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https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2017/01/13/healthy-campuses-help-students-getcovered

The final open enrollment period of this Administration started on November 1, and since then, more than 11.5 million people nationwide have signed up for health insurance through the Health Insurance Marketplace. As part of our Administration’s ongoing efforts to reach the remaining uninsured, the White House launched the Healthy Campus Challenge in September, hoping to engage college and university campuses in enrollment efforts. Campuses opted in by agreeing to undertake a series of best practices, like emailing all students and faculty with information about open enrollment, amplifying deadlines on social media, holding enrollment events, and producing creative online content to reach community members.

White House staff members worked with administrators, students, faculty, staff, alumni, local community leaders, and elected officials across the country to spread the word about open enrollment and the Marketplace, sharing best practices with them honed over the last four years.

More than 350 campuses from all 50 states, Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico participated in the Challenge and carried out some enrollment activities, with nearly 100 campuses completing all the criteria.

Today, leaders from nearly 60 of those campuses will attend Healthy Campus Challenge Day at the White House. We can’t wait to congratulate them for their hard work during the ongoing open enrollment period, hear creative ideas from these schools, and brainstorm ways for them to work together moving forward. Our hope in holding the Challenge was to institutionalize these enrollment practices on campuses nationwide for future open enrollments. 

Healthy Campus Challenge Day will be streamed live from South Court Auditorium at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, January 13 at www.whitehouse.gov/live, and here’s the program agenda, if you’re tuning in from afar:

Welcome Remarks

Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor to the President, the White House

Panel I: Healthy Campuses Share What Works

Moderator: Bess Evans, Senior Associate Director and Senior Policy Advisor, White House Office of Public Engagement and Domestic Policy Council

Stephanie Blaisdell, Ph.D, Assistant Vice President, University of Memphis

Jessica Koscelnak, Director of Health Services, Keystone College

Jessica Lauritsen, Director of Student Life & Career Development, Hennepin Technical College

Alyssa Padilla, Special Projects Coordinator, University of Arizona

Susan Quinn, Director of Student Health Services, Santa Rosa Junior College

Jodi A. Ray, Director of the College of Public Health, University of South Florida

Brett Rowlett, Director of Governmental & Community Relations, Lane Community College

Presentation of Certificates

Kristie Canegallo, Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff for Implementation, the White House

Panel II: National Organizations Working to Impact Local Efforts

Moderator: Bess Evans, Senior Associate Director and Senior Policy Advisor, White House Office of Public Engagement and Domestic Policy Council

Amaris Bradley, MPH, RD, Senior Manager of Partnerships, Partnership for a Healthier America

Erin Hemlin, National Director of Training and Consumer Education, Young Invincibles

Kyle Lierman, Senior Associate Director and Senior Policy Advisor, White House Office of Public Engagement and Domestic Policy Council

Ebonee Rice, National Director of Strategic Partnerships, Enroll America

Closing Remarks

Bess Evans, Senior Associate Director and Senior Policy Advisor, White House Office of Public Engagement and Domestic Policy Council

The following schools will attend Healthy Campus Challenge Day:

Ashland University (Ashland, OH)

Augsburg College (Minneapolis, MN)

Bakersfield College (Bakersfield, CA)

Bethune-Cookman University (Daytona Beach, FL)

Bowie State University (Bowie, MD)

Bunker Hill Community College (Boston, MA)

California State University, Los Angeles (Los Angeles, CA)

Concord University (Athens, WV)

Cottey College (Nevada, MO)

Delta College (University Center, MI)

DePaul University (Chicago, IL)

Durham Technical Community College (Durham, NC)

Florida Memorial University (Miami Gardens, FL)

George Mason University (Fairfax, VA)

Harold Washington College (Chicago, IL)

Hennepin Technical College (Brooklyn Park, MN)

Kean University (Union, NJ)

Keystone College (Factoryville, PA)

Los Angeles Pierce College (Los Angeles, CA)

Lane Community College (Eugene, OR)

Livingstone College (Salisbury, NC)

Long Beach City College (Long Beach, CA)

Mansfield University of Pennsylvania (Mansfield, PA)

