The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
February 13, 2015

WHITE HOUSE REPORT: Investing in our Future: Helping Teachers and Schools Prepare Our Children for College and Careers

On Wednesday, Republicans on the House Education and Workforce Committee approved H.R. 5, the Student Success Act. The legislation would lock-in sequestration funding levels, eliminate accountability for taxpayer dollars, and allow states to shift Title I funds from high-poverty schools to more affluent districts. Today, the White House is releasing a report that provides a state-by-state impact of locking in ESEA funding levels at sequestration and a list of the school districts most negatively impacted by changes to the Title I allocation formula.

After an economic crisis that hit school budgets and educators hard, we cannot just cut our way to better schools and more opportunity.  H.R. 5 would deny students and teachers the resources they need by:

  • Cementing recent education cuts, ensuring that federal education funding will be lower in 2021 than it was in 2012, before the recent education cuts and despite inflation and growing enrollment. The House Republican proposal caps spending on the ESEA for the next six years at $800 million lower than it was in 2012. In Title I alone, the bill will provide over $7 billion less to our schools than the President’s budget over six years, and the impact on each state is presented in Appendix 1.
  • Eliminating guarantees that education funding reaches the classroom, while opening the door for education investments to be wasted on things like sports stadiums and other unrelated pet projects. The House Republican proposal would allow states and localities to reduce the overall amount they spend on education and the funding they direct to classrooms and teachers without losing a dime of federal resources. 
  • Cutting investments to those schools that need help most by allowing states to cut federal resources for schools that need it most, while giving it to wealthier schools instead. The 100 school districts facing the largest cuts in dollar terms face an average 15 percent cut, and some especially high-poverty school districts would see cuts as large as 74 percent.
  • Eliminating accountability for taxpayer dollars rather than working to use them in ways that improve student learning and ensuring that all students succeed and we do what works to improve even the lowest performing schools. 

President Obama has a different vision to improve schools and help teachers by giving them the resources they need, identifying what is working, and fixing what doesn’t work so that we can guarantee every child has a world-class education. He would reduce student testing to the bare minimum to let teachers get back to teaching, while ensuring that parents and teachers know how students and schools are doing each year so we can ensure that every child is learning and problems in low-performing schools are addressed. And his Budget would strengthen our schools by investing an additional $2.7 billion in ESEA programs next year alone and expand high-quality preschool, so teachers, principals and educators have the support and resources they need to help students succeed in the classroom.

The School Districts You Don't See on This Map Are as Telling as the Ones You Do See:

Lindsay Holst
Lindsay Holst
February 13, 2015
10:30 AM EST

Right now, Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives are advancing legislation (H.R. 5) that would cement recent education cuts — taking funding from the schools that need it most and giving it to some of the nation’s wealthiest districts.

This approach is backwards, and our teachers and kids deserve better.

Today, the President's Domestic Policy Council released a report breaking down the harmful effects of that legislation, and underlining the fundamental importance of dedicated funding for low-income students. You can read that report here.

Here are the top 100 school districts that would see their funding cut:

And keep in mind what that funding could have gone toward: Hiring teachers, school nurses, counselors, or reading specialists. It could help pay for books and supplies — perhaps for a new curriculum. See what passage of the harmful cuts in H.R. 5 could mean to a district near you.

Related Topics: Economy, Education, California, Virginia

West Wing Week: 2/13/15 or, "Just Say the Word"

Adam Garber
Adam Garber
February 13, 2015
10:07 AM EST

This week, the President spent time with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Hoosiers, BuzzFeeders, veterans, and public health warriors -- while the Vice President traveled to Belgium and Germany. 

Related Topics: Economy

West Wing Week: 2/13/15 or, "Just Say the Word"

February 13, 2015 | 4:23 | Public Domain

Welcome to the West Wing Week, your guide to everything that's happening at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and beyond. This week, the President spent time with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Hoosiers, BuzzFeeders, veterans, and public health warriors -- while the Vice President traveled to Belgium and Germany. That's February 6th to February 12th or, "Just Say the Word."

Download mp4 (143MB)

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
February 13, 2015

FACT SHEET: Supporting Travel and Tourism to Grow Our Economy by Improving the Arrivals Experience for International Travelers to the US

From Washington, DC, to Washington state, every year millions of travelers visit communities across America. Those visits support nearly 8 million American jobs at thousands of businesses, large and small, including an estimated 280,000 additional American jobs over the past five years. In 2014 alone, international travelers spent an estimated $222 billion in the United States.

Recognizing the tremendous potential of the tourism industry – America’s largest services export - the President launched a National Travel and Tourism Strategy in 2012 with an ambitious goal of attracting and welcoming 100 million international visitors annually by the end of 2021. Three years later, we are on track to meet this goal and in fact have seen the number of international visitors grow from 55 million in 2009 to an estimated 74 million in 2014.

