Faith

In June of 2006, then-Senator Obama delivered what was called the most important speech on religion and politics in 40 years. Speaking before an evangelical audience, then-Senator Obama candidly discussed his own religious conversion and doubts, and the need for a deeper, more substantive discussion about the role of faith in American life. He has continued to foster open dialogues on faith across the political spectrum throughout his career.

The President believes a healthy discussion of faith in a pluralistic society includes the need for religious people to translate their concerns into universal, rather than religion-specific, values during public debate, and sincere respect on all sides. President Obama has found common ground in the importance of faith in the global battle against AIDS in particular.

Women

Progress

The President signed an Executive Order establishing a White House Council on Women and Girls to provide a coordinated Federal response to the challenges confronted by women and girls and to ensure that all Cabinet and Cabinet-level agencies consider how their policies and programs impact women and families.

The President signed the Affordable Care Act, which gives all Americans better health security, with a particular focus on women specific needs:

• In 2014, the new law makes it illegal for insurance companies to deny any woman coverage because of a pre-existing condition or charge more because of health status or gender.


• Up to 15 million women who now are unin¬sured could gain subsidized coverage under the law and 14.5 million insured women will benefit from provisions that improve coverage or reduce premiums.


• Access to care is also expanded, including guaranteeing choice of a primary care provider within a plan’s network, including OB-GYNs and pediatricians.

The President signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which included a number of provisions of particular concern to women:

• To help working mothers and fathers obtain quality child care, the Act includes an additional $2 billion for the Child Care and Development Block Grant, $1 billion for Head Start, and $1.1 billion for Early Head Start.


• The Act boosts family incomes by expanding the Child Tax Credit to cover an additional 10 million children in working families and creating a new Make Work Pay tax credit.


• The Act includes unemployment insurance reforms that will particularly benefit women, such as incentives for states to cover part-time workers and those who recently reentered the workforce.


• The Act puts $225 million toward addressing violence against women in communities across the country, creating 5,000 jobs in the process.


• The Act put thousands more police officers on the street, funded mentoring programs for at-risk youth in hundreds of communities and bolstered law enforcement efforts in cases of Internet Crimes Against Children and child exploitation.

The President signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, restoring basic protections against pay discrimination for women and other workers.

• The President created the National Equal Pay Enforcement Task Force (pdf) to bolster enforcement of pay discrimination laws, making sure women get equal pay for an equal day's work.


• The President has called on Congress to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act, which will stop retaliation against employees who share or seek wage information and close a loophole that some employers use to avoid paying women equal wages.

The President cut taxes 16 times for small businesses:

The President signed the Small Business Jobs Act, which includes 8 of these new tax cuts that went into effect immediately:

• Zero Capital Gains Taxes on Key Investments in Small Businesses


• The Highest Small Business Expensing Limit Ever– Up to $500,000


• An Extension of 50% Bonus Depreciation


• A New Deduction for  Health Care Expenses for the Self-Employed


• Tax Relief and Simplification for Cell Phone Deductions


• An Increase in The Deduction for Entrepreneurs’ Start-Up Expenses


• A Five-Year Carryback Of General Business Credits


• Limitations on Penalties for Errors in Tax Reporting That Disproportionately Affect Small Business

As part of the Recovery Act and subsequent legislation in 2009 and 2010, which put the following eight small business tax cuts into law:

• A New Small Business Health Care Tax Credit


• A New Tax Credit for Hiring Unemployed Workers


• Bonus Depreciation Tax Incentives to Support New Investment


• 75% Exclusion of Small Business Capital Gains


• Expansion of Limits on Small Business Expensing


• Five-Year Carry back of Net Operating Losses


• Reduction of the Built-In Gains Holding Period for Small Businesses from 10 to 7 Years to Allow Small Business Greater Flexibility in Their Investments 


• Temporary Small Business Estimated Tax Payment Relief to Allow Small Businesses to Keep Needed Cash on Hand

The President signed into law the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, which puts in place the strongest consumer financial protections in history, including the creation of a new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau led by Elizabeth Warren.

The President proposed doubling the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit for middle-class families making under $85,000 a year, builds on historic increases in Head Start and child care provided in the Recovery Act, and helps states provide paid family leave to workers. 

The President is delivering comprehensive primary care for women Veterans at all VA facilities by 2013, placing full-time Women Veterans Program Managers at 144 health systems and expanding outreach to women Veterans in communities across the country.