Mercy College (Dobbs Ferry, NY)

Millersville University of Pennsylvania (Millersville, PA)

Missouri State University (Springfield, MO)

Monroe Community College (Rochester, NY)

Nash Community College (Rocky Mount, NC)

Norwalk Community College (Norwalk, CT)

Notre Dame De Namur University (Belmont, CA)

Orange Coast College (Costa Mesa, CA)

Pacific Lutheran University (Tacoma, WA)

Pierpont Community & Technical College (Fairmont, WV)

Princeton University (Princeton, NJ)

Rider University (Lawrence Township, NJ)

Santa Rosa Junior College (Santa Rosa, CA)

Southern California University of Health Sciences (Whittier, CA)

Spencerian College (Louisville, KY)

Sullivan University (Louisville, KY)

The University of Arizona (Tucson, AZ)

The University of New Orleans (New Orleans, LA)

The University of Southern Mississippi (Hattiesburg, MS)

Trocaire College (Buffalo, NY)

United Tribes Technical College (Bismarck, ND)

University of Delaware (Newark, DE)

University of Hawaii at Hilo (Hilo, HI)

University of Memphis (Memphis, TN)         

University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, MI)

University of South Florida (Tampa, FL)

University of Wisconsin - River Falls (River Falls, WI)

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (Milwaukee, WI)

Upper Iowa University (Fayette, IA)

Virginia Commonwealth University (Richmond, VA)

Western Michigan University (Kalamazoo, MI)

Western Washington University (Bellingham, WA)

William Rainey Harper College (Palatine, IL)

Xavier University of Louisiana (New Orleans, LA)

Kristie Canegallo is the White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Implementation. 

https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2017/01/13/president-obama-narrates-peoples-house-virtual-reality-tour-white-house

It rests on the land chosen by a revolutionary. It was designed by an Irish immigrant, it was built by slaves, and it has been home to every president since John and Abigail Adams first came through its doors. It is the White House, the People’s House, and it belongs to all who call this country home.

So today, in a collaboration with Oculus and Felix & Paul Studios, the President and First Lady are using virtual reality to bring the history of the White House directly to you. Narrated by the President, “the People’s House” offers an intimate, 360-degree exploration of rooms in the White House residence and the West Wing, as well as a look back at some of the most significant moments that took place there over the past eight years. It’s a first-ever virtual reality experience with the President and First Lady in the White House. Here’s a preview:

The tour takes viewers through rooms in the White House like the Old Family Dining Room, as well as places that many Americans have never seen before: the Oval Office, the Situation Room, the Rose Garden, and the Treaty Room (the President’s private office). Through it all, you’ll hear the President and First Lady’s personal reflections on historic moments that occurred in each place, whether that’s the response to the economic crisis, the raid on Osama bin Laden, or his statement on the Supreme Court’s decision to make marriage equality the law of the land.

All of this reflects what President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama wanted to do when they first step foot in the White House eight years ago. In 2009, they made it their particular mission to open wide the doors of this museum of American history to everyone, near and far. They invited the Girl Scouts to camp out on the South Lawn, they opened up the Old Family Dining Room on the White House tour, they got rid of the ban on photography for visitors, and more so the American people could see – and share – what it’s like to live here. Virtual Reality is the latest technology they can use in service of this mission.

After all, as the President said, each First Family is merely a "renter." This house, and the history made here, belongs to you.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2017/01/13/president-obama-narrates-peoples-house-virtual-reality-tour-white-house-0

It rests on the land chosen by a revolutionary. It was designed by an Irish immigrant, it was built by slaves, and it has been home to every president since John and Abigail Adams first came through its doors. It is the White House, the People’s House, and it belongs to all who call this country home.

So today, in a collaboration with Oculus and Felix & Paul Studios, the President and First Lady are using virtual reality to bring the history of the White House directly to you. Narrated by the President, “the People’s House” offers an intimate, 360-degree exploration of rooms in the White House residence and the West Wing, as well as a look back at some of the most significant moments that took place there over the past eight years. It’s a first-ever virtual reality experience with the President and First Lady in the White House. Here’s a preview:

The tour takes viewers through rooms in the White House like the Old Family Dining Room, as well as places that many Americans have never seen before: the Oval Office, the Situation Room, the Rose Garden, and the Treaty Room (the President’s private office). Through it all, you’ll hear the President and First Lady’s personal reflections on historic moments that occurred in each place, whether that’s the response to the economic crisis, the raid on Osama bin Laden, or his statement on the Supreme Court’s decision to make marriage equality the law of the land.

