Israel: Background and U.S. Relations in Brief

"For decades, strong bilateral relations have fueled and reinforced significant U.S.-Israel cooperation in many areas, including regional security. Nonetheless, at various points throughout the relationship, U.S. and Israeli policies have diverged on some important issues. Significant differences regarding regional issues—notably Iran and the Palestinians—have arisen or intensified since 2009, during the tenures of President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

Since the 2016 U.S. election, a number of developments involving President-elect Donald Trump, the Obama Administration, Israeli leaders, and various other actors (including Members of Congress) have arisen. These developments have already affected U.S. policy in relation to Israel or may affect it following Trump’s inauguration; they include the following.
 Several controversies regarding Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, including the U.N. Security Council’s adoption of Resolution 2334 (UNSCR 2334) on December 23, 2016, by a vote of 14 in favor, zero against, and one abstention by the United States.
 Principles advanced as a possible basis for future Israeli-Palestinian negotiations by Secretary of State John Kerry on December 28, 2016, and other statements and actions related to issues of Israeli-Palestinian dispute as the U.S. presidential transition approaches.
 The possibility that the incoming Administration could move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.  Public efforts by Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders to influence the incoming Administration’s stance on the 2015 Iran nuclear deal (the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA)..."
Israel - U.S. relations

2017 Economic Report of the President

"As the 2017 Economic Report of the President goes to press, the United States is eight years removed from the onset of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. Over the two terms of the Obama Administration, the U.S. economy has made a remarkable recovery from the Great Recession. After peaking at 10.0 percent in October 2009, the unemployment rate has been cut by more than half to 4.6 percent as of November 2016, below its pre-recession average. Real gross domestic product (GDP) per capita recovered fully to its pre-crisis peak in the fourth quarter of 2013, faster than what would have been expected after such a severe financial crisis based on historical precedents. As of the third quarter of 2016, the U.S. economy was 11.5 percent larger than at its peak before the crisis. As of November 2016, the economy has added 14.8 million jobs over 74 months, the longest streak of total job growth on record. Since private-sector job growth turned positive in March 2010, U.S. businesses have added 15.6 million jobs. Real wage growth has been faster in the current business cycle than in any since the early 1970s. Meanwhile, from 2014 to 2015, median real household income grew by 5.2 percent, the fastest annual growth on record, and the United States saw its largest one-year drop in the poverty rate since the 1960s..."

Economic Report of the President

Designating Stonewall National Monument

"On Friday, June 24, President Obama designated the Stonewall National Monument – the first national monument dedicated to telling the story of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community’s struggle for equal rights. In this week’s address, the President talked about the importance of preserving and sharing this significant part of the American story.

Although we have seen true progress over the years, the President acknowledged that the LGBT community still faces discrimination to this day. With that in mind, the President emphasized that as a country, we must continue to push for equality, acceptance and tolerance – because that’s what makes our country the greatest nation on earth..."
Stonewall National Monumment

A Macroeconomic Analysis of the President’s 2017 Budget

"Each year, after the President releases the Administration’s budget request, the Congressional Budget Office analyzes the proposals in that request. Using its own economic projections and estimating procedures, CBO projects what the federal budget would look like over the next 10 years if the President’s proposals were adopted. CBO provides that information in two reports. In general, the first report examines the proposals’ direct effects on the budget; the second, which takes more time to prepare, shows the effects that the proposals would have on the economy and how those macroeconomic effects would, in turn, feed back into the budget..."
Federal budget

President Obama: I've Got News For You on Overtime

"President Obama wrote this message to petition signers to announce that the Department of Labor will be finalizing a rule that expands overtime pay to millions of American workers.

I wanted you to be the first to know about some important news on an issue I know you care deeply about: making sure you're paid fairly.

