With the growing demand for college-educated workers, a college education is one of the surest ways into the middle class. To help more students afford and graduate from college, the Administration has taken steps to address these challenges - doubling Federal investments in Pell Grants and college tax credits, reforming student loans, and taking new steps to reduce college costs and improve value. But while the President continues to push for changes that keep college affordable for all students and families, we can and must be doing more to get more low-income students prepared for college,...

As part of the Administration's efforts to increase college opportunity, the President and First Lady made a call to action, asking colleges and universities, nonprofits, foundations, businesses, state officials and other leaders to make new commitments to increase college opportunity. In response, the White House received the following commitments, as reported and described by respondents. The list includes both participants in the Jan. 16th event as well as institutions and organizations who did not attend.

The Nation's infrastructures are the framework of physical structures and cyber information networks that provides a continual flow of information, goods, and services essential to the defense and economic security of the United States. Attacks on critical infrastructure could disrupt the direct functioning of key business and government activities, facilities, and systems, as well as have cascading effects throughout the country's economy and society.

The United States is an increasingly attractive location for business investment from global companies. In AT Kearney's 2013 FDI Confidence Index, the United States surged past countries like China, Brazil and India to become the country with the top FDI prospects globally, as ranked by 302 companies representing 28 countries and multiple industry sectors. This marks the first time that the US occupied the #1 spot in the survey since 2001. In a survey of U.S. manufacturers with production abroad late last year, BCG found that the majority (54 percent) are looking at re-shoring to the United...

Innovation is central to continued American opportunity and prosperity - raising our standard of living and launching new industries. American manufacturing, which contributes the vast majority of U.S. private sector research and development, is central to American innovation, both to discoveries being made today and our ability to drive productivity growth and discover new technologies in the future. From 2000 to 2010, U.S. manufacturing production and investment in new capacity stagnated, resulting in the offshoring and shuttering of thousands of American factories and the loss of millions...

U.S. manufacturing is in the midst of a potential resurgence. Since February 2010, manufacturers have added 877,000 jobs" the sectors first sustained job growth since the 1990s. Americas 230,000 small manufacturing firms have played a key role in this resurgence, adding the majority of new manufacturing jobs every year, while forming the backbone of U.S. supply chains. Dense networks of these small manufacturers are vital to the process of taking a product from concept to market, and the exchange of manufacturing know-how across suppliers is essential for the diffusion of the new technologies...

Water challenges are facing communities and regions across the United States, impacting millions of lives and costing billions of dollars in damages. Recent events, including record-breaking drought in the West, severe flooding in the Southeast, and the water-quality crisis in Flint, MI, have elevated a national dialogue on the state of our Nation's water resources and infrastructure. This dialogue is increasingly important as a growing population and changing climate continue to exacerbate water challenges. On March 22, 2016-World Water Day-the Obama Administration hosted the first-ever...

Despite Detroit's legacy as an icon of American industry and innovation, the Motor City found itself grappling with substantial and long-simmering problems when President Obama took office. Its famous auto industry was in crisis and had largely left the city proper, its population had declined for half a century, vital city services were not being delivered, and the City government was hurtling towards bankruptcy. People worried about Detroit's future. President Obama committed the federal government to the region's recovery within weeks of taking office, demonstrating his confidence in the...