The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
February 23, 2012

Statement by the Press Secretary on Presidential Elections in Senegal

As Senegal’s citizens go to the polls on February 26, we call on Senegalese authorities to uphold internationally-recognized electoral standards to ensure that these elections reflect the will of the Senegalese people.

We encourage all registered Senegalese voters to make their voices heard by casting their ballot, and to do so peacefully.  We urge all political party leaders to lead by example, and encourage their supporters to respect the rights of their neighbors to express their will.  We also call on all Senegalese, including security forces, to exercise restraint, and refrain from any violence. We regret the loss of life that has occurred, and we offer our condolences to the families and friends of those who have been lost.

We and others in the international community stand together in calling for free, fair, transparent, and peaceful elections in Senegal.  The Senegalese people have come to deserve – and expect – nothing less.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
February 23, 2012

Fact Sheet: Plan to Protect Privacy in the Internet Age by Adopting a Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights

The Obama Administration unveiled a “Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights” as part of a comprehensive blueprint to protect individual privacy rights and give users more control over how their information is handled. This initiative seeks to protect all Americans from having their information misused by giving users new legal and technical tools to safeguard their privacy. The blueprint will guide efforts to protect privacy and assure continued innovation in the Internet economy by providing flexible implementation mechanisms to ensure privacy rules keep up with ever-changing technologies. As a world leader in the Internet marketplace, the Administration believes the United States has a special responsibility to develop privacy practices that meet global standards and establish effective online consumer protection. 

  • Putting in place a Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights:  The Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) will soon convene Internet companies and consumer advocates to develop enforceable codes of conduct that comply with the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights, building on strong enforcement by the Federal Trade Commission. The Administration will also work with Congress to enact comprehensive privacy legislation based on the rights outlined here.
  • Achieving privacy policies for a Global, Open Internet: U.S. companies doing business on the global Internet depend on the free flow of information across borders. The Administration’s plan lays the groundwork for increasing interoperability between the U.S. data privacy framework and those of our trading partners.
  • Industry Action – Down payment on Individual Control principle: In response to calls from the Administration and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), leading Internet companies and online advertising networks are committing to use Do Not Track technology from the World Wide Web Consortium in most major web browsers to make it easier for users to control online tracking. Companies that represent the delivery of nearly 90 percent of online behavioral advertisements, including Google, Yahoo!, Microsoft, and AOL have made this FTC-enforceable commitment.

President’s Commitment to Protecting Privacy on the Internet

The President will assure strong individual privacy protection in the Internet age with the following actions:

  • Putting in place a Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights: American Internet users should have the right to control personal information about themselves. Based on globally accepted privacy principles originally developed in the United States, the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights is a comprehensive statement of the rights consumers should expect and the obligations to which companies handling personal data should commit. These rights include the right to control how personal data is used, the right to avoid having information collected in one context and then used for an unrelated purpose, the right to have information held securely, and the right to know who is accountable for the use or misuse of an individual’s personal data.

The Administration’s report, issued today, explains the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights. The Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights and the related privacy policy framework have been developed over the last two years through extensive consultation with industry, advocates, academics and enforcement agencies.

