By Jueseppi B.
Weekly Address: Helping Protect Our Kids by Reducing Gun Violence
Three months after the tragic shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, President Obama says that the Senate has taken important steps forward to help protect our kids by reducing gun violence.
The American people made their voices heard, and the Senate made progress to make it harder for criminals and people with serious mental illnesses to get guns, to crack down on anyone trying to funnel guns to criminals, and to reinstate and strengthen a ban on the sale of military-style assault weapons. Each of these ideas deserves a vote. The President urges Congress to pass these commonsense measures while affirming our nation’s tradition of responsible gun ownership.
Learn more about the plan to reduce gun violence in this country
How Many People Have Been Killed by Guns Since Newtown?
The answer to the simple question in that headline is 2,883 human lives have been erased bu gin violence in the 96 days since December 14th, 2012.
Thats Two Thousand, Eight Hundred & Eighty Three Americans lives lost. In Ninety Nine days.
President Barack Obama tours the crypt containing the birthplace of Jesus during his visit to the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, the West Bank, March 22, 2013. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
In Case You Missed It
Here’s a quick glimpse at what happened this week on WhiteHouse.gov:
Middle East Trip: On Wednesday, President Obama embarked on a five day journey to Israel, the West Bank, and Jordan. The President began his visit with an arrival ceremony at the Ben Gurion airport followed by a visit to an Iron Dome defense battery in Tel Aviv. In the evening, President Obama flew to Jerusalem to talk with Israeli leaders and joined Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a working dinner.
On Thursday, the President visited the West Bank, where he held meetings in Ramallah with Palestinian Authority President Abbas and Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Fayyad, and attended a cultural event at Al-Bireh Youth Center. The day also included a tour of the Israel Museum and a speech from the Jerusalem International Convention Center.
The President wrapped up his busy day at the residence of President Peres for a dinner in Jerusalem. Check back this weekend for coverage on the rest of President Obama’s Middle East Trip.
St. Patty’s Day Celebrations: On Tuesday, President Obama welcomed Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny to the White House. The two discussed their “incredibly strong partnership” on issues such as the economy and security. The President also noted a deal to sell American-made planes to Ireland, which helps grow our economy and create American jobs. After the bilateral meeting, the pair traveled to Capitol Hill for a St. Patrick’s Day Luncheon. To end the day, the President and First Lady held a reception to mark the holiday.
New Labor Secretary Nominee: On Monday, President Obama announced the nomination of Thomas Perez for Secretary of Labor. Perez will work on behalf of American wage earners, job seekers, and retirees so they can enjoy improved working conditions, advanced employment opportunities, and guaranteed workplace benefits and rights.
As the son of Dominican immigrants worked his way through college as a garbage collector and at a warehouse in order to become a lawyer and dedicate his life to public service, the President said Perez’s life reminds us of our “country’s promise.”
“If you’re willing to work hard, it doesn’t matter who you are, where you come from, what your last name is — you can make it if you try,” said President Obama. “Tom’s made protecting that promise for everybody the cause for his life.”
Women’s History Month: On Monday, President Obama delivered remarks at the Women’s History Month reception at the White House. The First Lady and leaders from various sectors joined the President as he celebrated the progress women have made:
“And when I look around this room, it is hard to believe that 100 years ago this month, thousands of women were marching right outside this house demanding one of our most fundamental right: the right to vote, to have a say in our democracy. And today, a century later, its rooms are full of accomplished women who have overcome discrimination, shattered glass ceilings, and become outstanding role models for all of our sons and daughters.”
At the event, President Obama also announced that he would nominate longtime women’s advocate Cathy Russell, who has served as Dr. Jill Biden’s Chief of Staff, as the next Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women Issues.
Learn more on the Administration’s Commitment to Women:
- Encouraging Young Women to Become the Leaders and Advocates of Tomorrow
- About the Council on Women and Girls
- From the Archives: President Obama Signs the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act
- The President and Vice President at Signing of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA)
- Joining the Fight to End Human Trafficking
- Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM)
Three Years of the Affordable Care Act: This week marked the third anniversary of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and we identified meaningful ways the health care law is helping everyday Americans. In a series of blog posts throughout the week we discussed how the Affordable Care Act holds insurance companies accountable, protects consumers, protects against insurance discrimination, maintains a focus on quality care, increases savings for seniors, and expands access to millions of young adults.
The President’s Bracket: On Wednesday, the President released his bracket for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. President Obama’s Final Four includes Louisville, Ohio State, Florida, and Indiana, while he predicted Indiana to win it all. Today, he released his picks for the women’s tournament with Baylor topping Notre Dame in the final.
