Today, we celebrate Labor Day – a day to honor America’s workers and mark their social and economic achievements.

     
Tomorrow, Members of Congress return to work and face a pretty sizeable piece of business — enactment of a budget for the fiscal year that starts October 1. Unfortunately, the Republican budget plans launch a double-pronged attack on the workers we are celebrating today.  
    
The Republian appropriations bills are stacked with ideological provisions known as “riders” that are unrelated to spending levels and  weaken basic protections for workers, the backbone of our economy. These riders undermine worker safety, the ability of workers to save for retirement, and workers’ ability to have a meaningful, unionized voice in their workplaces. On top of that, the bills cut funding for key agencies that are charged with enforcing these and other worker protections — including basic requirements that workers be paid what they earn and work in a safe environment. And they also underfund programs that help workers obtain the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in today’s economy.

In other words, the Republican budget plan would weaken worker protections, weaken enforcement of those weakened protections, and deny training to workers who want to build skills and a career. That’s just one reason the President has said that the Republican budget plans are unacceptable.

Here are eight key ways Republican budget plans would hurt working Americans:

 

1. They’d weaken the Department of Labor’s ability to protect wages for more than 135 million workers, costing workers an estimated $70-$80 million in back wages.

 

The Senate bill cuts $67 million from the Wage and Hour Division, the part of the Department of Labor that enforces wage protections like the minimum wage, overtime pay, and the right for workers to be paid what they have earned. That’s a 24 percent cut compared to the President’s Budget. The House bill cuts the Division by $62 million, or 22 percent, below the President’s Budget. These bills would weaken the Division’s ability to protect wages in more than 7.3 million establishments for over 135 million workers, including the ability to recover back wages for workers.  
 

2. They’d cut funding for workplace inspections and enforcement of standards that prevent illness, injury, and fatalities on the job.

 

The House would cut funding for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) by $57 million – or 10 percent – compared to the President’s Budget. The Senate cuts OSHA funding more deeply, by $68 million, or 11 percent. This means fewer inspections of dangerous workplaces, a slower response to fatalities and serious injuries, and diminished protections for workers who report unsafe and unscrupulous behavior.
    
The cuts in the Wage and Hour Division and OSHA are part of a larger cut to the Department of Labor’s worker protection efforts under the Republican budget plans.  The Senate cuts $260 million from these worker protection agencies in total, while the House cuts about $200 million.
 

3. The House would reverse an existing policy that lets independent experts accompany workplace safety inspectors.

 

This would deny OSHA and workers the help of industrial hygienists and safety engineers who provide expertise, and translators and worker advocates who help ensure that workers have a voice in identifying and understanding hazards in their workplace. These third-party experts would not be allowed to participate without a vote being organized among workers first – a requirement that would unnecessarily delay the identification and abatement of hazards that put workers at risk of harm.

4. The Senate would effectively block, by endless delay, a rule to protect workers from carcinogenic silica dust. OSHA needs to update a decades-old rule limiting workers’ exposure to this known lung carcinogen.

 

But the Senate rider would delay improving protections for workers until unnecessary, additional studies are completed. 
    

5. They’d make it harder to prevent unlawful treatment of workers who take action to improve their working conditions.

 

The House and Senate bills slash funding for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) by 28 percent and 11 percent, respectively, below the President’s Budget. At this level of funding, the Board would be forced to reduce its staffing level by up to one-third, severely hindering its ability to investigate and litigate unfair labor practices and conduct secret ballot elections, as required by law, around the nation.

6. They’d use multiple riders to further disempower the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

 

Both the House and Senate bills include numerous riders that would block common-sense rules to level the playing field for workers who want to vote on whether or not to form a union, and interfere with the Board’s adjudicatory functions by prohibiting it from considering cases regarding joint-employer standards or the appropriate size of a bargaining unit.

7. They’d block protections for workers saving for retirement.

 

The Department of Labor’s “Conflict of Interest” rule would protect those saving for retirement from being steered into investments that are in their advisors' financial interest but not theirs. The Council of Economic Advisers has estimated that conflicted advice leads to annual losses of about $17 billion for IRA investors.

