The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
January 31, 2012

Statement by the Press Secretary on H.R. 3800

On Tuesday, January 31, 2012, the President signed into law:

H.R. 3800, the "Airport and Airway Extension Act of 2012," which extends through February 17, 2012, authorities to collect taxes that fund the Airport and Airway Trust Fund, make expenditures from the Airport and Airway Trust Fund, and make grants to airports under the Airport Improvement Program.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
January 31, 2012

President Obama to Host White House Science Fair

Event Will Highlight Winners of National Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Competitions

WASHINGTON, DC -- On Tuesday, February 7th, President Obama will host the second White House Science Fair celebrating the student winners of a broad range of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) competitions from across the country. The President will also announce key steps that the Administration and its partners are taking to help more students excel in math and science, and earn degrees in these subjects.

At the fair, the President will view exhibits of student work, ranging from breakthrough research to new inventions, followed by remarks to an audience of students, science educators and business leaders on the importance of STEM education to the country’s economic future.

The President hosted the first-ever White House Science Fair in late 2010, fulfilling a commitment he made at the launch of his Educate to Innovate campaign to inspire students to excel in math and science.  As the President noted then, “If you win the NCAA championship, you come to the White House. Well, if you're a young person and you produce the best experiment or design, the best hardware or software, you ought to be recognized for that achievement, too.” In addition, over the past year, the President met with the three young women who won the Google Science Fair, met a student robotics team on his bus tour through North Carolina and Virginia, and made a surprise appearance at the New York City Science Fair.

More information on the students invited to the White House Science Fair will be announced in the coming days.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
January 31, 2012

On One-Year Anniversary of Startup America Initiative President Obama Sends Startup America Legislative Agenda to Congress

Administration Takes Immediate Steps to Accelerate Startup and Small Business Growth

Today, on the one-year anniversary of both the White House Startup America Initiative and the private-sector Startup America Partnership, President Obama sent a Startup America Legislative Agenda to Congress which will expand tax relief and unlock capital for startups and small businesses that are creating jobs. Additionally, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will take steps to attract and retain foreign-born entrepreneurs and highly-skilled immigrants so they can start up the next generation of small businesses and great American companies.  The Administration also unveiled several new agency actions to accelerate the growth of young, job-creating companies, at the same time that new entrepreneur-led regional coalitions are launching throughout the nation.

“One year ago today, I called for an all hands on deck effort to ensure that America remains the best place on Earth to turn a great idea into a successful business.  The private sector responded, with the Startup America Partnership launching new entrepreneurial networks all across the country.  Today, we’re taking new steps that build on that progress, and I urge Congress to send me a common-sense bipartisan bill that does even more to expand access to capital and cut taxes for America’s entrepreneurs and small businesses,” said President Obama.

In last week’s State of the Union, the President said that “Most new jobs are created in start-ups and small businesses.  So let’s pass an agenda that helps them succeed.  Both parties agree on these ideas.  So put them in a bill, and get it on my desk this year.” Building on this statement and proposals put forward in the Jobs Act in September, today the President delivered an agenda that outlines bipartisan ideas to help startups and small businesses succeed.

The Startup America Legislative Agenda contains four tax breaks for small businesses and four proposals that will help expand access to capital and a provision to address immigrant visa backlogs and a provision to address immigrant visa backlogs:

• Cutting taxes for small businesses:  The President is proposing to build on the 17 small business tax cuts he has already signed into law with four new tax cuts to encourage growth and investment:

o Expand and Make Permanent Zero Capital Gains on Small Business Investments: The President is proposing to make permanent a tax cut he put forward and signed into law in 2010 that eliminates taxes on capital gains in key investments in small businesses.

o Reward Job Creation with a New Jobs and Wages Tax Credit:  The President is proposing a new tax credit for 2012 that would provide a 10 percent income tax credit on new payroll for small businesses—through either hiring or increased wages—added in 2012.

o Double Deductions for Startup Expenses:  The President is proposing to permanently double the amount of start-up expenses entrepreneurs can deduct from their taxes from $5,000 to $10,000.

o Extend 100 Percent Depreciation: The President is proposing to extend 100-percent first-year depreciation for one year, effective for qualified property acquired and placed in service before January 1, 2013.

