Nondiscrimination has been the law of the land for over three decades, yet, in some workplaces, the standard for treatment of pregnant women has remained in the dark ages. Some are fired or demoted, with no hesitation, when a modest accommodation would allow them to continue to work and support their families.
We have to tell the stories of the everyday Americans who are adversely impacted by these policies. That's how we were able to keep the Affordable Care Act from being repealed. People told their stories; people showed up at Town Hall.
The Recovery plan will put money in the pockets of the American worker, create and save millions of new jobs and invest in crucial areas such as health care, education, energy independence and a new infrastructure.
Each generation has an obligation to pick up the baton. We want young people to feel a sense of responsibility to take that baton and run with it.
The President has been a big proponent of the public option since the campaign.
I saw a complete lack of courage in Washington to tackle some of our biggest challenges.
What we wouldn't want to see is just a piece of legislation on border security and high tech immigration without focusing on the path to citizenship for the 11 million people who are here, and other provisions.
If I take a bump or bruise along the way, that's nothing compared to the sacrifices that the women whose shoulders I stand upon made along the way.
By 30, I was separated from my husband, and I clearly remember sitting in my lovely office with a magnificent view, staring at a very lucrative pay stub, and bursting into tears because I was just miserable. So I had to make a decision: Keep following my plan, or be honest with myself and search for my true passion.
Throughout the health-insurance reform process, we have had a frequent and consistent dialogue with the business community - small, medium, and large - to analyze and evaluate the impact that reform would have on them. It has been a very instructive and productive dialogue.
Equal pay, paid leave, paid sick days, workplace flexibility, and affordable childcare - everywhere I go around the United States, as I talk to working families, these are the issues they raise... We have over 43 million Americans who don't have a single day of sick leave, but everybody gets sick. Everybody's children get sick.
I finally said, 'I don't care if you're the first person in your family to be a lawyer.' Everybody thought what I was doing was really exciting, but it was not moving me one bit. And that's when I decided to join city government in Chicago, and that changed my life.
So much of what I do is so strictly confidential that it's nice to be able to discuss or vent or laugh about something and not read about it in the newspaper the next day.
The impact of solitary confinement can have a devastating consequence to the psychology of the people who are affected.
There are certain things that Americans expect their government to do. Our infrastructure is vitally important. Putting people back to work with construction is important. Our roads, our bridges, our sewers, our waterways, our dams - this is what makes our country so special.
Some people might have different ideas about what progress looks like, and some are cynical and place their short-term political interests ahead of what is good for our country. But many of them aren't cynical and try hard to do their best.
There's a strong body of evidence that shows that the more diligent we are in ensuring that guns are in the appropriate hands, the safer our communities will be.
Please be assured that as we move along through the implementation of health insurance reform, making sure that we find efficiencies within the existing system, is foremost on the President's mind.
I am both delighted and honored to return to the University of Chicago as a Distinguished Senior Fellow and embark on this new journey with the students, faculty, and wider Chicago community.
The American people want change. They don't want the same old health care system that's not affordable, that doesn't offer coverage to everybody, that keeps escalating in cost. And what we've seen from the Republicans is, really, a desire to have the status quo.