  • Convening commercial and public interest stakeholders to assure dynamic rules: The Commerce Department’s NTIA will convene stakeholders including industry and privacy advocates to develop enforceable codes of conduct that implement the principles in the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights for specific industry sectors. The President’s privacy framework assures that as new Internet services develop privacy rules will keep up with, and not hamper, the pace of innovation. This framework takes advantage of the flexibility of self-regulatory processes but assures that new codes of conduct are guided by a comprehensive, forward-looking set of privacy principles and that all interested parties such as consumer advocates have a voice in the process.
  • Strong Enforcement by the Federal Trade Commission: FTC enforcement is critical to ensuring that companies are accountable for adhering to their privacy commitments and that bad actors do not disadvantage responsible companies. The Administration expects that a company’s public commitment to adhere to a code of conduct will be enforceable under existing FTC authority, just as a company is bound today to follow its privacy commitments. In addition, the Administration will work with Congress to develop legislation that provides the FTC and State Attorneys General with specific authority to enforce the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights.
  • Flexible privacy principles to assure continued innovation: Relying on flexible implementation through enforceable codes of conduct, the Administration’s privacy blueprint will help assure continued growth in the Internet economy, both by building consumer trust and avoiding burden. Online retail sales in the United States total $145 billion annually. [1] The Internet contributed 3.8 percent of U.S. GDP in 2009, and 15 percent of U.S. GDP growth between 2004 and 2009. [2] The Internet contributes $175 billion in direct economic value to the rest of the U.S. economy, including $20 billion in advertising services, $85 billion in online retail transactions, and $70 billion in direct payments to Internet service providers. [3]
  • Enacting comprehensive privacy legislation: The Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights outlines the basic principles the Administration believes should be reflected in a privacy law and will work with Congress to enact these rights. In addition to proposing these clear and actionable rights, the Administration’s  privacy report outlines  an a way for companies to be confident that they are respecting these rights through an FTC-approved enforcement safe harbor. This approach will protect consumers while providing the certainty and flexibility necessary for continuing innovation.
  • Achieving Global Open Internet privacy policies: U.S. companies doing business on the global Internet depend on the free flow of information across borders. The Administration’s plan lays the groundwork for increasing interoperability between the U.S. data privacy framework and those of our trading partners. The plan emphasizes mutual recognition of privacy frameworks, an international role for codes of conduct, and enforcement cooperation. These approaches will provide consistent protections for consumers, reduce compliance costs for companies, guide U.S. efforts to clarify data protections globally, and ensure the flexibility that is critical to innovation in the commercial world.

Building on Progress

The President’s initiatives for Internet privacy build on successful, transparent engagement with privacy stakeholders in the commercial and advocacy communities, coordinated by a privacy subcommittee of the National Science and Technology Council with cross-Administration participation.

  • Demonstrating global leadership: In May 2011, the President released his International Strategy for Cyberspace, which has influenced new international agreements, such as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) Internet Policymaking Principles.
  • Nominating a Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board: The President has nominated a full slate of members of the independent privacy body that will provide guidance and oversight of government use of personal information in the counter-terrorism and law enforcement context.

CONSUMER PRIVACY BILL OF RIGHTS

The Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights applies to personal data, which means any data, including aggregations of data, that is linkable to a specific individual.  Personal data may include data that is linked to a specific computer or other device.  The Administration supports Federal legislation that adopts the principles of the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights.  Even without legislation, the Administration will convene multistakeholder processes that use these rights as a template for codes of conduct that are enforceable by the Federal Trade Commission.  These elements—the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights, codes of conduct, and strong enforcement—will increase interoperability between the U.S. consumer data privacy framework and those of our international partners.