• Unlocking capital access for growing companies: The President is putting forward responsible measures that will help growing businesses access financing consistent with investor protections, including:

o Expand Mini-Offering Limits:  The President is calling to raise the offering limit under Regulation A from $5 million to $50 million, coupled with strong investor protections.

o Crowdfunding:  The President is calling for a national framework that allows entrepreneurs and small businesses to raise capital through “crowdfunding.”

o Creating an “IPO on-ramp”: The President is calling for changes in how our current securities laws and regulations are phased in for smaller, young companies in their first years after going public in an initial public offering (IPO).

o Expand the Small Business Investment Company Program: The President is calling to increase the SBIC program to allow for up to $4 billion in annual support.

• Relieving the backlog of immigrant visas: As put forward in his  Blueprint for Building a 21st Century Immigration System, the President is proposing to:

o Eliminate Country-Specific Caps:  The President is calling for a balanced approach to eliminate country-specific caps for certain immigrant visa categories to attract more high skilled foreign workers, including entrepreneurs.

In response to the President’s call for action on these issues last September, there has been growing bipartisan support for components of the President’s agenda, and the Administration looks forward to working with Congress to pass legislation without delay. To view details of the Startup America Legislative Agenda, click HERE.

One year ago, the President called for an all-hands-on-deck effort to promote the success of entrepreneurs across the country.  As a private-sector response, Steve Case (AOL co-founder and member of the President’s Jobs Council) and the Kauffman Foundation formed the Startup America Partnership, a nonprofit alliance of entrepreneurs, major corporations, and service providers that has mobilized over $1 billion in business resources to serve as many as 100,000 startups over the next three years.  Today the Partnership is launching nine new entrepreneur-led regional networks across the country in the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Rhode Island, Virginia, and Vermont, while previously launched Startup Regions are celebrating in Florida, Iowa, Illinois, Massachusetts, and Tennessee.

Today the Administration also announced a series of new steps to expand access to capital, cut red tape, and accelerate innovation, building on a year of prior actions through the White House Startup America Initiative.  DHS announced several measures they will implement to streamline existing pathways for immigrant entrepreneurs to enter and create businesses in the U.S., retain more foreign-born science and technology graduates from U.S. universities, facilitate immigration by top researchers, and help U.S. startups and other companies compete for global talent.  To view the details of DHS’ administrative reforms announced today, click HERE.  The State Department also plans to announce a regulatory change which will enable employees who are intercompany transferees to take advantage of longer visas from the outset of their transfer to the United States. To view the details of this pending regulatory change, click HERE.

Additional Administration commitments to promote startups and small businesses announced today include:

• New Challenges Fueling Regional Innovation:  The Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is launching the third round of the i6 Challenge, which funds regional collaborations to bring innovative, ground-breaking ideas from the lab to the marketplace, creating new startups and jobs across the country.  Commerce is also launching a new initiative to connect entrepreneurs with the resources made available through the Startup America Partnership and its partners. 

• New Round of America’s Next Top Energy Innovator:  The Department of Energy is kicking off a second year of America’s Next Top Energy Innovator, a program that dramatically reduces the cost and red tape facing startup companies that license federal energy technology.  Up to 15,000 patents held by our national laboratories will be available for startups to license at a steep discount, representing a savings of $10,000 to $50,000.

• Building a Regional Mentor Network:  The U.S. Small Business Administration will launch a series of regional events at accelerators and universities to build a network connecting participants in the high-growth entrepreneurial sector, with the goal of scaling new and growing existing mentoring programs for entrepreneurs. 

• National Education Startup Challenge:  The Department of Education is opening the doors of the National Education Startup Challenge, inviting students from 6th grade up to college age to develop an innovative solution to an education problem and design a blueprint for a new company or non-profit organization to deliver that solution.  Winning students will be celebrated by senior White House and Department of Education officials and may qualify for additional recognition opportunities.

• Startup America Policy Challenge:  In December 2011, the White House launched the Startup America Policy Challenge, asking entrepreneurs and the American public how to knock down barriers to innovation in healthcare IT, clean energy, and learning technologies.  In response, today the Arizona State University (ASU) School of Public Affairs is leading a network of schools, scholars, and problem-solvers from across the country in a contest to generate the best solutions.  Finalists of the contest will be invited to Washington, DC to present their ideas to a panel of expert judges from business and academia, as well as meet with principals from the relevant agency (Dept. of Health and Human Services, Dept. of Education, or Dept. of Energy) to discuss their proposals.

