White House

First Lady Melania Trump unveiled Be Best, her initiative meant to support children and the many issues they are facing today.

President Donald Trump announced his intent to nominate Kenneth Johnson to be the Rural Utility Service Administrator, Department of Agriculture. Johnson serves as the general manager and CEO of Co-Mo Electric Cooperative and President for Co-Mo Connect in Tipton, MO. Co-Mo is the first to deploy a fiber-to-the-home network to all of their members without federal or state funding, providing gigabit internet, video and voice services to nearly 16,000 subscribers.

It shall therefore be the policy of the executive branch to use all viable tools to accelerate the deployment and adoption of affordable, reliable, modern high-speed broadband connectivity in rural America, including rural homes, farms, small businesses, manufacturing and production sites, tribal communities, transportation systems, and healthcare and education facilities.

The Administration strongly supports House passage of Senate Joint Resolution 34, which would nullify the Federal Communications Commission’s final rule titled "Protecting the Privacy of Customers of Broadband and Other Telecommunication Services," 81 Fed. Reg. 87274 (December 2, 2016). The rule applies the privacy requirements of the Communications Act of 1934 to broadband Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and other telecommunications carriers. In particular, the rule requires ISPs to obtain affirmative "opt-in" consent from consumers to use and share certain information, including app usage and web browsing history. It also allows ISPs to use and share other information, including e-mail addresses and service tier information, unless a customer "opts-out." In doing so, the rule departs from the technology-neutral framework for online privacy administered by the Federal Trade Commission. This results in rules that apply very different regulatory regimes based on the identity of the online actor.

If SJ Res 34 were presented to the President, his advisors would recommend that he sign the bill into law.

In order to ready the United States for a future in which artificial intelligence (AI) plays a growing role, the White House released a report on . This report follows up on the Administration’s previous report, Preparing for the Future of Artificial Intelligence, which was released in October 2016, and which recommended that the White House publish a report on the economic impacts of artificial intelligence by the end of 2016.

The new report examines the expected impact of AI-driven automation on the economy, and describes broad strategies that could increase the benefits of AI and mitigate its costs. AI-driven automation will transform the economy over the coming years and decades. The challenge for policymakers will be to update, strengthen, and adapt policies to respond to the economic effects of AI.

Five years ago, President Obama joined with the leaders of seven other nations to launch the Open Government Partnership (OGP), a global partnership between governments and civil society organizations to advance transparency and accountability, bolster citizen engagement, and harness new technologies to strengthen governance. At the launch in 2011, the United States and other founding countries, along with civil society organizations, pledged to transform the way that governments serve and engage with their citizens in the 21st century. As thousands of government leaders and civil society representatives gather together for the 2016 OGP Global Summit in Paris, the Partnership has grown into a platform for reformers in 70 countries.

Building on the Obama Administration’s efforts to modernize the way the Federal Government works with cities, counties, and communities — rural, tribal, urban, and sub-urban – President Barack Obama signed an Executive Order establishing a Community Solutions Council. The Council will provide a lasting structure for Federal agencies to strengthen partnerships with communities and improve coordination across the Federal Government in order to more efficiently deliver assistance and maximize impact. This progress is further fueled by efforts such as:

Harnessing Data and Technology to Improve Outcomes for Communities: The Federal government is working to foster collaborations between communities and the tech sector, non-profits and citizens to help communities develop new ways to use both Federal and local data to address challenges with greater precision and innovation. As a result, new digital tools are helping citizens find affordable housing near jobs and transportation, matching unemployed Americans with jobs that meet their skills, enabling local leaders to use data to better target investments, and more.