  1. INDIVIDUAL CONTROL:  Consumers have a right to exercise control over what personal data companies collect from them and how they use it.  Companies should provide consumers appropriate control over the personal data that consumers share with others and over how companies collect, use, or disclose personal data.  Companies should enable these choices by providing consumers with easily used and accessible mechanisms that reflect the scale, scope, and sensitivity of the personal data that they collect, use, or disclose, as well as the sensitivity of the uses they make of personal data.  Companies should offer consumers clear and simple choices, presented at times and in ways that enable consumers to make meaningful decisions about personal data collection, use, and disclosure.  Companies should offer consumers means to withdraw or limit consent that are as accessible and easily used as the methods for granting consent in the first place.
  2. TRANSPARENCY:  Consumers have a right to easily understandable and accessible information about privacy and security practices.  At times and in places that are most useful to enabling consumers to gain a meaningful understanding of privacy risks and the ability to exercise Individual Control, companies should provide clear descriptions of what personal data they collect, why they need the data, how they will use it, when they will delete the data or de-identify it from consumers, and whether and for what purposes they may share personal data with third parties. 
  3. RESPECT FOR CONTEXT:  Consumers have a right to expect that companies will collect, use, and disclose personal data in ways that are consistent with the context in which consumers provide the data.  Companies should limit their use and disclosure of personal data to those purposes that are consistent with both the relationship that they have with consumers and the context in which consumers originally disclosed the data, unless required by law to do otherwise.  If companies will use or disclose personal data for other purposes, they should provide heightened Transparency and Individual Control by disclosing these other purposes in a manner that is prominent and easily actionable by consumers at the time of data collection.  If, subsequent to collection, companies decide to use or disclose personal data for purposes that are inconsistent with the context in which the data was disclosed, they must provide heightened measures of Transparency and Individual Choice.  Finally, the age and familiarity with technology of consumers who engage with a company are important elements of context.  Companies should fulfill the obligations under this principle in ways that are appropriate for the age and sophistication of consumers.  In particular, the principles in the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights may require greater protections for personal data obtained from children and teenagers than for adults.
  4. SECURITY:  Consumers have a right to secure and responsible handling of personal data.  Companies should assess the privacy and security risks associated with their personal data practices and maintain reasonable safeguards to control risks such as loss; unauthorized access, use, destruction, or modification; and improper disclosure. 
  5. ACCESS AND ACCURACY:  Consumers have a right to access and correct personal data in usable formats, in a manner that is appropriate to the sensitivity of the data and the risk of adverse consequences to consumers if the data is inaccurate.  Companies should use reasonable measures to ensure they maintain accurate personal data.  Companies also should provide consumers with reasonable access to personal data that they collect or maintain about them, as well as the appropriate means and opportunity to correct inaccurate data or request its deletion or use limitation.  Companies that handle personal data should construe this principle in a manner consistent with freedom of expression and freedom of the press.  In determining what measures they may use to maintain accuracy and to provide access, correction, deletion, or suppression capabilities to consumers, companies may also consider the scale, scope, and sensitivity of the personal data that they collect or maintain and the likelihood that its use may expose consumers to financial, physical, or other material harm.
  6. FOCUSED COLLECTION:  Consumers have a right to reasonable limits on the personal data that companies collect and retain.  Companies should collect only as much personal data as they need to accomplish purposes specified under the Respect for Context principle.  Companies should securely dispose of or de-identify personal data once they no longer need it, unless they are under a legal obligation to do otherwise.
  7. ACCOUNTABILITY:  Consumers have a right to have personal data handled by companies with appropriate measures in place to assure they adhere to the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights.  Companies should be accountable to enforcement authorities and consumers for adhering to these principles.  Companies also should hold employees responsible for adhering to these principles.  To achieve this end, companies should train their employees as appropriate to handle personal data consistently with these principles and regularly evaluate their performance in this regard.  Where appropriate, companies should conduct full audits.  Companies that disclose personal data to third parties should at a minimum ensure that the recipients are under enforceable contractual obligations to adhere to these principles, unless they are required by law to do otherwise.

1 U.S. Census Bureau, E-Stats, May 26, 2011, http://www.census.gov/econ/estats/2009/2009reportfinal.pdf
2 McKinsey Global Institute, Internet Matters: The Net’s Sweeping Impact on Growth, Jobs, and Prosperity, May 2011, http://www.mckinsey.com/Insights/MGI/Research/Technology_and_Innovation/Internet_matters
3 Hamilton Consultants (commissioned by the Interactive Advertising Bureau), Economic Value of the Advertising-Supported Ecosystem, June 10, 2009, http://www.iab.net/media/file/Economic-Value-Report.pdf

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
February 23, 2012

We Can’t Wait: Obama Administration Unveils Blueprint for a “Privacy Bill of Rights” to Protect Consumers Online

Internet Advertising Networks Announces Commitment to “Do-Not-Track” Technology to Allow Consumers to Control Online Tracking

WASHINGTON, DC – The Obama Administration today unveiled a “Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights” as part of a comprehensive blueprint to improve consumers’ privacy protections and ensure that the Internet remains an engine for innovation and economic growth. The blueprint will guide efforts to give users more control over how their personal information is used on the Internet and to help businesses maintain consumer trust and grow in the rapidly changing digital environment. At the request of the White House, the Commerce Department will begin convening companies, privacy advocates and other stakeholders to develop and implement enforceable privacy policies based on the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights.