Today, the Department of Commerce (DOC) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) are building on the progress made by jointly releasing a new report Supporting Travel and Tourism to Grow Our Economy and Create More Jobs: A National Goal on the International Arrivals Process and Airport-Specific Action Plans that outlines new executive actions that answer the President’s call last spring to further expedite and improve the arrivals process for international travelers to the United States and sets forth airport-specific Action Plans for 17 of the highest-traffic airports across the country, accounting for 73.7 percent of all international travelers to the United States.  

Facilitating Smoother Arrivals for All International Travelers to the United States

  • Launching a new National Goal to provide a best-in-class arrivals experience to an ever-increasing number of international visitors.

  • Implementing new Action Plans at 17 of our largest airports—accounting for nearly three out of four international travelers to the United States—to improve the arrivals process for international travelers.

  • Announcing $20 million in public-private partnerships supporting the Airport Action Plans to install 340 additional automated passport control kiosks that reduce wait times by up to 30 percent. 

  • DHS is taking steps to improve the arrivals process at all airports, including eliminating the need for air passengers to complete the paper 6059b Customs Declaration form upon arrival by the end of 2016. 

The safety and security of this country will always come first, but we can and must also ensure that the travel experience continues to be welcoming, friendly, and efficient. Today’s announcements build on progress already made by the Administration to support continued growth in travel and tourism to the U.S.: in 2013 alone, the State Department issued 9.2 million visas, up 42 percent since 2010; waiting periods for visas in important markets like Brazil and China have dropped from as high as several months to less than five days on average; and in November 2014, the State Department announced a bilateral agreement with China to increase the length of business and tourist visas issued to each country’s citizens from one year to ten years, while increasing student visas from one to five years. In the three months since that announcement, Chinese demand for U.S. visas has grown by more than 50 percent compared to the same period last year.

Launching a New National Goal to Improve the Arrivals Experience for International Travelers to the United States

Today, DHS and DOC released a report that responds to the President’s May 2014 Presidential Memorandum calling on DOC and DHS to establish a national goal and airport-specific action plans to enhance the arrivals process for international travelers to the United States. The national goal and concrete actions at 17 gateway airports will maximize the economic contribution of travel and tourism while safeguarding our security.

  • National Goal to Improve the Arrivals Experience: Based on extensive industry outreach and input from hundreds of executives and leaders from airlines, airport authorities, worker representatives, state and local governments, as well as other private and nonfederal public stakeholders, we have established a national goal to “provide a best-in-class international arrivals experience, as compared to our global competitors, to an ever-increasing number of international visitors.” On an ongoing basis, we will assess the process from the moment travelers step off the plane, through primary passport inspection, until they collect their bags and exit through final baggage inspection. 

  • New Task Force with Industry to Build on Progress: To develop a strategy to meet the new national goal, the DOC and DHS are establishing an interagency task force, co-chaired by the Deputy Secretaries of both agencies, that will leverage the expertise of industry stakeholders to identify the key factors that drive a traveler’s perception of the international arrivals experience and how it influences the decision to travel to the United States. Over the next 12 months, the task force will establish quarterly benchmarks and engage with a broad array of stakeholders, including private sector companies with reputations for excellence in customer service and through the U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board of the DOC.  

Implementing 17 Airport-Specific Action Plans Developed in Partnership with Industry

The DHS has developed the Action Plans in close partnership with airports, airlines and industry. The Action Plans include significant steps to drive innovation to simplify and accelerate the entry process.

  • $20 million in public-private partnerships to install 340 additional automated passport control kiosks. Modern touch-screen technology allows passengers to scan their passports and enter their customs declaration information, rather than waiting in line to provide that information to customs officials. DHS continues to work with airports to make more passengers eligible to use these kiosks, reducing wait times for international arrivals by up to 30 percent.  

  • Four new videos providing useful information on the arrival processes for both U.S. citizens and foreign visitors are available online, and for use in airports, consular offices and on aircraft.  These videos are available at: http://www.cbp.gov/travel/international-visitors/know-before-you-go. 

Taking Action Now to Modernize the Arrivals Experience at Airports Across the Country

In addition to the airport-specific executive actions in each of the 17 Action Plans, DHS is also taking new steps to modernize and improve the arrivals experience at more airports across the country.

  • New mobile passport control technology to simplify and accelerate the entry process by allowing eligible travelers to submit their passport information and customs declaration form through a smartphone or tablet prior to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) inspection. Based on the successful pilot at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, CBP has committed to expand the program to the 20 airports with the highest volumes of international travelers by the end of 2016. 