The President signed the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, which promotes workplace flexibility and work-family balance.

Guiding Principles

Ensure Economic Security

Our society has made tremendous progress in eradicating barriers to women’s success. Women make up a growing share of our workforce, and more women are corporate executives and business owners than ever before. Today, women are serving at the highest levels of all branches of our Government.

Despite this progress, certain inequalities persist. The income for the typical American woman is still only about 78 cents for every dollar of the median income for the typical man, and women are still significantly underrepresented in the science, engineering, and technology fields.

President Obama believes that women have a right to receive equal pay for equal work.

Promote Work-family Balance

Millions of women and men face the challenge of trying to balance the demands of their jobs and the needs of their families. Too often, caring for a child or an aging parent puts a strain on a career or even leads to job loss. President Obama believes we need flexible work policies, such as paid sick leave, so that working women and men do not have to choose between their jobs and meeting the needs of their families.

Support Reproductive Choice

President Obama has been a consistent champion of reproductive choice and believes in preserving women’s rights under Roe v. Wade. At the same time, he respects those who disagree with him. The President believes we must all come together to help reduce unintended pregnancies and the need for abortion.

Prevent Violence Against Women

Violence against women and girls remains a global epidemic. The Violence Against Women Act, originally authored by Vice President Biden, plays a key role in helping communities and law enforcement combat domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking. At home and abroad, President Obama will work to promote policies that seek to eradicate violence against women.

Urban

Progress

The President signed an Executive Order establishing the White House Office of Urban Affairs.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act included broad support for urban communities.

• To broaden access to affordable housing, the Act provides for $1 billion in increased funding for the Community Development Block Grant; $4 billion in increased public housing capital funds; $2 billion in payments to owners of project based rental assistance properties to keep them affordable; $2 billion in Neighborhood Stabilization Funds to purchase and rehabilitate forclosed homes; and $1.5 billion in Homelessness Prevention Funds to keep people in their homes;


• To expand educational opportunity for low-income students, the Act provides for $13 billion in Title I funds to go to K-12 education in disadvantaged school systems;


• To strengthen workforce development, the Act provides $3.95 billion in increased workforce investment training dollars to keep our workers skilled and to employ young people during the summer;


• To improve energy efficiency, the Act increases the Weatherization Assistance Program by $5 billion, helping low income consumers save on their energy bills while simultaneously training more workers for a growing field;


• To bolster our nation’s transportation infrastructure, the Act provides $1.5 billion in discretionary funding for the Department of Transportation to fund projects of regional or national significance as well as $8 billion to jumpstart high speed rail and connect regions to one another; and,


• The Act also provides $4.7 billion to provide broadband access to underserved areas.

Guiding Principles

President Obama’s urban policy agenda is grounded in the recognition that our nation’s cities and metropolitan areas are vital engines for economic growth, innovation, and opportunity. To maximize economic productivity and opportunity in a 21st Century economy, federal policy must reflect the new metropolitan reality—that strong cities are the building blocks of strong regions, which in turn, are essential for a strong America.

Break Through Traditional Barriers

President Obama believes that the federal government must break from the siloed approach to urban policy development – where each facet of policy operates independently from all others - and replace it with an interdisciplinary approach that appreciates the interdependent nature of issues affecting urban communities. The President’s urban agenda will promote cross-cutting plans to revitalize urban areas, considering housing, transportation, energy, labor, education, and criminal justice policy as a system rather than independent of each other.

Take a Regional Approach

President Obama will also take a regional approach that disregards traditional jurisdictional boundaries, setting policy that takes into account how cities, suburbs, and exurbs interact. President Obama’s urban policy agenda will use this integrated approach to enhance economic competitiveness, sustainability, and equity in our cities and metropolitan areas.

Promote Inclusive Growth

President Obama believes that for our nation to thrive, the federal government must make and promote coordinated and strategic investments in our regions, cities, and neighborhoods that result in inclusive economic growth. The President’s urban policies will therefore seek to avoid creating winners and losers from his urban agenda, but rather will aim to lift up and revitalize urban areas holistically and invest in community development.

Technology

"To help build a new foundation for the 21st century, we need to reform our government so that it is more efficient, more transparent, and more creative."

-PRESIDENT OBAMA, APRIL 25, 2009

Progress

• The President issued a Presidential Memorandum to the heads of executive departments and agencies ordering them to compile recommendations for an open government directive on transparency, participation, and collaboration in government.