8. They’d underfund employment and training programs that employers need to build a skilled workforce and workers rely on to prepare for 21st-century jobs, depriving at least 2 million workers of job training and employment services.

 

The Senate and House bills fail to support the bipartisan Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), which last year passed the Senate in a 97-3 vote, and other key employment services. The Senate funds employment and training programs at $650 million less than the President’s Budget level, while the House bill reduces the funding level by nearly $500 million. Under the Republican bills, at least two million fewer workers would receive job training and employment services, as compared to the President’s Budget. The Republican bills also deny funding for the Administration's proposed Apprenticeship Grants, depriving American workers of the chance to participate in this proven learn-and-earn model, which offers a clear gateway to the middle class. The Senate bill in particular also slashes funding for targeted grants to help workers whose jobs are lost as a result of mass layoffs and natural disasters, providing only $74 million for program year 2016 – $167 million (69 percent) less than the President’s Budget.

The President takes a very different approach. 

 

The President’s Budget would reverse sequestration, continue to cut the deficit, and invest in areas that are critical to our economy. 
     
It’s a budget that makes significant new investments in employment services, job training, and apprenticeship programs and provides sufficient funding to support strong enforcement of our nation’s labor laws. It’s a budget that builds on — rather than tears down — efforts to strengthen protections for America’s workers in today’s economy. The President supports ensuring that retirement investment advisors are free from conflicts of interest that shade their recommendations to workers trying to save for retirement. He believes we should protect workers from carcinogenic dust. And he supports American workers’ right to choose whether to organize into unions in a timely and efficient manner. (Learn more about the President’s proposed budget here.)
     
The bottom line is this: Worker protections and job training are critical for workers, families and our economy. The Republican budget plans seek to underfund and undermine these key priorities. 

Any Republican members of Congress purporting to support American workers today ought to turn to the real work of helping them out tomorrow.

 

 

In this week's address, the President recognized Labor Day by highlighting the economic progress our country has made, and underlining what needs to be done to continue that growth. Our businesses have created 13.1 million new jobs over the past five and a half years, the unemployment rate is the lowest it’s been in seven years, and seventeen states across the country have raised the minimum wage.

The President stressed that to continue this progress, Congress needs to avoid a government shutdown that would hurt middle-class Americans and pass a responsible budget before the end of September. The President emphasized that Congress should not play games with our economy, and instead pass a budget that invests in our middle-class and helps those who work hard and play by the rules to get ahead.

Transcript | mp4 | mp3

Welcome to a very special Dispatches edition of West Wing Week, where we go behind the scenes as the President travels in Alaska to shine a spotlight on what Alaskans in particular have come to know, that climate change is one of the biggest threats we face, it is being driven by human activity, and it is disrupting Americans’ lives right now.  During the visit, the President shares his experience with people around the country first-hand, even going behind the camera himself. Follow along as he travels to Anchorage, Seward, Dillingham, and Kotzebue, and becomes the first president to travel above the Arctic Circle. 

Our economy has now added 8.0 million jobs over the past three years, a pace that has not been exceeded since 2000. And while the economy added jobs at a somewhat slower pace in August than in recent months, the unemployment rate fell to 5.1 percent—its lowest level since April 2008—and the labor force participation rate remained stable. Our businesses have now added 13.1 million jobs over 66 straight months, extending the longest streak on record. In addition, hourly earnings for American workers continued to rise. But there’s more work to do to ensure that America’s domestic momentum can continue to offset some of the headwinds from the global economy. That starts with avoiding self-inflicted wounds: Congress needs to pass a budget that reverses the sequester and avoids shutting down the government. But it’s also why the President is committed to pushing Congress to increase investments in infrastructure as part of a long-term transportation reauthorization, open new markets with expanded trade, and raise the minimum wage.

