Author: WhiteHouse

03.10.10 04:04 PM

TO THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES:

Section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622(d)) provides for the automatic termination of a national emergency unless, prior to the anniversary date of its declaration, the President publishes in the Federal Register and transmits to the Congress a notice stating that the emergency is to continue in effect beyond the anniversary date. In accordance with this provision, I have sent the enclosed notice to the Federal Register for publication stating that the Iran emergency declared on March 15, 1995, is to continue in effect beyond March 15, 2010.

The crisis between the United States and Iran resulting from actions and policies of the Government of Iran that led to the declaration of a national emergency on March 15, 1995, has not been resolved. The actions and policies of the Government of Iran are contrary to the interests of the United States in the region and pose a continuing unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States. For these reasons, I have determined that it is necessary to continue the national emergency declared with respect to Iran and maintain in force comprehensive sanctions against Iran to respond to this threat.

BARACK OBAMA

THE WHITE HOUSE,
March 10, 2010.

White House.gov Press Office Feed

03.10.10 07:21 PM

Renaissance Grand Hotel
St. Louis, Missouri

6:45 P.M. CST

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, everybody. Thank you. Everybody have a seat, have a seat. Thank you so much. All right, we’ve got some — everybody is a special guest, but we got some big names around here. First of all, please give a huge round of applause once again to one of the finest governors in this country, Jay Nixon. Give it up for him. (Applause.) Your outstanding attorney general, Chris Koster. (Applause.) Your fabulous state treasurer, Clint Zweifel. (Applause.) My great friend and supporter, state auditor Susan Montee. (Applause.) One of my favorite folks in Missouri, Jean Carnahan. (Applause.) And all the McCaskills out there. I know you take up about half the tables. (Laughter.) Golly. By the way, your younger sister made a point of saying, “I’m the younger sister.” I just wanted you to know that. (Laughter.)

SENATOR McCASKILL: Of course she did. Of course she did.

THE PRESIDENT: All right. It is great to be back in the Show Me State. It’s nice to get out of Washington for a little bit. Now, there are a lot of nice things in Washington, don’t get me wrong. I love the monuments. (Laughter.) But let’s face it, it’s a town where most of the time folks are more worried about what’s good politics than what’s right; where folks are just hooked up to the daily polls like they’re on some kind of EKG.

And this isn’t a new phenomenon. In fact, I remember — I’m reminded of somebody from Missouri named Harry Truman, who once said in an interview he gave a long time ago, “Washington is a very easy city to forget where you came from and why you got there in the first place.” But I want everybody here to understand that there is one person who’s never forgotten where she comes from or why she is there, and that’s Claire McCaskill. (Applause.) Claire is there to serve — she’s there to serve you, she’s there to serve Missouri, she’s there to serve the United States of America. And I don’t have to tell you that, because you’ve known Claire. You knew her as a prosecutor. You knew her as a state auditor. You now know her as one of the finest senators that Missouri has ever produced.

In fact, she’s a lot like a modern-day Harry Truman, except she’s a she. (Laughter.) But she’s a standout in Washington for speaking truth to power, for bringing common sense to every issue, and for having the courage of her convictions. Claire is tough, not just to score cheap political points but because she understands what her constituents are going through. And in a town marked by just withering partisanship, she’s focused on what needs to be done to make sure that ordinary families here in Missouri and all across the country are getting a fair shake. And she’ll work with anybody, no matter what party, to get it done. And she’ll criticize anybody, no matter what party, in order to get things done.

And so in a town marked by gridlock, she’s not afraid to challenge old assumptions or worn-out ideas. And so she’s a good role model for all of us, including the President of the United States. (Applause.)

Just as the Truman Committee went after waste and abuse in our military during World War II, saving taxpayers billions of dollars, Claire has been a relentless force for bringing more efficiency and more transparency, more accountability to our government. She understands what everyone in Washington should understand, but don’t — the money we spend doesn’t belong to us, it belongs to the American people. And we’ve got to invest it responsibly.

In fact, earlier today, down in St. Charles, I announced a plan that Claire proposed and pushed through Congress that’s about to come online. It’s a database where Americans can track spending on contracts to see who’s getting the job done on time and who’s not; to see which companies keep costs low and which come in over budget time and again. Because the way that Claire sees it is the same way that Harry Truman saw it: You don’t govern by polls, you govern by principles; you don’t put your finger up to the wind, you put your shoulder to the wheel. And when this country is challenged, you do what you think is right and you figure that the politics will work itself out.

No one in his or her right mind would have plotted, at the beginning of my administration, to do what we did — shore up the financial system, shore up the auto industry, pass the Recovery Act — if the goal was just to drive up our poll numbers. I’ve got a really good pollster — we knew that what we had to do wasn’t popular. We knew it wasn’t popular to make sure that we didn’t have a financial meltdown. We knew that a lot of folks felt like, well, the auto companies got themselves into trouble. So we knew it wouldn’t poll well, but we had a different mission, we had a greater responsibility — and that is to save our country from an even greater economic catastrophe than the one that we’ve seen. And that’s a responsibility that we met.

And today our financial system is stabilizing. And General Motors is expanding and hiring again. And millions of people are working in America who would not have been working had it not been for the Recovery Act. And all across Missouri, all across the nation, roads are being repaved and bridges are being repaired and waterways are being rebuilt — not only putting Americans to work today, but laying a foundation for a better tomorrow. But we didn’t know how the politics would work out; we knew it was the right thing to do, the same way Claire understands in each of her legislative initiatives — I’m not sure how this will poll, but I know it’s the right thing to do.

