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Remarks by the President on American Energy, Aurora, Colorado

White House — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 04:46:00 +0000

Release Time: For Immediate Release Buckley Air Force Base Aurora, Colorado 3:34 P.M. MST THE PRESIDENT: Hello, everybody! (Applause.) Hello, Team Buckley! (Applause.) It is great to be here. Everybody please have a seat, have a seat

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Remarks by the President on American Energy, Aurora, Colorado

We Can’t Wait: President Obama Takes Actions to Increase Travel and Tourism in the United States

White House — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 19:01:00 +0000

Release Time: For Immediate Release This morning, President Obama will sign an Executive Order and announce new initiatives to significantly increase travel and tourism in the United States. The U.S. tourism and travel industry is a substantial component of U.S.

President Obama, Cabinet Secretaries, and Senior Administration Officials Honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. National Day of Service by Participating in Community Service Projects and Events Throughout the Country

White House — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 02:56:00 +0000

Release Time: For Immediate Release WASHINGTON, DC – To honor the Dr.

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President Obama, Cabinet Secretaries, and Senior Administration Officials Honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. National Day of Service by Participating in Community Service Projects and Events Throughout the Country

Government Reorganization Fact Sheet

White House — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 21:54:36 +0000

Release Time: For Immediate Release Looking to make our government leaner, smarter and more consumer-friendly, the President will call on Congress to reinstate the authority that past Presidents had, over decades, to reorganize the government. With the exception of President Ford, every President from Herbert Hoover to Ronald Reagan had reorganization authority. Presidents had this sort of authority for almost the entire period from 1932 through 1984.Unlike the authority granted in the past, the President’s proposal would initiate new accountability by mandating that any plan must consolidate government – reducing the number of agencies or saving taxpayer dollars. The President will also lay out his first proposed use of that authority: consolidating six agencies into one more efficient department to promote competitiveness, exports and American business. The President knows this is a make or break moment for the middle class and those trying to reach it. The President’s proposed reorganization would help small businesses grow and, in doing so, would help get more Americans back to work. For too long, overlapping responsibilities among agencies have made it harder, rather than easier, for our small businesses to interact with their government. Those redundancies have also led to unnecessary waste and duplication.

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Government Reorganization Fact Sheet

Statement by the President on the Release of Burmese Political Prisoners

White House — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 20:59:00 +0000

Release Time: For Immediate Release President Thein Sein’s decision to release hundreds of prisoners of conscience is a substantial step forward for democratic reform. Two months ago, I spoke with Aung San Suu Kyi and President Thein Sein about how America’s engagement can help empower democratic reform, and improve relations between our countries. Shortly afterwards, Hillary Clinton became the first Secretary of State to travel to Burma in over half a century. In her meetings in Nay Pyi Taw and Rangoon, she discussed with President Thein Sein and other leaders the steps that would advance a new beginning between our countries. A key part of that discussion was the need to unconditionally release prisoners of conscience and allow them to participate fully in public and political life. Since that visit, there have been a number of positive developments, including the announcement of elections to be held on April 1, and the decision to allow Aung San Suu Kyi and her party to participate. There has also been an important ceasefire agreement reached with the Karen National Union, which the United States welcomes. Today, I applaud President Thein Seins’s decision to release hundreds of prisoners of conscience, which is a crucial step in Burma’s democratic transformation and national reconciliation process

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Statement by the President on the Release of Burmese Political Prisoners

Statement by the President on H.R. 1540

White House — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 01:11:00 +0000

Release Time: For Immediate Release Today I have signed into law H.R. 1540, the "National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012." I have signed the Act chiefly because it authorizes funding for the defense of the United States and its interests abroad, crucial services for service members and their families, and vital national security programs that must be renewed.

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Statement by the President on H.R. 1540

Executive Order — Amendments to Executive Orders 12131 and 13539

White House — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 03:33:00 +0000

Release Time: For Immediate Release AMENDMENTS TO EXECUTIVE ORDERS 12131 AND 13539 By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America it is hereby ordered as follows: Section 1. Section 1 102 of Executive Order 12131 of May 4, 1979, as amended (President's Export Council), is further amended to read as follows: "The membership of the Council shall be as follows: (a) The heads of the following executive departments, agencies, or offices, or their representatives: (1) Department of State. (2) Department of the Treasury. (3) Department of Agriculture.