• The Recovery Act calls for a comprehensive plan for national broadband, and the FCC is developing a plan due in February, 2010. The Recovery Act also provides for $7.2 billion for broadband internet access nationwide, including grants for rural broadband access, expanding computer center capacity, and sustainable broadband adoption initiatives.


• The President launched Recovery.gov, an unprecedented step to provide transparency and accountability through technology.


• The President issued an Executive Order to restore scientific integrity in government decision-making.


• The President answered questions at the first online town hall from the White House that were submitted and voted on transparently by the public at WhiteHouse.gov


• Established a central portal for Americans to find service opportunities.


• Building New Communities like Business.gov – enabling conversation and online collaboration between small business owners, government representatives and industry experts in discussion forums relevant to starting and managing a business.


• The President appointed the first ever Federal Chief Information Officer to provide management and oversight over federal IT spending and nominated the first ever Federal Chief Technology Officer to provide vision, strategy and direction for using technology to bring innovation to the American economy. They will work together to support innovation inside and outside the Federal Government.

Guiding Principles

Innovation in the Economy: Drive Economic Growth and Solve National Problems By Deploying a 21st Century Information Infrastructure

The President believes that modernized infrastructure is a necessary part of the foundation for long term economic stability and prosperity. That includes everything from a comprehensive national broadband plan, to new health care information technology, to a modernized electrical grid.

The President has also directed the National Security and Homeland Security Advisors to conduct an immediate review of the plan, programs, and activities underway throughout the government dedicated to cyber security. This 60-day interagency review will develop a strategic framework to ensure that U.S. Government cyber security initiatives are appropriately integrated, resourced and coordinated with Congress and the private sector.

Innovation in Science: Invest in Science and Science Education

The President has named Dr. John Holdren, a nationally recognized expert on climate change and nuclear disarmament, as an Assistant to the President and the nation’s Science Advisor, and Dr. Steven Chu, Nobel-prize winner as the Secretary of Energy. These are just two of the many leading science experts who are serving in an Administration committed to science.

Innovation in Public Administration: Creating an Open and Secure Government

Strategic federal IT investments will make Government more transparent and accountable. At the same time, Americans will know that these investments by their Government are being leveraged to produce maximum value, and that the security of information systems nationally, and the privacy of Americans, are being protected. Strategic investments in IT are at the heart of the efforts to make Government services more effective, accessible, and transparent.

Restoring a Culture of Accountability through Openness and Transparency of Government Operations and Information

Moving Toward Unprecedented Openness: Change the presumption under the Freedom of Information Act to favor voluntary disclosure of government information to the public.

Making Critical Government Information Available: Working to provide public access to information of public import and concern, such as the Department of Justice "torture" memos, the President’s and Vice-President’s tax returns, the public financial disclosure reports for White House personnel, and presidential records.

Taxes

Progress

The Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 provides vital tax relief and investments in our workers that will create jobs and accelerate economic growth. The law:

• Extends middle class tax cuts to prevent a typical working family from facing a tax increase of over $2,000 on January 1


• Provides a 2% payroll tax cut to 159 million workers – providing the typical working family with an additional $1,000 tax cut


• Allows businesses to expense 100% of key investments this year  – estimated to spur $50 billion in new investment


• Continues the American Opportunity Tax Credit, which provides up to $10,000 for four years of college and is helping over 9 million students and their families afford higher education


• Extends expansions of the Child Tax Credit and the Earned Income Tax Credit that the President fought for, providing a tax cut for 15.7 million families with about 29.1 million children

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act included a broad range of tax cuts aimed at making the tax code more fair and supporting the middle class:

• 95% of all working families received a tax cut


• 70% of the tax benefits went to the middle 60% of American workers


• Millions of families were lifted out of poverty by the tax cuts in the Recovery Act


• More than $150 billion in tax cuts helped low-income and vulnerable households during the economic recovery


• About 1 Million jobs were created or saved by these tax cuts alone

Guiding Principles

Restoring Fairness

For too long, the U.S. tax code has benefited the wealthy and well-connected at the expense of the vast majority of Americans. President Obama’s aims to restore fairness to the tax system by providing the Making Work Pay tax cut to 95 percent of working families while closing loopholes that prevent wealthy companies and individuals from paying a fair share.

Supporting the Middle Class

The President will also make it easier for more Americans to save for college education, homeownership, and retirement by expanding tax preferences that currently benefit only the wealthy.

Making Taxes Consistent and Simple

In addition, the President supports making refundable tax credits permanent and simplify confusing provisions in the tax code, encouraging saving and creating a tax system that works for all Americans.

