After 5 Years, Here are 5 Ways the Affordable Care Act is Working for America:

Five years after the Affordable Care Act became law, its vision of affordable, quality health insurance for America is a reality. The state of our nation's health care is better off than it was when the President took office.  This is thanks to the variety of critical provisions within the Affordable Care Act. 

Read on for five core ways that the Affordable Care Act is working to help Americans.


1. After five years of the Affordable Care Act, more than 16 million people have health coverage.

That's more people than the populations of New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago combined. This number includes parents who can finally afford to take their kids to the doctor, families who no longer risk losing their homes or savings because someone becomes ill, and young people who are now free to pursue their dreams without worrying about losing access to health care. 

With millions of people getting covered, the uninsured rate for non-elderly adults has dropped by 35% since October 2013. “The Affordable Care Act is working,” President Obama said after hearing the news that millions of Americans had signed up and gotten covered. “And I'll tell you, everywhere I go around the country, I'm meeting individuals who come up and thank me. How passionate they are about the difference it's made in their lives, it really reminds me why we do all of this." 

Chris Evans is an intern in the White House Office of Digital Strategy.

Be Ready When Disaster Strikes

It has been my pleasure to serve as the Executive Director of the Be Ready Alliance Coordinating for Emergencies (BRACE) since its founding in 2006.  Thirty-two years of service with the American Red Cross and then as the Escambia Long Term Recovery Coordinator following Hurricanes Ivan & Dennis provided great preparation for supporting 450 Partners as we strive to make our community the most disaster resilient in America.  We provided survivors of Hurricanes Ivan & Dennis with over $1.3 Million in housing assistance after the end of the FEMA temporary housing mission.  BRACE donated modular housing to 88 pre-disaster renters allowing them to realize the American Dream of home ownership. 

In the anxiety provoking hours prior to landfall of Hurricane Ivan in 2004 over 85 first responder employees of Escambia County, the City of Pensacola and Escambia Sheriff’s Office learned that their plans for the care of their children had failed. They faced the terrible choice between caring for their children and probably losing their jobs or reporting to their emergency duty station and deserting their children. We are working with over a dozen BRACE Childcare for First Responder Partners to ensure first responders in our community never face that choice again. The BRACE coordinated Childcare for First Responders shelter ensures that emergency workers may give their full attention to disaster duties knowing that their children are in a safe environment, supported by experienced childcare professionals, well fed and secure.    

We have been supporting efforts by government at all levels to establish a culture of preparedness.  BRACE has conducted two Youth Emergency Preparedness (YEP!) expos during National Preparedness Month (September). Those expos have allowed BRACE to reach an audience of over 90,000 residents with disaster and emergency preparedness messaging thanks to the support of BRACE’s many media partners.  The expos engaged over 800 youth in interactive, educational activities designed as service learning opportunities.  In March 2011 BRACE introduced the Teen Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) curriculum at Escambia County High School, training 43 youth in emergency preparedness, fire safety, first aid, light search & rescue and other skills that will allow them to be support safety efforts at their school.  We have met with principals of every public high school in the County to make the Teen CERT curriculum available throughout the entire county.

For the Win: Sharing a Love of Reading

For the Win is a guest blog series featuring the remarkable initiatives that young Americans are advancing to win the future for their communities. Each week we highlight a new young person and learn about their inspiring work through their own words.

Mary-Grace Reeves is a senior at Pensacola High School in Pensacola, Fl. and is the founder of The American Girl Book Club.  In her free time, Mary-Grace serves as the captain of her high school math team and studies ballet. She is a member of the of the 2011 PARADE All-America High School Service Team, an award recognizing outstanding young service leaders presented by PARADE Magazine in partnership with generationOn, the global youth service division of Points of Light Institute.

In 2004, my community of Pensacola, Fla. was changed forever when Hurricane Ivan devastated homes and businesses. Recovery from this natural disaster has been a long process. Even today, some homes have still not been rebuilt.

In light of this devastation, I wanted to do something to help my community, and at age 13, with my interest in literature, I found my niche as a volunteer in the children’s department of the local library. Ever since I was very young, I have found great joy in reading. While volunteering, I noticed that the library had a reading program during the school year for preschool readers, but not for older youth. Reading, like any skill, must be practiced to be improved. I wanted to create a reading program specifically for girls living in the Gulf Coast region between the ages of 7-12. When the manager of the children’s department of the library sadly explained that they lacked the funds or the employees to assist me, I persevered to make my idea a reality.

This is when I created The American Girl Book Club, a historical literacy program through which I help girls improve their reading skills, teach them about our country’s history, and encourage youth volunteerism. Three years later, through 37 monthly programs that have reached more than 800 girls, I continue to bring history to life. Through grants from the National Education Association, Target Corporation, Youth Service America, and a local nonprofit organization, I provide each attendee with a copy of the American Girl “book of the month”.  After the meetings, I bring the books to girls at the Ronald McDonald House and the Gulf Coast Kid’s House, an organization that serves abused children and their families. While these girls cannot currently attend program meetings, they are just as interested in the adventures of the American Girl characters. I invite guest speakers each month, relating to the discussed American Girl historical character, including the Daughters of the American Revolution for a study on Colonial Williamsburg, Asian-American women for the Chinese New Year celebration, and a marine biologist from the University of Florida when we studied the endangered species of the Gulf Coast.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

Statement by the Press Secretary

On Tuesday, December 14, 2010, the President signed into law:

H.R. 4387, which designates the Federal building in Pensacola, Florida, as the Winston E. Arnow Federal Building.