To view full details of the White House Startup America Initiative, including a progress report on key executive actions, click HERE.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
January 30, 2012

Statement by the Press Secretary

In the State of the Union Address, the President laid out a blueprint for an economy built to last, where everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules – especially those who have been sent here to serve the American people.

Last week, the President called on Congress to pass a bill that makes clear that Members of Congress may not engage in insider trading.  No one should be able to trade stocks based on nonpublic information gleaned on Capitol Hill. So we are pleased the Senate is one step closer to passing the STOCK Act. While there’s more work to be done to eliminate the corrosive influence of money in politics, this is an important step to repair the deficit of trust between Washington and the American people. We urge Congress to pass this bill, and the President will sign it right away.

The White House

Office of the Vice President

For Immediate Release
January 28, 2012

Readout of Vice President Biden’s Calls to Iraqi Leaders

Vice President Biden spoke on the phone today with Iraqi Council of Representatives Speaker Osama Nujaifi and yesterday with Dr. Ayad Allawi, a leader of the Iraqiyya political bloc. The two Iraqi leaders described deliberations underway among all Iraqi political factions and parties in the run-up to a proposed national conference led by President Jalal Talabani. The Vice President discussed with both leaders the importance of resolving outstanding issues through the political process. The Vice President and Iraqi leaders agreed to stay in close touch as events unfold.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
January 28, 2012

WEEKLY ADDRESS: President’s Blueprint Includes Renewal of American Values

WASHINGTON, DC— In his weekly address, President Obama discusses the blueprint he put forward this week in the State of the Union Address for creating an economy built to last.  After focusing on American manufacturing, American energy, and skills for American workers during each of the last three days, he used his weekly address to highlight his commitment to a renewal of American values.  The President is challenging leaders in Washington, DC to follow the model set by our men and women in the military, end the gridlock and start tackling the issues that matter – without regard for personal ambition.

Remarks of President Barack Obama
As Prepared for Delivery
Saturday, January 28, 2011
The White House

On Tuesday, in my State of the Union Address, I laid out a blueprint for an economy built to last – an economy built on American manufacturing, American energy, skills for American workers, and a renewal of American values.

This week, I took that blueprint across the country, and what I saw was people who work hard and believe in each other.  They believe in the America that’s within our reach. But they’re not sure that the right thing will get done in Washington this year, or next year, or the year after that. And frankly, when you look at some of the things that go on in this town, who could blame them for being a little cynical? 

Just two days ago, a senator from Utah promised to obstruct every single American I appoint to a judgeship or public service position – unless I fire the consumer watchdog I put in place to protect the American people from financial schemes or malpractice.

For the most part, it’s not that this senator thinks these nominees are unqualified. In fact, all of the judicial nominees being blocked have bipartisan support. And almost 90 percent have unanimous support from the Judiciary Committee.

Instead, one of his aides told reporters that the senator plans to, and I’m quoting here, “Delay and slow the process in order to get the President’s attention.”

This isn’t about me.  We weren’t sent here to wage perpetual political campaigns against each other.  We were sent here to serve the American people.  And they deserve better than gridlock and games. One senator gumming up the works for the whole country is certainly not what our founding fathers envisioned.

The truth is, neither party has been blameless in tactics like these. But it’s time for both parties to put an end to them. I’m asking Congress, both Democrats and Republicans, to stop this kind of behavior by passing a rule that allows all judicial and public service nominations a simple up-or-down vote within 90 days.

We should also stem the corrosive influence of money in politics.  The House and Senate should send me a bill that bans insider trading by Members of Congress, and I will sign it immediately.  They should limit any elected official from owning stocks in industries they impact.  And they should make sure people who bundle campaign contributions for Congress can’t lobby Congress, and vice versa.

During my Address on Tuesday night, I spoke about the incredible example set by the men and women of our armed forces. At a time when too many of our institutions have let us down, they exceed all expectations.  They’re not consumed with personal ambition.  They don’t obsess over their differences.  They focus on the mission at hand.  They work together. 

If you agree with me that leaders in Washington should follow their example, then make your voice heard. Tell your Member of Congress that it’s time to end the gridlock, and start tackling the issues that really matter – an economy built on American manufacturing, American energy, American skills and education, and a return to American values.  An economy built to last.