Service

Progress

The President signed the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, a hallmark piece of legislation.

• The Serve America Act will increase the size of AmeriCorps from 75,000 volunteers to 250,000 by 2017.


• The Act also creates a Social Innovation Fund that will invest in ideas that are proven to improve outcomes and "what works" funds in federal agencies to promote effective and innovative programs.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act included $201 million in funding for the Corporation for National and Community Service to support an expansion of AmeriCorps State and National and AmeriCorps VISTA programs.
 

Guiding Principles

President Obama has always been a strong supporter of empowering ordinary people to do extraordinary things by improving their local communities through service. President Obama asks how we – through both existing organizations and individual action – can take an active role in America’s economic recovery and improve our fellow citizens’ lives through our service work.

Promote Sustained Civic Engagement

President Obama believes that service consists of more than a "one-off" occasion. He believes that civic engagement and service should be a lifelong commitment whether at the school, community, city, state, or national level. This includes community service, government service, and military service. By empowering people at all stages of their lives and at all levels of society to stand up and help solve problems in their own communities, the federal government will encourage sustained civic engagement that will transform those serving, the communities they help, and the nation as a whole.

Measure Results

President Obama believes in measuring the outcomes of service – not just the hours served or number of volunteers – to enhance what works and avoid using resources on ineffective programs. He will encourage planning, goal-setting, and execution by volunteers at the local level, so that volunteering is tied into a united and measured effort across the nation.

Reward Innovative Solutions to Pressing Social Problems

President Obama envisions a social innovation framework for the 21st century that reflects a new social contract: citizens actively and effectively serving their communities, solving problems, and connecting their service to a larger effort. Government will serve as an innovative, efficient, transparent, and accountable catalyst for service. The President will expand service opportunities to enable all Americans to enlist in an effort to meet the nation’s challenges and will leverage investments in the nonprofit sector - a critical problem-solving partner and social innovation engine. He will also promote innovations within government by seeking out what works in federal programs and expanding best practices.

Seniors & Social Security

"To put us on solid ground, we should also find a bipartisan solution to strengthen Social Security for future generations. We must do it without putting at risk current retirees, the most vulnerable, or people with disabilities; without slashing benefits for future generations; and without subjecting Americans’ guaranteed retirement income to the whims of the stock market."

-PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA IN THE STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS, JANUARY 25, 2011

Progress

Many seniors are struggling in the face of the economic downturn, having seen their savings fall, and we acted quickly to help provide relief.  The Recovery Actprovided a one-time payment of $250 to retirees, other Social Security beneficiaries, disabled veterans, and SSI recipients. Fifty-six million retirees and other individuals received this one-time payment, totaling $14 billion. In light of continued economic hardship for too many seniors, the President has called for Congress to enact another $250 Economic Recovery Payment to our seniors this year, as well as to veterans and people with disabilities.

Guiding Principles

Protecting & Strengthening Social Security

President Obama believes that all seniors should be able to retire with dignity, not just a privileged few.  And, he believes that all Americans deserve to know that, if they become disabled or if they lose the breadwinner in the family, Social Security will be there to protect them.  Today, nearly 54 million Americans receive Social Security benefits, including 38 million retirees and their family members, 10 million Americans with disabilities and their dependents, and 6 million survivors of deceased workers.

For many of these Americans, Social Security is a key source of income.  In fact, for more than half of Social Security recipients aged 65 or over, the program provides over 50 percent of their family income and, because of its lifetime income protection and survivors benefits, Social Security is particularly important for elderly women. . Moreover, the program is not just for seniors. Because of features like survivors benefits, Social Security is one of the largest antipoverty programs for children, and disability benefits also help younger workers and their families and are particularly important to minority communities.

The President is committed to protecting and strengthening Social Security—and securing the basic compact that hard work should be rewarded with dignity at retirement or in case of disability or early death.  That’s why he has called on Congress to work on a bipartisan basis to preserve Social Security as a reliable source of income for American seniors and as a program that provides robust benefits to survivors and workers who develop disabilities.  He believes that no current beneficiaries should see their basic benefits reduced and he will not accept an approach that slashes benefits for future generations.  The President also stands firmly opposed to privatization and rejects the notion that the future of hard-working Americans should be left to the fluctuations of financial markets.