Now, as we meet tonight there are still millions of Americans — and too many right here in this state — who are out of work, millions who are stretched to the limits on their mortgage or their credit cards, their student loans. We are on the road to recovery — but we haven’t gotten there yet. Not until our economy is adding jobs again. Not until people feel secure again. And Claire and I together, every day, are fighting for an economy in which Americans can compete and win. We’re fighting for an economy in which hard work and entrepreneurship is rewarded again, where small businesses as well as large are thriving again and the great middle class that is the backbone of our country –- and where Claire and I come out of –- is thriving again, is strong again.

That’s not easy –- because there’s been a lot of work that’s been undone for the last two decades, three decades, seven decades. We’ve got a lot of built-up challenges that we’re going to have to work hard to solve. But even as we fight these fights I want you to understand we are taking on some of the other problems facing folks in this state and across the country, and we’re going to win these fights.

We passed a tough new tobacco law that helps stop cigarette companies from targeting kids and force them to disclose what they put in their products. We passed a Credit Card Bill of Rights that protects consumers from surprise charges, like over-the-limit fees and hidden costs for paying a bill by phone. We passed an equal pay law to help a promise to America’s women: that if you do the same job as a man you should make the same wage as a man. (Applause.) We expanded health insurance coverage for 4 million more children. (Applause.)

So the bottom line is this: I want everybody to understand despite all the gridlock, despite all the shenanigans, we’ve gotten a lot done.

The reason I’m here tonight, and the reason Claire is here tonight, is because we’ve got a lot more work to do. Some of our biggest challenges lie ahead.

Because the future belongs to a nation that educates its children best, we’ve got to reform our education system so that all our kids are ready for college, all our kids are ready for a career, all our kids are ready to succeed in the 21st century. (Applause.)

Because the nation that leads in clean energy today will lead the global economy tomorrow, we need to invest in a clean energy industry that frees us from foreign oil and cleans up our air and generates millions of jobs in the process. (Applause.)

And, yes –- and, yes, because the current health care system is broken and unsustainable, we have to have health insurance reform this year. Right now. (Applause.)

We’ve been talking about health care for nearly a century. One of the Presidents who tried to do something about it? Harry Truman. Sixty years ago he pushed back against opponents of reform by saying, “The American people will not be frightened off from health insurance because some people have misnamed it socialized medicine.” He then repeated, “What I am recommending is not socialized medicine.” Who says history doesn’t repeat itself?

But you know what else Harry Truman said –- you know, the famous saying about “Give ‘em hell, Harry” –- what Harry said was, “I’m going to tell the truth –- they’ll think it’s hell.” (Laughter and applause.)

And so let me tell the truth about this health care debate. I know there are strong views about this. I know there are Democrats who would like to scrap our system of private insurance and replace it with a government-run health care system that works in some countries. I know there are some on the other side who believe that the answer is to loosen regulations on insurance companies where there’s consumer protections or basic standards of what kind of insurance can be sold. This is what we call the “fox guarding the henhouse” approach to health care reform.

But I don’t believe we should give the government or insurance companies more control over health care in America. I believe it’s time to give you, the American people, more control over your health insurance. (Applause.) And that’s why my proposal –- my proposal builds on the current system, where most Americans get their health insurance from their employer. If you like your plan, you can keep your plan. If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor. I’m the father of two young girls –- I don’t want anybody interfering between my family and their doctor.

But essentially the proposal that we –- after all the talk, after the years of debate, let’s be clear on what we’re doing here. Three things we’re going to change about the current health care system.

Number one, we’re going to end the worst practices of the insurance companies. Within a year of signing health care reform, thousands of uninsured Americans with preexisting conditions will be able to purchase health insurance for the first time since they were diagnosed. (Applause.) This year –- this year, insurance companies will be banned forever from denying coverage to children with preexisting conditions. (Applause.) This year they will be banned from dropping coverage when you get sick. They’ll no longer be able to arbitrarily raise premiums. Those practices will end. (Applause.)

When this reform passes into law, all new insurance plans will offer free preventive care to their customers, free checkups so that we can start catching preventable illnesses on the front end. Starting this year, if you buy a plan there won’t be lifetime restrictions or annual limits on the amount of care that you can receive from your insurance companies. And if you’re an uninsured adult you’ll be able to stay on your parents’ policy until you’re 26 years old. (Applause.) So that’s the first thing we do.

Second thing we change. For the first time we would start allowing people who are currently trying to get health insurance on the individual market –- small businesses –- and just can’t do it, to have the same kind of choices of private health insurance that members of Congress get for themselves — (applause) — which I don’t think is a bad idea, and neither does Claire McCaskill.

Now, I want everybody — members of Congress will be getting their insurance from this same marketplace, because if it’s good enough for the American people, then it’s good enough for Congress. (Applause.)

My proposal also says that if you still can’t afford the insurance in this new marketplace, we will offer you tax credits to do so — tax credits that add up to the largest middle-class tax cut for health care in history.

Understand, the wealthiest among us can already buy insurance, the best insurance there is. The least well off, they’re covered under Medicaid. It’s the middle class that’s getting squeezed, and that’s who we have to help — small businesses, self-employed, individuals who are out there struggling.