H.R. 5651, which designates the Federal building and United States courthouse in Rapid City, South Dakota, as the Andrew W. Bogue Federal Building and United States Courthouse.

H.R. 5706, which designates the building occupied by the Government Printing Office in Pueblo, Colorado, as the Frank Evans Government Printing Office Building.

H.R. 5773, which designates the Federal building in Baltimore, Maryland, commonly known as the Social Security Administration Operations Building, as the Robert M. Ball Federal Building.

H.R. 5758, which designate the facility of the United States Postal Service in Fall River, Massachusetts, as the Sergeant Robert Barrett Post Office Building.
H.R. 6162, the “Coin Modernization, Oversight, and Continuity Act of 2010,” which requires the Treasury Department to submit a biennial report to Congress:  (1) analyzing possible new metallic materials or technologies for the production of circulating coins; and (2) making recommendations for any appropriate changes to the metallic content of circulating coins.

H.R. 6166, the “American Eagle Palladium Bullion Coin Act of 2010,” which authorizes Treasury to produce palladium bullion coins for sale to investors if an independent marketing study demonstrates adequate demand to ensure that the coins could be minted and issued at no net cost to taxpayers.

H.R.   6237, which designates the facility of the United States Postal Service in Napa, California, as the Tom Kongsgaard Post Office Building.

H.R. 6387, which designates the facility of the United States Postal Service in Eureka, California, as the Sam Sacco Post Office Building.

S. 1338, which requires that, if a foreign student is seeking a nonimmigrant visa to study in a language training program in the United States, the program must be accredited by an accrediting agency recognized by the Department of Education.

S. 1421, the “Asian Carp Prevention and Control Act,” which prohibits the importation into the United States or interstate shipment of a species of Asian carp.

S. 3250, the “Federal Buildings Personnel Training Act of 2010,” which directs the General Services Administration to develop and implement a program to train and certify Federal building personnel.

The White House

Office of the Vice President

Remarks by Vice President Joe Biden at the Recovery Act Innovation Report Event

Recovery Act Innovation Report Event
South Court Auditorium, Eisenhower Executive Office Building

As Prepared for Delivery—

Let me start by addressing a couple of items from the news this morning.

First, as of today, we have officially reduced the number of U.S. troops in Iraq below 50,000, meeting a commitment President Obama made before taking office – and meeting it ahead of schedule. Next week, as you know, the U.S. military will end its combat mission in Iraq, with the remaining troops advising and assisting Iraqi forces. This is a remarkable milestone in a war that began more than seven years ago.  We owe a debt of gratitude to our military.

Second, I want to respond to the remarks made this morning by Mr. Boehner, the Republican leader in the House.

After months of promising a look at his party’s agenda and their plans for America, he made what was billed as a major economic address. And his chief proposal apparently was that the President should fire his economic team.  Very constructive advice, thanks. 
 
So, let's just review a little history here:  For eight years before we arrived, Mr. Boehner and his party ran this economy and the middle class into the ground.

They took the $237 billion surplus they inherited from the Clinton Administration and left us with a $1.3 trillion deficit, and, in the process, quadrupled the national debt – all before we had turned on the lights in the West Wing.

They gave free rein to the special interests to write their own rules at the expense of everybody else.

And the sum total of it was the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression—a crisis that wreaked havoc on families and businesses across this country--a crisis from which we are still digging out.

The head of their campaign committee, Representative Pete Sessions, said that if they were to take control of Congress this fall—which, by the way, they won't—that they would go back to "the exact same agenda" they were pushing before President Obama took office.

They think the policies they had in place during the Bush years—the ones Mr. Boehner helped craft and sell—were the right ones. Well, let me tell you, there are millions and millions of Americans who saw their paychecks shrink or their jobs, houses, and savings vanish.  Mr. Boehner is nostalgic for those good old days…the American people are not. 

They don't want to go back.  They want to move forward.

Now let me respond to a few specific points Mr. Boehner raised:

On taxes, let's be clear on what this debate is all about: the big tax cuts of the last decade are scheduled to expire. This President says the middle class can't afford higher taxes in the midst of this recession. They've borne the brunt of it.

So the President proposes we extend the tax cuts for 98 percent of Americans.

What Mr. Boehner wants to do is extend the tax cut to the other two percent.  That means we’re going to have to borrow $700 billion we don’t have to give a $100,000 a year tax cut to millionaires.

This is a tax cut they don’t need, and they won’t use to create jobs or economic growth.

So to justify that, he has created this myth that a tax cut for millionaires is actually a tax cut for small business.

There aren't three percent of small businesses in America that would qualify for that tax cut. It's a Wall Street tax cut, not a Main Street tax cut.   At the same time, they’re blocking the genuine $12 billion tax cut for small businesses we proposed.

Also, he wants to give U.S. companies that shift jobs and profits overseas a tax credit for taxes they don’t even pay.

We've seen this movie before, Mr. Boehner. We know how it turns out.  And the American people deserve something different and something better.

The rest of his so-called plan doesn’t offer any real economic agenda, it merely is a list of things he thinks the President shouldn’t do.

So after all of this buildup and hype, all we know is what John Boehner and his Republican colleagues are against.  We still haven’t heard what they’re for.

So let’s be clear about the kind of change this administration supports.

Today, Secretary Duncan will make an announcement about Race to the Top, which is our plan to reward states that are willing to take bold steps and change the way we educate our children.

It’s striking that Mr. Boehner’s economic address was devoid of any proposal to improve America’s schools.

And another key to our economic future that Mr. Boehner ignored is what we’re here to discuss: innovation.