Process modernization, including streamlining baggage control egress and eliminating paper forms. Among many other steps, CBP plans to eliminate the need for air passengers to complete the paper 6059b Customs Declaration form upon arrival by the end of 2016.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
February 13, 2015

FACT SHEET: White House Summit on Cybersecurity and Consumer Protection

As a nation, the United States has become highly digitally dependent.  Our economy, national security, educational systems, and social lives have all become deeply reliant on cyberspace.  Our use of digital networks provides a platform for innovation and prosperity and a means to improve general welfare around the country and around the globe, driving unparalleled growth. But this dependency also creates risks that threaten national security, private enterprises and individual rights. It is a threat not just here in the United States, but one that everyone, everywhere who is connected to cyberspace faces.

On February 13, the President is convening leaders from throughout the country who have a stake in bolstering cybersecurity – from industry, tech companies, and consumer and privacy advocates to law enforcement, educators, and students.  Participants will discuss opportunities to spur collaboration and develop partnerships in the cybersecurity and consumer financial worlds to share best practices, promote stronger adherence to security standards, improve cyber threat information sharing, and encourage the adoption of more secure payment technologies. 

This Summit comes at a crucial point.  The President has been committed to strengthening our Nation’s cybersecurity since the beginning of his Administration and we have made significant progress.  Yet, cyber threats to individuals, businesses, critical infrastructure and national security have grown more diffuse, acute, and destructive. Despite improvements in network defense, cyber threats are evolving faster than the defenses that counter them. Malicious actors ranging from sophisticated nation states to common criminals to hacktivists take advantage of the anonymity, reach, and broad range of effects that cyberspace offers. Because of the interconnected nature of the Internet, no one is isolated from these threats. We are at an inflection point, both domestically and internationally, and now is the time to raise the call for greater collective action.

Public and Private Commitments

Cybersecurity is a shared responsibility.  The Federal government has the responsibility to protect and defend the country and we do this by taking a whole-of-government approach to countering cyber threats. This means leveraging homeland security, intelligence, law enforcement, and military authorities and capabilities, which respectively provide for domestic preparedness, criminal deterrence and investigation, and our national defense.   Yet much of our nation’s critical infrastructure and a diverse array of other potential targets are not owned by the Federal government.  The Federal government cannot, nor would Americans want it to, provide cybersecurity for every private network.  Therefore, the private sector plays a crucial role in our overall national network defense.   To that end, both the Federal government and the private are announcing key commitments today. 

The Cybersecurity Framework

In 2013, the President signed an Executive Order on Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity which resulted in the development of the Cybersecurity Framework, released on February 12, 2014.  In taking a risk management approach, the Framework recognizes that no organization can or will spend unlimited amounts on cybersecurity.  Instead, it enables a business to make decisions about how to prioritize and optimize its cybersecurity investments. The Framework also offers a flexible benchmarking tool for a wide range of organizations. For organizations that don’t know where to start, the Framework provides a roadmap. For organizations that are already sophisticated, the Framework offers a yardstick to measure against – and to use in communicating with partners and suppliers. Finally, the Framework creates a common vocabulary that can be used to effectively communicate about cyber risk management. The Framework is emerging as an important tool for technologists to communicate with organizational leaders on managing cyber risks. We have been encouraged by industry use of the Framework, and we will continue to promote its broad uptake both within the government and across the private sector.  Today, the following corporations are announcing a commitment to using the Framework.

  • Intel is releasing a paper on its use of the Framework and requiring all of its vendors to use the Framework by contract.
  • Apple is incorporating the Framework as part of the broader security protocols across its corporate networks.
  • Bank of America will announce that it is using the Framework and will also require it of its vendors.
  • U.S. Bank and Pacific Gas & Electric are announcing that they are committed to using the Framework.
  • AIG is starting to incorporate the NIST framework into how it underwrites cyber insurance for large, medium-sized, and small businesses and will use the framework to help customers identify gaps in their approach to cybersecurity.
  • QVC is announcing that it is using the Cybersecurity Framework in its risk management.
  • Walgreens is announcing its support for the Cybersecurity Framework and that it uses it as one of its tools for identifying and measuring risk.
  • Kaiser Permanente is committing to use the Framework.

Information Sharing

Today the President is also signing an Executive Order to encourage and promote the sharing of cybersecurity threat information within the private sector and between the private sector and Federal government. Rapid information sharing is an essential element of effective cybersecurity because it ensures that U.S. companies work together to respond to threats, rather than operating alone. This Executive Order lays out a framework for expanded information sharing designed to help companies work together with the federal government to quickly identify and protect against cyber threats.  From removing barriers, to helping to improve the delivery of timely and relevant intelligence to the private sector, to advocating for needed legislation, the President is committed to improving information sharing and collaboration with the private sector. 