Thank you, God bless you, and have a great weekend.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
January 27, 2012

President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts

WASHINGTON – Today, President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to key Administration posts:

  • Michael P. Botticelli – Deputy Director, Office of National Drug Control Policy
  • Christy Romero – Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program

The President also announced his intent to appoint the following individual to a key Administration post:

  • Alex Mehran – Member, Board of Directors of the Presidio Trust

President Obama said, “These dedicated and accomplished individuals will be valued additions to my administrations as we tackle the important challenges facing America.  I look forward to working with them in the months and years ahead.”

President Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to key Administration posts:

Michael P. Botticelli, Nominee for Deputy Director, Office of National Drug Control Policy
Michael P. Botticelli is currently the Director of the Bureau of Substance Abuse Services in the Massachusetts Department of Health (MDPH).  Since joining MDPH in 1994, Mr. Botticelli has served as Chief of Staff of the MDPH Commissioner’s Office (2000-2003), Assistant Director for Policy and Planning within the HIV/AIDS Bureau (1996-2000), Contract Manager in the HIV/AIDS Bureau (1995-1996), and Alcoholism Program Coordinator within the Bureau of Substance Abuse Services (1994-1995).  He received a B.A. from Siena College and an M.Ed. from St. Lawrence University.

Christy Romero, Nominee for Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program
Christy Romero is the Deputy Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP), a position she has held since February 2011.  Between 2009 and 2011, Ms. Romero served as the Chief of Staff of SIGTARP.  From July 2010 through September 2010, she served as the Acting Deputy SIGTARP and from March 2011 through Oct 2011 she served as Acting SIGTARP.  Ms. Romero came to SIGTARP from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) where, from December 2007 through August 2009, she served as counsel to SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro and Chairman Christopher Cox.  From 2003 through 2007, as an attorney in the Division of Enforcement, she investigated financial fraud, insider trading, and other violations of the securities laws.  Prior to joining the SEC, Ms. Romero was a litigator specializing in financial restructuring at the law firms of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld; Snell & Wilmer; and Jenner & Block.  She also clerked for the Honorable Robert C. Jones, United States Bankruptcy Judge for the District of Nevada and Ninth Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel.  Ms. Romero earned a B.S. in Business from Old Dominion University and a J.D. from Brigham Young University Law School.

President Obama also announced his intent to appoint the following individual to a key Administration post:

Alex Mehran, Appointee for Member, Board of Directors of the Presidio Trust
Alex Mehran is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Sunset Development Company, a real estate development, investment, construction and management company based in San Ramon, CA.  Mr. Mehran also serves as Chairman of the Contra Costa Economic Partnership, a Trustee of the San Francisco Ballet, and as a Member of the University of California, San Francisco Chancellor’s Associates.  In addition, he is a past Chairman and current Executive Committee Member of the Bay Area Council.  Mr. Mehran earned a B.A. from Harvard College with honors and received an LL.B. from Cambridge University, England, also with honors.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
January 27, 2012

Statement from the President on the Departure of Aneesh Chopra

WASHINGTON, DC — The White House today announced the departure of Aneesh Chopra, Assistant to the President and the federal government’s first Chief Technology Officer (CTO).
 
President Obama said, “As the federal government’s first Chief Technology Officer, Aneesh Chopra did groundbreaking work to bring our government into the 21st century.  Aneesh found countless ways to engage the American people using technology, from electronic health records for veterans, to expanding access to broadband for rural communities, to modernizing government records. His legacy of leadership and innovation will benefit Americans for years to come, and I thank him for his outstanding service.”

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
January 27, 2012

Statement by the President on International Holocaust Remembrance Day

This International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Michelle and I join people in the United States, in Israel, and across the globe as we remember the six million Jews and millions of others who were murdered at the hands of the Nazis.

We commit ourselves to keeping their memories alive not only in our thoughts, but through our actions. As we remember all those who perished in camps from Auschwitz to Treblinka, Dachau to Sobibor, we pledge to speak truth to those who deny the Holocaust.

As we celebrate the strength and resilience of survivors, we pledge to stand strong against all those who would commit atrocities, against the resurgence of anti-Semitism, and against hatred in all its forms.

As we draw inspiration from the righteous gentiles who risked their lives to save friends, neighbors, and even strangers, we pledge to continue the hard work of repairing the world.

Together with the State of Israel, and all our friends around the world, we dedicate ourselves to giving meaning to those powerful words: “Never Forget. Never Again.”

