Champions of Change

Engage and Connect

President Obama is committed to making this the most open and participatory administration in history. That begins with taking your questions and comments, inviting you to join online events with White House officials, and giving you a way to engage with your government on the issues that matter the most.

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  • Narrowing the Digital Divide in the Navajo Nation

    Posted by Jean Rice on January 8, 2014 at 1:28 PM EDT

    Ed. Note: This blog is cross-posted from the U.S. Department of Commerce.

    Spread across the Four Corners region of the American Southwest, the Navajo Nation is home to up to 175,000 members of the Navajo Tribe. Tribal members live scattered across more than 27,000 square miles of land stretching from northeast Arizona to northwest New Mexico to southeast Utah.

    It’s a place where many roads have never been paved, many buildings don’t have a formal postal address and thousands of families remain cut off from the electrical grid. At least 60 percent of homes don’t have landline telephone service even though wireless signals are often spotty or nonexistent. The 911 system often cannot track where people are calling from during an emergency. And high-speed Internet access has been almost entirely unavailable.

    Data from the National Broadband Map, which is maintained by NTIA in collaboration with the Federal Communications Commission, show that less than 4 percent of the population living in Navajo Nation territory has access to even the most basic wireline broadband speeds of 3 megabits per second downstream.

    But with a $32 million grant from NTIA’s Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP), the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority is bringing a modern wireless communications system to a region that has been all too frequently bypassed by amenities that most Americans take for granted.

    Established in 1959 to deliver basic utility services, the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority today is one of the largest utilities owned and operated by an American Indian tribe. It provides water, sewage, electricity, natural gas, solar power and communications services to tens of thousands of customers across the Navajo Nation. And now the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority is signing up its first customers for a new 4G LTE wireless broadband network funded largely by the federal government.

    Covering 15,000 square miles, the new network consists of 59 wireless towers, 43 base stations, 60 microwave links, 550 miles of fiber and 20 miles of fiber or microwave connections into buildings. BTOP paid for much of that infrastructure, as well as a leased fiber-optic connection that runs 180 miles from the edge of the Navajo Nation in Farmington, N.M., to Albuquerque - linking the entire system to the Internet.

    Working with wireless partner Commnet, the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority is offering wireless voice and data services for residential customers at speeds of up to three megabits per second. Customers can sign up for mobile access, as well as a fixed-wireless service that plugs into a home computer. The utility is also connecting local schools, hospitals and other anchor institutions, including 49 tribal “chapter houses,” at speeds of up to 10 gigabits per second.

    Walter Haase, general manager of the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority, says the wireless broadband network “opens up a whole new set of opportunities that don’t exist today” for the Navajo Nation. Medical specialists located on Navajo territory and beyond will be able to consult electronically with patients living in remote corners of the region. Local schools will be able to live stream Web video and other educational resources from the Internet to supplement the existing curriculum. College students will be able to take online classes and connect with professors at major universities without leaving their ancestral homeland. And tribal members will be able to set up online businesses or telework instead of having to travel long distances to get to a job.

    Eventually, Haase says, the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority hopes to interconnect the wireless broadband network with smart grid meters serving its residential electricity customers in order to set up a 911 system that will know automatically where someone is calling from in an emergency.

    Altogether, NTIA’s Broadband Technology Opportunities Program has invested in more than 50 projects that are benefiting tribes by building networks in parts of Indian Country that have historically lacked adequate telecommunications infrastructure. NTIA has also funded public computer centers, digital literacy classes and one-on-one Internet training programs in a number of Native American communities.

    Some of the federal awards went directly to tribes themselves, including the Ute Indian Tribe in Utah, the Nez Perce Tribe in Idaho, the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe in Nevada and the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe in Upstate New York. Others went to tribal institutions such as the College of Menominee Nation in Wisconsin and, of course, the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority.

    The push to close the digital divide in Indian Country – which includes some of the most remote reaches of the nation - is no easy task. National Broadband Map data show that only 54 percent of the population in Indian Country has access to basic wireline broadband speeds of 3 megabits per second downstream. That compares with 94 percent of the U.S. population as a whole. And only half of Indian Country population has access to 6-megabit wireless speeds, compared with 91 percent of the population as a whole.

    But with support from the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program, these federally funded projects are helping to narrow the gap and ensure that tribal communities can share in the benefits and opportunities brought by the Internet.

