Category: Apr2014

The Maryland Legislature did the right thing for its workers today by increasing the state minimum wage to $10.10 an hour. Maryland’s important action is a reminder that many states, cities and counties – as well as a majority of the American people – are way ahead of Washington on this crucial issue. I applaud…

NOTICE – – – – – – – CONTINUATION OF THE NATIONAL EMERGENCY WITH RESPECT TO SOMALIA On April 12, 2010, by Executive Order 13536, I declared a national emergency pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701-1706) to deal with the unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign…

TO THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES: Section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622(d)) provides for the automatic termination of a national emergency unless, within 90 days prior to the anniversary date of its declaration, the President publishes in the Federal Register and transmits to the Congress a notice stating that the…

NOMINATIONS SENT TO THE SENATE: Steven H. Cohen, of Illinois, to be a Member of the Board of Trustees of the Harry S Truman Scholarship Foundation for a term expiring December 10, 2019.  (Reappointment) Thomas P. Kelly III, of California, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary…

This afternoon President Obama met with the inaugural members of the Presidential Ambassadors for Global Entrepreneurship (PAGE) at the White House, along with Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker, the PAGE Chair. Established by the Department of Commerce, PAGE is a group of successful American businesspeople eager to share their knowledge and experience to help develop…

Washington, D.C. – Today, the White House announced that the first America’s PrepareAthon! national day of action will take place April 30, 2014. America’s PrepareAthon! is a nationwide, community-based campaign to increase emergency preparedness and resilience through participation in hazard-specific drills, group discussions and exercises conducted at the national level every fall and spring.  The…

Earlier this afternoon, the President met with Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Commander-in-Chief William A. “Bill” Thien and Executive Director Bob Wallace in the Oval Office.  The President started the meeting by reiterating his thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of those killed and wounded during the recent shooting at Fort Hood. …

On Monday, April 7, 2014, the President signed into law: H.R. 4275, the “Cooperative and Small Employer Charity Pension Flexibility Act,” which amends the funding rules for multiple employer defined benefit pension plans offered by cooperative associations and charities; and S. 1557, the “Children’s Hospital GME Support Reauthorization Act of 2013,” which extends and reauthorizes…

Today the Senate acted in a bipartisan way to reinstate emergency unemployment insurance for 2.3 million Americans who depend on it as they search for work. As I’ve said time and again, Washington needs to put politics aside and help these hard-working, responsible Americans make ends meet and support their families as they look for…

We join with the people of Rwanda in marking twenty years since the beginning of the genocide that took the lives of so many innocents and which shook the conscience of the world.  We honor the memory of the more than 800,000 men, women and children who were senselessly slaughtered simply because of who they…