Let me tell you basic formula:

Government plants the seeds, the private sector makes them grow, and we launch entire industries, create hundreds of thousands jobs, and spark new forms of commerce that were once unimaginable, allowing us to dominate the 21st century like we did in the 20th.

You know, Secretary Chu is really the perfect person to talk about innovation with us today.  From what I understand, you don’t win a Nobel Prize for repeating the formulas of the past.  You win one for doing something that’s never been done before.  You win one for innovating. 

And more than ever, America needs to innovate. I’ve been all over this country, and talked to a lot of people, and I’ve not yet found anyone who has said to me:  Just bring us back to where we were.  Just bring the economy back to what it was before the beginning of this recession. 

Because not only were families struggling before the beginning of this great recession —America was stagnating.

We were seeing big challenges getting bigger —climate change, our dependence on foreign oil, the erosion of our manufacturing base. 

And at the same time, Americans were losing jobs, and losing hope. 

So when we passed the Recovery Act, our goals were three-fold:

•          To rescue a rapidly deteriorating economy;
•          To put the country on a path to recovery by getting Americans back to work quickly; and
•          To reinvest in the country’s long-term economic future.

On the first two counts, we’re making progress:  We’ve created 3 million jobs, and we’re adding jobs every month.  The economy has been growing for a full year. 

In the last six months of the Bush Administration, we lost 3 million private sector jobs.  In the first seven months of this year, we created 630,000 private sector jobs.

We’re turning this around.

Now, it’s not happening as fast as any of us would like, and certainly not fast enough for the millions of folks who are still out of work.  But there isn’t any doubt – we’re moving in the right direction.

It’s that third part of our strategy that we’re here to report on today. 

As I said, it’s not enough just to rebuild the industries of the 20th century. 

We knew we had to lay the foundation for a new, more robust American economy, one that was ready to meet the challenges of the 21st century—which are different from the ones we face in the 20th.  And, like those before us, we know we have to innovate.

Since its birth, the United States has been a nation built on discovery and innovation.  In fact, our very roots are in innovation. We’re innovators — that’s who we are.  We’re tinkerers and inventors, explorers and entrepreneurs. 

It was in this spirit of taking bold steps forward amid daunting adversity that President Obama signed the Recovery Act. 

Today, I am proud to release this report on how the down payments we have made to entrepreneurs and innovators through the Recovery Act are transforming the American economy.

The report has a lot of details, but I can summarize it very briefly:

The first point I want to make is, our investments in innovation are creating jobs, creating new industries, making existing industries more competitive, and, in the process, they’re driving down costs for new technologies that are badly needed, and helping our nation reassert our place as the world’s center for inventors and entrepreneurs.

This report focuses on our investments in four main areas  Think of them as seed money:
 
1.         Modernizing transportation, including advanced vehicle technology and high-speed rail;
2.         Jumpstarting the renewable energy sector through wind and solar energy;
3.         Investing in groundbreaking medical research; and
4.         Building a platform that will enhance the private sector’s ability to innovate, through investments in broadband and the Smart Grid, by giving them the tools they need to grow.

In each of these areas, we’re seeking game-changing breakthroughs.  And in some cases, entire new American industries are being born—the very industries that are going to allow us to lead the world in the 21st Century.

I’d like to highlight just a bit of what’s happening in each of these areas.

First, modernizing transportation.

I know that we have several electric vehicle manufacturers, battery makers, and people working on charging infrastructure here today.

I was at a Jeep plant yesterday.  Right now, we’re seeing that we did the right thing when we stepped in to give them American auto industry a second chance.

Our goal was not just to rebuild the auto industry of the past—but to create an American auto industry for the next century, that will dominate for decades to come.

I want to see a day when you can pop the hood on your electric car made in Smyrna, Tennessee, to check on your advanced battery made in Holland, Michigan, or Noblesville, Indiana, and an electric motor made in Longmont, Colorado, as you recharge your vehicle at an electric charging station in San Diego. 

But we knew that day wasn’t going to come on its own.  In the greatest automobile producing-country on Earth, we were manufacturing less than two percent of the world’s advanced vehicle batteries. 

Thanks to the Recovery Act, that’s changing – in a big way.  Because we provided $2 billion in seed money to 30 advanced battery and electric drive component factories, it brought more than $2 billion more in private capital off the sidelines.   And, as a result, America is expected to have the capacity to produce 20 percent of the world’s advanced vehicle batteries by 2012.  By 2015, it could be as much as 40 percent—because the private sector will continue to invest in these changes.

And more importantly, we’re on pace to reduce the cost of batteries for autos by 70% by 2015 – which will make electric vehicles cost-competitive with similar non-electric vehicles.

When you put it all together, it means that America will once again be able to provide “Wheels for the world” –  the most advanced, efficient, competitive cars found anywhere—with a side benefit of not having to rely on foreign oil. 

Second, we’re jumpstarting investment in renewable energy.

Three decades ago, the U.S. led the world in another arena - the development of renewable energy such as wind, solar, and geothermal power.  Since that time, because of the failure to invest in these industries, we’ve fallen behind. 

President Obama, Secretary Chu, and I set a goal of doubling U.S. renewable energy generation capacity from wind, solar, and geothermal by 2012. 

We wanted to install as much renewable capacity in three years as the U.S. had in the previous thirty. 

But we’re ahead of pace to meet it.  In Pensacola, Florida, we’ve funded the largest photovoltaic power plant in North America, with over 90,000 solar panels—enough to provide energy for 3,000 homes. 

