Subject: Daily Message Points -- May 5, 2016
From: "Cunnane, Pat EOP/WHO" <[email-masked]>
To: "Cunnane, Pat EOP/WHO" <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 5 May 2016 17:04:53 +0000

Daily Message Points

May 5, 2016

Cracking Down on Unfair Practices - Mandatory Arbitration and Non-Compete Agreements

*         America's economy continues to come back - creating 14.4 million private sector jobs over the longest streak of job growth on record, 73 straight months.

*         But too many Americans still aren't sharing in the benefits of that economic progress. One reason for that is that too often large corporations are stifling fair competition and stacking the deck against workers, entrepreneurs, and consumers.

*         Today the Administration highlighted important pieces of progress toward addressing these kinds of unfair practices: mandatory arbitration clauses and the improper use of non-compete agreements.

*         First, today, the independent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau put out a new proposal that is designed to crack down on the use of mandatory arbitration clauses.

*         In recent years, many financial products - from bank accounts to credit cards - have found a way to avoid accountability by burying mandatory arbitration clauses deep in the fine print of hundreds of millions of contracts.

*         Mandatory arbitration clauses deny consumers the ability to join their resources, band together with others who have been harmed, and get their day in court. That's just not right.

*         Today's action is yet another example of the important work of the CFPB, which was created by Wall Street Reform.

*         In addition to writing stronger rules of the road for mortgages, credit cards, and student loans, through enforcement actions the Bureau has put nearly $11 billion back in the pockets of more than 25 million consumers who have been harmed by illegal practices.

*         That's why the President fought so hard to create a strong CFPB and why it's so appalling that Republicans in Congress have proposed to repeal the CFPB in their budget.

*         Also today, the White House released a report underscoring the need to reform the use of non-compete agreements, which deny workers the ability to leave a company and go work for another company in the same industry.

*         Far too often these agreements aren't credibly protecting trade secrets. Instead, they're unnecessary roadblocks for workers trying to get a raise, move up by joining another employer, or start their own company.

*         Nearly one in five workers - including 14 percent of low-wage workers - are subject to them. That holds their bargaining power and their wages down.

*         In the coming months the Administration will build on the examples of states that have taken actions highlighted in the report and put forward possible options for reform and encourage more states to take action and to make sure employers are treating their employees fairly.

*         The President knows that the best way to make sure everyone shares in our economic success is through healthy competition and stronger protections that guarantee consumers are treated fairly. That's what today's actions to combat both of these unfair practices are about.

Cinco De Mayo

Cinco de Mayo is a day to celebrate the important cultural contributions of our nation's Mexican American - and Hispanic - community. Despite unprecedented political opposition, President Obama has taken on big challenges that Washington has ignored for decades and made real progress. The Obama Administration's has:

*         Expanded Job Opportunities

o   Under President Obama, 14.4 million private-sector jobs have been added over 73 consecutive months, including 2.7 million jobs over the last 12 months - the longest streak of private-sector job growth on record.

o   Hispanic unemployment rate has dropped from its peak of 13 percent in August 2009 to 5.6 percent in March 2016.

*         Increased Access to Affordable, Quality Healthcare

o   Due to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the uninsured rate among Hispanics adults dropped by 27 percent, corresponding to more than four million Hispanic adults gaining coverage.

o   Under ACA, 8.8 million Hispanics with private insurance now have access to expanded preventive services, including immunizations and certain cancer screenings with no co-pay or deductible.

o   Teen birth rates fell nearly 50 percent among Hispanic teens, dropping the national teen birth rate to an all-time low.

*         Ensured Our Youth Can Reach their Full Potential

o   More than 2.6 million Hispanic children, close to half of Latinos under the age of five, have benefited from Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge grants.

o   Over the last decade, Hispanic students' dropout rate was cut by more than half and graduation rates have risen to 76 percent (up 5 percentage points since 2010).

o   More Hispanic students are graduating college than ever before - now, 70,000 more students are completing a bachelor's degree, annually. In the 2013- 2014 academic year, more than 200,000 Hispanic students completed their college degree.

*         Made the Dream of Homeownership Within Reach

o   The Federal Housing Administration reduced the annual premiums for new borrowers by half of a percentage point, making homeownership more affordable for responsible Hispanic families. More than half of Hispanic first-time homebuyers use an FHA insured loan.

*         Taken Action to Fix our Broken Immigration System

o   In November 2014, President Obama took steps within his authority to fix our broken immigration system. The deferred action policies he announced would provide greater opportunities for immigrants who came to our Nation as children and parents of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents who have lived here for years. The Administration continues to defend these policies in court in order to be able to implement them.

o   Since 2012, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy has allowed more than 700,000 young Dreamers to go to school and work legally. The vast majority of DACA recipients are Hispanic.

o   President Obama established the White House Task Force on New Americans to support the integration of immigrants and refugees into our communities, including linguistic, civic, and economic integration.

o   The President launched the "Stand Stronger" Citizenship Awareness Campaign, which aims to promote the rights, responsibilities, and opportunities of citizenship among the 8.8 million lawful permanent residents potentially eligible to become U.S. citizens. More than 3 million of these eligible individuals are Hispanic.

*         Strengthened our Relationship with Latin America

o   President Obama's trip to Cuba marked a historic milestone in the normalization process between the United States and Cuba.  The Administration has worked with the Cubans to ease travel restrictions, facilitate commerce, enhance people to people engagement, expand business and commercial ties, and continue the call and support for human rights and civil society in Cuba.

o   The President has prioritized support to Central America in an effort to see an economically integrated Central America that is fully democratic, provides economic opportunities to its people, enjoys more accountable, transparent, and effective public institutions, and ensures a safe environment for its citizens.

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