And this will cost some money. It’s going to cost about $100 billion per year. But most of this comes from the nearly $2.5 trillion a year that we’re already spending on health care; we’re just not spending it very wisely right now. (Applause.) We are wasting it, we’re spending it badly, and with some basic reforms, eliminating waste and abuse, we can make sure to provide coverage that’s affordable — make it more affordable and more secure.

We’re going to eliminate wasteful taxpayer subsidies currently going to insurance and pharmaceutical companies. We’ll set up a new fee on insurance companies that stand to gain as 30 million new customers come onboard. But the point everybody needs to understand is, it’s paid for. I said at the beginning of this thing we would not do anything that adds to our deficit. This plan does not do anything to add to this deficit. (Applause.) And that’s how we should be operating. We can’t say the same for the prescription drug plan that was passed by the previous Congress.

Finally, this proposal would bring down the cost of health care for families and businesses and the federal government. Americans buying comparable coverage to what they have today in the individual market, they’d see their premiums drop 14 percent to 20 percent. Americans who get their insurance through the marketplace, premiums could fall by as much as $3,000 per person.

And by now, we’ve incorporated every single serious idea across the political spectrum about how to contain rising costs in health care — ideas that go after waste and abuse in our system, especially in programs like Medicare. But we do this while protecting Medicare benefits, extending stability of the program, and filling this doughnut hole that is such a burden on a lot of seniors who really need their prescription drugs.

So our cost-cutting measures would reduce most people’s premiums, bring down the deficit by a trillion dollars over the next two decades. Those are not my numbers. Those are savings determined by the Congressional Budget Office, the nonpartisan, independent referee of Congress.

So just in case anybody is out there asking you about health care reform, that’s our proposal. And it is a proposal whose time has come. We are coming to a final vote in Congress, and that’s when folks in Congress, they get nervous. The Washington echo chamber is deafening, and it tells members of Congress to think about politics instead of what’s right. It tells Congress that comprehensive reform, that’s failed before, it really hurt Clinton. It may just be too hard.

Yes, this is hard. There’s no doubt about it. Let me tell you what else is hard. There’s a woman I just met, Leslie Banks, in Pennsylvania. Single mother. She was hit with a 100 percent rate increase — just a letter sent by her insurance company, 100 percent increase in her premiums. That’s hard. There’s a woman named Natoma Canfield. She’s got cancer, in Ohio. Had to drop her insurance even though it may cost her her house. The other day she suddenly fell ill; she’s in the hospital right now. We’re all praying for her, but lying in a hospital bed, worrying about how you’re going to pay for your bills — that’s hard. I know. My mother went through that.

There’s a woman named Laura Klitzka, in Wisconsin, Green Bay — young mother battling cancer. She and her husband had insurance, but their medical bills still landed them in debt. So she’s in the middle of this unbelievable battle — got little kids she loves dearly. She’s spending most of her time worrying about debt when all she wants to do is spend time with her children. That’s hard. Millions of families, small businesses, what they’re going through because we don’t have a health insurance system that works for them — that’s really hard.

Those of us in public office were not sent to Washington to do what was easy; we were sent there to do what was hard. We were sent there to do what’s right. When I think about the campaign I ran for President, and I think about the campaign Claire McCaskill ran for Senate, all the work we put in — we were joking backstage about, boy, you worked really hard for this job. (Laughter.) The reason we did it wasn’t to get a title. The reason you — so many of you — were so passionate about this campaign wasn’t just so you could have a picture with me. That wasn’t what this was about.

This was about recognizing that America at its best doesn’t shrink from a challenge; we overcome challenges. We don’t shrink from responsibilities; we embrace our responsibilities. We don’t fear the future; we seize the future. (Applause.) That’s what we did in the campaign, at a time when everybody was out there saying we couldn’t do it. That’s what people were warning Claire about when she took on this race for Senate, saying, “I don’t know, Claire, you’ve already gone through a couple of losses; this may be tough. Why take the risk?” Because it needed to be done. Because somewhere down the road there were a whole bunch of people in our pasts — our parents, our grandparents, our great grandparents — who decided, we’re not taking the easy path, we’re taking the right path. We’re going to fight to make sure our kids and our grandkids and our great grandkids have a better life than we do.

That’s what our campaigns were about. That’s what your involvement has been about. That’s what this health care debate is about. That is what my presidency is about. And that is what America is about. And that is why I’m absolutely convinced if we stay on course that we are going to win this thing — not the short-term battle, not the November election; we’re going to win out in terms of creating the kind of society for our kids and our grandkids that we can be proud of.

Thank you, everybody. God bless you. God bless the United States of America. (Applause.)

END
7:09 P.M. CST

White House.gov Press Office Feed

03.10.10 02:21 PM

3:35 P.M. EST

MRS. OBAMA: Well, thank you. This is indeed a pleasure and an honor to be here with all of you today. You all look fabulous. (Laughter.) This is a wonderful occasion.

Let me thank my dear friend, Senator — Secretary Clinton. (Laughter.) I almost said, “President Clinton.” (Laughter and applause.) But let me thank you for that kind introduction, and most of all thank you for your friendship, thank you for your support, and thank you for your indispensable advice in getting me through this first year and helping me figure out how to get my family settled in our new life in D.C.

I think it’s fair to say that this woman here set the standard in her last post in a presidential administration -– and she’s once again setting a terrific standard doing outstanding work as the Secretary of State for the Obama administration. (Applause.)

I also want to recognize Ambassador Melanne Verveer for her extraordinary work as our Ambassador at Large for Global Women’s Issues. Melanne. (Applause.)