The following organizations will also be making commitments today:        

  • The Cyber Threat Alliance (including Palo Alto Networks and Symantec, Intel Security, and Fortinet) will announce that its new cyber threat sharing partnership is starting to build best practices and standards consistent with the new information sharing Executive Order.
  • The Entertainment Software Association is announcing the creation of a new information sharing and analysis organization that will be built consistent with the new information sharing Executive Order.
  • Crowdstrike is announcing that it will form an information sharing and analysis organization.
  • Box is announcing that it will participate in the standards-development process for ISAOs, and that it will explore ways to use the Box platform to enhance collaboration among ISAOs.
  • FireEye is launching its “Information Sharing Framework,” which allows FireEye customers to receive threat intelligence in near-real-time, and provides anonymized threat indicators 

Secure Payment Technologies

In October 2014, the President signed an Executive Order to advance consumer financial protection and launched the Buy Secure Initiative.  Today, the following organizations will announce new commitments to promote more secure payment technologies.

  • Visa is committing to tokenization – substituting credit card numbers with randomly generated tokens for each transaction - by the end of the 1st quarter of 2015.
  • MasterCard will invest more than $20 million in new cybersecurity tools, including the deployment of Safety Net, a new security solution that will reduce the risk of large-scale cyber attacks. 
  • Apple, Visa, MasterCard, Comerica Bank and U.S. Bank are committed to working together to make Apple Pay, a tokenized, encrypted service, available for users of federal payment cards, including DirectExpress and GSA SmartPay cards.
  • Square is working with the Small Business Administration to roll out an education program aimed at convincing small business to adopt more secure payment technologies.
  • The Financial Services Roundtable and the Retail Industry Leaders Association, on behalf of a partnership of 19 associations, are jointly announcing today the release of two papers to enhance collaboration in the development of technology standards and principles for the development of next generation technologies that minimize the value of payments information if it is stolen or lost.  

Multi-Factor Authentication

In order to replace the password as our primary means of security online, we must have new technologies that combine greater security and convenience.  This technology moves beyond usernames and passwords to employ multiple security steps to better ensure a person is who they say they are. 

Through the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace, the US Government has invested more than $50 million over the past four years to advance this market in partnership with the research and development community and technology firms.  

The following companies are announcing new initiatives to advance multi-factor authentication:

  • Intel is releasing a new authentication technology that will not rely on a password, but will instead employ other technologies, such as biometrics.
  • American Express is announcing rollout of new multi-factor authentication technologies for their consumers.
  • MasterCard, in partnership with First Tech Credit Union, will announce that they will implement a new pilot later this year that will allow consumers to authenticate and verify their transactions using a combination of unique biometrics such as facial and voice recognition. 
  • In September of last year, CloudFlare enabled more than a million of its customers' Web sites to support Universal SSL--for free.  Now, they are taking another step to secure the Web by enabling every CloudFlare customer to support DNSSEC, the open standard for authenticating domain names, by the end of the year. 

Credit Score Transparency – A number of leaders in the financial services industry will be making credit scores more readily available to all Americans, improving consumers’ awareness of credit health, and providing them a tool to identify major shifts in their credit score – a key first sign of identity theft.

  • In partnership with FICO, Nationstar will join the growing list of firms making credit scores available for free to their customers by the end of the year

Call for Legislative Action

The government and private sector have made significant commitments to advance cybersecurity and consumer protection.   While we applaud Congress for successfully passing several pieces of important cybersecurity legislation last year, we still need Congress to pass key cybersecurity legislation.  To support that call for action, last month the President sent our updated cybersecurity legislative proposal to Congress. 

Enabling Cybersecurity Information Sharing: The Administration’s updated proposal promotes better cybersecurity information sharing between the private sector and government and enhances collaboration and information sharing amongst the private sector.  Specifically, the proposal encourages the private sector to share appropriate cyber threat information with the Department of Homeland Security’s National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC), which will then share it with relevant federal agencies and with private sector-developed and operated Information Sharing and Analysis Organizations (ISAOs), by providing targeted liability protection for companies that share information.

The legislation also encourages the formation of private-sector led Information Sharing and Analysis Organizations.  The Administration’s proposal safeguards Americans’ personal privacy by requiring private entities to comply with certain privacy restrictions such as removing unnecessary personal information and taking measures to protect any personal information that must be shared to qualify for liability protection.  The proposal further requires the Department of Homeland Security and the Attorney General, in consultation with the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board and others, to develop receipt, retention, use, and disclosure guidelines for the federal government’s sharing of cyber threat indicators.  Finally, the Administration intends this proposal to complement and not to limit existing effective relationships between government and the private sector.  These existing relationships between law enforcement and other federal agencies are critical to the cybersecurity mission.