And the Department of Energy is in the process of supporting what will be the world’s largest solar thermal facility – in the Mojave Desert.  It will have 349,000 mirrors.

Because of projects like these, we are on pace to cut the cost of solar energy use in half by 2015 – leading us towards a day when solar power can be as cheap or cheaper than electricity from the grid, meaning that households can save money by using solar.

All told, the new generation capacity supported by the Recovery Act is going to power 16.7 million homes. 
 
But we knew that generating renewable power was only half the story – that we had to reassert ourselves as renewable manufacturing leaders as well.  So President Obama set a goal of doubling U.S. renewable manufacturing capacity by the end of 2011.

And, by the way, that means jobs. 

We’re on track to meet that goal, too.  We’re using a tax credit (48C) to increase incentives for renewable energy manufacturers to set up or relocate their businesses here in the US.  Already, for example, it’s paid out $346 million in tax credits for wind alone, resulting in 52 wind manufacturing projects in the US.

And again, it’s not just government.  It’s leveraging private capital:  All in all, $46 billion in clean energy funds we’re providing in seed money alone will generate more than $100 billion in non-federal investment in new energy projects. 

As a result, we are on pace to hit our target of doubling America’s renewable energy generation and manufacturing capacity by 2012.

Third, the Recovery Act is investing in groundbreaking medical research, with the goal of finding new ways to treat or prevent some of the world’s most daunting and debilitating diseases, to develop powerful new medicines, and even define strategies that will prevent disease from occurring in the first place—saving lives and saving hundreds of billions of dollars. 

This disease prevention work is happening across the board: in human genome sequencing, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and autism.

Thanks to the Recovery Act, researchers at our National Institutes of Health will complete the sequencing on 50 times as many human genomes as we’ve sequenced to date – not only increasing our understanding of disease, but also bringing down the cost of doing this work and opening the door to a future of personalized medicine. 

Thanks to Recovery Act funds, NIH will be able to sequence the genes of cancers that affect 10 million Americans – again, with the potential to start winning the war on cancer our nation declared in the early 1970s.

The first human genome map cost an estimated $2.7 billion.  Today, a genome map stands at $48,000.  Now, we stand on the verge of bringing the cost of a human genome map below $1,000 – fifty times cheaper than what is currently possible and with the potential to completely transform health care in America.

In the National Institutes of Health, we have one of the greatest assemblages of doctors and scientists in the world. 

Through the Recovery Act, we’re giving them the tools to make the most profound innovation of all: improving and extending health and human life, while bringing down the cost in medicine. 

The fourth area of investment is in building a platform for private sector innovation.

In all of these areas, the President and I recognize that the federal government’s role is limited.  We provide the seeds, but it’s the private sector that makes them grow. 

That’s why we’re investing so heavily in broadband.  Thanks to $7 billion in Recovery Act investments, bringing $3 billion in private capital off the sidelines, approximately 2 million rural American households – and tens of thousands of community institutions – will have better access to broadband. 

Farmers will be able to access real-time weather reports, water conditions, and crop prices, helping them be as competitive as possible in a global market.

As I said, we’re also investing more than $4 billion in Smart Grid, bringing more than $5 billion in capital off the sidelines.  Smart grids provide real-time information on electricity use, so that consumers and businesses can make efficient energy choices on a truly reliable network. 

A smart utility grid.  Universal broadband.  These are the foundation upon which innovative businesses can be built here in the U.S. – able to open their doors anywhere, and prosper everywhere.

And that’s really what this is about – giving American entrepreneurs the tools to do what they do best.

I know that there are several representatives of ARPA-E here today. The original ARPA was started in response to Sputnik.  The goal of this new agency was to rejuvenate America’s military research and development capabilities. 

In 1962, ARPA launched a nationwide effort to build a computer network called ARPA-NET.

By 1975, after spending just $25 million, ARPA researchers had done just that - and they’d created the basic structure of the modern Internet.

In the 1980’s, private industry dove in, and by 2009, the Internet was being used by approximately 27 percent of the world’s population, over 1.8 billion people.  It’s the engine for hundreds of billions of dollars of commerce. 

That was a relatively modest federal investment that allowed private industry to completely transform our economy.

That is exactly what we’re doing again.  Our federal investment is bringing money off of the sidelines. For example, in scientific research, $2.9 billion in investment is being doubled by external investors.  Or take clean energy, where a $46 billion investment is supporting more than $3 for every $1 we spent. 

In fact, on $100 billion of Recovery Act investments, the private sector is investing $286 billion—three dollars for every dollar we spend

A couple of months ago, I visited a company called Cree, in Durham, North Carolina.  I know we have some folks from Cree here today.

Their CEO, Chuck Swoboda, said: “The Recovery Act funding made it a straightforward decision to continue to invest in the U.S., both at our North Carolina facility and throughout our supply chain partners across the country.”

In his Nobel Prize lecture, Dr. Chu said, “As scientists, we hope that others take note of what we have done and use our work to go in directions we never imagined.”

Both had it exactly right, and it brings me back to where I started: 

Government plants the seeds, the private sector makes them grow, and we launch entire industries, create hundreds of thousands jobs, and spark new forms of commerce that were once unimaginable.

That’s how we’ve led the world in the past.  And that’s how we’ll dominate again in the future.   Looking at all of you, I know that we’re already on our way.

Thank you.  May God bless you all, and may God protect our troops.