Statements and Releases
Statement by the President on the Anniversary of the Affordable Care Act
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 23, 2013
Statement by the President on the Anniversary of the Affordable Care Act
Three years ago today, I signed into law the principle that in the wealthiest nation on Earth, no one should go broke just because they get sick. The Affordable Care Act will give hard-working, middle class families the health care security they deserve and protect every American from the worst insurance company abuses. Already, millions of seniors are saving $600 a year on their prescription drugs. Millions of young people have been able to stay on their family’s health plan until age 26. Preventive care, like mammograms for women and wellness visits for seniors, is covered free of charge. Most importantly, for the sake of our fiscal future, the growth of health care costs is beginning to slow. In fact, last year, Medicaid costs fell for the first time in decades.
Because of the Affordable Care Act, insurance companies will no longer have unchecked power to cancel your policy, deny you coverage, or charge women more than men. And soon, no American will ever again be denied care or charged more due to a pre-existing condition, like cancer or even asthma.
Later this year, millions of Americans will finally have the opportunity to buy the same kind of health care Members of Congress give themselves. Beginning in October, you’ll be able to sign up for new private health care plans through a new health insurance marketplace where private plans will compete to save middle class families money. Through these marketplaces, Americans and small business owners will be able to choose from a menu of health plans that fit their budget and provide quality coverage they can count on when they need it most. If you like the plan you have, you can keep it. If you cannot afford a plan, you or your small business may get financial assistance to make it affordable.
There’s more work to do to implement this law, and I look forward to working with leaders of both parties to help Americans save money on health care and extend the security of coverage to every family.
Statement by the Press Secretary
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 23, 2013
Statement by the Press Secretary
Today, the Senate passed a budget plan that will create jobs and cut the deficit in a balanced way. Like the President’s plan, the Senate budget cuts wasteful spending, makes tough choices to strengthen entitlements, and eliminates special tax breaks and loopholes for the wealthiest Americans to reduce the deficit.
The President and Democrats in Congress are willing to make difficult choices so we can cut the deficit while laying the foundation for long term middle class job growth. And it is encouraging that both the Senate and House have made progress by passing budgets through regular order. We will continue to insist that any solution has balance. The House Republican budget refuses to ask for a single dime of deficit reduction from closing tax loopholes for the wealthy and the well-connected but instead makes deep cuts to education and manufacturing while asking seniors and the middle class to pay more. That’s not an approach we support and it’s not an approach the majority of the American people support.
Now it is time for our leaders to come together to find common ground. The President has put a plan on the table that reflects compromise, and he will continue to work with both sides to see if there is an opportunity to reach a solution to our budget challenges. We hope we will find this compromise because that is what the American people expect and what they deserve.
Statement by NSC Spokesperson Caitlin Hayden on Bosco Ntaganda’s Surrender to the International Criminal Court in The Hague
President Barack Obama participates in a walking tour with Suleiman al-Farajat, a tourism professor at the University of Jordan, in Petra….
This is all Sellout Harry Reid’s doing. If you check his campaign donors, you’ll find NRAsshole contributions. Remember This in “NO”vember on the 4th, 2014.
‘Six gun provisions were passed as riders attached to the resolution funding the government through September on Thursday’.
‘While all six had been federal law since 2004, each was approved by Congress on a year-to-year basis only’.
‘Now, four of the provisions are permanent’.
‘According to National Public Radio‘s Tamara Keith, the NRA “is the driving force behind these provisions.” Here they are’:
1) ‘Limit enforcement tools against crooked dealers. One rider would prevent Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) agents from shutting down gun stores due to “due to a lack of business activity,” arguably a sign of criminal sales’.
2) ‘Shield gun dealers who “lose” their guns. This legislation precludes any federal law that requires gun retailers to count their guns and submit the results as a mechanism of determining whether any weapons have been lost or stolen’.
3) ‘Interfere with ATF gun trace reports. The ATF is now mandated to include, in any reports concerning its tracing of guns back to crime, that trace data “cannot be used to draw broad conclusions about firearms-related crime.” Academic work on guns has used trace data to firmly establish that several firearm regulations effectively prevent the spread of guns to criminal’.
4) ‘Expand the class of protected guns. According to Roll Call‘s John Gramlich, the fourth permanent law would “place a broad definition of antique guns and ammunition that may be imported into the United States.”
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Jueseppi B.
