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Good morning,
Did you know that the government spends millions to maintain buildings that have sat vacant for years? Or that your tax dollars pay to needlessly ship copies of the Federal Register to thousands of government offices across the country even though the same information is available online?
And I bet you didn't know that your tax dollars pay for a website dedicated to the Desert Tortoise. I'm sure it's a wonderful species, but we can't afford to have a standalone site devoted to every member of the animal kingdom. It's just one of hundreds of government websites that should be consolidated or eliminated.
This kind of waste is just unacceptable. Particularly at a time when we’re facing tough decisions about reducing our deficit, it's a no-brainer to stop spending taxpayer dollars on things that benefit nobody.
That’s why President Obama asked me to head up the Campaign to Cut Waste—a new effort to root out wasteful spending at every agency and department in the Federal Government.
Like millions of American families, the Federal Government has to take a hard look at spending and live within its means. Most of these cuts we’re going to make are small. They won’t close our deficit or solve all of our fiscal problems. However, no amount of waste is acceptable, and these cuts will add up over time. This year alone we’ve found $33 billion in savings, but we know there’s a lot more work to be done.
When we passed the Recovery Act back in 2009, President Obama insisted that we use that program to set a new standard in government transparency and accountability. And he appointed me as “Sheriff Joe” to make sure the job gets done.
Now, there were a lot of naysayers back then who said that there was no way we could implement the Recovery Act without massive waste, fraud and abuse.
You know what? They were wrong. Thanks to our diligence (and some help from advanced computer models and sophisticated data analysis), the Recovery Act has had an unprecedentedly low level of fraud, with less than 0.6% of all awards experiencing any waste or abuse.
There’s absolutely no reason why we can’t apply these same principles and techniques to all government spending.
And that’s exactly what I intend to do with the help of a new Government Accountability and Transparency Board, a group composed of independent inspectors general and high-level agency officials who will help me root out waste, fraud and abuse across the government. Helping me ensure that your tax dollars are being spent on things that matter, like investments in education, innovation and improving our infrastructure.
So, folks, we’re changing the way your government does business (and spends your hard-earned tax dollars), and I think you’re going to like the results.
Sincerely,
Vice President Joe Biden
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This email was sent to hebrew.king@ymail.com
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Saturday, June 18, 2011 |
Celebrating Fathers
On Father's Day
weekend, President Obama reflects on his experience as a parent and discusses
the challenges and necessity of being a good father.
Watch
the video.
West Wing Week: The President meets with his Jobs Council
in North Carolina, tours a high-tech manufacturing facility, travels to
Puerto Rico and
much much more.
There's an app for
that: The
EPA challenges developers to manipulate public data into a
useable form - winners will be publicized on the EPA website. More info here.
Toomanywebsites.gov: With almost 2,000 separate websites across the
Federal Government, Americans often don't know where to turn for information.
One of the first steps of the Campaign to Cut Waste which will target
duplication and waste among federal websites.
#YoungAfrica: The
First Lady travels to Africa countries in her continued effort to
engage youth, particularly young women, at home and abroad. Start following the
trip using the hash tag #YoungAfrica!
This email was sent to hebrew.king@ymail.com
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Good morning,
I grew up without a father around. I was lucky enough to be raised by a wonderful mother who, like so many heroic single mothers, never allowed my father's absence to be an excuse for me to slack off or not always do my best. But I often wonder what it would have been like if my father had a greater presence in my life.
So as a father of two young girls, I've tried hard to be a good dad. I haven't always been perfect – there have been times when work kept me away from my family too often, and most of the parenting duties fell to Michelle.
I know many other fathers face similar challenges. Whether you're a military dad returning from deployment or a father doing his best to make ends meet for his family in a tough economy, being a parent isn't easy.
That's why my Administration is kicking off the Year of Strong Fathers, Strong Families. We're joining with dads across the country to do something about father absence. And we're taking steps to offer men who want to be good fathers but are facing challenges in their lives a little extra support, while partnering with businesses to offer fun opportunities for fathers to spend time with their kids. For example, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, Major League Baseball and the WNBA are offering discounts for fathers and their kids, and companies like Groupon and LivingSocial will be featuring special offers for activities fathers can do with their children.
You can learn more and sign the Fatherhood Pledge at Fatherhood.gov:
We know that every father has a personal responsibility to do right by their kids – to encourage them to turn off the video games and pick up a book; to teach them the difference between right and wrong; to show them through our own example the value in treating one another as we wish to be treated. And most of all, to play an active and engaged role in their lives.
But all of us have a stake in forging stronger bonds between fathers and their children. All of us can support those who are willing to step up and be father figures to those children growing up without a dad. And that's what the Year of Strong Fathers, Strong Families is all about.
So I hope the dads out there will take advantage of some of the opportunities Strong Fathers, Strong Families will offer. It's one way of saying thank you to those who are doing the most important job of all: playing a part in our children's lives.
Happy Father's Day.
Sincerely,
President Barack Obama
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This email was sent to hebrew.king@ymail.com
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Friend --
As families around
the country get together to celebrate fathers today, I'm thinking about dads
like Alex.
Alex is the father
of two boys and two girls, ages six to 13. During the week, he works the 6 a.m.
to 2 p.m. shift as a front-desk supervisor at a Seattle hotel. After work and
on the weekends, he devotes his time to a summer organizing program that's
giving more than 1,500 first-time organizers the training they need to help
build this movement in their communities.
He says he hopes
this organizing work will help teach his kids the power one person can have --
that if "they see something that needs to be changed, they know they can
make a difference."
I wanted to share a
video of Alex explaining what prompted him to join this program and devote his
summer to this work.
I
was really moved by what he had to say. Take a look, and share it with a dad
you're thinking about today:
Today, I'm also
proud of my husband, the man who drove our first daughter and me home from the
hospital 13 years ago next month, determined to be the kind of father he hadn't
had for himself.
Barack often says
he decided that day that if he could be anything in life, he'd be a good dad,
and he dedicated himself then and there to making sure our daughter had every
opportunity he could provide.
When it comes down
to it, that's why we're all here -- Barack, Alex, myself, and everyone who's
part of this campaign. We're all working to make sure we leave our kids with a
country that's fairer and more full of opportunity -- just as our parents did
for us.
Thank you for being
part of that work, and part of this campaign.
Wishing you a happy
Father's Day,
Michelle
This email was sent
to hebrew.king@ymail.com
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