    Jean Rice is a NTIA Program Officer at the Department of Commerce

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  • Nominate a White House Champion of Change for Gun Violence Prevention

    Posted by Rumana Ahmed on January 8, 2014 at 12:00 PM EDT

    In mass shootings and in the everyday shootings that plague communities across the country, far too many Americans have been severely injured or lost their lives or a loved one as a result of gun violence. Over the last few years, a series of gun-related tragic events galvanized our country and led this Administration to redouble our efforts to keep guns out of the hands of potentially dangerous individuals.

    Over the past year, the Administration has taken several steps to strengthen the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), which is used to run background checks on those who buy guns from federally licensed gun dealers to make sure they are not prohibited by law from owning a firearm. Just this month, the President took two new executive actions that will help ensure that tens of thousands of missing mental health records are added to the background check system.  The Administration also continues to call on Congress to pass common-sense legislation to expand background checks. To date, background checks have prevented over two million guns from falling into the wrong hands. 

    While the President and the Vice President will continue to do everything they can to reduce gun violence, we know efforts to prevent gun violence at the state and local levels – at community centers and recreational facilities, schools, faith-based centers and by other various community leaders often have the most impact. The leaders who are creating change know that when 90% of the American public supports common-sense gun safety legislation, those 90% need to stand up.  Every day, these individuals are stepping up in big ways in our communities to make sure that all Americans can feel safer when they put their children to bed each night, and when they step outside with their families in the morning.  

    Today, we’re asking you to help us identify and honor state and local leaders taking innovative approaches to support gun violence prevention measures and make our communities safer by nominating a Champion of Change for Gun Violence Prevention by midnight on Sunday, January 12th. Nominees may include:

    • Community leaders who worked to prevent gun violence and build safer communities.
    • Citizens who encouraged responsible gun ownership.  
    • Advocates who fought for stronger state and federal gun laws.
    • Community leaders who helped to organize grassroots efforts around this issue.
    • Citizens who created innovative tactics to engage the public to reduce gun violence.
    • Community/youth development programs discouraging gun violence and college students’/groups’ efforts on campuses.

    Click on the link below to submit your nomination (be sure to choose Gun Violence Prevention in the "Theme of Service" field of the nomination form).

    Click here to nominate a Gun Violence Prevention Champion of Change

    We are looking forward to hosting this event and to highlighting the great work communities across the country are doing to advance the health, safety and well-being of the American people.

    Rumana Ahmed is the Executive Assistant to the Director of the Office of Public Engagement.

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  • New Health Insurance Options, New Consumer Protections in the New Year

    Posted by Phil Schiliro on January 2, 2014 at 12:11 PM EDT

    Today is a new day for the millions of Americans who finally have the security that comes from quality, affordable health coverage. And those who already have health insurance will have better, more reliable coverage than ever before. Beginning on January 1, insured Americans won't be forced to put off a check-up or worry about going broke if they get sick.

    While there is much more work to be done, beginning today, no family will be denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition like high blood pressure or asthma. Women can no longer be charged more than men for the same coverage. No American will have to worry that losing a job means you can't get health coverage. And small businesses may qualify for more financial help to pay for new affordable coverage options for their employees.

    The challenges in our health care system were decades in the making and won't be solved overnight, but now more than 6 million Americans have been enrolled in Marketplace or Medicaid coverage and are getting peace of mind, knowing that they can get the care they need without losing everything they've worked and saved for.

    New Benefits and Consumer Protections Begin Today

    ·         Protections for People with Pre-Existing Conditions: Up to 129 million Americans with pre-existing conditions no longer have to worry about being denied health coverage or charged higher premiums because of their health status.

    ·         New Insurance Options: Many previously uninsured Americans have new health insurance options through private health plans in the Marketplace or Medicaid in States that have opted to expand it. Nearly 6 in 10 of Americans who were uninsured could pay $100 or less per month for coverage.

    ·         No More Annual Caps on Health Benefits: Millions of Americans no longer have to worry about having their health benefits cut off after they reach an annual dollar limit on benefits.

    ·         Comprehensive Coverage: Health plans in the individual and small group markets are now required to cover ten categories of essential health benefits – including emergency services, maternity and newborn care, mental health and substance use disorder services, and prescription drug coverage. As a result of these new protections, approximately 60 million people will gain expanded mental health and substance use disorder benefits and/or parity protections.

