The private sector fallout continues for President Trump’s widely excoriated remarks about the tragic events at a recent white nationalist rally in Virginia. Two presidential advisory groups have been disbanded following the exit of additional CEOs and labor leaders. [More]
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White House Trying To Delay Ethics Inquiry Into Ex-Lobbyists Hired By Trump Administration
By 5.22.17
The executive branch’s Office of Government Ethics is trying to find out which of the many former lobbyists hired by the Trump administration may currently be working on issues on which they previously lobbied. However, the White House is delaying that inquiry, claiming the head of OGE may not have legal authority to make this request. [More]
Public Broadcasting, Arts Endowment, Others Make Case Against Proposed Defunding
By 3.16.17
President Trump’s new “skinny” budget puts more than a dozen well-known publicly funded agencies and corporations — ranging from public broadcasting to legal services to chemical safety — on the chopping block. With nothing to lose, the heads of these organizations are now firing back, hoping to convince Congress to keep their funding intact. [More]
6 Things Consumers Should Know About The White House’s Proposed ‘Skinny’ Budget
By 3.16.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
The Trump White House has released its first big-picture public proposal on federal spending for 2018. This initial pass — the so-called “skinny” budget — is basically an outline that doesn’t get into the finer details. However, the changes that are described in the document are nonetheless wide-sweeping, recommending significant cuts or culling of a number of programs you may currently take for granted. [More]
White House To Rescind EPA Mileage, Greenhouse Gas Standards
By 3.15.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
Following a request by auto industry lobbyists for new EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt to rescind the agency’s longterm fuel-economy and emissions standards, President Trump is expected to announce that his administration will indeed undo the guidance locked in during the last days of the Obama White House. [More]
White House Report: Future Dominated By Artificial Intelligence Brings Productivity And Inequality
By 12.20.16 — Updated: 12.21.16
From talking speakers and virtual assistants to self-driving cars, artificial intelligence is slowly becoming part of our lives. As progress continues and computer programs are able to perform more human jobs, how can we protect people from being displaced from the job market and from worsening economic inequality that might come from rapid technological change? [More]
From Healthcare To Financial Protection: How Will The Trump White House Affect Consumers?
By 11.9.16
Elections always bring change; some more so than others. With yesterday’s results in the box and tallied, we now know that we are expecting not only a Trump administration next January, but also to have both houses of Congress and the White House all aligned under control of the same political party. That means that for at least two years, until the next midterm elections, the party in charge — in this case, the Republicans — has the ability to push through changes to policy and law, and we can expect it to do so. [More]
White House Also Thinks Your Cable Box Rental Fees Stink, Supports FCC’s Plan
By 4.15.16
The FCC has said it, studies have shown it, even our own bill guides have proven it: you’re paying tons of money every month, on top of your regular bill, to rent your cable box. And you know who thinks that sucks? President Obama and his top advisors, that’s who. [More]
White House Promises To Veto Yet Another FCC-Limiting Bill If It Passes
By 4.13.16
It may seem like Congress never gets anything done, but sometimes they really do! Case in point: a bill, sponsored by lawmakers who are still angry about the FCC’s net neutrality ruling last year, has managed to come out of committee and is scheduled for a House vote. And should the House and Senate both vote on that bill, it will go to the White House… where the president’s top advisors recommend it promptly be vetoed. [More]
Report: New Bill Would Let Judges Order Tech Companies To Break Encryption; White House Not Thrilled
By 4.7.16
The public fight Apple and the FBI recently had over one particular phone may have resolved itself, but the national discussion over encryption is just warming up. Now there’s a bipartisan effort to make a decision wandering through Congress… but the politics of it say that this particular bill is going to go nowhere fast. [More]
From Apple To Walmart, Over A Dozen Of The Biggest Businesses In The U.S. Sign On To White House Climate Pledge
By 7.27.15
A huge number of the world’s nations are coming together in Paris this December to negotiate an agreement to stem emissions and forestall further climate change. Ahead of this winter’s United Nations talks, however, some well-known names here at home are pledging their own contributions to the cause. [More]
White House Unveils New Plan To Get Affordable Broadband Access To Low-Income Households
By 7.15.15
By 2015 it seems like everyone has broadband access, but that “everyone” is very deceptive. Although the vast majority of middle- and high-income homes in the United States have broadband access at home, low-income homes are much less likely to. [More]
White House Makes Push For Private Sector To Help Curb Dangerous Overuse Of Antibiotics
By 6.2.15
Today at the White House, representatives for some 150 organizations, including Consumer Reports, and private companies gathered for a forum on how to rein in the rampant, and potentially deadly, overuse of antibiotics in everything from hospitals to farm animals. [More]
White House Acknowledges Health Risk Of Antibiotics Overuse; Critics Say It Fails To Fully Address Problem
By 3.27.15
In a new White House report on antibiotic resistance, the Obama administration acknowledges the serious public health risk posed by the over-prescription and overuse of antibiotics, and details multi-agency plans to combat the problem. However, many critics of the report say that these plans fail to close a loophole that will allow farmers to continue using medically unnecessary antibiotics on farm animals (who consume 80% of all antibiotics sold in the U.S.) primarily for the purpose of growth promotion. [More]
White House Calls For More Municipal Broadband Networks, Urges FCC To Override State Laws Blocking Them
By 1.14.15
The White House is on a tear with major internet issues this winter. After two other speeches this week in which the President called for stronger consumer data protections and stronger cybersecurity laws, today President Obama will deliver remarks in Iowa singing the praises of municipal broadband and asking the FCC to do away with the laws that block them. [More]
President Proposes New Legislation To Protect Consumers’ And Students’ Data
By 1.12.15
From hacks and data breaches to identity theft and good old-fashioned money theft, crime and privacy in the digital world are shaping up to be the big buzzwords of 2015. Protecting consumers from harms like retail and website hacks is one of the bigger, newer challenges facing the feds going forward. Today, President Obama outlined his proposals for some laws that could help protect American consumers online. [More]
White House Calls On FCC To Reclassify Broadband Under Title II, Protect Net Neutrality
By 11.10.14
Consumer advocates urging the FCC to protect net neutrality by reclassifying broadband as a Title II “common carrier” service have picked up a surprising new ally this morning: the President of the United States. [More]
White House Updates Privacy Policy So Everyone Understands Their Comments Are Public
By 4.18.14
Want to complain about the government on the White House website, Twitter account, or Facebook page? A privacy policy update released by the Obama administration makes it clear your comments are public information, while trying to ease American’s concerns over government surveillance programs. However, some privacy advocates say the revisions aren’t nearly enough. [More]
