Part 4 features:
- In honor of Earth Day, there will be a special Open for Questions event livestreamed from the South Lawn of the White House on April 21.
- New White House phone apps to get alerts directly from the White House, check out behind-the-scenes photos and videos, and read the latest news from the blog or the Briefing Room.
- The VA and Defense Department have launched the first in a suite of jointly developed mobile smartphone applications for mental health. The PTSD Coach is a cutting edge app which provides information and tools that Veterans and service members can use to cope with their PTSD symptoms any moment of the day—24/7.
- How the government can save money by communicating in plain English.
- Startup America is collecting advice from roundtables across the country to help accelerate entrepreneurship and job creation.
Sorry about the weird italics in the text -- I can't seem to correct it at the moment.
White House, April 19, 2011:
Open for Questions: Earth Day Live Chat from the South Lawn
Posted by Katelyn Sabochik
In honor of Earth Day, Nancy Sutley, Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality, and Heather Zichal, Deputy Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change, are hosting a special Open for Questions event live from the South Lawn of the White House.
If you’ve got questions about what the Obama Administration is doing to protect our air and water or how we’re building a clean energy future, be sure to tune in:
•When: Thursday, April 21 at 11 a.m. EDT
•Where: Streaming live from the South Lawn of the White House at WhiteHouse.gov/live and Facebook
•Who: Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality Chair Nancy Sutley, Deputy Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change Heather Zichal, and YOU!
•Get Involved: You can submit your questions via our Facebook chat application during the chat or submit them in advance on our webform.
White House, April 19, 2011:
Do you have the White House app for your phone?
Posted by Macon Phillips
Today, we're announcing two new developments for the White House's mobile apps.
Now, with the newly upgraded White House iPhone app, you can get an alert that President Obama is about to speak, then watch it live, right in the palm of your hand. Over 400,000 people have already downloaded the app, so if you don’t already have it make sure you do.
That’s not all. When we first released the iPhone app, we heard from a lot of Android owners who wanted something for their devices, too. So we’re excited to announce the White House’s new official mobile app for the Android operating [systemhttps:/market.android.com/details?id=gov.whitehouse].
With both of these mobile apps, Americans can get alerts directly from the White House, check out behind-the-scenes photos and videos, and read the latest news from the blog or the Briefing Room.
As a reminder, WhiteHouse.gov is also optimized for any mobile phone’s browser. Take a look at http://m.whitehouse.gov/ to check it out.
According to the numbers, more and more of you are using mobile devices to access content on WhiteHouse.gov. In the last two months, 6.6% of visits to WhiteHouse.gov came from the iOS or Android operating system - nearly double the share of visits over the same period last year (3.6%).
We’re constantly working to make it easier for the American public to connect with the Administration. Please give us feedback on these new apps, the mobile website or anything else related to the White House online program’s technology.
Joining Forces, April 19, 2011:
A New Way to Serve Our Veterans
Posted by Eric Shinseki, Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs
Some of the most important programs our department provides are mental health services. I am pleased to announce that VA and the Department of Defense (DoD) have launched the PTSD Coach – our first in a suite of jointly developed mobile smartphone applications (apps) for mental health.
When speaking with Veterans living with PTSD, we were told that they wanted and needed a convenient way to learn more about the services and resources available to them, as well as an app that could help them manage symptoms of PTSD at any given moment. The PTSD Coach is a cutting edge app which provides information and tools that Veterans and service members can use to cope with their PTSD symptoms any moment of the day—24/7.
This new tool is useful for anyone who is receiving treatment for PTSD. It is also an anonymous resource that will be important for Veterans and service members, who may not be in treatment now, but who may be seeking quick, accessible information about PTSD. It’s available now on iTunes and will be online soon for Android phones, as well. I recommend it for anyone, who wants to learn more about PTSD, and we’ll look forward to introducing additional apps over the course of the coming year. This is just one more way that VA and DoD are working together to provide 21st Century tools for the men and women who are serving, and have served, our great Nation.
White House, April 19, 2011:
Putting it Plainly
Posted by Cass Sunstein, Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs
Every day, the Federal Government is engaged in communication with the American public. When Federal agencies are explaining how businesses can comply with legal requirements, or informing people about Federal services and benefits, they should write clearly and avoid jargon. But far too often, agencies use confusing, technical, and acronym-filled language. Such language can cost consumers and small business owners precious time in their efforts to play by the rules.