The White House

Office of the Vice President

Vicepresidente Biden da a conocer informe sobre el impacto de la Ley para la Recuperación en la innovación

Las conclusiones del nuevo análisis son que Estados Unidos está en vías de lograr cuatro importantes avances científicos y tecnológicos debido a la Ley para la Recuperación 
 

WASHINGTON – El Vicepresidente Joe Biden hoy dio a conocer un nuevo informe, “La Ley para la Recuperación: Transformación de la economía de Estados Unidos por medio de la innovación” (“The Recovery Act: Transforming the American Economy through Innovation”), cuyas conclusiones son que la inversión de $100,000 millones en innovación por medio de la Ley para la Recuperación (Recovery Act) no sólo está transformando la economía y generando empleos, sino que está ayudando a acelerar los avances científicos y tecnológicos que reducen costos para los consumidores, salvan vidas y ayudan a hacer que Estados Unidos siga siendo competitivo en la economía del siglo XXI. Se puede ver el informe completo AQUI

“Desde el comienzo, hemos sido un país de descubrimiento e innovación, y hoy continuamos esa tradición a medida que las inversiones de la Ley para la Recuperación preparan el camino para avances trascendentales en transporte, energía e investigación médica”, afirmó el Vicepresidente Biden. “Estamos sembrando las semillas de la innovación, pero las empresas privadas y los principales científicos del país están ayudando a hacer que crezcan, creando sectores  industriales completamente nuevos, transformando nuestra economía y generando cientos de miles de empleos nuevos en el proceso”.

Según este nuevo análisis, Estados Unidos está en vías de lograr cuatro avances importantes debido a las inversiones de la Ley para la Recuperación:
• Reducir a la mitad el costo de la energía solar para el 2015, lo que hará que sea equivalente al costo minorista de la electricidad de la red eléctrica.
• Reducir en 70 por ciento el costo de baterías para vehículos eléctricos entre el 2009 y el 2015, lo que hará que el costo de un vehículo eléctrico durante su vida útil sea equivalente a un homólogo no eléctrico.
• Aumentar al doble la capacidad de Estados Unidos de generar energía renovable y su capacidad de producción industrial renovable para el 2012, un avance que no sería posible sin la Ley para la Recuperación.
• Reducir el costo del mapa personal del genoma humano a menos de $1,000 en cinco años, lo que permitirá que los investigadores secuencien 50 genomas humanos por el costo actual de secuenciar solamente uno.

El Vicepresidente Biden estuvo acompañado en el evento por el secretario de Energía Steven Chu y representantes de más de veinte empresas e instituciones de investigación que están aprovechando las inversiones de la Ley para la Recuperación para ayudar a hacer de Estados Unidos un líder mundial en sectores de rápido crecimiento como vehículos eléctricos y energía solar.  Los beneficiarios de la Ley para la Recuperación como Cree, Inc.; Navistar y Pacific Biosciences están utilizando dinero de la ley para lograr avances que ayudan a poner al alcance del estadounidense promedio tecnología que ahorra dinero y energía, y en algunos casos, incluso salva vidas.

“Gracias a las inversiones que la Ley para la Recuperación ha hecho posible, estamos dando rienda suelta al motor de la innovación de Estados Unidos para cambiar la manera en que usamos y producimos energía en este país”, afirmó el secretario Chu.  “Igualmente importante es que estos avances están ayudando a generar decenas de miles de nuevos empleos, lo que permite que Estados Unidos continúe siendo líder en la economía mundial y ayuda a ofrecerles un futuro mejor a las próximas generaciones”.

"Los fondos de la Ley para la Recuperación no sólo están produciendo miles de empleos en la comunidad de investigación biomédica, sino que también están ayudando a acelerar importantes descubrimientos médicos que beneficiarán la salud de estadounidenses en todo el país”, afirmó Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D., director del Instituto Nacional de Salud (National Institutes of Health o NIH).

En total, la Ley para la Recuperación está invirtiendo $100,000 millones en proyectos científicos y tecnológicos, y en innovaciones en todo el país, que van desde construir una red eléctrica inteligente a nivel nacional e infraestructura de informática para la atención de salud, hasta hacer que el emergente sector de vehículos eléctricos crezca, aumentar el acceso a banda ancha y sentar las bases para un sistema ferroviario nacional de alta velocidad. Se puede encontrar más información sobre las inversiones que la Administración está haciendo por medio de la Ley para la Recuperación y otros medios AQUI, en la nueva página de innovaciones lanzada hoy por WhiteHouse.gov.

La Ley para la Recuperación: Transformación de la Economía Estadounidense por medio de la Innovación
Hoja Informativa
 
Gracias a la Ley para la Recuperación, Estados Unidos está en camino de alcanzar cuatro importantes avances en materia de innovación que mantendrán la competitividad de Estados Unidos en la economía el siglo XXI y harán que la nueva tecnología de menor costo, mayor eficiencia energética y con el potencial de salvar vidas esté al alcance de los bolsillos de los consumidores:
1.      Reducir el costo de la energía solar a la mitad para el 2015.
2.      Reducir el costo de baterías para vehículos eléctricos en 70 por ciento entre el 2009 y el 2015.
3.      Aumentar al doble la capacidad de Estados Unidos de generar energía renovable y de producir equipo de energía renovable para el 2012.
4.      Reducir el costo de un mapa personal del genoma humano a menos de $1,000 en cinco años.
 