In addition, advertising networks announced that leading Internet companies and online advertising networks are committing to act on Do Not Track technology in most major web browsers to make it easier for users to control online tracking. Companies that represent the delivery of nearly 90 percent of online behavioral advertisements, including Google, Yahoo!, Microsoft, and AOL have agreed to comply when consumers choose to control online tracking. Companies that make this commitment will be subject to FTC enforcement.

“American consumers can’t wait any longer for clear rules of the road that ensure their personal information is safe online,” said President Obama. “As the Internet evolves, consumer trust is essential for the continued growth of the digital economy. That’s why an online privacy Bill of Rights is so important.  For businesses to succeed online, consumers must feel secure. By following this blueprint, companies, consumer advocates and policymakers can help protect consumers and ensure the Internet remains a platform for innovation and economic growth.”

The advertising industry also committed not to release consumers’ browsing data to companies who might use it for purposes other than advertising, such as employers making hiring decisions or insurers determining coverage.

“It’s great to see that companies are stepping up to our challenge to protect privacy so consumers have greater choice and control over how they are tracked online. More needs to be done, but the work they have done so far is very encouraging,” said FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz.

A Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights

The Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights is outlined in a report released today by the White House Consumer Data Privacy in a Networked World: A Framework for Protecting Privacy and Promoting Innovation in the Global Digital Economy.

“Every day, millions of Americans shop, sell, bank, learn, talk and work online.  At the turn of the century, online retail sales were around $20 billion in the United States, now they’re nearing $200 billion,” said Secretary Bryson.  “The Internet has become an engine of innovation, business growth, and job creation, so we need a strong foundation of clear protections for consumers, and a set of basic principles to help businesses guide their privacy and policy decisions.  This privacy blueprint will do just that.”

The Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights provides a baseline of clear protections for consumers and greater certainty for businesses. The rights are:
Individual Control:  Consumers have a right to exercise control over what personal data organizations collect from them and how they use it.

  • Transparency:  Consumers have a right to easily understandable information about privacy and security practices.
  • Respect for Context:  Consumers have a right to expect that organizations will collect, use, and disclose personal data in ways that are consistent with the context in which consumers provide the data.
  • Security:  Consumers have a right to secure and responsible handling of personal data.
  • Access and Accuracy:  Consumers have a right to access and correct personal data in usable formats, in a manner that is appropriate to the sensitivity of the data and the risk of adverse consequences to consumers if the data are inaccurate.
  • Focused Collection:  Consumers have a right to reasonable limits on the personal data that companies collect and retain.
  • Accountability:  Consumers have a right to have personal data handled by companies with appropriate measures in place to assure they adhere to the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights.

The Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights is one of four key elements of the report, which also includes a stakeholder-driven process to specify how these rights apply in particular business contexts;  strong enforcement by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC);  and greater interoperability between the United States’ privacy framework and those of our international partners.

In the coming weeks, the Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration will convene stakeholders – including companies, privacy and consumer advocates, technical experts, international partners, and academics – to establish specific practices or codes of conduct that implement the general principles in the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights.

The Administration also will work with Congress to develop legislation based on these rights to promote trust in the digital economy and extend baseline privacy protections to commercial sectors that existing federal privacy laws do not cover.