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
January 27, 2012

FACT SHEET: President Obama’s Blueprint for Keeping College Affordable and Within Reach for All Americans

“Of course, it’s not enough for us to increase student aid… States also need to do their part, by making higher education a higher priority in their budgets.   And colleges and universities have to do their part by working to keep costs down.”
                                                                                                President Barack Obama
                                                                                                State of the Union, January 24, 2012

In his State of the Union address, President Obama laid out a blueprint for an economy that’s built to last – an economy built on American manufacturing, American energy, skills for American workers, and a renewal of American values. As an important part of keeping the American promise alive, the President called for a comprehensive approach to tackling rising college costs.  In today’s global economy, a college education is no longer just a privilege for some, but rather a prerequisite for all.  To reach a national goal of leading the world with the highest share of college graduates by 2020, we must make college more affordable.

President Obama has emphasized the responsibility shared by the federal government, states, colleges, and universities to promote access and affordability in higher education, by reining in college costs, providing value for American families, and preparing students with a solid education to succeed in their careers. Over the past three years, the Obama Administration has taken historic steps to help students afford college, including reforming our student aid system to become more efficient and reliable and by expanding grant aid and college tax credits. 

This year, President Obama is calling on Congress to advance new reforms that will promote shared responsibility to address the college affordability challenge. If these proposals are passed, this will be the first time in history that the federal government has tied federal campus aid to responsible campus tuition policies. 

President Obama will begin the third day of his post-State of the Union travels with an event at the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor, focusing on the importance of tackling rising college costs to ensure America’s students and workers can obtain the education and training they need so that we have a workforce prepared for the jobs of the 21st century.

• Reforming student aid to promote affordability and value: To keep tuition from spiraling too high and drive greater value, the President will propose reforms to federal campus-based aid programs to shift aid away from colleges that fail to keep net tuition down, and toward those colleges and universities that do their fair share to keep tuition affordable, provide good value, and serve needy students well. These changes in federal aid to campuses will leverage $10 billion anually to keep tuition down.

• Creating a Race to the Top for college affordability and completion: The president will create incentives for states and colleges to keep costs under control through a $1billion investment in a new challenge to states to spur higher education reform focused on affordability and improved outcomes across state colleges and universities. The Race to the Top: College Affordability and Completion will reward states who are willing to drive systemic change in their higher education policies and practices, while doing more to contain their tuition and make it easier for students to earn a college degree.

• A first in the World competition to model innovation and quality on college campuses: The president will invest $55 million in a new First in the World competition, to support the public and private colleges and non-profit organizations as they work to develop and test the next breakthrough strategy that will boost higher education attainment and student outcomes. The new program will also help scale-up those innovative and effective practices that have been proven to boost productivity and enhance teaching and learning on college campuses.

• Better data for families choose the right college for them: The president will call for a College Scorecard for all degree-granting institutions, designed to provide the essential information about college costs, graduation rates, and potential earnings, all in an easy-to-read format that will help students and families choose a college that is well suited to their needs, priced affordably and consistent with their career and educational goals.

• Federal support to tackle college costs: The president has already made the biggest investments in student aid since the G.I Bill through increases to the Pell grant, and by shoring up the direct loan and income-based repayment programs. In his State on the Union Address, the President called on Congress to: keep interest rates low for 7.4 million student loan borrowers to reduce future debt, make the American Opportunity Tax Credit permenant, and double the number of work-study jobs over the next 5 years to better assit college students who are working their way through school.

Shared Responsibility to Tackle Rising College Costs

Rewarding Schools that Keep College Affordable

• The President’s proposal to reform student aid to keep tuition from spiraling too high and drive greater value will improve distribution of federal financial aid and increase campus-based aid. This reform will reward colleges that are succeeding in meeting the following principles:

1) Setting responsible tuition policy, offering relatively lower net tuition prices and/or restraining tuition growth.
2) Providing good value to students and families, offering quality education and training that prepares graduates to obtain employment and repay their loans.
3) Serving low-income students, enrolling and graduating relatively higher numbers of Pell-eligible students.