Modernizing Law Enforcement Authorities to Combat Cyber Crime: Law enforcement must have appropriate tools to investigate, disrupt and prosecute cyber crime.  The Administration’s proposal contains provisions that would allow for the prosecution of the sale of botnets, criminalize the overseas sale of stolen U.S. financial information like credit card and bank account numbers, expand federal law enforcement authority to deter the sale of spyware used to stalk or commit identity theft, and give courts the authority to shut down botnets engaged in distributed denial of service attacks and other criminal activity.  It also reaffirms important components of the Administration’s 2011 cyber legislative proposals to update the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), a key law used to prosecute organized crime, so that it applies to cybercrimes, clarifies penalties for computer crimes, and makes sure these penalties are in line with other similar non-cyber crimes.  Finally, the proposal modernizes the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act by ensuring that insignificant conduct does not fall within the scope of the statute, while making clear that it can be used to prosecute insiders who abuse their ability to access information to use it for their own purposes.

National Data Breach Reporting: State laws have helped consumers protect themselves against identity theft while also encouraging business to improve cybersecurity.  These laws require businesses that have suffered an intrusion to notify consumers if consumers’ personal information has been compromised.  The Administration’s updated proposal helps businesses and consumers by simplifying and standardizing the existing patchwork of 46 state laws (plus the District of Columbia and several territories) that contain these requirements into one federal statute, and by putting in place a single clear and timely notice requirement to ensure that companies notify their employees and customers about security breaches.

Moving Forward

The Cybersecurity Summit marks a milestone in our Nation’s efforts to strengthen its cyber defenses.  It provides an opportunity to discuss what we have accomplished to date and to highlight immediate commitments that the Federal government and the private sector are making to improve the security of cyberspace.   However, in cybersecurity, we can never rest on past achievements.  Therefore, even as we and the private sector make good on these commitments, we need to keep moving forward.   We will continue to focus on strengthening the defenses of our critical infrastructure and government networks, improving our ability to disrupt, respond to, recover from, and mitigate malicious cyber activity, enhance our international cooperation, and shape the future of cyberspace to be inherently more secure.  And we look forward to doing this in close collaboration with our private sector partners.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
February 12, 2015

Press Gaggle by Deputy Press Secretary Eric Schultz, 2/12/15

Aboard Air Force One
En Route California 

3:52 P.M. EST

MR. SCHULTZ:  Good afternoon, everyone.  Welcome aboard Air Force One.  Before we begin, I'm sure you all saw some significant news out of Philadelphia today.  In anticipation of your questions on that, I'm happy to give you the President’s reaction.  In fact, he is thrilled that the city of Philadelphia and the mayor today enacted a bill that would guarantee working families at least five paid sick days off per year. 

According to the bill, approximately 200,000 Philadelphia families who currently lack access to paid leave now stand to gain from today’s action.  As you know, about 27 days ago -- I did the math this morning -- the President called for an expansion of paid sick leave as part of his State of the Union address.  Congress hasn’t yet moved on this.  But we appreciate the city of Philadelphia doing just that.  We call on more cities and localities to do it.  We also reiterate our call for Congress to move as well.

And with that, I'm happy to take your questions.

Q    You said you were thrilled.  I thought you were talking about the DNC convention.  Did the President have any thrill reaction to that as well?

MR. SCHULTZ:  We saw that announcement as well, Margaret, and we're very pleased with that announcement as well.

Q    I have a question on Ukraine.  I was wondering if the cease-fire deal there in any way reduces the pressure on the President in terms of having him make a decision about sending more lethal weapons over to Ukraine.

MR. SCHULTZ:  Thank you, Darlene.  Our position on that hasn’t changed, which is that we are constantly evaluating our response to this crisis.  The President heretofore has been clear that the reason we haven't sent over the types of aid you're talking about is that principally we believe this should be resolved diplomatically.  And that is our preference; that is our priority.  And so we haven't made any determinations to change the sorts of equipment we're going to be sending.

Q    -- that discussion about sanctions, Eric, increasing sanctions on Russia? 

MR. SCHULTZ:  Well, I think I have no new announcements to make at this time.  We would only consider rolling back sanctions if Russia lives up to not only the agreement that was announced a few hours ago, but also the agreement that was agreed upon in Minsk a few months ago now.  Clearly, they have not lived up to that agreement in a variety of ways, so I don't have anything new on that until they do that.

Q    Is the President optimistic that this agreement will hold?

MR. SCHULTZ:  I think we welcome the news.  We're certainly gratified by the hard work of our European partners, including Chancellor Merkel and President Hollande.  We consider it a potential significant step in the right direction, provided that all parties abide by it.

Q    Are you concerned, is the President concerned that by putting another cease-fire in place now, after the pro-Russian forces have gained so much territory, that you are essentially enshrining the territorial gains that they have made? 

