The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
June 28, 2012

FACT SHEET: The Affordable Care Act: Secure Health Coverage for the Middle Class

The Supreme Court's decision to uphold the Affordable Care Act ensures hard-working, middle class families will get the security they deserve and protects every American from the worst insurance company abuses.  This law was also specifically designed to give States the resources and flexibility they need to tailor their approach to their unique needs.  With the uncertainty about the Court’s decision behind us, it’s now time to focus on implementing this law in a smart and non-bureaucratic way that works for the middle class.
 
Benefits and Protections for the Middle Class: The Affordable Care Act includes numerous provisions to keep health care costs low, promote prevention, and hold insurance companies accountable.  If you’re one of the 250 million Americans who already have health care – whether through private insurance, Medicare, or Medicaid – the Affordable Care Act is already making your coverage more secure.

  • Insurance companies no longer have unchecked power to cancel your policy, deny your child coverage due to a pre-existing condition, or charge women more than men.
  • Over 86 million Americans have gained from coverage of preventive care free of charge, like mammograms for women and wellness visits for seniors.
  • Nearly 13 million Americans will receive a rebate this summer because their insurance company spent too much of their premium dollars on administrative costs or CEO bonuses.
  • The law has already helped 5.3 million seniors and people with disabilities save an average of over $600 on prescription drugs in the “donut hole” in Medicare coverage.
  • The law’s provisions to strengthen and protect Medicare by fighting fraud will continue.
  • The law has helped 6.6 million young adults who have been able to stay on their parents’ plans until the age of 26, including 3.1 million young people who are newly insured.

If you are one of the 30 million Americans who don’t yet have health insurance, starting in 2014 this law will offer you an array of quality, affordable, private health insurance plans to choose from.  If you need care, you will finally have the same opportunity to get quality, affordable coverage as everyone else.
 
Coverage for Americans with Pre-Existing Conditions: A major impact of the Court's decision is that 129 million people with pre-existing conditions will have the security of affordable health coverage.  Starting in 2014, insurance companies can no longer charge you more, carve out benefits, or deny you coverage altogether because you have cancer or diabetes or simply because you are a woman.  To make these protections affordable, people with and without pre-existing conditions should be insured, since everyone at some time needs health care.
 
Tax Credits for Middle Class Families and Small Businesses: Millions of Americans will soon be eligible for tax credits to ensure that their health insurance is affordable. Under today’s ruling, having health insurance is and will continue to be a choice.  If you can’t afford insurance or you’re a small business that wants to provide affordable insurance to your employees, you’ll get tax credits that make coverage affordable.  But starting in 2014, if you can afford insurance and you choose not to purchase it, the taxpayers will no longer subsidize your care for free.  The Court’s ruling today allows Congress to hold the projected 1% of Americans who will be able to afford health insurance but will choose not to buy it responsible for that choice.  Many small businesses are already receiving tax credits so they can afford to offer quality health care to their employees.  To date, 360,000 businesses that employ 2 million workers have already benefitted from the small business tax cuts in the law.  And once the Affordable Care Act takes full effect, about 18 million individuals and families will get tax credits for health insurance coverage averaging about $4,000 apiece.
 
Support for State Implementation of Affordable Insurance Exchanges: With the uncertainty of the Court decision behind us, we will step up our work with States to implement Affordable Insurance Exchanges.  Exchanges are new marketplaces, starting in 2014, that will allow individuals and small businesses to compare and choose private health plans.   Each State will take the lead in designing its own menu of options.  Already, 34 States including the District of Columbia have received 100 percent Federally funded grants to build Exchanges.  The use of Exchange grants includes support for activities related to running Exchanges in their start-up year.
 
States can also implement their own brand of reform through Innovation Waivers starting in 2017.  If States can come up with even better ways of covering people at the same quality and low cost, this law allows them to do so.  The Administration supports bipartisan legislation to allow States to start such Waivers in 2014.
 