Strengthening Retirement

In addition to protecting and strengthening Social Security, President Obama will make it easier for Americans to save on their own for retirement and prepare for unforeseen expenses. Currently over 75 million working Americans—about half the workforce—lack access to retirement plans through their employers. The President’s budget lays the foundation for all Americans to participate in retirement accounts at work, proposing simple rules and automatic enrollment—that will automatically enroll workers in IRAs who, until now, haven’t had a workplace retirement plan, while allowing them to opt out if they wish. 

This should dramatically increase savings participation rates.  In 401(k) plans, automatic enrollment has tended to increase participation rates to more than nine out of ten eligible employees. In contrast, for workers who lack access to a retirement plan at their workplace, the current IRA participation rate tends to be less than one out of ten.

Rural

Progress

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act included broad support for rural communities.

• The Recovery Act provides USDA with a total of $27.6 billion, most of which will fund increased benefits to low income families through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program ($20 billion);


• The Act also provides $6.9 billion in discretionary appropriations for rural development activities such as construction and renovation of rural water and wastewater systems, low income housing loans, broadband infrastructure in rural areas, rural business programs, and construction of Forest Service facilities;


• The Act provides $800 million for biofuels research and development, loan guarantees for renewable power projects, including biomass facilities, and extends tax credits for biomass-based electricity for three additional years; and,


• The Act provides $700 million in mandatory farm disaster assistance.

Guiding Principles

President Obama believes in nurturing strong, robust, and vibrant rural communities. These communities also safeguard our environmental heritage, supply our food, and play a growing role in science and innovation. Today, rural communities face numerous challenges but also enormous economic opportunities. President Obama believes that together we can ensure a bright future for rural America. He will work to help family farmers and rural small businesses find profitability in the marketplace and success in the global economy.

Support Strong Farm and Rural Economic Development

The President believes farm programs should target family farmers and provide the stability and predictability they need. President Obama believes that American farmers should have protection from market disruptions and weather disasters. At the same time, farm program effectiveness should be improved through restrictions on commodity payments to wealthy farmers. The President also supports the implementation of a commodity program payment limit, which will help ensure that payments are made only to those that most need them.

The President supports rural development programs including microentrepreneur assistance, rural cooperative development grants, value-added producer grants, grants to minority producers, and cooperative research agreements.

Develop Rural Broadband Services

Modern technology is critical to the expansion of business, education, and health care opportunities in rural areas and the competitiveness of the nation’s small towns and rural communities. President Obama supports a comprehensive plan and substantial investments in the expansion of rural broadband so that all areas of the country have access to the tools for fair competition in a 21st century economy.

Promote Rural America’s Leadership in Developing Renewable Energy

America’s farmers have been on the forefront of the renewable fuels movement. The President has been a strong proponent for increasing the national supply of home-grown American renewable fuels as an alternative to foreign sources of oil. The President will ensure that the Nation’s rural areas continue their leadership in this arena by supporting additional loans and grants to develop domestic renewable fuels. His efforts will position rural America to produce and refine more American biofuels, provide more renewable power than ever before, and create thousands of new jobs across the country.

Invest in Rural Teachers

Teachers are the single most important resource to any child’s learning, and yet it is challenging to attract and retain talented teachers in the schools that need them the most – especially in rural areas. President Obama will ensure that teachers are supported as professionals in the classroom, while also holding them more accountable. He will invest in innovative strategies to help teachers to improve student outcomes, and use rewards and incentives to keep talented teachers in the schools that need them the most. He supports improved professional development and mentoring for new and less effective teachers, and will challenge states and school districts to remove ineffective teachers from the classroom. President Obama will invest in a national effort to prepare and reward outstanding teachers, while recruiting the best and brightest to the field of teaching.

Support Rural Community Colleges

Community colleges are mainstays of rural communities, and their graduates often remain in rural communities. The President is committed to increasing higher education access and success by restructuring and dramatically expanding college financial aid, while making federal programs simpler, more reliable, and more efficient for students. The President has proposed a plan to address college completion and strengthen the higher education pipeline to ensure that more students succeed and complete their degree. And his plan will invest in community colleges to equip a greater share of young people and adults with high-demand skills and education for emerging industries.

Poverty

• President Obama is a bit of a Poverty Pimp


• Obama was right to promote job training for the unemployed. 


• Obama was right to promote after-school programs for kids. 


• Obama is Pompous to say that he is going to "create a path of opportunity for all hard-working Americans to enter the middle class".


• Too many Americans live without hope for a better future or access to good, family-supporting jobs


• Obama is a great dad, a great role model, and has the right plan to help families. 