The campus-based aid that the federal government provides to colleges through Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (SEOG), Perkins Loans, and Work Study is distributed under an antiquated formula that rewards colleges for longevity in the program and provides no incentive to keep tuition costs low. The President is proposing to change how those funds are distributed by implementing an improved formula that shifts aid from schools with rising tuition to those acting responsibly, focused on setting responsible tuition policy, providing good value in education, and ensuring that higher numbers of low-income students complete their education. He is also proposing to increase the amount of campus-based aid to $10 billion annually. The increase is primarily driven by an expansion of loans in the federal Perkins program – which comes at no additional taxpayer cost.

Colleges that can show that they are providing students with good long-term value will be rewarded with additional dollars to help students attend. Those that show poor value, or who don't act responsibly in setting tuition, will receive less federal campus-based aid.  Students will receive the greatest government grant and loan support at colleges where they are likely to be best served, and little or no campus aid will flow to colleges that fail to meet affordability and value standards.

Creating New Incentives to Promote Affordability and Quality

• The Race to the Top: College Affordability and Completion will promote change in state systems of higher education. The President is proposing a program that would spur systemic state reforms to reduce costs for students and promote success in our higher education system at public colleges. This $1 billion investment would incentivize states to:

o Revamp the structure of state financing for higher education.
o Align entry and exit standards with K-12 education and colleges to facilitate on-time completion.
o Maintain adequate levels of funding for higher education in order to address important long-term causes of cost growth at the public institutions that serve two-thirds of four-year college students.

The Race to the Top for College Affordability and Completion would incentivize governors and state legislatures around the nation to act on spurring this innovative reform. Through cost-saving measures like redesigning courses and making better use of education technology, institutions can keep costs down to provide greater affordability for students.

• The First in the World competition will improve long-term productivity in higher education by investing $55 million to enable individual colleges (including Minority-Serving Institutions) and nonprofit organizations to develop, validate, or scale up innovative and effective strategies for boosting productivity and enhancing quality on campuses. This initiative would provide modest start-up funding for individual colleges, including private colleges, for projects that could lead to longer-term and larger productivity improvements among colleges and universities – such as course redesign through the improved use of technology, early college preparation activities to lessen the need for remediation, competency-based approaches to gaining college credit, and other ideas aimed at spurring changes in the culture of higher education.

Empowering Families and Students to be Informed Consumers

• New actions to provide consumers with clearer information about college costs and quality will improve the decision-making process in higher education for American students and allow families to hold schools accountable for their tuition and outcomes.  President Obama is proposing new tools to provide students and families with information on higher education, presented in a comparable and easy-to-understand format:

o The Administration will create a College Scorecard for all degree-granting institutions making it easier for students and families to choose a college that is best suited to their needs, priced affordably, and consistent with their career and educational goals. 
o We will also make an updated version of the ‘Financial Aid Shopping Sheet,’ announced in October, a required template for all colleges, rather than a voluntary tool, to make it easier for families to compare college financial aid packages.
o The President is also proposing to begin collecting earnings and employment information for colleges, so that students can have an even better sense of the post post-graduation outcomes they can expect.

Redoubling Federal Support to Tackle College Costs

• As highlighted by the President in his State of the Union address, we are calling on Congress to:

o Keep student loan interest rates low: This summer, the interest rates on subsidized Stafford student loans are set to double from 3.4% to 6.8% – a significant burden at a time when the economy is still fragile and students are taking on increasing amounts of debt to earn a degree. The President is asking Congress to prevent that hike from taking place for a year to keep student debt down, a proposal that will keep interest rates low for 7.4 million student loan borrowers and save the average student over a thousand dollars.
o Double the number of work-study jobs available:  The President also proposes to double the number of career-related work-study opportunities so that students are able to gain valuable work-related experience while in school.
o Maintain our commitment to college affordability: Over 9 million students and families per year take advantage of the Obama Administration’s American Opportunity Tax Credit – supporting up to $10,000 over four years of college.  In his State of the Union address, the President called on Congress to make this tax credit permanent and prevent it from expiring in 2012. 

Building on Progress

President Obama has worked throughout his Administration to expand access to college and provide greater resources and support so that more students graduate with the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in the workforce:

• Helping students and families pay for college: The Obama Administration has raised the maximum Pell Grant award to $5,635 next year – a $905 increase since 2008.

Making college loans more affordable: The Obama Administration’s “Pay as You Earn” plan will enable 1.6 million students to take advantage of a new option to cap student loan repayments at 10% of monthly income as soon as this year. Borrowers looking to determine whether or not income-based repayment is the right option for them should visit http://studentaid.ed.gov/ibr.