- White House conference
A White House conference is a national meeting sponsored by the
Executive Office of the President of the United States with the purpose of discussing an issue or topic of importance to the American public.cite web | url=http://reference.howstuffworks.com/white-house-conference-encyclopedia.htm | title=White House conference | publisher=HowStuffWorks | accessdate=2008-06-18] Some last for one day while others last for several.cite web | url=www.cwla.org/advocacy/whitehouseconf10.ppt | title=White House Conference on Children and Youth: What’s It All About? | publisher=Child Welfare League of America | date=2008 | accessdate=2008-06-18] Typical attendees of a White House conference include experts in the particular field, community leaders and citizens with an interest in the issue. The President usually speaks to a general session of the conference; the conference concludes by issuing a report to the President summarizing issues and making recommendations for executive or legislative action. TheFirst Lady of the United States also sometimes hosts White House conferences.cite web | title = First Lady Biography: Hillary Clinton | url = http://www.firstladies.org/biographies/firstladies.aspx?biography=43 | publisher = National First Ladies' Library | accessdate = 2006-08-22 ] cite web | title = First Lady Biography: Laura Bush | url = http://www.firstladies.org/biographies/firstladies.aspx?biography=44 | publisher = National First Ladies' Library | accessdate = 2008-06-18 ] White House conferences are typically created by specific legislation. [cite web | url=http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1987/050587e.htm | title=Executive Order 12595 — White House Conference for a Drug Free America | publisher=Office of the Federal Register | date=1987-05-06 | accessdate=2008-06-18] [cite web | url=http://www.whcoa.gov/about/history.asp | title=2005 White House Conference on Aging: History | publisher=The White House | date=2004-09-27 | accessdate=2008-06-18]The first White House conference was the Conference on the Care of Dependent Children held in 1909 under President
Theodore Roosevelt ; it later became the long-runningWhite House Conference on Children and Youth . The first iteration's recommendations called for the end of routine institutionalization of neglected or otherwise dependent children and the creation of the Federal Children's Bureau. The most well-known White House conference is theWhite House Conference on Aging , which has occurred once a decade since the 1950s. Other well-known conferences include the 1966White House Conference on Civil Rights and the 1971White House Conference on Youth . Other topics have included drug abuse, education, family life, nutrition, disabled people and other issues.References
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