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    Archive for the
    ‘President Obama’ Category


    By: Jason

    Transparency is a BFD

    Monday, July 26th, 2010

    The White House announced today that the President and Vice President’s public schedules will be published online and via RSS feed. That means you can get a real-time update on where the president and VP are during their day.

    Why is this important? It’s important because the President and VP (and all elected officials) work for the people. We have a right to know where elected officials are and how they are spending their time.

    Do you know how much money it takes to run for elected office? Tons! Many elected officials are busier raising money for their next campaign than doing the job that their trying to keep. What President Obama and Vice President Biden are doing is a step in the right direction because we the voters must hold our elected officials responsible to the people and the people have a right to know how much time their representatives are spending doing the work of the people versus working on their own behalf.

    Read what the White House has to say about transparency and how you can  subscribe to the President and VP’s schedule.

      Jason
      Bio:

      Email the author at: blog(at)rockthevote.com

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      Posted in President Obama | Comments Off


      By: Jason

      $60 Billion for Higher Education

      Tuesday, March 30th, 2010

      With the stroke of a pen today, President Obama sealed a hard-fought victory for students. The Healthcare and Education Reconciliation Act was signed into law this morning at the Northern Virginia Community College, Alexandria Campus. Simply stated, today our country chose to invest in college students over bank profits. Nice.

      The law ends wasteful subsidies to private lenders and directs over sixty billion dollars of savings into financial aid programs – like the Pell  grants program, the cornerstone financial aid program that allows low-income students to attend college every year. It also invests billions of dollars in community colleges and minority-Serving Institutions.

      We can’t overstate what a battle this was for students versus the banks. As our friends at Campus Progress figured out:

      The lending industry is no stranger to Capitol Hill. Since 1999, the industry as a whole has spent at least $62,567,134 lobbying Congress on everything from changing interest rates on student loan consolidation to protecting their federal subsidies. If, as an industry, they decided to help students instead of lobbying (usually against [students'] interests), they could have forgiven the loans of 2,696 borrowers (at the average level for 2008 graduates), provided grants of equal size to the 2009-2010 maximum Pell grant to 11,694 students, or reduced monthly loan payments by $100 for 52,139 struggling borrowers for a year.

      Rock the Vote was at the signing ceremony. Brass band. Al Franken. Student leaders. Cabinet Secretaries. We had it all. Here are some pictures from the balcony:

      An image from the balcony of the President's bill signing.

      (more…)

        Jason
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        Email the author at: blog(at)rockthevote.com

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        Posted in education, President Obama, student loans | 4 Comments »


        By: Jason

        Report From the Bill Signing:

        Wednesday, March 24th, 2010

        Hi there.  Yesterday I got to be a part of the health care bill signing.  It was powerful, and I was there because of you all, so I thought I would share some of the photos from the event and a few comments.

        Despite what I was starting to fear, big things can happen in DC, elections really matter, and nothing gets done (especially done in a way we like) unless young people are involved.

        For me personally, this was a moral issue – that it be a right for all Americans to have access to quality health care.  And that, for young people, this access be fair and affordable.  We fought HARD to make sure you all could stay on your parents plan till age 26.  Also, that no one can be turned away for being a woman or having a pre-existing condition.  And, that there are subsidies and expansion of medicaid and other measure to keep the costs low.  These things are now LAW, and that is pretty amazing.

        The war for health care in America that is fair and just and has all the pieces that we want in it implemented is going to be a long one, but yesterday marked the end of the first battle, was a great first step, and I am proud of the role we all played.

        From reading the blog, you all have a lot to say and valid opinions.  This issue is not going away, so keep discussing, call your members of congress, express your gratitude and/or concerns.  Legislating on this and other issues is an on-going effort.

        But, for today, I am going to celebrate this first step that fundamentally changed the landscape around health care in our country, a first step to fixing a broken status quo.

        Enjoy the pics.

        (more…)

          Jason
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          Email the author at: blog(at)rockthevote.com

          Tags: , , , , ,
          Posted in health care, heather smith, House of Representatives, Joe Biden, President Obama | 1 Comment »


          By: Jason

          Notes from the Health Care rally

          Monday, March 22nd, 2010

          In the closing days before the House passed Health Care Reform package, a few students from a Northern Virginia High School were able to attend the President’s health care reform rally at George Mason University. Here is the account of Jasmine, one of the students who attended the rally:

          I thought attending the Health care event was a very humbling experience. Due to the fact, prior to this event he came to give a speech at my school on the first day. Just to be able to see the President in person instead of watching him at home was exciting and very suspensful I might add. The message I took away from the speech is that it’s best to work with what you already have. What I liked most about Obama’s plan of action was that he plans to use the money/package we already have to prevent further debt and lower our deficit. I like the fact that teenagers (like myself) were still going to be able to be on our parents insurance plan so we won’t go broke trying to pay for our own insurance.

            Jason
            Bio:

            Email the author at: blog(at)rockthevote.com

            Posted in health care, President Obama | 2 Comments »


            By: Jason

            Invite: White House Health Insurance Reform conference call

            Monday, March 15th, 2010

            The White House Office of Public Engagement is holding a a call with youth advocacy groups to discuss Health Insurance Reform. The conference call will be held this Tuesday, March 16, at 5:30 pm, Eastern Standard Time.  You should  dial in a few minutes early to ensure you get in on the whole thing.

            Please note:  this call is for background information only and not intended for press purposes.
            WHO: Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor to the President, and staff from the  White House Office of Public Engagement and the White House Office of Health

            WHAT: White House Briefing Call on Health Insurance Reform

            WHEN: Tuesday, March 16, 2010, 5:30 PM EST

            HOW: Please call (888) 276-9998, and ask the operator for the “Health Care Call”

              Jason
              Bio:

              Email the author at: blog(at)rockthevote.com

              Tags: , , ,
              Posted in Barack Obama, health care, Obama, politics, President Obama | Comments Off

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