(Mirror Daily, United States) – The White House announced that ‘We the People’ website will be suspended temporarily until a new site is set up. The maintenance work for the new website will last until late January.
The tremendously popular website was launched by the Obama administration six years ago. The former administration promised to offer an official answer to all petitions that exceed the 100,000-signature threshold. The current administration, on the other hand, hasn’t replied to any of those petitions since President Trump was inaugurated.
The Trump White House said that the revamped website would save around $1 million in tax dollars per year. White House’s total budget for next year currently stands at $55 million, with $4.94 million being deployed to its official websites.
One source within the White House told reporters that the White House will start answering petitions in 2018. All ongoing petitions will be reinstated, the official added.
The Obama administration’s initial plan was to offer all Americans a voice when it comes to the wide range of topics affecting the United States. If a petition is signed by more than 100,000 people within a month, that petition would lead to an official response from the federal government.
Some of the most popular petitions that require an official response include a request for the President’s resignation and a request for his tax returns to be made public. None of those petitions received an official answer.
Other petitions were focused on minority groups like the LGBT community. Following a 2015 petition that requested a ban on conversion therapy, president Barack Obama official called for a ban of the procedure.
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