Objetivo #1: Reducir el costo de la energía solar a la mitad para el 2015
Gracias a la Ley para la Recuperación, estamos en camino de reducir el costo de la energía solar a la mitad para el 2015, lo cual reducirá el costo de generar energía solar al nivel del costo de la electricidad proveniente de la red eléctrica. 
• Como resultado de la inversiones de hoy, se calcula que el costo de la energía solar se reducirá a la mitad entre el 2009 y el 2015. El costo de la energía proveniente de paneles solares en los techos se reducirá de $0.21 por kWh en el 2009 a $0.10 por kWh en el 2015, lo cual es equivalente a las actuales tarifas residenciales de electricidad típicas. El costo de la energía de los proyectos solares de compañías de servicios públicos se reduciría de $0.13 por kWh hoy a $0.06 en el 2015, lo cual es equivalente al costo mayorista de energía que pagan las compañías de servicios públicos.
• Además, el costo de la energía proveniente de paneles solares en los techos podría reducirse hasta $0.06 por kWh para el 2030. A ese costo, la energía solar será significativamente más barata que la tarifa residencial de electricidad, y un hogar promedio podría ahorrar más de $400 al año en su cuenta de electricidad.
• La Ley para la Recuperación no sólo está apoyando la implementación de lo mejor en tecnología solar, sino que también está aumentando la producción y el uso a niveles mucho más altos, lo cual ayuda a reducir considerablemente los costos de la nueva tecnología.
• Algunas compañías están reduciendo el costo simplemente al aumentar la producción y usar más paneles solares estándar de silicona. Por ejemplo, la mayor planta fotovoltaica en Norteamérica, la DeSoto Solar Park en Pensacola, Florida de 25 MW fue fundada en parte por la Ley para la Recuperación. Esta planta de energía consiste en más de 90,000 paneles solares y suministra energía a 3,000 hogares.
 
Objetivo #2: Reducir el costo de baterías para vehículos eléctricos en 70 por ciento entre el 2009 y el 2015
Las inversiones de la Ley para la Recuperación nos han puesto en camino de reducir el costo de las baterías para autos en 70% entre el 2009 y el 2015. Esto significa que el costo de las baterías para el típico vehículo totalmente eléctrico se reducirá de $33,000 a $10,000, y el costo de la típica batería enchufable para híbridos se reducirá de $13,000 a $4,000.
• Esta reducción de costos para el 2015 se produce porque las inversiones de la Ley para la Recuperación aprovechan la tecnología de vanguardia y propician el aumento de la producción a un mayor nivel, lo cual reduce la curva de costos.
• Los vehículos eléctricos ya se han vuelto más económicos y accesibles. En el 2009, el único vehículo de motor eléctrico costaba más de $100,000. Pronto estarán disponibles el Nissan Leaf y el Chevy Volt, cuyo precio parte de $25,000 y $33,000 respectivamente.
• Una batería de $10,000 para vehículos totalmente eléctricos y una batería de $4,000 para vehículos híbridos enchufables significa que los vehículos totalmente eléctricos serán más económicos y su costo será competitivo con respecto a vehículos similares no eléctricos. A ese nivel de costos, los autos de motor eléctrico en realidad serán menos caros por el tiempo de su vida útil, que vehículos similares que no son eléctricos. Asimismo, estas inversiones harán que estas baterías menos costosas sean menos pesadas y más durables:
• Se prevé que el peso típico de una batería para un vehículo eléctrico disminuya en 33%, de 333 kilos a 222 kilos, para el 2015. Una batería menos pesada significa un carro más ligero, lo que a su vez significa que se necesitará menos energía para impulsar al vehículo.
• Se calcula que una batería típica dure 14 años en el 2015, más de tres veces la duración actual de 4 años.

 Objetivo #3: Aumentar al doble la capacidad de Estados Unidos de generar energía renovable y de producir equipo de energía renovable para el 2012
Estamos en vías de alcanzar nuestro objetivo de aumentar al doble la generación de energía renovable para el 2012, algo que no habría sido posible sin las inversiones de la Ley para la Recuperación.
• Más de $23,000 millones de inversiones de la Ley para la Recuperación respaldan la energía renovable. Muchas de sus inversiones están contribuyendo directamente a aumentar al doble la capacidad de Estados Unidos de generar energía eólica, solar y geotérmica renovable para el  2012. Eso significa instalar la misma capacidad de generar energía renovable en los próximos tres años que la que Estados Unidos instaló en los 30 años previos.
• Además, el Presidente Obama fijó el objetivo de aumentar al doble la capacidad de producción de equipo de energía renovable, para que Estados Unidos también pueda convertirse en un líder en la producción de esta tecnología.
• Específicamente, estos objetivos significan que:
• Aumentaremos al doble la capacidad energética, de 28.8 GW en generación de energía solar, eólica y geotérmica instalados hasta el 2008, a 57.6 GW para fines del 2011. Esta capacidad es suficiente para el suministro de 16.7 millones de residencias.
• Aumentar al doble la capacidad anual de producción de equipo de energía renovable (como aerogeneradores o paneles solares) de 6 GW a 12 GW para fines del 2011. Esto aumentará la porción de Estados Unidos en la producción mundial de módulos fotovoltaicos solares de 8% de toda la producción a 14% para el 2012.