Today’s report results from a comprehensive review of the intersection of privacy policy and innovation in the Internet economy. The Commerce Department’s Internet Policy Task Force launched the review in 2010, seeking public comment on an initial set of issues and later on a set of policy recommendations.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
February 22, 2012

Statement by the Press Secretary on H.R. 3630

On Wednesday, February 22, 2012, the President signed into law:

H.R. 3630, the “Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012,” which extends through December 31, 2012: (1) a reduction in employment tax rates for employees and the self-employed: (2) an initial eligibility for emergency unemployment compensation and 100 percent Federal funding for extended unemployment insurance benefits: and (3) a Medicare physician payment update delaying a rate reduction for physician services. Also extends assistance for needy families through September 30, 2012.

To view a photo of the signing, click HERE.

The White House

Office of the Vice President

For Immediate Release
February 22, 2012

Vice President Biden to Travel to Mexico and Honduras

Vice President Joe Biden will travel to Mexico and Honduras from March 4-6.  In Mexico City, the Vice President will meet with President Calderón and will underscore the United States’ commitment to deepening our close dialogue and cooperation with Mexico on a broad range of issues.   In Tegucigalpa, the Vice President will hold a bilateral meeting with President Lobo.  In addition, he will take part in a meeting with Central American leaders, who have been invited to a joint meeting by President Lobo, the current President Pro Tempore of the Central American Integration System.  In both countries, the Vice President will also consult with our partners about the Summit of the Americas, scheduled to be held in Colombia in mid-April, which will focus on leveraging Hemispheric connections and partnerships to improve the lives of people throughout the region.  Additional details about the Vice President’s trip will be released at a later date.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
February 22, 2012

Statement by the President

In my State of the Union, I laid out a blueprint for an economy that’s built to last -- where everyone gets a fair shot, everyone pays their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules.  That includes a tax code that rewards companies who invest and create jobs in the United States of America. 

Our current corporate tax system is outdated, unfair, and inefficient.   It provides tax breaks for moving jobs and profits overseas and hits companies that choose to stay in America with one of the highest tax rates in the world.  It is unnecessarily complicated and forces America’s small businesses to spend countless hours and dollars filing their taxes. It’s not right, and it needs to change. 

That’s why my administration released a framework for reform that simplifies the tax code, eliminates dozens of tax loopholes and subsidies, and promotes job creation right here at home.  It’s a framework that lowers the corporate tax rate and broadens the tax base in order to increase competitiveness for companies across the nation.  It cuts tax rates even further for manufacturers that are creating new products and manufacturing goods here in America. Finally, because no company should be able to avoid paying its fair share of taxes by moving jobs and profits overseas, this framework includes a basic minimum tax for every multinational company.  This reform is fully paid for, and it won’t add a dime to the deficit.

As I said in the State of the Union, it is time to stop rewarding businesses that ship jobs overseas, and start rewarding companies that create jobs right here in America.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
February 22, 2012

Statement by the President on Ash Wednesday

Today, Michelle and I honor Ash Wednesday with Christians around the country and across the world. This is at once a solemn and joyous occasion, an opportunity to remember both the depths of sacrifice and the height of redemption.  We join millions in entering the Lenten Season with truly thankful hearts, mindful of our faith and our obligations to one another.

The White House

Office of the Vice President

For Immediate Release
February 21, 2012

Vice President Biden Thanks First Responders and Releases Report on the Economic Value of Increasing Spectrum

Today, Vice President Biden met with first responders to thank them for their service and to discuss the new nationwide public safety broadband network included in the Payroll Tax Extension legislation.  In addition, he announced the release of a new report from the Council of Economic Advisers (CEA), The Economic Benefits of New Spectrum for Wireless Broadband), describing the substantial economic value of aggressively pursuing President Obama’s goal of nearly doubling the amount of spectrum available for wireless broadband over ten years and deploying a nationwide interoperable wireless network for public safety. 