FIVE KEY POINTS ON THE LABOR MARKET IN AUGUST 2015

 

1. The private sector has added 13.1 million jobs over 66 straight months of job growth, extending the longest streak on record. Today we learned that private-sector employment rose by 140,000 in August, below the recent pace. Despite the monthly volatility in employment growth, long-term trends remain strong. The unemployment rate declined to 5.1 percent, its lowest level since early 2008, while the labor force participation rate remained stable. Wages continued to rise, with average hourly earnings for all private-sector workers up 2.2 percent over the past year.

2. Over the past twelve months, rising real hourly earnings accounted for close to 40 percent of the increase in real aggregate weekly earnings. Aggregate weekly earnings are the total wages and salaries paid to all private employees on nonfarm payrolls. Changes in aggregate earnings can be driven by contributions from employment, from the length of the average workweek, and from average hourly earnings. The large contribution of rising hourly earnings is a recent trend. Aggregate earnings reached a cyclical trough in December 2009, and over the following year-and-a-half, real hourly wages declined. The aggregate earnings increase during that early period was more than accounted for by a combination of rising employment and a longer workweek. Over the next three years, both hourly earnings and the workweek were largely stable, with rising employment accounting for more than 80 percent of the growth in aggregate earnings. Real wage growth over the past year has been a major contributor to the speed-up in aggregate earnings, due to both rising nominal wages and slowing consumer price growth as oil prices have declined. 

3. Across most industries, real weekly earnings for production and nonsupervisory workers have grown at a faster pace during this business cycle than the previous cycle. Real weekly earnings have grown faster since 2008—including both recession and recovery—than during the previous recession and recovery. Wage gains relative to the previous business cycle have been especially pronounced in the transportation, wholesale trade, retail trade, financial activities, and other services sectors, while mining & logging, education & health services, and leisure & hospitality are the only sectors to have underperformed. Relative employment trends are more diffuse, with some industries growing at a slower pace during this cycle (such as financial activities and construction, which grew quickly during the 2000s). Notably, manufacturing contracted during the 2000s but has since reversed that trend and outpaced the previous business cycle.

4. Summer seasonal fluctuations in auto manufacturing employment have moderated during this recovery as demand for autos continues to grow. Historically, large auto manufacturers tended to shed jobs in July and recoup many of them in August, as manufacturing plants typically shut down temporarily in July. But over this recovery, auto manufacturers have reduced these seasonal fluctuations. During the previous business cycle, July losses tended to exceed August gains, with auto manufacturing losing jobs on balance over the summer. But since the financial crisis, July losses and August gains have tended to balance one another. The summer turnover has decreased against a backdrop of continued strong growth in auto sales. Indeed, 2015 is on pace to be the strongest year for car and truck sales since 2001. Overall, the auto industry has added over 600,000 new jobs since Chrysler and General Motors emerged from bankruptcy in mid-2009—including solid growth in both the manufacturing and retail sectors.

5. The distribution of job growth across industries in August generally followed recent trends, with this month’s slower growth affecting a number of industries. Despite the overall slower pace of job growth, above-average gains relative to the past year were seen in State and local government (+31,000), financial activities (+19,000), utilities (+2,000), Federal government (+2,000), and health care and social assistance (+56,000). August was an especially weak month in manufacturing (-17,000), information services (-7,000), professional and business services (+22,000, excluding temporary help), and other services (-4,000). Across the 17 industries shown below, the correlation between the most recent one-month percent change and the average percent change over the last twelve months rose to 0.92 from 0.68 last month, well above the average correlation over the past two years.

As the Administration stresses every month, the monthly employment and unemployment figures can be volatile, and payroll employment estimates can be subject to substantial revision. Therefore, it is important not to read too much into any one monthly report, and it is informative to consider each report in the context of other data as they become available.

Jason Furman is Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers.

Today, we were lucky enough to spend a beautiful summer morning with 65 fourth-grade students from West Preparatory Academy, a Title 1 public school in East Las Vegas, Nevada. The kids were enthusiastic about being outside and going on a hike to explore the stunning desert landscape, Native American rock art and surprise pockets of lush green plants at Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, only a 20-minute drive from the Las Vegas Strip.