And again I have to thank Andrea Jung and Reese Witherspoon. That’s a tremendous contribution on the part of Avon. Thank you for being with us, thank you for your commitment and your dedication and your words here today. It’s just an exciting opportunity.

It’s hard to believe that it’s been 15 years since Secretary Clinton spoke those words that inspired women across the globe to think differently about themselves and about their place in the world, and to demand that others think differently, as well: “Women’s rights are human rights” is what she said; the five simple words that weren’t just a statement of fact, but a call to action. (Applause.)

And we’re here today to honor 10 women who have devoted their lives to answering that call in just tremendous ways.

You’ve heard about them, but, again, there’s Ann Njogu who left a comfortable job as chief legal officer at an insurance company because she couldn’t bear to stand silent in the face of corruption and violence against women in Kenya. And even after being arrested and assaulted by the police because of her work, she continues to speak out.

Then there’s Colonel Shafiqa Quraishi of Afghanistan who began her career with the Afghan National Police. And today, as an official in the Ministry of the Interior, she’s fighting to ensure that women in the police force get the promotions they deserve and that women get the benefits they need to do their jobs.

And then there’s Dr. Lee Ae-ran who spent eight years of her childhood in a North Korean prison camp. And after a harrowing escape to South Korea, she became a tireless advocate for North Korean refugees and the first defector to run for Korea’s National Assembly. (Applause.) Upon receiving an award for her work, she replied, very simply, “I was only doing what I was naturally supposed to do.”

These are the kind of battles that women we honor here are fighting all over the world. They’re educating girls. They’re getting more women into the workforce. They’re working to end human trafficking, labor abuses, discrimination against minorities. And they’re giving women a voice in the courtrooms and in the parliaments, helping to change laws and transform lives in every corner of the globe.

Now, there are certainly easier paths these women could have taken. Much easier. They could have chosen to keep their heads down and their mouths shut. They could have shrunk their aspirations to fit the expectations of others -– and accepted the place reserved for them on the sidelines and in the shadows.

But instead, they decided to stand up for what they believed in and for what they hoped. They decided to say the things that no one else would say and take risks few others would endure. As a result, they’ve faced hardships that few could bear.

Jestina Mukoko of Zimbabwe was abducted from her home, she was tortured, she was interrogated for hours while forced to kneel on gravel –- all for the simple act of speaking out about the government’s human rights abuses. Yet, she emerged unbroken. And as she put it, “I came out of this experience not a bitter person, but a better person.” That is the thread — (applause) — that’s the thread that runs through all of our honorees’ stories –- that ability to draw strength from suffering, the determination to not just advance their own lives, but the lives of others, as well.

That’s what makes these women so extraordinary -– that they not only refuse to be victims of injustice and oppression, they also refuse to be bystanders.

And that’s one of the reasons why we’ve invited some young women to join us today — the young women from the White House girls mentoring program, along with young women from the Bell Multicultural School, to join us today. Okay, ladies, raise your hand. Let’s see where you are. (Applause.)

You’re here for a reason. We love you dearly, but we also want you to learn from these women, and we want you to be inspired by these women’s lives. So listen carefully. Listen to their stories. We invited them because we wanted to say to these young girls — to you, young women, like so many girls across the country — that if these women can become lawyers and journalists and military leaders, if they can run their own organizations and run for office -– then surely you can find a way to follow your own dreams and be the leaders in your own communities right here in America. That’s what we expect from you. (Applause.)

Listen closely, because if these women can endure relentless threats, brutal violence, and separation from their families as they fight for their causes –- then surely, you all can keep going when you face struggles and obstacles in your own lives.

If these women can start developing their passion for justice as teenagers, if Sonia Pierre could stand up and protest and demand better conditions for migrant workers at the age of 13 –- an act for which she was arrested — (applause) — then none of you are too young to start making a difference. Right? (Applause.)

And if these women can make so many sacrifices to help so many people –- then the least we all can do in this room, in this country is to shine a light on their work and honor their contributions. (Applause.)

That is the purpose of these Women of Courage awards. We know the difference this kind of recognition and encouragement can make. It really matters.

I’m thinking of a story that I heard, of Ginetta Sagan, a human rights activist who was first imprisoned during World War II for helping Jews in Italy escape from the Nazis. And during her time in jail, she was brutally beaten, raped and tortured with electric shocks. And then one day, one of the guards threw a loaf of bread into her cell. And inside that loaf was a matchbox. And on that matchbox was written the word — one word in Italian — “corragio” -– and it was courage. Ginetta spent the rest of her life working to free prisoners of conscience. And every time she came across prisoners who had started to lose hope because they feared that no one knew of their plight, she thought of that moment in that cell.

And so today, we say to you women, our sisters, we say “corragio” — courage. (Applause.) America stands with you. We are so incredibly proud of you and your contributions. And know that we are praying for you and we are thinking about you every day. And we have young women here who are going to follow in your footsteps. Right, ladies? (Applause.)

Thank you all so much. (Applause.)

END
3:45 P.M. EST

White House.gov Press Office Feed

03.10.10 02:24 PM

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, President Obama nominated Raymond Lohier, Jr. to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and Judge Kate O’Malley to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Lohier currently serves as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York; O’Malley currently serves as a U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Ohio.

“Raymond Lohier and Kate O’Malley will both bring an unwavering commitment to fairness and judicial integrity to the federal bench,” President Obama said. “Their impressive legal careers are a testament to the kind of thoughtful and diligent judges they will be on the Second and Federal Circuits. I am honored to nominate them both today.”