From http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/poverty: 

Progress

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act included broad investments to alleviate the poverty made worse by economic crisis.

• To fight hunger, the Act includes a $20 billion increase for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as Food Stamps, as well as funding for food banks and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC);


• The Act also provides for $2 billion in new Neighborhood Stabilization Funds to help maintain ailing neighborhoods and $1.5 billion in Homelessness Prevention Funds to keep people in their homes or rapidly rehouse them;


• The Act increases funding for the Community Services Block Grant by $1 billion;


• The Act increases the Weatherization Assistance Program by $5 billion to help low income families save on their energy bills by making their homes more energy efficient;


• The Act increases job training funds for those who need them most, with $3.95 billion in additional funding for the Workforce Investment system, which will support green job training, summer jobs for young people, and other opportunities;


• The Act provides increased income support, including an increase of $25 per week for Unemployment Insurance recipients and incentives for states to expand unemployment insurance eligibility, as well as an extra $250 payment to Social Security and Supplemental Security Income beneficiaries and new resources for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program; and,


• The Act provides tax breaks to working families through the Make Work Pay and Child Tax Credits. These changes will reduce the marriage penalty and provide a larger credit for families with three or more children.

Guiding Principles

President Obama has been a lifelong advocate for the poor. As a young college graduate, he rejected the high salaries of corporate America and moved to the South Side of Chicago to work as a community organizer. As an organizer, President Obama worked with Chicago residents, churches, and local government to set up job training programs for the unemployed and after-school programs for kids. As President, his life experiences inform his efforts to create a path of opportunity for all hard-working Americans to enter the middle class. President Obama will lead a new federal approach to revitalize communities stricken by the economic crisis as well as communities that were hurting before it began.

Expand Opportunity

Too many Americans live without hope for a better future or access to good, family-supporting jobs. President Obama is committed to creating the opportunity for all Americans to grab the first rung on the ladder to the middle class. That includes investing in strategies to make work pay, expanding access to affordable housing, and helping low-income Americans build the job skills to succeed in the workforce.

Stem the Tide

The economic crisis has hit low-income American families particularly hard. President Obama will help vulnerable Americans through this crisis by making sure they have the resources they need to put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads, while also extending tax credits to low-wage workers.

Strengthen Families

President Obama was raised by a single parent, and knows the difficulties that young people face when their fathers are absent. He is committed to responsible fatherhood, by supporting fathers who stand by their families and encouraging young men to work towards good jobs in promising career pathways.

Mothers who are struggling in poverty also need support to raise healthy children. The President has proposed an historic investment in providing home visits to low-income, first-time parents by trained professionals. The President and First Lady are also committed to ensuring that children have nutritious meals to eat at home and at school, so that they grow up healthy and strong.

Immigration

Fixing the Immigration System for America’s 21st Century Economy

"We are the first nation to be founded for the sake of an idea—the idea that each of us deserves the chance to shape our own destiny. That’s why centuries of pioneers and immigrants have risked everything to come here…The future is ours to win. But to get there, we cannot stand still."

-PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA

Take Action

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Host a Roundtable

President Obama is calling for a national conversation on immigration reform that builds a bipartisan consensus to fix our broken immigration system so it works for America’s 21st century economy, but he can’t do it alone. Help bring the debate to your community by hosting a roundtable.

President Obama recognizes that our current immigration system is broken and he is deeply committed to building a new 21st century immigration system that meets our nation’s important economic and security needs. In his State of the Union Address, the President laid out his vision for winning the future. To secure prosperity for all Americans, we must out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build the rest of the world, and fixing our immigration system plays an important part in that plan. As we work to rebuild our economy, our ability to thrive depends, in part on restoring responsibility and accountability to the immigration system.

President's Vision for Reform

The President plans to create a 21st century immigration system by: 

• Continuing to fulfill the federal government’s responsibility to securing our borders;


• Demanding accountability for businesses that break the law by undermining American workers and exploiting undocumented workers;


• Strengthening our economic competiveness by creating a legal immigration system that reflects our values and diverse needs; and


• Requiring responsibility from people who are living in the United States illegally.

Building on Progress

During the last two years, the Obama Administration has taken important steps to improve our immigration system within the boundaries of existing laws.  For example, the Administration has:

• Dedicated unprecedented resources to secure the border;


• Made interior and worksite enforcement smarter and more effective; and


• Worked to improve our legal immigration system.