 

Thanks to President Obama’s visionary Every Kid in a Park initiative, which officially launched yesterday, all fourth graders and their families will be entitled to a free pass for a full year to visit federal lands and waters that belong to all of us. Before our hike, we distributed free passes to some very excited students!

At a time when youth spend more and more of their free time inside in sedentary activities on computers and smartphones and watching TV, this program will help close the gap between children and nature by introducing kids from all backgrounds to our nation’s great outdoors.

Fourth graders across the country can visit the Every Kid in a Park website to complete a short, educational activity to obtain their free pass to more than 2,000 federal sites, including national parks, forests, wildlife refuges, marine sanctuaries and other federal lands and waters. The pass is valid for the 2015-2016 school year and grants free entry for fourth graders and three accompanying adults (or an entire car for drive-in parks). Educators can also access educational activities and print passes for their students.

And since we know a big reason why many kids don’t visit public lands and waters is that they can’t get there easily, the National Park Foundation (NPF) – the congressionally chartered foundation of the National Park Service – will award Every Kid in a Park transportation grants to participating federal agencies to help support travel for those kids with the most need.

 

The Every Kid in a Park initiative is designed to continue beyond just this year, so that every fourth grade child in America will have the opportunity to visit their public lands and waters for free, inspiring the next generation to be stewards of our nation’s shared natural, historical and cultural heritage.

Parks and outdoor spaces are living classrooms, and the awesome students we met today from West Preparatory Academy are well on their way to becoming lifelong learners and champions of America’s treasured landscapes.

Let’s get every kid in a park!

As Air Force One neared Anchorage, Alaska, President Obama grabbed a shot of Denali from the window. Just that day, the tallest mountain in North America was given back its native name.

During his visits to Seward, Dillingham and Kotzebue, President Obama is seeing the effects of climate change firsthand — and is sharing it directly with Americans across the country. For the first-time ever, the President is taking over the White House Instagram (and personally taking the photos!) to give you a look inside the trip, from the window of Marine One to a selfie with survivalist Bear Grylls. You can also check out his video updates and daily travelogue on Medium.

Take a look at what the President has posted so far and double tap his photos if you agree we need to take action on climate change. And be sure to keep following along at http://ift.tt/1X1OnWI.
 

 

 

 

 

 

This was originally posted on Treasury Notes, the official blog of the U.S. Department of Treasury. You can read the original post here. 

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Adam Szubin, Acting Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, concluded his visit to Israel, where he met with senior Israeli government officials and thought leaders to discuss the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) as well as our shared efforts to counter Iran’s support for terrorism, its missile program, and other malign activities. The trip was the first to Israel by a Treasury Department official since the nuclear agreement between Iran and the P5+1 partners was reached in July.

Endorsed by the United Nations Security Council and more than 100 countries, the JCPOA is a historic deal that cuts off all pathways for Iran to build a nuclear weapon, puts in place intrusive inspections, and ensures that Iran’s nuclear program will be exclusively peaceful.

During the trip, Acting Under Secretary Szubin met with senior Israeli government officials – including National Security Advisor Yossi Cohen, Minister for Energy and Infrastructure Yuval Steinitz, and Director-General of the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dore Gold. He also spoke with U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro and participated in a roundtable with key Israeli think tanks. Throughout these discussions, Acting Under Secretary Szubin addressed questions and misconceptions about the nuclear deal and underscored the importance of the United States and Israel intensifying our joint work in the intelligence, financial, and diplomatic arenas to effectively counter terrorist groups like Hizballah and other violent extremists supported by Iran through the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)-Qods Force.

The deal reached in Vienna in July makes the United States and Israel more secure by foreclosing Iran’s ability to develop a nuclear weapon.