Raymond Joseph Lohier, Jr.: Nominee for the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
Raymond Lohier is an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. He currently serves as Chief of the Southern District of New York’s Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force, which investigates and prosecutes some of the highest-profile offenses on Wall Street including securities fraud, insider trading, ponzi schemes, and commodities fraud. Lohier was deputy chief of the Task Force until 2009 and prior to that served as chief and deputy chief of the Office’s Narcotics Unit.

Prior to joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office in 2000, Lohier spent three years as a Senior Trial Attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division. From 1993 to 1997, he was in private practice as an associate attorney at Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilon in New York. Lohier was also a clerk to Judge Robert P. Patterson, Jr., in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Lohier graduated cum laude from Harvard College in 1988. He received his J.D. from New York University School of Law in 1991, where he was Editor in Chief of the Annual Survey of American Law and recipient of the Vanderbilt Medal.

Judge Kate O’Malley: Nominee for the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
Judge Kathleen McDonald O’Malley has served as a U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Ohio since 1994. Judge O’Malley also regularly teaches patent litigation at Case Western Reserve University School of Law as Distinguished Visiting Jurist.

Prior to her appointment to the District Court, Judge O’Malley was First Assistant Attorney General and Chief of Staff to then-Ohio Attorney General Lee Fisher. In that role, she supervised all litigation for the State of Ohio and counseled senior government officers on legal questions. Until 1991, she was in private practice in Cleveland at Porter, Wright, Morris & Arthur LLP and at Jones Day. After law school, she clerked for the Honorable Nathaniel R. Jones on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

On the District Court, Judge O’Malley has handled numerous intellectual property cases, including while sitting by designation with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

The United States Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation has called on Judge O’Malley to preside over several complex nationwide matters.

Judge O’Malley graduated from Kenyon College in 1979 (Phi Beta Kappa) and Case Western Reserve University School of Law in 1982 (Order of the Coif).

White House.gov Press Office Feed

03.10.10 11:01 AM

“We express our deepest condolences on the passing of Egyptian cleric Sheikh Mohammed Sayyed Tantawi. As the grand sheikh of Al-Azhar University, he was a voice for faith and tolerance who was widely respected in Muslim communities in Egypt and around the globe, and by many who seek to build a world grounded in mutual respect. Sheikh Tantawi graciously hosted President Obama last June in Cairo, and we remember well his hospitality. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and those who mourn him on this day.”

White House.gov Press Office Feed

03.10.10 11:53 AM

Doubletree Hotel Crystal City
Arlington, Virginia

12:20 P.M. EST

MRS. OBAMA: Thank you. (Applause.) Thank you all so much. (Applause.) Thank you. (Applause.) Please, please, be seated.

Thanks so much. It is a pleasure to be here with all of you today. And thank you for the wonderful work that you do every day in schools and communities all across this country.

And I also want to say thanks to Chuck. Chuck was here — where did he go — for his outstanding leadership for the National PTA. I understand for the first time in its 113-year history, an organization that began as the National Congress of Mothers is now led by a father. (Applause.) So I commend Chuck for his work to get more fathers involved, right? (Applause.) That’s right.

I also understand Chuck got his start with his local PTA almost 20 years ago for one simple reason -– and that was, his first son, Matthew, was entering the first grade. And that’s really the same reason why I know that most of you got started with your own local PTA — my mom was a PTA mom — because you had a child — yes, she was — (applause) — because I know each of you got involved because you had a child in a school that you cared about.

And that’s one of the great things about this organization –- that anyone can get involved, anyone can get engaged. All that’s required is that you care about our kids; and that you care about their well being, and their potential to grow up into happy, and healthy, and successful adults; and also that you care about the future of our community and our country. And that’s really why we’re all here today, why I’m here, because we care deeply about our kids.

And I know this organization shares my conviction that it’s finally time to take on one of the most serious threats to our children’s future and to ours: and that’s the epidemic of childhood obesity in America today.

Now, as Chuck said, when you start talking about this issue, we often begin with the statistics -– how over the past three decades, childhood obesity rates in America have tripled. Tripled. Or how today, nearly one in three American children is overweight or obese. And these statistics are breathtaking.

But as far-reaching as this epidemic is, the truth is it’s also deeply personal –- for our kids and for us. So while I travel this country speaking about this issue as a First Lady, I really come to it first and foremost as a mother.

As parents, we know that this isn’t just about how our kids look. It has nothing to do with it. It’s about how they feel -– and it’s about how they feel about themselves. It’s about the impact this issue has on their health, and the impact that it will have on their futures.

And I know these issues aren’t new to any of you. I know that in PTA meetings around the country, you’re probably hearing from teachers who see the teasing and the bullying kids endure. You’re probably hearing from counselors who see the depression and the low self-esteem.

You may even be hearing from coaches who see kids struggling to keep up –- or pediatricians who see kids coming into their offices with conditions like high cholesterol and blood pressure — high blood pressure, and Type II diabetes -– and these are conditions that they used to only see in adults.

And if you’re like me, you might be thinking to yourselves: How on Earth did we get here? How did this happen? Because it wasn’t always like this.

I imagine like many of you in this room we share similar memories of our childhoods, which were very active. It included walking to and from school every day, running around at recess and gym every day, and playing in the neighborhood for hours after you got home from school until somebody called you in for dinner.