Moving Forward, Not Back: No political party has a monopoly on good ideas, and the President will work with anyone to provide basic security for middle class families and end the worst insurance company abuses.  But rather than refight old partisan battles by starting over on health care and repealing basic protections that provide security for the middle class, Congress needs to work together to focus on the economy and creating jobs.  Right now, Congress should act on the President’s concrete plans to create an economy built to last by reducing the deficit in a balanced way and investing in education, clean energy, infrastructure, and innovation.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
June 28, 2012

Presidential Nominations and Withdrawal Sent to the Senate

NOMINATIONS SENT TO THE SENATE:

Camila Ann Alire, of Colorado, to be a Member of the National Council on the Humanities for a term expiring January 26, 2018, vice Allen C. Guelzo, term expired.

Ramón Saldívar, of California, to be a Member of the National Council on the Humanities for a term expiring January 26, 2018, vice Wilfred M. McClay, term expired.

WITHDRAWAL SENT TO THE SENATE:
  
Timothy M. Broas, of Maryland, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which was sent to the Senate on April 26, 2012.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
June 28, 2012

Statement by White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer on Today’s Contempt Vote in the U.S. House of Representatives

At the beginning of this year, Republicans announced one of their top priorities was to investigate the Administration and to ensure that President Obama was a one-term President. Despite the major economic challenges facing the country, they talked openly about devoting taxpayer-funded, Congressional oversight resources to political purposes.

The problem of gunwalking was a field-driven tactic that dated back to the George W. Bush Administration, and it was this Administration’s Attorney General who ended it. Attorney General Holder has said repeatedly that fighting criminal activity along the Southwest Border – including the illegal trafficking of guns to Mexico – is a top priority of the Department. Eric Holder has been an excellent Attorney General and just yesterday the Chairman of the House Oversight Committee acknowledged that he had no evidence – or even the suspicion – that the Attorney General knew of the misguided tactics used in this operation.

Yet, Republicans pushed for political theater rather than legitimate Congressional oversight. Over the past fourteen months, the Justice Department accommodated Congressional investigators, producing 7,600 pages of documents, and testifying at eleven Congressional hearings. In an act of good faith, this week the Administration made an additional offer which would have resulted in the Committee getting unprecedented access to documents dispelling any notion of an intent to mislead. But unfortunately, a politically-motivated agenda prevailed and instead of engaging with the President in efforts to create jobs and grow the economy, today we saw the House of Representatives perform a transparently political stunt.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
June 28, 2012

President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to key Administration posts:
 
• Camila A. Alire – Member, National Council on the Humanities
• Ramón Saldívar – Member, National Council on the Humanities
 
President Obama said, “I am confident that these outstanding individuals will greatly serve the American people in their new roles and I look forward to working with them in the months and years to come.”
 
President Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to key Administration posts:
 
Dr. Camila A. Alire, Nominee for Member, National Council on the Humanities
Dr. Camila A. Alire is Dean Emerita at both the University of New Mexico and Colorado State University. She is also professor of practice in the Managerial Leadership Ph.D. program within Simmons College’s School of Library and Information Science since 2007 and as an adjunct professor at the University of Denver since 2011. From 2009 to 2010, Dr. Alire served as President of the American Library Association. Earlier in her career, she served as Dean of the University of New Mexico’s libraries from 2002 to 2006 and as Dean of Colorado State University’s libraries from 1997 to 2001. She has co-written a number of books, including Academic Librarianship, Serving Latino Communities, and Academic Librarians as Emotionally Intelligent Leaders. Dr. Alire served as Chair of the Colorado Humanities Board of Directors from 1999 to 2000. She received a B.A. from Adams State College, an M.L.S. from the University of Denver, and an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from the University of Northern Colorado. 
 