Sanctions relief under the JCPOA will only occur after the International Atomic Energy Agency has verified that Iran has completed key nuclear steps – and even then, with narrow exceptions, this relief only applies to the United States’ nuclear-related secondary sanctions. This means that we will maintain an array of authorities to counter Iran’s ongoing illicit conduct. Our trade embargo on Iran will remain in effect except for narrow exceptions, and we will not lift sanctions that target Iran’s support for terrorist groups, its abuses of human rights, or its destabilizing activities in the region.

The United States sees Iran clearly for what it is: the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism and destabilizing force in the region.

Iran’s active support to groups like Hizballah and reliance on the IRGC-Qods Force only heightens the imperative to cut off Iran’s ability to develop a nuclear bomb. That’s why the nuclear deal is so critical; the world is far better positioned to confront those threats with Iran’s nuclear program held in check. That’s also why the United States is keeping firmly in place the whole array of U.S. sanctions targeting Iran outside the nuclear realm. In fact, under the JCPOA, more than 200 Iran-linked persons will remain designated by the United States and subject to direct U.S. and secondary sanctions, including the networks of the IRGC, IRGC-Qods force, major Iranian companies, and key military and defense entities and firms.

The United States and Israel will continue to work together on key diplomatic and security issues to foster stability in the region and ensure continued security for Israel.

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• New York Times: Obama’s Sanctions Chief to Defend Iran Accord in Israel
• Wall Street Journal: U.S. Point Man on Iran Sanctions to Visit Israel to Meet Netanyahu Aides​
• Reuters: Senior U.S. official to travel to Israel to discuss Iran deal
• Associated Press: US sanctions chief visits Israel amid Iran jitters​

Jamie Obal is a media affairs specialist at the U.S. Department of Treasury.

This week, President Obama is visiting Alaska to experience firsthand how climate change is affecting Alaska and the greater Arctic, and to meet with Alaskans across the state – in locations as diverse as Anchorage, Seward, Dillingham, and Kotzebue – who are dealing with the consequences of climate change.

In support of the President’s trip, I spent the past weekend making my own stops in Alaska to learn more about how climate change is already affecting local communities and ecosystems, and to engage with Alaskans working to tackle climate-related challenges.

I was joined on the trip by three other senior officials from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP): Tamara Dickinson, the leader of OSTP’s Environment & Energy division; Ambassador Mark Brzezinski, Executive Director of the U.S. Government’s Arctic Executive Steering Committee and former U.S. Ambassador to Sweden; and Beth Kerttula, Director of the National Ocean Council, as well as a native Alaskan and former minority leader in the Alaska state legislature. I wanted to share a few observations with you about what we saw.

On Saturday, we visited the Cold Climate Housing Research Center, a nonprofit corporation that develops sustainable, cost-effective building technologies tailored to Alaska and other polar regions. We also toured the Permafrost Tunnel Research Facility. Studies conducted at this underground laboratory (one of only two permafrost tunnels in the world!) help us better understand how climate change is accelerating permafrost thaw, and the associated impacts on communities and ecosystems.

We kicked off Sunday by hearing from participants in the Fulbright Arctic Initiative about the research that Initiative scholars from the United States and other Arctic nations are doing on critical topics like energy, water, and health and infrastructure. In the afternoon, we met with scholars who are younger, but no less impressive: students in the Alaska Native Science and Engineering Program, which supports science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education for Alaska Natives from sixth grade all the way through college and graduate programs.

During our trip, we also participated in roundtable discussions with students and faculty at the University of Alaska (UAA) Fairbanks and UAA Anchorage, researchers who are working on the cutting edge of Arctic climate science. And we met with the mayors of Anchorage, Fairbanks, the Northwest Arctic Borough, and other Alaskan municipalities, as well as with officials of Federal departments and agencies with office in Alaska, to talk about their efforts to prepare for and adapt to climate change, and the ways in which the Federal government can best support them.

Alaska represents the frontlines of our fight against climate change. What my OSTP colleagues and I saw and heard over the weekend has powerfully augmented our understanding of the range of dramatic impacts that climate change is having on ecosystems and communities in the far North. I believe that the stops that President Obama is making in Alaska this week – including a historic visit to the Alaskan Arctic –will further underscore for the Nation the importance of taking strong action to combat climate change now.