And then when you got inside, usually sitting around the table as a family, you ate what your parents fixed -– no questions asked. (Laughter and applause.) And if you didn’t, what, you went to bed hungry, right? (Laughter.) Back then, vegetables were a given. You had them at every meal. And dessert was something that happened on Sunday, if you were lucky.

I know this may sound like nostalgia — because the reality is, times have changed. You know, the world’s gotten faster, the economy’s gotten tougher, and parents and kids keep taking on more and more. And as a result, healthy habits all too easily give way to habits of convenience and necessity.

For many kids, those walks to school have been replaced by car or bus rides. And then in schools there are cuts to recess and gym, which mean less play time. Lunchtime may mean a meal heavy with calories and fat, and snack time might be no better. And afternoons running outside after school have been replaced by afternoons sitting inside with the TV, video games, and the Internet -– habits that expose our kids to 40,000 advertisements each year, many for unhealthy foods and drinks.

And meanwhile, we as parents, we’re facing our own challenges. You know, parents might want to buy healthy food and they might want to buy that head of broccoli, but let’s be honest, in so many cases those chips are cheaper. You know, they may want to go buy fresh produce, but sometimes there’s no supermarket in their community. So they’re stuck with a choice between fast food and something off the shelf of the local convenience store.

Every parent I meet wants to do the right thing for their kids. But it’s easy to feel like the deck is stacked against us. And too often, we slip into bad habits. But we know we’re not bad parents. But we end up feeling guilty anyway. And believe me, I know what that feels like, because I’ve been there.

And I know there’s some people in the room thinking, oh, sure, Michelle Obama — she can’t relate, she lives in the White House. (Laughter.) And I’ll be the first to say that I know I am blessed today with more help and support than I ever could have dreamed of. So don’t hate. (Laughter and applause.)

But it really wasn’t that long ago that I was a working mom, just like many people in this room, struggling to balance meetings and deadlines and soccer and ballet and a husband whose work kept him away a lot. And there were nights when everybody in my house was tired and hungry, and we just went to the nearest drive-thru. Or I popped something into the microwave. And like any parent, there were times when I made excuses and I told myself that my kids would turn out fine no matter what I did — because I loved them. They’re cute. (Laughter.)

Until one day, my pediatrician pulled me aside and he said, “You know, you might want to think about doing things a little differently.” And that was my wakeup call. That was when I was reminded that I am the parent and I’m the one in charge.

And let’s be honest: Our kids didn’t do this to themselves. They don’t decide what they’re served at meals. They don’t go shopping. They don’t decide whether there’s time for recess and gym. We make those decisions. We set those priorities. We’re the ones in charge.

But that’s the good news — because if we helped create this problem, then we can solve this problem. We can do that. But instead of just talking about it, instead of worrying and wringing our hands about it, we have to do something about it. We have to move. Let’s move.

And that’s precisely what people across this country are already doing.

For example, in Mississippi, which is the state that leads the nation in overweight kids and adults, they’re not waiting around to tackle this issue. They’re working to get healthier food into their school cafeterias, and more physical education for kids all across the state.

As I saw this firsthand when I visited the state last week: They’re bringing together state and local leaders; principals and teachers; parents, students; doctors, nutritionists. And they’re proving that even without tons of money and resources, which they don’t have, there are plenty of creative ways to take back control and give our kids the kind of lives they deserve.

And that’s the spirit behind Let’s Move –- the nationwide campaign that we launched to help kids lead active, healthy lives right from the beginning, so that we can end childhood obesity within a generation. And there’s no doubt that this is an ambitious goal. And there’s no doubt that achieving it is going to take every last one of us doing our part to get our kids healthy and to get them to stay that way.

That’s why I have met with mayors and governors and I’ve asked them to do their parts to build healthier cities and states. I’ve met with food service directors and workers in the School Nutrition Association and I’ve asked them to do their part to offer healthier meals and snacks for kids in our schools.

I’ve even met with kids and I’ve asked them –- I asked them very nicely -– (laughter) — to do their part to make healthier choices for themselves each day. Now, they were all excited until I told them it meant trying new vegetables — and then they got a little quiet. (Laughter.) But it’s okay.

And next week I’ll be meeting with the food manufacturers and I’m going to ask them to do their part to improve the quality of the food that they provide to us so that we have healthier options to choose from. (Applause.)

And of course I’ve been meeting with parents –- because we have to do our part. We all know that we play the most important role in this effort — because truly, healthy habits start at home. But how do we encourage those habits? How do we sift through all the information on how to help our kids eat better? How do we do that? How do we know that what we do at home won’t be erased when our kids go to school? How can we get our kids to think about exercise not as work, but as play?

It’s going to take nothing short of a comprehensive and coordinated effort in our homes, in our schools, in our communities to get this done. And that’s what the four parts of Let’s Move are all about.

The first part of this campaign: Let’s move to offer parents the tools and information they need to make healthy choices for their kids. So we’re encouraging pediatricians and family doctors to regularly measure our children’s BMI, and then to actually write out a prescription for parents with detailed steps that they can take to keep kids healthy and fit.

And we’re working with the FDA and the food industry to make our food labels more customer-friendly, so that parents don’t have to squint at words they can’t even pronounce to figure out which foods are healthy and which ones just claim to be.

And already, the nation’s largest beverage companies have announced that they’re taking steps to provide clearly visible information about calories on the front of their products –- as well as on vending machines and soda machines.

We’ve also started a one-stop shopping Web site called LetsMove.gov -– so that with a click of a mouse, parents can find helpful tips and strategies, including recipes and exercise plans.