Tomorrow, we're strengthening our overtime pay rules to make sure millions of Americans' hard work is rewarded. If you work more than 40 hours a week, you should get paid for it or get extra time off to spend with your family and loved ones. It's one of most important steps we're taking to help grow middle-class wages and put $12 billion more dollars in the pockets of hardworking Americans over the next 10 years..."
Overtime rule

2016 Economic Report of the President

View the latest edition of the Economic Report of the President  together with the 
Annual Report of the Council of Economic Advisers as submitted to Congress, February 2016.
President's Economic Report

America's Newest National Monuments

"President Obama has taken unprecedented action to invest and conserve America's natural treasures. The natural and cultural richness of our national parks, monuments, forest, and public lands are an important reflections of our environmental responsibility and the legacy we leave to future generations. That is why this President has protected more than 265 million acres of land and water – more than any other president in history.

Today, he's adding a few million acres more.

Today, he will designated three new national monuments in the California desert: Mojave Trails National Monument, Sand to Snow National Monument, and Castle Mountains National Monument. 

These designations encompass nearly 1.8 million acres and nearly double the number of acres of public lands that he's previously protected. Take a look and find out a bit more about our nation's newest national monuments..."
National monuments

Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity

"By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and in order to enhance cybersecurity awareness and protections at all levels of Government, business, and society, to protect privacy, to ensure public safety and economic and national security, and to empower Americans to take better control of their digital security, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1. Establishment. There is established within the Department of Commerce the Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity (Commission).."
Cybersecurity

Strengthening Our Nation's Cybersecurity

"Today, President Obama is releasing his final budget proposal of his Administration. It's a strong reflection of what investments he believes will move our country forward and keep our country and the American people safe.

A key part of that involves the strength of our nation's cybersecurity. From buying products, to running businesses, to chatting with the people we love, our online world has fundamentally reshaped the way we live our lives. But living in a digital age also makes us more vulnerable to malicious cyber activity.

We have to adapt to this national threat. That's why President Obama has worked for more than seven years to aggressively and comprehensively confront this challenge. So today, he is directing the Administration to implement a Cybersecurity National Action Plan (CNAP) -- the capstone of our national cybersecurity efforts.."
Cybersecurity

FACT SHEET: New Executive Actions to Reduce Gun Violence and Make Our Communities Safer

"Gun violence has taken a heartbreaking toll on too many communities across the country. Over the past decade in America, more than 100,000 people have been killed as a result of gun violence—and millions more have been the victim of assaults, robberies, and other crimes involving a gun. Many of these crimes were committed by people who never should have been able to purchase a gun in the first place. Over the same period, hundreds of thousands of other people in our communities committed suicide with a gun and nearly half a million people suffered other gun injuries. Hundreds of law enforcement officers have been shot to death protecting their communities. And too many children are killed or injured by firearms every year, often by accident. The vast majority of Americans—including the vast majority of gun owners—believe we must take sensible steps to address these horrible tragedies..."
Gun violence

President Obama Has Shortened the Sentences of More People Than the Last 5 Presidents Combined

"Today, President Obama is commuting the federal prison sentences of 95 men and women, most of whom committed nonviolent offenses. With this step, the President has now granted 184 commutations total -- more than the last five presidents combined. Take a look:..."

Prison sentence reduction

President Obama Addresses the Nation on Keeping the American People Safe

"On Sunday, December 6, at 8:00 pm ET, President Obama addressed the nation from the Oval Office about the steps our government is taking to fulfill his highest priority: keeping the American people safe...."
President Obama's address, Sunday, Dec. 6, 2015

Follow Along: A Global Agreement to Act on Climate

"Every day, we are seeing and feeling the effects of climate change -- here and across the globe. It poses a clear and present threat to our economic and national security. No country is immune from the consequences of climate change, and no country can act alone. Right now, we, as people, face a critical moment.

For the first time in history, we have a chance to put in place a global climate agreement that will spur countries to take ambitious action that will reduce carbon pollution, support clean energy, and ensure we deliver a planet that is worthy of future generations. That is why President Obama is heading to Paris on November 29th. He will meet with leaders of countries large and small -- the world's largest emitters and the ones that are most at risk -- to find a way we can collectively reduce global emissions. 

Watch what the President had to say about it on his Facebook page..."
Global climate change agreement

Let's Fix Our Criminal Justice System

"The Case for Reform

Over the last few decades, we've locked up more non-violent offenders than ever before — and for longer than ever.