All of this reflects what President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama wanted to do when they first step foot in the White House eight years ago. In 2009, they made it their particular mission to open wide the doors of this museum of American history to everyone, near and far. They invited the Girl Scouts to camp out on the South Lawn, they opened up the Old Family Dining Room on the White House tour, they got rid of the ban on photography for visitors, and more so the American people could see – and share – what it’s like to live here. Virtual Reality is the latest technology they can use in service of this mission.

After all, as the President said, each First Family is merely a "renter." This house, and the history made here, belongs to you.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2017/01/13/framework-fintech

At the White House FinTech Summit in June 2016, Cabinet Secretaries and senior officials from across the Administration engaged with stakeholders about the potential for fintech to further myriad policy goals, including small business access to capital, financial inclusion and health, domestic growth, and international development.  At the same event, industry and other stakeholders conveyed the need for a framework that articulates the U.S. government’s perspective on fintech.  Today, after sustained stakeholder engagement, we are proud to publish a whitepaper, A Framework for FinTech, that takes our work one step further to provide that perspective.  This whitepaper expresses the forward-leaning posture of this Administration to innovation and entrepreneurship, generally, and fintech in particular.    

Policy Objectives and FinTech Principles

This document sets forth Administration policy objectives that reflect widely-shared values and practical expectations for the financial services sector and the U.S. government entities that interact with the sector.  It then provides ten overarching principles that constitute a framework policymakers and regulators can use to think about, engage with, and assess the fintech ecosystem in order to meet these policy objectives.  Similarly, industry and other stakeholders can use the framework to understand how they can contribute to a well-functioning and inclusive financial system, and to examine their products and services against articulated principles.

The ten principles encourage stakeholders to:

1. think broadly about the financial ecosystem;
2. start with the consumer in mind;
3. promote safe financial inclusion and financial health;
4. recognize and overcome potential technological bias;
5. maximize transparency;
6. strive for interoperability and harmonize technical standards;
7. build in cybersecurity, data security, and privacy protections from the start;
8. increase efficiency and effectiveness in financial infrastructure;
9. protect financial stability; and
10. continue and strengthen cross-sector engagement.

Federal Government Engagement

Federal policymakers and regulators have accomplished a lot in the fintech space.  Executive agencies across the government – including the Department of Commerce (Commerce), the Small Business Administration (SBA), the Department of State (State), the Department of the Treasury (Treasury), the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and others – and independent regulators have engaged with stakeholders across the industry through events, Requests for Information (RFIs), whitepapers, technical assistance and research, and informal outreach and conversations, to better understand the industry and determine the appropriate role for government in fintech development.  The White House FinTech Summit, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s (OCC) Responsible Innovation initiative, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) Project Catalyst, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Fintech Working Group, Commerce’s Open for Innovation events, Treasury and USAID’s Financial Inclusion Forums, and Treasury’s whitepaper, Opportunities and Challenges in Online Marketplace Lending, are just a few examples.

The Road Ahead

Significant work remains, however.  The United States should continue developing a policy strategy that helps advance fintech and the broader financial services sector, achieve policy objectives where financial services play an integral role, and maintain a robust competitive advantage in the technology and financial services sectors to promote broad-based economic growth at home and abroad.

Additionally, policymakers, regulators, and the private sector should continue engaging with one another to foster innovation in fintech while protecting consumers and the financial system.  This whitepaper is both a product of ongoing public-private cooperation and a roadmap for future collaboration.  As the fintech ecosystem continues to evolve, this statement of principles should serve as a resource to guide the development of smart, pragmatic, and innovative cross-sector engagement.

Adrienne Harris is a Special Assistant to the President for Economic Policy. Alex Zerden is a Presidential Management Fellow.