Now, we can also do more to make healthy living fun and exciting for kids, believe it or not. One way to do that might be with video games. Now, we know our kids spend way too much time with these games. And we know we’re going to have to fix that. But we also know that that’s not going to happen overnight. So we might as well try to use some of that time to our advantage.

That’s why today I’m announcing a wonderful contest called the Apps for Healthy Kids challenge. It’s going to be run through the USDA. And we’re challenging software and game designers — both professionals and amateurs — to come up with games that incorporate nutritional information and make healthy living fun.

And maybe you’ve seen those dance video games or those exercise games that families are playing together at home, or the ones that kids play using their mobile phones and home computers. Those are the kinds of games that we’re talking about.

We’re also challenging designers to come up with apps and tools for us, the parents. So if, for example, you’re at the grocery store and you’re trying to figure out whether one food is healthier than the other, then you can pull up that answer on your iPhone.

To select the winners of this contest, we’re putting together an all-star panel of judges that will include leaders in the fields of gaming and technology and nutrition –- and even a co-founder of Apple. And we’re offering tens of thousands of dollars in cash prizes for the winners.

But here’s the thing: No matter how much parents want to instill healthy habits in their kids, all the tools and information in the world won’t help if they don’t have access to healthy food in their neighborhoods.

And right now, 23.5 million Americans, including 6.5 million kids, live in what we call “food deserts” — these are areas without a supermarket. And as a result these families wind up buying their groceries at the local gas station or convenience store, places that offer few, if any, healthy options.

So let’s move to ensure that all families have access to healthy, affordable foods in their community. (Applause.) And that’s the second part of the initiative. And we’ve set an ambitious goal here: to eliminate food deserts in America within seven years.

To do that, we’re creating a Healthy Food Financing Initiative that’s going to invest $400 million a year — and leverage hundreds of millions more from the private sector — to bring grocery stores to underserved areas and help places like convenience stores carry healthier options.

Now, we can help families make healthier choices, and we can help communities provide healthier food, but let’s not forget that our kids spend most of the day in school.

So the third part of the initiative is to make our schools healthier places for our kids to learn and grow. We’re going to start — (applause) — we’re going to start with a priority that I know is important to this organization, and that’s updating and strengthening the Child Nutrition Act. (Applause.)

We’ve proposed a historic investment of an additional $10 billion over 10 years to fund that legislation, allowing us to dramatically improve the quality of food we offer in schools — including in school vending machines.

And here’s the thing, this is how important this is, just a couple of weeks ago, 66 retired generals, admirals, and other senior military leaders sent a letter to Congress supporting these efforts because they said this was a matter of national security.

Now, when you think about it, that’s not surprising, because the National School Lunch Program was started after World War II because the most common disqualifier for military service back then was malnourishment. And today, if you can believe it, one of the most common disqualifiers is obesity.

So, we’re also going to work to dramatically increase the number of schools that meet the Healthier US School Challenge. And these are schools that provide healthy meals, physical education, nutrition education, and ensure that kids receive the free and reduced-price meals that they’re eligible for. These healthier schools are going to be the model of what we want for every single school in America.

To help us meet this goal, several major school food suppliers have, for the first time, come together and made a pledge to help us by decreasing sugar, fat, and salt and increasing whole grains and doubling the amount of fresh produce. (Applause.) Big.

And our food service workers, our principals, our superintendents, school board members all across America are also coming together to support this effort. It’s been very encouraging.

But we know that eating right is only half the battle. Experts recommend that our kids get at least 60 minutes of active play a day — and we know that many of them don’t even come close.

So let’s move — and I mean that literally. Let’s find new ways for our kids to be physically active, both in and out of school.

That’s the final part of this initiative. We’re expanding and modernizing the President’s Physical Fitness Challenge, and we’ve recruited professional athletes from dozens of different sports leagues like the NFL, Major League Baseball. They’re going to work with us to encourage kids to get and stay active.

And last Friday, we worked with soccer — players from Major League Soccer and Women’s Professional Soccer. They joined us in a fun clinic with kids in the area to teach them about staying active. And I played a little soccer myself. (Laughter.) I was embarrassed by the little people — (laughter) — but it was fun.

But the reason I did that is because we have to admit that as parents we all know that we have to spend more time being active with our kids. And the truth is you don’t have to be some specialist, you don’t have to have special skills or equipment to do this. Sometimes it’s as simple as going for a walk with your kids, taking the stairs with them instead of the elevator, or going up and down them a few times. Even something as simple as turning on the radio and dancing with them for a while, working up a sweat.

But it’s also about making sure our communities have safe places for kids to play. And there’s this terrific non-profit organization — I’m sure you all know KaBOOM — that’s working to do this. Right now they’re working to map every single playground in the country, so that parents can find the closest one in their neighborhood. And I encourage you all to check it out and add the playgrounds in your own community to their list.

And just as parents can do more at home in their communities, teachers can also do more at school.

When I was in Mississippi last night — last week — it felt like last night — (laughter) — I visited a school where teachers were required — now, listen to this — required to actually eat lunch with their students. Oh, scary proposition, right? (Applause.) But as a result, what they’ve seen was fresh fruit and vegetable consumption going up.

In other schools, teachers are educating kids about proper nutrition, and they’re working to set good examples themselves with their own eating and exercise habits.

But we have to remember, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to solving this problem. And what we have to remember is that something that works in one school or family may not work in another. The key is to find an approach and keep working until we find and you find what works in your families and communities.