Since he was a Senator, the President has noted that in too many cases, our criminal justice system represents a pipeline from underfunded schools to overcrowded jails. And while he's since taken steps to address it, much of our criminal justice system remains unfair.

And people of all political persuasions, in both  are ready to do something about it..."
 
Criminal justice system

3 Facts Most People Don't Know about Prescription Drug Abuse:

"Prescription drug abuse and heroin use have taken a heartbreaking toll on too many Americans and their families. Today, President Obama traveled to West Virginia — the state that's home to the highest rate of overdose deaths in the nation — to hear directly from people in the community and discuss new actions to fight this epidemic. 

Get the facts about prescription drug abuse in this country, and then watch the conversation..."
Prescription drug abuse

Weekly Address: Dispose of Your Expired and Unwanted Prescription Drugs

"In this week's address, on “National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day,” the President spoke about the importance of preventing and treating substance use disorders. Overdoses from prescription pain medications kill thousands of Americans every year, and more often than not, those drugs come from the family medicine cabinet. In addition, many heroin users started out by misusing prescription drugs. That’s why it’s important to take advantage of the DEA’s National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day and safely, conveniently, and responsibly dispose of expired and unwanted prescription drugs at collection sites throughout your community—no questions asked. Drug disposal programs are part of the President’s 2011 Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention Plan, which also included increasing education for prescribers, expanding Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs, and pursuing Smart on Crime enforcement. In his address, the President called on us all to continue to work to reduce substance use disorders through evidence-based treatment, prevention, and recovery..."
Unwanted prescription drug disposal

Executive Order -- Using Behavioral Science Insights to Better Serve the American People

"A growing body of evidence demonstrates that behavioral science insights -- research findings from fields such as behavioral economics and psychology about how people make decisions and act on them -- can be used to design government policies to better serve the American people.

Where Federal policies have been designed to reflect behavioral science insights, they have substantially improved outcomes for the individuals, families, communities, and businesses those policies serve. For example, automatic enrollment and automatic escalation in retirement savings plans have made it easier to save for the future, and have helped Americans accumulate billions of dollars in additional retirement savings. Similarly, streamlining the application process for Federal financial aid has made college more financially accessible for millions of students..."
Behavioral Science

Coalition Contributions to Countering the Islamic State

"The Global Campaign to Counter the Islamic State
On September 10, 2014, President Obama announced the formation of a global coalition to “degrade and ultimately defeat” the Islamic State (IS, aka the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, ISIL/ISIS or the Arabic acronym Daesh). Subsequently, some 60 nations and partner organizations agreed to participate, contributing either military forces or resources (or both) to the campaign. In Brussels in December 2014, these sixty partners agreed to organize themselves along five “lines of effort,” (by contrast, the U.S. strategy involves nine lines of effort), with at least two countries in the lead for each:
• Supporting military operations, capacity building, and training (led by the United States and Iraq);
• Stopping the flow of foreign terrorist fighters (led by The Netherlands and Turkey);
 • Cutting off IS access to financing and funding (led by Italy, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United States);
 • Addressing associated humanitarian relief and crises (led by Germany and the United Arab Emirates);
and • Exposing IS’ true nature (led by the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States)..."
Islamic State

50 Years After the Voting Rights Act, We Still Have Work to Do

"On August 6, 1965, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act into law — breaking down legal barriers at the state and local level that had prevented African Americans and others from exercising their constitutional right to vote.

Because of that law — one of our nation's most influential pieces of legislation — Americans who were previously disenfranchised and left out of the democratic process were finally able to cast a ballot. The law was designed to ensure that all American citizens, regardless of the color of their skin, had an equal opportunity to make their voices heard..."
Voting Rights Act

What the Clean Power Plan Means For America

"On Monday, President Obama will release the final version of America's Clean Power Plan—the biggest, most important step we've ever taken to combat climate change. If you agree that we can't condemn our kids and grandkids to a planet that's beyond fixing, share this video with your friends and family. It's time to ‪#‎ActOnClimate‬..."
Clean power plan