July 01, 2015 | 1:39 | Public Domain
On June 25, 2015, the Supreme Court upheld a critical part of the Affordable Care Act, historic health care reform that the President signed into law in 2010. Now, millions of Americans who got covered in health insurance marketplaces can stay covered, no matter where they live.
It's a simple premise: A hard day's work ought to lead to a fair day's pay.
The problem is, our current legal code doesn't reflect that simple truth. We're doing something to change that.
Earlier this week, President Obama announced that the Department of Labor will propose extending overtime pay to nearly 5 million workers. That would mean that most salaried workers making less than an estimated $50,440 next year would now be guaranteed overtime pay.
Nick may be one of them.
July 01, 2015 | 01:07:20 | Public Domain
President Obama holds a townhall at Taylor Stratton Elementary School in Nashville, TN to discuss the progress we’ve made under the Affordable Care Act. July 1, 2015.
Every day, the White House receives thousands of letters and emails from across the country. Our job in the Office of Presidential Correspondence is to sort and read each message and make sure that President Obama hears directly from Americans about what matters to them.
Today, the President is speaking in Nashville, Tennessee to talk about the ways health care reform is continuing to help millions of Americans. On his way over, he picked up Kelly Bryant to thank her for the letter she wrote him about the Affordable Care Act and to hear directly from her about how it changed her life.
In 2011, Kelly was diagnosed with breast cancer and would later rely on insurance coverage made possible by the Affordable Care Act. She wrote in her letter, “Because of healthcare reform, I am not scared of losing everything. I can start thinking about my new life and how the path is paved with opportunities instead of despair.”
Together, Kelly and President Obama are at a local elementary school, where they've been joined by Natoma Canfield. They’re having a conversation with others from the Nashville area who have written to the President about the Affordable Care Act, as well as doctors, nurses, other healthcare providers and leaders, and volunteers to talk about the ways this law is making a difference in Nashville and across our country.
Kelly has long supported health care reform, because she knew many Americans lacked quality, affordable health coverage. And today, she will have the chance to discuss the impact of this law with her neighbors and the President.
Read her letter here:
The President's down in Nashville today, where he's talking with Americans whose lives health reform has made better. (He even gave one of them a ride in his motorcade this morning.)
He wants to open that conversation up to Americans across the country, too.
Participate using the hashtag #AskPOTUS, and follow along here.
"The progress that we mark today is yet another demonstration that we don't have to be imprisoned by the past. When something isn't working, we can and will change."
-- President Obama
Under President Obama, America is charting a new course in our relationship with Cuba. Today, he announced the next step on this path: Re-opening a U.S. Embassy in Havana.
The last time we had an embassy in Cuba was in January of 1961, when we severed diplomatic relations at the height of the Cold War. Reopening the doors is more than a symbolic step. "With this change, we will be able to substantially increase our contacts with the Cuban people," the President said.
Watch his remarks:
Today at 2:30 pm ET in Nashville, TN, President Obama is participating in a discussion on how we can build on the progress we've made under the Affordable Care Act. Watch live:
A letter from Natoma Canfield, a woman from Ohio that President Barack Obama met who didn’t have health insurance, hangs on the wall in the hall between the Oval Office and the President's Private Office in the West Wing. June 28, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)
More than five years ago, as Congress engaged in heated debates over the Affordable Care Act, President Obama carried a single piece of paper with him every single day: this letter from Natoma Canfield.
I run the White House Visitors' Office, and I wanted to share a big change the President and First Lady just made to the White House visitors photo policy:
The longstanding ban on photography in the White House -- in place for more than 40 years -- is being lifted. Watch the First Lady share why they did this:
So starting today, guests at the White House are now welcome to take photos throughout the White House tour route and keep those memories for a lifetime.
Want to visit the White House or take a virtual tour? Get the details about how you can sign up here.
We're so excited -- and we can't wait for you to come visit!
Ellie Schafer is Director of the White House Visitors Office.