Dr. Ramón Saldívar, Nominee for Member, National Council on the Humanities
Dr. Ramón Saldívar is the Hoagland Family Chair in the School of Humanities and Sciences and the Milligan Family Fellow in Undergraduate Studies at Stanford University. Dr. Saldívar’s research focuses on Chicano and Chicana studies, literary theory and post-colonial literature. His publications include Figural Language in the Novel: The Flowers of Speech from Cervantes to Joyce, Chicano Narrative: The Dialectics of Difference and The Borderlands of Culture: Américo Paredes and the Transnational Imaginary.  He served on the Editorial Board of American Literature and Modern Fiction Studies from 2003 to 2007, on the Board of Governors of the University of California Humanities Research Institute from 1994 to 1997, and on the National Council of the American Studies Association from 1993 to 1995.  Dr. Saldívar received the 2011 National Humanities Medal.  He earned his B.A from the University of Texas, Austin and his Ph.D. from Yale University.
 

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
June 27, 2012

Statement by the Press Secretary on S. 404, S. 684, and S. 997

On Wednesday, June 27, 2012, the President signed into law:

S. 404, which directs the Secretary of the Interior to modify a land grant patent in Chippewa County, Michigan;

S. 684, which directs the Secretary of Agriculture to convey, without consideration, certain Federal land located in the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest, to the Town of Alta, Utah; and

S. 997, the "East Bench Irrigation District Water Contract Extension Act," which authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to extend a contract for water services between the United States and the East Bench Irrigation District in Montana.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
June 27, 2012

Readout of President Obama’s Calls to Governor John Hickenlooper and Colorado Springs Mayor Steve Bach

Today, President Obama called Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper as well as Colorado Springs Mayor Steve Bach to receive an update on damaging fires that are impacting a number of communities across the state, including the devastating Waldo Canyon fire that is affecting families, homes and businesses in Colorado Springs, CO. The President expressed his concern about the extent of damage to homes in the Colorado Springs area, and informed both the Governor and the Mayor that he plans to travel to the area Friday to view the damage and thank the responders bravely battling the fire.

The President reiterated his administration’s focus, through the US Forest Service as well as the Department of Interior and FEMA, on continuing to bring all resources to bear to assist local responders in Colorado and a number of Western States currently being impacted by fires. Seventeen air tankers have cycled in and out of firefighting action over the last 48 hours across the western states. More than 8,400 personnel, 578 fire engines and 79 helicopters are operating on wildfires around the U.S., with more than half of active federal wildfire-fighting resources are currently staged in Colorado.

Federal support is also being provided to local officials battling fires in Alaska, Arizona, California, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.

The President made clear that he has directed his team to remain focused on the fires. He asked the Governor and the Mayor to identify any additional resources that could be provided and informed both that his thoughts and prayers are with responders and families impacted by these and other fires burning across the western United States.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
June 27, 2012

Readout of the President’s Phone Call with President Hollande of France

President Obama spoke with French President Hollande today, continuing their dialogue on the economic developments in Europe.  They discussed the importance of continued efforts to promote growth and stability in the Eurozone. 

 

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
June 27, 2012

Joint Statement by the United States and the United Arab Emirates

The United States and United Arab Emirates remain deeply committed to close consultation and cooperation to promote peace and stability in the Gulf region and broader Middle East.  In their meeting at the White House today, President Obama and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nuhayan reviewed the full range of regional security issues including Iran, Syria, terrorism, and energy security.
  
The President and Crown Prince discussed the ongoing negotiations with Iran on its nuclear program and the three Gulf islands whose sovereignty is disputed between the UAE and Iran. They called upon Iran to meet its international obligations under the Nuclear Nonprolilferation Treaty and relevant United Nations Security Council and International Atomic Energy Agency Board of Governors resolutions.  They also called for a peaceful resolution of the islands' status, regarding which the United States strongly supports the UAE's initiative to resolve the issue through direct negotiations, the International Court of Justice, or another appropriate international forum.
  