Objetivo #4: Reducir el costo de un mapa personal del genoma humano a menos de $1,000 en cinco años
Las posibilidades que conlleva poder comparar genomas humanos enteros son ilimitadas. Hoy en día, con la ayuda de la Ley para la Recuperación, el National Institutes of Health está por reducir el costo de la secuenciación de ADN a $1,000 por genoma, cincuenta veces más barato de lo que actualmente cuesta.
• Con un precio más módico, la información del ADN podría convertirse parte de un examen médico rutinario. Al igual que un simple análisis, un económico análisis de todo el genoma de ADN podría ayudar a los proveedores de salud a escoger tratamientos eficaces y personalizados en el futuro. 
• Ésta es una noticia muy positiva, ya que desde un inicio, los científicos del Proyecto del Genoma Humano (Human Genome Project) sostenían que poder crear mapas y comparar genomas humanos podría producir curas y un entendimiento de algunas de las enfermedades más debilitantes de la actualidad, y al mismo tiempo, también crear en el proceso muchos nuevos puestos de alta capacitación.
• Siete proyectos financiados por la Ley para la Recuperación están tratando de reducir el costo de la secuenciación del genoma humano, cada uno con una estrategia tecnológica diferente.
• A fin de cuentas, el éxito en este cometido significará que la promesa de tratamientos que ofrecen las ciencias no sólo estará al alcance de las personas muy acaudaladas, sino también de decenas de millones de estadounidenses en todos los rincones del país.
 

The White House

Office of the Vice President

Vice President Biden Releases Report on Recovery Act Impact on Innovation

New Analysis Finds U.S. Now On-Track to Achieve Four Major Science and Technology Breakthroughs Due to Recovery Act 

WASHINGTON – Vice President Joe Biden today unveiled a new report, “The Recovery Act: Transforming the American Economy through Innovation,” which finds that the Recovery Act’s $100 billion investment in innovation is not only transforming the economy and creating new jobs, but helping accelerate significant advances in science and technology that cut costs for consumers, save lives and help keep America competitive in the 21st century economy.  The report can be viewed in full HERE

“From the beginning, we have been a nation of discovery and innovation – and today we continue in that tradition as Recovery Act investments pave the way for game-changing breakthroughs in transportation, energy and medical research,” said Vice President Biden.  “We’re planting the seeds of innovation, but private companies and the nation’s top researchers are helping them grow, launching entire new industries, transforming our economy and creating hundreds of thousands of new jobs in the process.”

According to this new analysis, the U.S. is now on-track to achieve four major innovation breakthroughs thanks to Recovery Act investments:

  • Cutting the cost of solar power in half by 2015, putting it on par with the cost of retail electricity from the grid.
  • Cutting the cost of batteries for electric vehicles by 70 percent between 2009 and 2015, putting the lifetime cost of an electric vehicle on-par with that of its non-electric counterpart.
  • Doubling U.S. renewable energy generation capacity and U.S. renewable manufacturing capacity by 2012, a breakthrough that would not be possible without the Recovery Act.
  • Bringing the cost of a personal human genome map to under $1,000 in five years, allowing researchers to sequence 50 human genomes for the same cost as sequencing just one today.

Vice President Biden was joined at the event by Secretary of Energy Steven Chu and representatives from more than two dozen companies and research institutions that are leveraging Recovery Act investments to help make America a global leader in high-growth industries like electric vehicles and solar power.  Recovery Act recipients like Cree, Inc.; Navistar and Pacific Biosciences are using Recovery dollars to make advances that will help put money-saving, energy-saving and, in some cases, even life-saving technology within reach for average Americans.

“Thanks to investments made possible by the Recovery Act, we are unleashing the American innovation machine to change the way we use and produce energy in this country,” said Secretary Chu.  “Just as importantly, these breakthroughs are helping create tens of thousands of new jobs, allowing the US to continue as a leader in the global economy and helping to provide a better future for generations to come.”

"The Recovery Act funding is not only producing thousands of jobs in the biomedical research community, it is also helping speed important medical discoveries that will benefit the health of Americans nationwide," said Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D., NIH Director.

Overall, the Recovery Act is investing $100 billion in science, technology and innovation projects across the country ranging from building a nationwide smart energy grid and health information technology infrastructure to growing the emerging electric vehicle industry, expanding broadband access and laying the groundwork for a nationwide high speed rail system.  More information on investments the Administration is making in innovation through the Recovery Act and other means can be viewed HERE at the new Innovation page launched on WhiteHouse.gov today.

The Recovery Act: Transforming the American Economy through Innovation
Fact Sheet

Thanks to the Recovery Act, the U.S. is now on-track to achieve four major innovation breakthroughs that will keep America competitive in the 21st century economy and make new cost-saving, energy-saving and life-saving technology affordable for and accessible to consumers:

  1. 1. Cutting the cost of solar power in half between by 2015.
  2. 2. Cutting the cost of batteries for electric vehicles by 70 percent between 2009 and 2015.
  3. 3. Doubling U.S. renewable energy generation capacity and U.S. renewable manufacturing capacity by 2012.
  4. 4. Bringing down the cost of a personal human genome map to under $1,000 in five years.

Goal #1: Cutting the cost of solar power in half by 2015
Thanks to the Recovery Act, we are on track to cut the cost of solar power in half by 2015, which will bring the cost of generating solar power down to the cost of electricity from the grid

  • As a result of today’s investments, the cost of solar energy is forecast to drop by half between 2009 and 2015.  The cost of power from rooftop solar panels will drop from $0.21 per kWh in 2009 to $0.10 per kWh in 2015, which is equivalent to typical household electricity rates.  The cost of power from utility-scale solar projects would drop from $0.13 per kWh today to $0.06 in 2015, which is equivalent to the cost of wholesale utility power.
  • Further, the cost of rooftop solar power could drop to as low as $0.06 per kWh by 2030. At that cost, solar power will be significantly cheaper than household electricity rates – and an average household could save more than $400 per year in electricity bills.
  • The Recovery Act is not just supporting implementation of the latest solar technologies, but also is scaling up manufacturing and deployment to much greater levels, both of which help to dramatically bring down the costs of new technologies.  
  • Some companies are reducing cost simply by scaling up manufacturing and deployment of the standard silicon solar panel. For example, the largest photovoltaic power plant in North America, the 25 MW DeSoto Solar Park in Pensacola, Florida, was funded in part by the Recovery Act. The power plant consists of over 90,000 solar panels and provides enough power for 3,000 homes.