The report summarizes the compelling evidence that additional spectrum for wireless broadband is needed to accommodate the surging demand for wireless data traffic, projected to increase by a factor of twenty between 2010 and 2015.  The report also describes the potential for wireless broadband to play a transformative role in public safety and as a platform for innovation in many areas of the economy, and documents the substantial impact on jobs, growth, and investment that the growth of wireless broadband will have.

“I’ve been working on changing the way we allocate spectrum for a long time, because a smarter system is good for our economy, good for innovation, and vital to keeping our cops, firefighters and EMTs safe,” said Vice President Biden. “The measure that Congress just passed picks up on many aspects of the President’s Wireless Innovation Initiative and will enable new spectrum to be used for innovation, to speed wireless communication, and to fulfill a promise made to first responders after 9/11 that they would have the technology they need to stay safe and do their jobs.”
President Obama will soon sign into law a measure will implement important pieces of the Administration’s wireless initiative – including a nationwide interoperable public safety broadband network that will, for the first time, allow law enforcement, firefighters and EMTs to have a dedicated communications network so they can talk with one another. 

Our modern information economy depends on use of the radio airwaves for everything from smartphones and laptops connected to the Internet over wireless networks, to satellite and other wireless networks that bring Internet access to rural areas where running cables is too expensive. This report shows how important it is to continue supporting the growth of this vital sector of the economy.

In addition to describing the economic benefits of making additional spectrum available for wireless broadband, the new report addresses a number of key issues related to spectrum policy.  Specifically, the report reaches the following conclusions: 

  • The use of voluntary incentive auctions will ensure that spectrum is reassigned from the lowest value uses to the highest, and that the economic benefits are widely shared among stakeholders, including broadcasters, wireless carriers, consumers, and taxpayers. The recently passed spectrum bill gives the FCC authority to conduct these auctions.
  • Unlicensed spectrum is a valuable complement to licensed spectrum, and allocating new spectrum for a mix of licensed and unlicensed uses will offer the most fertile environment for future innovation.  The spectrum bill gives the FCC authority to allocate more spectrum for unlicensed uses, creating new opportunities for the development of innovative wireless technologies.
  • Federal funding for research and development in emerging wireless technologies will have substantial public benefits, particularly to support the development of innovative technologies for use in public safety. The bill sets aside $100-300 Million for public safety network R&D, funds that will be vital to helping the public safety community build a new robust, flexible and innovative network for first responders all around the country.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
February 21, 2012

Readout of the President’s Call with Chancellor Merkel of Germany

The President and German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke by phone this morning to discuss the latest developments concerning the financial situation in the eurozone.  The President thanked the Chancellor for her leadership and welcomed last night’s agreement in Europe on a new rescue program for Greece to help reduce its debt to sustainable levels.  The President and Chancellor agreed that the planned EU fiscal pact, recent actions by the European Central Bank and reforms by Spain and Italy have also been positive steps in addressing the eurozone crisis.  The President and the Chancellor also discussed preparations for the upcoming G-8 Summit and agreed that the emphasis should be on growth and jobs.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
February 21, 2012

We Can’t Wait: Obama Administration Announces Steps to Boost the Rural Economy, Promote Job Creation

WASHINGTON, DC – As part of the Obama Administration’s “We Can’t Wait” efforts to strengthen the economy, create jobs and support business growth, Administration officials announced three significant actions to expand the government’s purchase of biobased products, promote regional rural job creation efforts, and develop a rural healthcare workforce, all of which build on the historic investments the Administration has made in rural America over the past three years. Today’s announcements are the latest in a series of executive actions the Obama Administration is taking to strengthen the economy and move the country forward because we can’t wait for Congress to act. 

“My Administration is committed to using every tool available to promote economic growth and create good jobs in rural America,” said President Obama.  “Today’s announcements reflect our continued focus on expanding opportunity for rural Americans and all Americans, including supporting new and innovative businesses, and improving rural health care and education.  And the actions we’re taking today are possible thanks to the feedback and ideas I’ve received from hardworking Americans across rural America, including the participants at the White House Rural Economic Forum.”