Both the President and Crown Prince expressed the urgent need to implement the Annan plan to prevent further bloodshed in Syria and their support for a transition plan that would meet the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people.  Noting the profound changes taking place in other countries in the Middle East, they called on governments and citizens alike to avoid violence, advance tolerance, and protect human rights-particularly the rights of women.  They highlighted the importance of reforms that support accountable governance, increase civic participation, and promote economic opportunities, especially for young people.
  
The President and Crown Prince pledged to sustain the two countries' joint counter-terrorism and security initiatives in the region.  They discussed programs to counter violent extremism and the ideological roots of terrorism, and welcomed the upcoming launch in October in Abu Dhabi of the new Center for Countering Violent Extremism, a project supported by both countries and the international community.
  
The President and Crown Prince reaffirmed their commitment to strong bilateral defense cooperation to enhance regional security and deter any threat of aggression against the UAE.  They identified a number of mechanisms to continue to deepen this cooperation, including more joint exercises and training, improved combined planning, and future defense equipment sales.  They noted their appreciation that the militaries of the two governments had worked together in multiple coalition operations, including in Desert Storm, Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Libya.  They discussed transition plans for Afghanistan, where UAE Special Forces units have been deployed for 10 years as part of broader coalition military and humanitarian stabilization efforts.  They pledged to enhance multilateral cooperation on regional security issues through the U.S.-Gulf Cooperation Council Strategic Cooperation Forum.
  
On energy security, the Crown Prince outlined the UAE's ongoing initiatives to reduce price volatility and ensure reliable supplies to world markets at prices that support global economic growth.   The President and Crown Prince discussed the importance of protecting critical shipping lanes against threats of aggression, terrorism, and piracy.  The President congratulated the Crown Prince on the announcement of the opening of a new 1.5 million bpd oil pipeline that crosses the UAE, thus allowing energy supplies to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, and also expressed his appreciation for the UAE's efforts in the field of renewable energy.
  
The President and Crown Prince welcomed their countries' strong bilateral economic, cultural, and social ties, noting that the UAE is one of the largest trading partners of the United States in the Middle East.  The President thanked the UAE for hosting the Global Entrepreneurship Summit this December in Dubai, and reaffirmed U.S. support for encouraging broad-based economic growth and opportunity in the region.  The President also noted with appreciation the significant investment by the UAE in the United States, including in a semiconductor manufacturing facility in upstate New York scheduled to open later this year.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
June 27, 2012

Statement by the President on National HIV Testing Day

National HIV Testing Day highlights the importance of HIV testing and the fight against HIV/AIDS.   Of the over 1.1 million Americans living with HIV, more than 200,000 are unaware of their infection, and may unknowingly be transmitting the virus to others.  Knowing your HIV status is a vital step toward accessing life-extending treatment for HIV, and thanks to ongoing research, that treatment is more effective than ever.

In July 2010, my Administration released the National HIV/AIDS Strategy, which emphasizes the goals of reducing infections, improving health outcomes, and reducing HIV-related health disparities.  Two years into its implementation, the Strategy continues to focus Federal, State, and local efforts on improving the delivery of HIV/AIDS services, including expanding outreach, testing, linkage to care, and treatment. 

Testing remains a special priority – and thanks to quick and accurate tests, finding out your HIV status has never been easier.  The Affordable Care Act now requires many health insurance plans to provide recommended preventive health services with no out of pocket costs, giving millions of Americans better access to HIV testing.  Another CDC program, the Expanding Testing Initiative, has conducted 2.8 million tests in its first three years. Together, these and other efforts will help prevent new infections and ensure that people living with HIV lead healthy lives – moving us towards our goal of an AIDS-free generation.
 

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
June 26, 2012

Statement by the Press Secretary on Student Loan Interest Rates

We’re pleased that the Senate has reached a deal to keep rates low and continue offering hard-working students a fair shot at an affordable education. Higher education has never been more important to getting a good job. That’s why President Obama has made stopping this rate hike and saving 7.4 million students an average of $1,000 a priority since his State of the Union and has repeatedly called on Congress to act. We hope that Congress will complete the legislative process and send a bill to the President as soon as possible.