MR. SCHULTZ:  David, I think that we welcome the agreement that was announced a few hours ago.  We're still studying the details of what’s exactly in the agreement.  We believe that it is a potentially significant step in the right direction.  But our bottom line on this is that actions are going to matter a whole lot more than words.  And so we'll need Russia and all sides to live up to what they agreed upon.

Q    Is your bottom line, though, that you have to go back to where things were at the time of the Minsk agreement several months ago when obviously the pro-Russian forces had much less territory?

MR. SCHULTZ:  We absolutely believe that Russia should live up to the agreements from the previous Minsk agreement, from that time. 

Q    On a separate subject, do you have any further information or details on the Keystone bill that's has been voted on in Congress, and when the President might plan to veto it?

MR. SCHULTZ:  I don't have an update on that.  As you know, the approval process for this pipeline is one that predates this administration, and is hubbed at the State Department.  We're going to let that process unfold.  The President has announced that he would oppose and veto any legislative maneuvering to circumvent that process.  So he will indeed be vetoing it.  But again, I don't even think they’ve sent the bill over or even announced when the bill would come over.

Q    -- he could have this while he’s in Palm Springs, I think.  Is that not true?

Q    The Republicans have said they won't send it over until after their recess next week.  Yes, he’s going to veto it.  Do you have a sense of whether he would do that in some sort of public, “I'm vetoing this, I told you again and again I'm going to veto”?  Or would he do it behind closed doors, in private or something?

MR. SCHULTZ:  I don't have any rollout plans to announce for that step that, again, doesn’t seem like it's going to be today.

Q    -- on the West Coast.  Is he planning to wading in in any way to the court’s dispute?

MR. SCHULTZ:  As you know, our focus on this trip is on the first-ever cybersecurity summit, and consumer protection.  I would not anticipate the President wading in on that.  I do think that our view is this is a conflict that should be resolved at the negotiating table.  There’s a federal mediator right now mediating between both sides, and we want this resolved at the negotiating table and we want it resolved quickly.

Q    -- either side ask that the President get involved in some way?  Is that something under some circumstance he might consider if this is not resolved quickly?

MR. SCHULTZ:  Our view is this should be resolved at the negotiating table expeditiously. 

Q    I was wondering, when it comes to the cyber summit itself, a number of the CEOs -- Tim Cook, notwithstanding -- have decided not to attend personally, and to send other high-level people from their team instead.  And I'm just wondering, does the White House see this as a snub, or does the White House see this purely as a scheduling issue?  And do you think they’re trying to make a statement about the NSA and administration policies, or does it have nothing to do with that, and no hard feelings between everybody?

MR. SCHULTZ:  Margaret, I think we are very pleased at the participation across the board for the first annual -- well, not annual yet -- for the first-ever White House Summit on Cybersecurity and Consumer Protection.  I think if you look at who will be joining us over the next day or so, you’ll be looking at industry leaders in the tech industry, in the privacy advocacy community, in academia and government, and business leaders from across the board.  So we are gratified and we welcome their participation.

I know that some companies are sending different representatives, but we are pleased at their participation.

Q    Do you think that the decision of those who have decided not to come is to make a statement?  Or do you not see it as that, just sort of coincidence?

MR. SCHULTZ:  You’ll have to check with certain companies if they’re not participating.  But as I understand it, I think -- and I know we’re in the midst of sort of releasing the details, but not only the engagement that we've gotten from tech and business leaders across the board we're proud of, but also some of the commitments that are going to be announced over the next day or so are pretty significant.

Q    Can you talk more broadly through the weekend, besides this cyber summit?  We know he'll be attending a fundraiser and we know he'll be in Palm Springs.  But can you talk to us about will he see any of the players in the California potential Senate race in that Democratic field?  Or will he make an effort to not visit with any of them so that he doesn’t send a mixed signal?  How much politics will be on this trip?

MR. SCHULTZ:  As I suggested, Margaret, our focus and the President’s cause for this trip is the cybersecurity summit.  I would not anticipate a very robust public schedule beyond tomorrow, beyond Friday.  But we'll let you know if that changes.

Q    On the cyber end, the President gave a speech on NSA reform a year ago, and you turned out an update about a week ago. The essence of the update was that not very many of the reforms that he discussed have yet been implemented, including the movement of bulk collection of calls.  Is the President expected to address the slowness in implementing that plan during the course of the summit?

MR. SCHULTZ:  David, I'm not sure I buy the premise of your question.  This is something that, as you point out, was very important to the President.  He made a speech about it a little bit over a year ago, announced some pretty significant reforms.  The report that was issued I think a week ago now did describe and outline some pretty significant progress we've made on this.

But, as you point out, we're not done.  And I think that long past this issue fading from the headlines, this is work that a lot of our intelligence officials, the professionals across the interagency are working day in and day out on to make sure that we better strike the balance between civil liberties, privacy, and the security interests of the United States. 