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Executive Order — Amendments to Executive Orders 12131 and 13539

We Can’t Wait: President Obama Will Announce Administrative Action to Provide Minimum Wage and Overtime Protections for Nearly 2 Million In-Home Care Workers

White House — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 20:18:00 +0000

Release Time: For Immediate Release WASHINGTON – The White House today will announce new rules proposed by the U.S. Department of Labor that would provide minimum wage and overtime protections for nearly two million workers who provide in-home care services for the elderly and infirmed.

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We Can’t Wait: President Obama Will Announce Administrative Action to Provide Minimum Wage and Overtime Protections for Nearly 2 Million In-Home Care Workers

President Obama Hosts 2011 White House Tribal Nations Conference

White House — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 22:32:00 +0000

Release Time: For Immediate Release Signs Executive Order to Expand Educational Opportunities and Improve Educational Outcomes for American Indian and Alaska Native Students Today, President Obama is hosting the White House Tribal Nations Conference at the Department of the Interior. As part of President Obama’s ongoing outreach to the American people, this conference provides leaders from the 565 federally recognized tribes the opportunity to interact directly with the President and representatives from his Administration. This is the third White House Tribal Nations Conference the Obama Administration has hosted and continues to build upon the President’s commitment to strengthen the government-to-government relationship with Indian Country. During the opening sessions, tribal leaders heard from Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, and OMB Deputy Director Heather Higginbottom. Tribal leaders then participated in breakout sessions with Senior Administration Officials, including Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson and SBA Administrator Karen Mills. The session topics included: Creating Jobs and Growing Tribal Economies, Promoting Safe and Strong Tribal Communities, Protecting Natural Resources and Respect for Cultural Rights, Improving Access to Healthcare, Education, Housing, Infrastructure and Other Federal Services, and Strengthening the Government-to-Government Relationship. During the closing session, tribal leaders will hear from Education Secretary Arne Duncan and President Obama will deliver closing remarks.

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President Obama Hosts 2011 White House Tribal Nations Conference

Executive Order — Improving American Indian and Alaska Native Educational Opportunities and Strengthening Tribal Colleges and Universities

White House — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 21:32:00 +0000

Release Time: For Immediate Release EXECUTIVE ORDER IMPROVING AMERICAN INDIAN AND ALASKA NATIVE EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES AND STRENGTHENING TRIBAL COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, I hereby order as follows: Section 1. Policy. The United States has a unique political and legal relationship with the federally recognized American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) tribes across the country, as set forth in the Constitution of the United States, treaties, Executive Orders, and court decisions. For centuries, the Federal Government's relationship with these tribes has been guided by a trust responsibility a long standing commitment on the part of our Government to protect the unique rights and ensure the well-being of our Nation's tribes, while respecting their tribal sovereignty. In recognition of that special commitment and in fulfillment of the solemn obligations it entails Federal agencies must help improve educational opportunities provided to all AI/AN students, including students attending public schools in cities and in rural areas, students attending schools operated and funded by the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Education (BIE), and students attending postsecondary institutions including Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs). This is an urgent need. Recent studies show that AI/AN students are dropping out of school at an alarming rate, that our Nation has made little or no progress in closing the achievement gap between AI/AN students and their non-AI/AN student counterparts, and that many Native languages are on the verge of extinction. It is the policy of my Administration to support activities that will strengthen the Nation by expanding educational opportunities and improving educational outcomes for all AI/AN students in order to fulfill our commitment to furthering tribal self-determination and to help ensure that AI/AN students have an opportunity to learn their Native languages and histories and receive complete and competitive educations that prepare them for college, careers, and productive and satisfying lives. My Administration is also committed to improving educational opportunities for students attending TCUs. TCUs maintain, preserve, and restore Native languages and cultural traditions; offer a high quality college education; provide career and technical education, job training, and other career building programs; and often serve as anchors in some of the country's poorest and most remote areas

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Executive Order — Improving American Indian and Alaska Native Educational Opportunities and Strengthening Tribal Colleges and Universities