    Millions of Americans Have Already Benefited from the Health Care Law

    ·         Free Preventive Services: 71 million Americans on private insurance have gained coverage for at least one free preventive service such as mammograms, birth control, and immunizations in 2011 and 2012. In the first eleven months of 2013, an additional 25 million people with traditional Medicare received at least one preventive service at no out of pocket cost.

    ·         New Insurance Options for Young Adults: Over three million young adults have gained health insurance because they can now stay on their parents’ health plans until age 26.

    ·         No More Lifetime Caps on Health Benefits: 105 million Americans no longer have to worry about having their health benefits cut off after they reach a lifetime dollar limit on benefits.

    ·         Protections for Children with Pre-Existing Conditions: Parents of the 17 million children with pre-existing conditions have had the security of knowing their children could no longer be denied health coverage due to their health status.

    ·         Saving Seniors Money on Prescription Drugs: Since the health care law was enacted, more than seven million seniors and people with disabilities have saved an average of $1,200 per person on prescription medications as the health care law closes Medicare’s “donut hole.”

    ·         Cutting Back on Premium Increases: Insurance companies must submit premium increases of 10% or more for review by experts. Last year, 6.8 million Americans saved an estimated $1.2 billion on health insurance premiums after their insurers cut back on planned increases as a result of this process.

    ·         Premium Dollars That Work for Consumers, Not Just Insurers: Consumers have saved $5 billion over the past two years due to a new requirement that insurance companies have to spend at least 80% of premium dollars on care for patients (at least 85% for large group insurers). If they don’t, they must send consumers a rebate. Last year, 8.5 million enrollees received rebates averaging $100 per family.

    ·         Coverage for Some Americans with Severe Pre-Existing Conditions: The federal Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan gave tens of thousands of Americans who were previously unable to get health insurance due to pre-existing conditions the security of coverage before plans were available in the Marketplace.

    ·         Expanding Access to Care in the Community: Using funds available through the Affordable Care Act, community health centers are expanding access to care by providing primary care services, establishing new sites, and renovating existing sites. Health centers served approximately 21 million patients in 2012

    Phil Schiliro, Office of the Chief of Staff

     

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  • Interior's Land Buy-Back Program: Strengthening our Nation-to-Nation Partnership

    Posted by Kevin K. Washburn on December 20, 2013 at 12:06 PM EDT

    Ed. Note: This blog is cross-posted from the U.S. Department of the Interior.

    Last year, the Department of the Interior established the Land Buy-Back Program for Tribal Nations to implement important land consolidation requirements set forth in the historic Cobell Settlement Agreement. That agreement provided for a $1.9 billion fund to consolidate lands that have become fractionated, over time, across Indian Country. By establishing the Buy-Back Program, the Department made a commitment to work together – with tribes and individual Indian land owners alike– to address the negative impacts of land fractionation in Indian Country.

    Fractionation of ownership affects more than 93,500 land tracts on more than 150 Indian reservations. These tracts often have hundreds, sometimes thousands, of owners that must each be consulted before even basic decisions can be made about use of land and resources.

    Over the next 10 years, the Buy-Back Program will make purchase offers to willing sellers in an effort to make land more usable and prevent further fractionation. By doing this, Interior will help expand tribal economic development opportunities across Indian Country, and, in turn, restore tribal control over tribal lands and resources in order to build towards true tribal self-determination and ultimately strengthened tribal sovereignty.

    In our first year, the Department has focused on establishing the building blocks of program success. Nation-to-Nation conversations have been critical to this development, and have helped us make significant policy decisions about the Program. This past month, we released an Updated Implementation Plan, which incorporates suggestions and responds to comments received through multiple tribal consultations and one-on-one meetings.

    We have heard from tribal leaders that we must implement the Buy-Back Program in a fair and equitable manner, moving quickly to ensure that we reach as much of Indian Country as possible. Additionally, we sought independent analysis from The Appraisal Foundation, the nation’s foremost authority on appraisal standards to ensure a high quality valuation process would be used.

    Tribes also expressed the need for predictability and transparency on the timing of implementation efforts. In response, the Department expanded its implementation strategy by opening up a solicitation period through March 2014, during which tribes with jurisdiction over the most fractionated locations are invited to submit letters of interest or cooperative agreement applications for participation in the program. This solicitation puts much of the timing in the hands of tribal governments and will allow the program to move on a quicker timeline.