“President Obama understands that a strong American economy is tied to a healthy, vibrant rural economy,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, who chairs the White House Rural Council. “The actions we are taking will bring new economic investments to our rural communities, to ensure the people who live in these towns have a better, brighter future.”

The three announcements were recommended by federal agencies participating in the White House Rural Council, and leverage existing programs and funding, but the new actions will expedite job creation in rural parts of the country. 

“This Administration will not be satisfied until everyone who wants a job, has a job – both in rural and urban communities,” said Commerce Secretary John Bryson.  “Today’s announcements are just the latest example of federal partners aligning all of their efforts and resources to help businesses grow, create jobs, and ensure that our economy is built to last.”

“Health information technology has the potential to improve the quality, access, and efficiency of health care delivery, especially in our nation's rural areas. To achieve this aim, it is essential that we have a skilled health IT workforce,” said Mary Wakefield, PhD., R.N., Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration. “This memorandum of understanding with our colleagues at the Department of Labor will build on existing collaborations to help ease the challenges of geographic isolation and staff shortages faced by rural communities and help move us toward our mutual goal of Health IT workforce development.”

“There is a real need to expand the rural health IT workforce and our MOU with the Department of Health and Human Services will help ensure that job training programs are quickly and effectively addressing this need,” said Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training Administration Jane Oates.

New initiatives being announced today include:

• Promoting A Bioeconomy:  President Obama issued a Presidential Memorandum today directing the Federal Government to take decisive steps to dramatically increase the purchase of biobased products over the next two years, which will create jobs and drive innovation where biobased products are grown and manufactured.  The Memorandum will also result in a 50 percent increase in the number of new products that are designated as biobased.  Biobased products include items like paints, soaps and detergents and are developed from farm grown plants, rather than chemicals or petroleum bases. The biobased products sector marries the two most important economic engines for rural America: agriculture and manufacturing. 

• Rural Jobs Accelerator: The Rural Jobs Accelerator is a national competition that will provide about $15 million for projects that promote innovation-fueled regional job creation.  The competition will combine funding from the USDA, the Economic Development Administration (EDA), Delta Regional Authority and the Appalachian Regional Commission.   Additionally, this approach will require multiple agencies to coordinate technical assistance and grant / loan programs so that potential rural customers have a single access point within the Federal government to mobilize the resources of the government to help a region of the country. USDA will utilize the Rural Community Development Initiative (RCDI) program to support this effort and provide technical assistance and training funds to qualified intermediary organizations to develop their capacity to undertake housing, community facilities, and community and economic development projects in rural areas.  The Federal Funding Opportunity will be released in the next few weeks.

• Rural Health IT Workforce:  The Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Labor signed a memorandum of understanding to connect  community colleges and technical colleges that support rural communities with the materials and resources they need to support the training of Health Information Technology (HIT) professionals that work in rural hospitals and clinics.  The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that the needed HIT workforce will increase by 20 percent by 2016. 

Over the last month, the Obama Administration has made several additional announcements resulting from the White House Rural Council’s efforts, including an initiative to help rural homeowners refinance their mortgages at lower interest rates and a new forest restoration framework to drive economic growth and job creation through timber restoration and harvest.  The new plan would place federal agencies on a path toward increasing federal timber harvests to 3 billion board feet. 

Since August 2011, the White House Rural Council has supported a broad spectrum of rural initiatives including a $350 million commitment in SBA funding to rural small businesses over the next 5 years,  launching a series of conferences to connect investors with rural start-ups, creating capital marketing teams to pitch federal funding opportunities to private investors interested in making rural investments, making job search information available at 2,800 local USDA offices nationwide, making HHS loans available to help more than 1,300 Critical Access Hospitals recruit additional staff, and helping rural hospitals purchase software and hardware to implement health IT. USDA and Navy also announced a partnership to advance the use of next generation biofuels in Navy operations.