Q    The biggest change the President announced in the speech was moving -- a year ago -- was moving the bulk collection to the private sector.  Nobody has seemed to be able to give an estimate of when that would happen. 

MR. SCHULTZ:  I don't have a status update on that for you. I would say that our focus for this trip, on this summit, is going to be more on cybersecurity and consumer protection, specifically bringing together industry, tech companies, consumer and privacy advocates, members of law enforcement, educators and students to really spur collaboration and adopt best practices. 

We're also, of course, going to reiterate our call on Congress to pass legislation, which we announced a while ago, which we have been frustrated with on their lack of progress.  This isn't and shouldn’t be a partisan issue.  Democrats use the Internet; Republicans use the Internet.  I have a feeling both Democrats and Republicans do their share of online shopping.  And we believe this shouldn’t be an issue that's bogged down on partisan politics.  So we urge Congress to move.  There’s a lot of pending legislation up there, a lot of pieces of legislation that could do a lot of good on this front.  So we urge them to move quickly on that.

Q    Mayor Emanuel in Chicago has a primary on the 24th.  Does the President have any plans to campaign for him?

MR. SCHULTZ:  Katie, as you know, we are looking forward to our trip to Chicago next week.  I don't have any scheduling updates for you in terms of the details of what’s going to be on that trip. 

Q    I wanted to follow up on a Daily Beast article.  Did the White House wait a month to stage a rescue after British intelligence officials passed along information about the American hostages’ location last summer? 

MR. SCHULTZ:  No.  I believe your colleague asked my colleague yesterday if there was any sort of delay, and there was not.  You can be assured that as soon as the President was comfortable with the intelligence provided and the plan from our military leaders, there was no delay and the President ordered the mission. 

Q    What about the reports there was a second failed U.S. rescue attempt?  Did something go wrong with the rescue attempt while the Jordanian airstrikes were going on?

MR. SCHULTZ:  I haven't seen anything on that. 

Q    What is the back story on the -- there’s a video with Obama that Buzzfeed put out today on Facebook.  Can you fill us in on how that came about?  Was that part of the interview he did with Buzzfeed, or is it something you guys -- you all wanted him to do?

MR. SCHULTZ:  Darlene, that was conducted after the interview earlier this week.  I can tell you we're about up to about -- before takeoff -- about 5.7 million views online since the launch of it at noon, a few hours ago.  So we're pleased at the response it's getting.  We've noticed significant ripple effects across social media, so we're pleased.

The enrollment deadline for the Affordable Care Act ends on the 15th.  In the past, we’ve had a lot of success finding audiences in these sorts of channels to get them to sign up and visit the website.  So we believe this won’t be any different.

Q    Was the video the White House’s idea, though?  Or whose idea was it?

MR. SCHULTZ:  I’m not sure, actually. 

Q    There’s some legislation on the Hill limiting the President’s ability to transfer detainees.  Does the White House have a position on that?

MR. SCHULTZ:  Joy, thank you for the question.  As you know, our position is that the continued operation of Guantanamo Bay the facility there, weakens our national security, and must be closed.  We believe this bill puts more constraints on a process that should be actually working faster.  And so we oppose this legislation, and the President would veto it.

Q    So this will be -- President Obama will be back on the fundraising circuit.  This is his first fundraiser for the 2016 cycle, tomorrow?

MR. SCHULTZ:  Yes.

Q    Is he looking forward to getting back on the fundraising trail?

MR. SCHULTZ:  I have not spoken to the President about that. Yes.  (Laughter.) 

Q    He’s not raising money for himself anymore.  How does he look at his role going ahead into the final couple years of his presidency? 

MR. SCHULTZ:  I think as he’s talked about, he has run his final campaign.  Nobody is more pleased about that than the First Lady.  And his focus, as he’s talked about, is we are just kicking off our fourth quarter of the presidency.  As he’s said many times, we have a lot of important work to be done, much of which is going to happen tomorrow in terms of the priority of cybersecurity.  And so we’re looking forward to that.

Q    -- the fundraiser will be?  There were some reports that they were having trouble selling tickets.

MR. SCHULTZ:  I have no idea, Katie, but would refer you to the DNC for that information.

Q    Where is the President staying when he’s in Palm Springs?

MR. SCHULTZ:  At a private residence. 

Q    (Inaudible.)

MR. SCHULTZ:  We’ll see if we can get you that information.

Q    Do you think there’s any chance the President would be having any meetings this weekend about the presidential library in any way?  Talking about fundraising, or planning, or design, perhaps?

MR. SCHULTZ:  I haven’t seen that on the President’s schedule.