Goal #2: Cut the cost of batteries for electric vehicles by 70 percent between 2009 and 2015
Recovery Act investments have now put us on track to cut the cost of batteries for autos by 70% between 2009 and 2015
. This means that the cost of batteries for the typical all-electric vehicle will fall from $33,000 to $10,000, and the cost of typical plug-in hybrid batteries will drop from $13,000 to $4,000.

  • This cost reduction by 2015 is because of Recovery Act investments that are taking advantage of the latest technologies, ramping up manufacturing to much higher levels, and marching down the cost curve.
  • Already, electric vehicles are becoming more affordable and accessible. In 2009, the only available electric-drive vehicle cost more than $100,000. Soon, the Nissan Leaf and the Chevy Volt, starting at $25,000 and $33,000 respectively, will be available.
  • A $10,000 battery for all-electric vehicles and a $4,000 battery for plug-in hybrid vehicles will mean that electric-drive cars are affordable and cost competitive with similar non-electric vehicles. At those battery costs, electric-drive cars actually will be less expensive over the life of the car than similar non-electric vehicles. What’s more, these investments will make these less-expensive batteries lighter and more durable:
    • The weight of a typical electric-vehicle battery is forecasted to decrease by 33%, from 333 kilograms to 222 kilograms, by 2015. The lighter battery means a lighter car, which means less energy is needed to power the car.
    • A typical battery is expected to last 14 years in 2015 – more than three times as long as the current 4-year lifetime.

Goal #3: Double U.S. renewable energy generation capacity and U.S. renewable manufacturing capacity by 2012
We’re now on track to hit our target to double renewable energy generation by 2012, something that would not have been possible without Recovery Act investments.

  • Over $23 billion of Recovery Act investments support renewable energy. Many of these investments are directly contributing to the doubling U.S. renewable energy generation capacity from wind, solar, and geothermal by 2012.  This means installing as much renewable energy generating capacity in the next three years as the U.S. had in the previous thirty. 
  • In addition, President Obama set the goal of doubling renewable manufacturing capacity, so that the U.S. can gain leadership in manufacturing these technologies as well.
  • Specifically, these goals mean that we will:
    • Double renewable energy capacity from the 28.8 GW of solar, wind, and geothermal generation that has been installed as of 2008, to 57.6 GW by the end of 2011. That’s enough capacity to power 16.7 million homes
    • Double renewable energy manufacturing capacity from an annual output of 6 GW of renewable equipment (like wind turbines or solar panels) to 12 GW by the end of 2011. This will increase the U.S. share of global manufacturing of solar photovoltaic modules from 8% of all production, to 14% by 2012.

Goal #4: Bring down the cost of a personal human genome map to under $1,000 in five years
The promise of being able to compare entire human genomes is boundless.  Today, with the help of the Recovery Act, the National Institutes of Health are on track to slash the cost of DNA sequencing to $1,000 per genome – fifty times cheaper than what is currently possible.

  • With a more affordable price tag, DNA information could become a routine part of medical care.  Just like a simple blood test, an inexpensive whole-genome DNA scan could help health care providers in the future choose effective, personalized treatments. 
  • This is welcome news, as since before the start of the Human Genome Project scientists have believed that being able to map and compare human genomes could unlock cures and insights into some of the most debilitating diseases existing today, while also creating many new skilled jobs in the process.
  • Seven projects funded by the Recovery Act are attempting to drive down the cost of human genome sequencing, each with a different technological strategy.
  • Ultimately, success in this endeavor will mean that the promises of treatment offered by this science will not only be available to the super wealthy, but will be available to tens of millions of Americans in every corner of the country.

The Ongoing Administration-Wide Response to the Deepwater BP Oil Spill: July 1 - July 7, 2010

Below is a snap shot of the last week in the ongoing Administration-wide response to the Deepwater BP Oil Spill provided by the Joint Information Center.  

Heidi Avery is White House Deputy Homeland Security Advisor

Vice President Biden’s Visit to the Gulf Coast

Vice President Biden is Briefed on Oil Recovery Efforts

Vice President Joe Biden, Admiral Thad Allen, and Governor Christ are briefed on oil recovery efforts aboard the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Oak at Pensacola Naval Air Station in Pensacola, FL, June 29, 2010. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann)

On Tuesday, Vice President Biden traveled to the Gulf Coast to assess the ongoing efforts to counter the BP oil spill. During the trip, the Vice President visited New Orleans, Louisiana, and Pensacola, Florida, to survey the response efforts, visit with gulf residents impacted by the spill, and meet with area officials.

Vice President Biden Talks to Personnel and Tours Unified Area Command

Vice President Joe Biden tours the Unified Area Command and talks to personnel who are coordinating the response to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, in New Orleans, LA, June 29, 2010. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann)

The Ongoing Administration-Wide Response to the Deepwater BP Oil Spill: June 29, 2010

Yesterday, Vice President Joe Biden visited New Orleans and Pensacola, Fla., to survey the response efforts, visit with Gulf Coast residents impacted by the spill, and meet with area officials.

Below is the latest in the ongoing Administration-wide response provided by the Joint Information Center.  

Heidi Avery is White House Deputy Homeland Security Advisor