    And, in a historic step this week, Interior announced that the very first purchase offers have been sent. After working closely with Oglala Sioux leadership, landowners on the Pine Ridge Reservation – one of the most fractionated locations in the United States – will be receiving purchase offers this week. Individuals with interests at the Makah Indian Reservation will receive offers as well.

    We know the challenge ahead is mighty, but we are working hard to ensure that this incredible opportunity for Indian Country is not wasted. Change will not be implemented overnight, but ultimately the Program will restore lands to tribes and place decision-making over these lands back into the rightful hands of tribal governments. Our Nation-to Nation partnerships have been critical to the work that has gotten us to today and we look forward to our continued work together.

    Kevin K. Washburn is the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs at the Department of the Interior and a member of the Chickasaw Nation in Oklahoma.

  • Treasury Notice Advances Federal Tax Equality for Same-Sex Married Couples

    Posted by Betsy Bourassa on December 16, 2013 at 4:46 PM EDT

    Ed. Note: This blog is cross-posted from the U.S. Department of the Tresaury.

    The Supreme Court’s decision in U.S. v. Windsor last June, invalidating a key provision of the Defense of Marriage Act, has given rise to crucial protections to same-sex married couples nationwide. In August, Treasury and IRS helped to clarify the federal tax implications of Windsor by determining that all legal same-sex marriages will be recognized for federal tax purposes​. Today, Treasury and IRS made significant progress in further promoting tax equality by issuing a new, related notice.

    In follow-up to the Windsor decision, this notice addresses how the rules for cafeteria plans, flexible spending accounts (FSAs), and health savings accounts (HSAs) apply to individuals with same-sex spouses. A cafeteria plan provides participants with an opportunity to receive certain benefits on a pre-tax basis. Similar to the way in which individuals can choose among several options in a cafeteria, cafeteria plan participants can choose among at least one taxable benefit and one qualified benefit.

    Taxpayers typically must make pre-tax elections under a cafeteria plan before the beginning of the plan year and cannot change their elections until the following year. Because the Windsor decision was issued mid-year, this notice permits changes to elections for same-sex married couples during the plan year that includes the date of the Windsor decision. Accordingly, under this notice, sponsors of cafeteria plans could permit employees to choose to enroll same-sex spouses in health coverage in the middle of a plan year, even though mid-year enrollments would otherwise be prohibited.

    In our prior notice on Windsor, we provided transition relief to employees who elected to pay for their own health coverage on a pre-tax basis, but were previously required to pay for their same-sex spouses’ coverage on an after-tax basis. That transition relief allows employees in this situation to treat the cost of the same-sex spouse coverage as having been paid on a pre-tax basis by excluding the cost of same-sex spouse coverage from their income. The notice clarifies that this relief will apply through the end of the current cafeteria plan year.

    Also, before Windsor, FSAs were not permitted to reimburse expenses incurred by the same-sex spouse of an employee. Based on the notice, a cafeteria plan could choose to reimburse qualifying expenses incurred by same-sex spouses and their dependents before the date of the Windsor decision, provided the expenses were incurred after the couple was married but not earlier than the beginning of the cafeteria plan year that includes the date of the Windsor decision. The notice also explains how the limits on contributions to HSAs and dependent care FSAs apply to individuals with same-sex spouses.

    This notice underscores the Administration’s continued commitment to providing equal access to federal benefits, regardless of sexual orientation.

    Betsy Bourassa is a Media Specialist at the U.S. Department of the Treasury. 

     

  • United in Hope with Bienestar

    Posted by Herb K. Schultz on December 12, 2013 at 12:09 PM EDT

    On Saturday, November 30th, I was honored to represent the Obama Administration before 500 clients, staff, Board, community members, public officials and clergy at Bienestar's annual "Unidos in Esperanza" (United in Hope) event in Los Angeles, California.

    Held at the beautiful Placita Olvera, Iglesia de Nuestra Señora, Reina de Los Angeles, the mostly all Spanish speaking event lived up to its goal: to provide a place for those impacted by HIV/AIDS and their loved ones to celebrate the lives of those they have lost to HIV/AIDS, and provide hope to those that are living with HIV/AIDS.