Q    Is there anything else about the weekend that you can or cannot walk us through in terms of who he’ll be hanging out with, what he’ll be doing in his free time?  This is -- I think the Obamas do a trip like they -- Mrs. Obama and the girls usually use President’s Weekend for separate vacation purposes, but I mean, can you sort of talk us through what he’s looking forward to doing this weekend?

MR. SCHULTZ:  I think you have seen the pretty busy, robust schedule for tomorrow.  Beyond that, I don’t have a -- again, I would not -- for your planning, Margaret, I would not anticipate a robust public schedule for the duration, the remainder of the holiday weekend.

Q    What about the private schedule?

Q    Can we assume golf will be --

MR. SCHULTZ:  Jeff, the President has been known to enjoy golf in this area of the country before.  I would not be surprised if he does so again this weekend. 

Q    Thank you.

MR. SCHULTZ:  Thank you, guys.

END
4:10 P.M. EST

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
February 12, 2015

FACT SHEET: Executive Order Promoting Private Sector Cybersecurity Information Sharing

Today, President Obama will sign an Executive Order to encourage and promote sharing of cybersecurity threat information within the private sector and between the private sector and government. Rapid information sharing is an essential element of effective cybersecurity, because it enables U.S. companies to work together to respond to threats, rather than operating alone. This Executive Order lays out a framework for expanded information sharing designed to help companies work together, and work with the federal government, to quickly identify and protect against cyber threats.

Encouraging Private-Sector Cybersecurity Collaboration

Encourage the development of Information Sharing Organizations: This Executive Order encourages the development of information sharing and analysis organizations (ISAOs) to serve as focal points for cybersecurity information sharing and collaboration within the private sector and between the private sector and government. Information Sharing and Analysis Centers (ISACs) are already essential drivers of effective cybersecurity collaboration, and could constitute ISAOs under this new framework. In encouraging the creation of ISAOs, the Executive Order expands information sharing by encouraging the formation of communities that share information across a region or in response to a specific emerging cyber threat.  An ISAO could be a not-for-profit community, a membership organization, or a single company facilitating sharing among its customers or partners.

Develop a common set of voluntary standards for information sharing organizations: The Executive Order also directs the Department of Homeland Security to fund the creation of a non-profit organization to develop a common set of voluntary standards for ISAOs. Developing this baseline will enable ISAOs to quickly demonstrate their policies and security protocols to potential partners. This will make collaboration safer, faster, and easier, and ensure greater coordination within the private sector to respond to cyber threats.

Enabling Better Private-Public Information Sharing

Clarify the Department of Homeland Security’s authority to enter into agreements with information sharing organizations: The Executive Order also increases collaboration between ISAOs and the federal government by streamlining the mechanism for the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC) to enter into information sharing agreements with ISAOs. This will ensure that robust, voluntary information sharing continues and expands between the public and private sectors. The administration intends this expanded sharing to complement existing effective relationships between government and the private sector.

Streamline private sector companies’ ability to access classified cybersecurity threat information: Classified threat information can often provide valuable context to network defenders and enhance their ability to protect their systems. The Executive Order adds the Department of Homeland Security to the list of Federal agencies that approve classified information sharing arrangements and takes steps to ensure that information sharing entities can appropriately access classified cybersecurity threat information.

Providing Strong Privacy and Civil Liberties Protections

The Executive Order ensures that information sharing enabled by this new framework will include strong protections for privacy and civil liberties. Private sector ISAOs will agree to abide by a common set of voluntary standards, which will include privacy protections, such as minimization, for ISAO operation and ISAO member participation. In addition, agencies collaborating with ISAOs under this order will coordinate their activities with their senior agency officials for privacy and civil liberties and ensure that appropriate protections for privacy and civil liberties are in place and are based upon the Fair Information Practice Principles.

Paving the Way for Future Legislation

The Executive Order also complements the Administration’s January 2015 legislative proposal, and paves the way for new legislation, by building out the concept of ISAOs as a framework for the targeted liability protections that the Administration has long asserted are pivotal to incentivizing and expanding information sharing. The Administration intends this proposal to complement and not to limit existing effective relationships between government and the private sector.

President Obama, a Selfie Stick, and HealthCare.gov

Kori Schulman
Kori Schulman
February 12, 2015
05:32 PM EST

There are things that everybody does but doesn’t talk about: sounding out words, taking selfies, doodling. In a video on BuzzFeed today, President Obama proved he's just like us to spread the word about the health care deadline on February 15.

Watch the video, then head over to HealthCare.gov to learn more about your options.

 
Post by BuzzFeed Video.

Need to get covered? Find a health plan that best fits your needs at HealthCare.gov.

Already covered? Commit to help someone you know get covered here.

Related Topics: Health Care

President Obama Signs the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act

February 12, 2015 | 19:03 | Public Domain

On February 12, 2015, President Obama signed the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act into law at the White House.

Download mp4 (702MB) | mp3 (46MB)