So I encourage you to follow the President’s trip at http://ift.tt/1X1OnWI, and to join this Administration in working together to #ActOnClimate.

Dr. John P. Holdren is Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, Director of the Office of the Science and Technology Policy, and Chairman of the U.S. Arctic Executive Steering Committee.

Today, the President is traveling to Alaska to meet with some of the Alaskans who are on the frontlines of climate change, one of the greatest challenges facing our nation. Follow along with the President's trip at WhiteHouse.gov/Alaska.

“The state’s God-given natural treasures are all at risk.”

President Obama

But just how did this treasure trove of national resources and beauty become a part of our union? While the President is en route, let's do a quick historical recap. 

March 30, 1867
 

Secretary of State William H. Seward signed a treaty with Russia for the purchase of Alaska for $7.2 million. Despite the bargain deal (roughly two cents an acre), the purchase was ridiculed in Congress and in the press as “Seward’s folly,” and President Andrew Johnson’s “polar bear garden.” Nevertheless, the Senate ratified the purchase, adding a tremendous landmass (one-fifth the size of the rest of the U.S.) to America.

Despite a slow start in settlement, the discovery of gold in the late 19th century prompted thousands of Americans to migrate to the territory hoping to strike it rich. Alaska, rich in natural resources and beauty, has been contributing to American prosperity ever since.

 

September 14, 1901

From the day of his inauguration, 26th President Theodore Roosevelt was brought into discussions on then-territory Alaska, as disputes over boundary lines ensued through 1902. 

Protecting our lands and wildlife was one of the chief concerns of President “Teddy” Roosevelt. Known as our “Conservationist President,” Roosevelt used his authority to protect wildlife and public lands by creating the U.S. Forest Service and establishing 51 Federal Bird Reservations, 4 National Game Preserves, and 150 National Forests, including the Tongass and the Chugach in Alaska.

Working with longtime friend and famous preservationist John Muir, he also created five National Parks – and added land to Yosemite National Park. 
 

He eventually enabled the 1906 American Antiquities Act, which gave the President authority to restrict the use of particular public lands in America. It gave the President the power to protect “historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or scientific interest” on federal land by designations. President Roosevelt declared Grand Canyon, Devil’s Tower, and many more national monuments during his time in office. 

With this conservation mindset, President Roosevelt knew that Alaska – a land filled with a wealth of natural resources, particularly those being discovered by gold rush enthusiasts – needed to be protected and well-managed. In a speech to the 57th Congress in 1902, President Roosevelt stated the following:

No country has a more valuable possession – in mineral wealth, in fisheries, furs, forests, and also in land available for certain kinds of farming and stock growing. The forests of Alaska should be protected and as a secondary but still important matter, the game also….Laws should be enacted to protect the Alaskan salmon fisheries against the greed which would destroy them.

President Theodore Roosevelt

At his persuasion, Congress passed a series of acts designed to regulate the harvesting of Alaskan wildlife, including the Alaska Game Act, which was strengthened by an act amending the Alaska Game Act in 1908. In 1909, President Roosevelt also first protected the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge. 

August 3, 1944

In early August 1944, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) journeyed to Alaska for a six-day inspection and fishing trip, the second President to make the trip north. While in Alaska, FDR made stops at Adak, Kodiak, and Auke Bay, visiting with soldiers as part of a trip across the Pacific during World War II. 

 

January 3, 1959

On this day, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a special proclamation admitting the territory of Alaska into the Union as the 49th and largest state.

Learn more about Eisenhower's support for Alaskan statehood. 

August 31, 2015

Today, President Obama becomes the first President to visit America's Arctic, witnessing firsthand the impacts of climate change on this region on the frontlines. The President, along with Secretary of State John Kerry and foreign ministers, will discuss the challenges of how to best manage the future of this region, and the people and natural resources that reside there.