The good news is that relatively small efforts to communicate more clearly can minimize that burden. Take this example: the Federal Communications Commission used to receive so many questions from the public about its requirements for ham radio operations that five full-time employees were needed to provide answers. After the requirements were written in plain language, questions dropped off so dramatically that all five of those employees could be reassigned to more pressing activity at the Commission.
In short, writing in plain language can make a huge difference. That is why President Obama signed the Plain Writing Act of 2010 into law last October. By improving government communications, the Act will not only save money but also facilitate two-way communication between agencies and the public and make it is far easier for people to understand what they are being asked to do.
To promote the use of plain language in Federal documents, I issued final guidance last Wednesday to help Federal agencies to comply with the Act. Whenever officials provide information about Federal benefits and services, produce documents that are necessary for filing taxes, or offer notices or instructions to the public, they must now write clearly and concisely. In addition, agencies must train employees to use plain language, create a plain writing section of their websites, and designate a senior official to oversee the implementation of the Act.
These requirements may not sound like giant steps, but they can yield big improvements in efficiency. A study in Business Horizons, the journal of Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business, found that when a US Navy memorandum was rewritten into plain language, it took 17-23 percent less time to read. The authors concluded that, the Navy “could save annually anywhere between $27 and $73 million [in 1991 dollars] worth of wasted reading and rereading time if its officers alone used the plain style.”
As our economic recovery continues, strong implementation of the Plain Writing Act is vital to ensuring that we are minimizing burdens on American business and the public as a whole.
White House, April 19, 2011:
Startup America Hits the Road: Talking with Entrepreneurs Across the Country
Posted by Sean Greene, Associate Administrator for Investment and Senior Adviser for Innovation at the U.S. Small Business Administration
Startup America is the White House initiative to celebrate, inspire, and accelerate high-growth entrepreneurship throughout the Nation. Tomorrow, in conjunction with the President’s trip to Facebook, we will engage with entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley to share more exciting news about Startup America – tune in to the panel discussion [herehttps:/www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=195444593830593].
One core goal of the Startup America initiative is to reduce barriers that are hampering entrepreneurs’ ability to start and scale their businesses.
The White House, in partnership with the U.S. Small Business Association, decided the best way to figure out which regulatory barriers are hindering entrepreneurs was to ask those who are directly affected. Then the entrepreneurs can help identify solutions as well.
That’s why over the past month Senior Administration officials have visited four cities and held roundtable discussions to ask entrepreneurs for their ideas on which Federal regulations and processes could be changed to foster greater entrepreneurship, innovation, and job creation.
In Durham, North Carolina, we heard from one business owner who wants to simplify tax reporting for small businesses. At our second stop in Austin, an entrepreneur suggested establishing a “startup concierge” to assist aspiring startups through the regulatory process. And in Boston, several participants noted the complex requirements to become a government contractor and suggested ways for federal agencies to streamline processes.
In Minneapolis, a participant voiced a concern that one size does not fit all entrepreneurs. He noted that different approval processes in the medical device sector for therapeutics and diagnostics might help streamline the timeline for approval.
The idea of providing student loan relief to entrepreneurs has come up in every city we have visited. In the coming weeks, we will visit Atlanta, Boulder, Pittsburgh, and Silicon Valley to gather more ideas on which processes and regulations we need to improve.
We’ve also created an online tool where anyone can submit, comment, and vote on the new ideas and proposed solutions they think are most important. We know that the average entrepreneur is too busy to travel to Washington and engage in the policy process, so we have made sure this online forum is quick and easy to use.
At the end of this series of roundtables, we will gather all the feedback and online comments and create a list of the top suggestions. Administration officials will use this input to write a report to the President on how to best reduce barriers and continue to strengthen America’s entrepreneurial spirit. The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs is also committed to sharing your solutions with the agencies as it coordinates implementation of the President’s Executive Order for regulatory review.
The feedback we receive from entrepreneurs at each of these roundtables and through online participation will help us create a more supportive environment for small businesses. Thank you for helping us to assist entrepreneurs across America as they drive economic growth and create good jobs. And stay tuned over the next month as we share more new ideas from our upcoming Reducing Barriers roundtable events.