    Bienestar, led by its founding Executive Director and inspirational leader Oscar de la O, is a grassroots, community based organization dedicated to positively impacting the health and well-being of the Latino gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community (LGBT) and other underserved communities in Southern California. It provides education, research, services, and awareness on HIV/AIDS, substance abuse, and drug prevention, among other programs. Additionally, it is a recognized leader at the local, state, and national level on human rights and social justice issues.

    I have had the pleasure of working with Bienestar for more than 15 years. As Region IX Director for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – and as an openly gay and HIV+ man – I was honored and humbled to be able to speak to this audience and share the progress made by and on behalf of the community through the implementation of the Affordable Care Act and the National HIV/AIDS Strategy. For example, in line with the goals of the President's National HIV/AIDs Strategy, the Affordable Care Act brings historic reforms important to those affected by HIV/AIDs, including the expansion of Medicaid in States that chose to expand, no annual or lifetime dollar limits on coverage, free recommended preventive services, and inclusion of mental health and substance use disorder services as one of ten essential health benefit categories.

    Herb K. Schultz is Director of Region IX for the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.

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  • Strengthening Health Centers to Strengthen Our Communities

    Posted by Cecilia Muñoz on December 12, 2013 at 12:08 PM EDT

    A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of visiting a high-energy forum at a community health center in my home town of  Detroit, and saw firsthand  how vital community health centers are as a source of quality health care. Today, approximately 1,200 health centers operate more than 9,000 service delivery sites that provide care to over 21 million patients across the country.  I am frankly in awe of the great work that these community health centers provide, especially to the Latino and other underserved communities. These centers are a lifeline for the uninsured, providing quality care, with the dignity and respect people deserve, and in a way that takes into account the challenges that they face in their lives.

    Consider Los Barrios Unidos Community Clinic (LBUCC) in Dallas, Texas and how it demonstrates the ways a community health center can really impact lives. With over 40 years of work in the community, LBUCC serves 26,000 people each year, 93% of whom are Hispanic and 70% of its Hispanic population is  uninsured. At LBUCC no one is ever turned away because of inability to pay.  For over 45 years, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has supported these centers in order to provide access to culturally competent primary and preventive health care  in the communities that need them most.

    Access to primary care positively impacts Latino families many of whom use community health centers as their primary care medical home. In fact, one-in-three community health center patients is Latino. This means that community health centers are vital assets in the effort to reduce ethnic and racial disparities in health care.

    Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, we are not just expanding access to health insurance; we are also expanding access to high-quality care by strengthening health centers in communities across America. The Affordable Care Act includes $11 billion to strengthen and grow our Community Health Centers, including supporting primary care services, establishing new sites and renovating existing health centers. On Tuesday, the Vice President announced that the Department of Health and Human Services will soon issue a $50 million funding opportunity to help Community Health Centers establish or expand mental health and substance use disorder services. This investment will help meet another important community need.  And last month, HHS announced $150 million in new Affordable Care Act awards to support more than 230 new health center sites around the country.

    Health centers are also an integral source of local employment and economic growth in many communities. Total health center employment is more than 148,000 individuals nationwide, and health centers added more than 35,000 jobs over the last four years including physicians, nurses and behavioral health staff.

    At a time when we are focused on making sure as many Americans as possible know about the new health care options they can sign up for through the federal and state Marketplaces, it is also critical to make sure we are boosting access to quality health care services. Supporting our community health centers is just one way the Affordable Care Act is making our health care system stronger.

    To learn more about how the law is improving health care for millions of Americans nationwide, visit whitehouse.gov/healthreform.

    Cecilia Muñoz is the Director of the Domestic Policy Council

  • President Obama and the First Lady Will Welcome Two Latino Kennedy Center Honorees to the White House

    Posted by Katherine Vargas on December 8, 2013 at 6:54 PM EDT

    President Obama and the First Lady Michelle Obama will welcome the 2013 Kennedy Center Honorees to the White House this Sunday, December 8, where they will applaud and thank them for their musical contributions to the world. Amongst the five honorees, two of the artists being recognized are Latinos: acclaimed musician Carlos Santana and renowned soprano opera singer Martina Arroyo.

    The selection of Carlos Santana and Martina Arroyo represent the rising national influence of Latin music and the Latino community. Música Latina, is known for its diversity, marked by its longstanding traditions and continuous creativity. Music has always been central to the Latino culture, a tradition that can be seen in towns and cities across America. As the Latino population in the US grows, so does the fusion of Latino rhtyms in mainstream music from radio stations to the billboard charts.

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