300 apiece of current products, helping more of the 30 million Americans who need assistance.

Charlie Anderson is a Special Assistant to the President for Economic Policy. Ashley Predith is the Executive Director of PCAST.