But to help do that, in the coming weeks, we’re going to be creating an online “toolkit” with tips and strategies for parents and teachers and students to use to help them find their approach, and they’re going to be able to go to letsmove.gov to check those out.

These are just some of the things that we’re doing to achieve our goal. And we know it won’t be easy. And we know it is not going to happen overnight — because what we do know as parents is that in the end, we cannot control every single thing our kids eat or every single moment of their time, nor should we.

But what we can do, what is fully within our control, is to give them the very best start in their journeys; to teach them what we’ve learned, even if we don’t do it ourselves in our own lives; to live in a way that gives them some kind of model to follow.

So let’s act. Let’s move. Let’s do everything we can for the kids that we were inspired to join causes like the PTA in the first place. Let’s do everything we can to ensure that our kids have the energy and the endurance to succeed in school, and then to pursue the careers of their dreams, and hopefully to build families and lives of their own. Let’s do everything we can to give our kids the future they deserve in this country that we all love. I know we can do this. I know we’re all ready. Are we ready?

AUDIENCE: Yes!

MRS. OBAMA: Yes we are! (Applause.) So I look forward to working with you all in these efforts in the months to come. Thank you so much.

END
12:44 P.M. EST

White House.gov Press Office Feed

03.10.10 12:05 PM

The President today declared a major disaster exists in the State of South Dakota and ordered Federal aid to supplement State and local recovery efforts in the area struck by a severe winter storm during the period of January 20-26, 2010.

Federal funding is available to State and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and the repair or replacement of facilities damaged by the severe winter storm in Aurora, Brule, Buffalo, Campbell, Corson, Day, Deuel, Dewey, Douglas, Edmunds, Faulk, Grant, Gregory, Hand, Harding, Hughes, Hutchinson, Hyde, Jerauld, McCook, McPherson, Meade, Perkins, Potter, Roberts, Sully, Turner, Walworth, and Ziebach Counties, as well as those portions of the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation, Sisseton-Wahpeton Indian Reservation, and Standing Rock Indian Reservation that lie within these counties.

Federal funding is also available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures for all counties and Tribes within the State.

W. Craig Fugate, Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Department of Homeland Security, named Nancy M. Casper as the Federal Coordinating Officer for Federal recovery operations in the affected area.

FEMA said additional designations may be made at a later date if requested by the State and warranted by the results of further damage assessments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: FEMA (202) 646-3272.

White House.gov Press Office Feed

03.10.10 12:15 PM

MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES

SUBJECT: Finding and Recapturing Improper Payments

My Administration is committed to reducing payment errors and eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse in Federal programs — a commitment reflected in Executive Order 13520 of November 20, 2009, Reducing Improper Payments. Executive departments and agencies should use every tool available to identify and subsequently reclaim the funds associated with improper payments. Thorough identification of improper payments promotes accountability at executive departments and agencies; it also makes the integrity of Federal spending transparent to taxpayers. Reclaiming the funds associated with improper payments is a critical component of the proper stewardship and protection of taxpayer dollars, and it underscores that waste, fraud, and abuse by entities receiving Federal payments will not be tolerated.

Today, to further intensify efforts to reclaim improper payments, my Administration is expanding the use of "Payment Recapture Audits," which have proven to be effective mechanisms for detecting and recapturing payment errors. A Payment Recapture Audit is a process of identifying improper payments paid to contractors or other entities whereby highly skilled accounting specialists and fraud examiners use state-of-the-art tools and technology to examine payment records and uncover such problems as duplicate payments, payments for services not rendered, overpayments, and fictitious vendors. (A Payment Recapture Audit as used in this memorandum shall have the same meaning as the term "recovery audit" as defined in Appendix C to Office of Management and Budget Circular A-123.) One approach that has worked effectively is using professional and specialized auditors on a contingency basis, with their compensation tied to the identification of misspent funds.

Therefore, I hereby direct executive departments and agencies to expand their use of Payment Recapture Audits, to the extent permitted by law and where cost-effective. The Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) shall develop guidance within 90 days of the date of this memorandum on actions executive departments and agencies must take to carry out the requirements of this memorandum. The guidance may require additional actions and strategies designed to improve the recapture of improper payments, including, as appropriate, agency-specific targets for increasing recoveries. The Director of the OMB shall further coordinate with the Council for Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency to identify an appropriate process for obtaining review by Inspectors General of the effectiveness of agency efforts under this memorandum. The agencies’ expanded use of Payment Recapture Audits does not preclude Offices of Inspectors General from performing any activities to identify and prevent improper payments.

Nothing in this memorandum shall be construed to require the disclosure of classified information, law enforcement sensitive information, or other information that must be protected in the interests of national security.

This memorandum is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

The Director of the OMB is hereby authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.

BARACK OBAMA

White House.gov Press Office Feed

03.10.10 12:24 PM

MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF STATE

SUBJECT: Delegation of Certain Functions under Section 204(c) of the United States-India Nuclear Cooperation Approval and Nonproliferation Enhancement Act (Public Law 110-369)

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including section 301 of title 3, United States Code, I hereby delegate to you the functions conferred upon the President by section 204(c) of the United States-India Nuclear Cooperation Approval and Nonproliferation Enhancement Act (Public Law 110-369).

You are authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.

BARACK OBAMA

White House.gov Press Office Feed

03.10.10 08:45 AM

WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama today will announce a new effort to crack down on waste and fraud in Medicare, Medicaid, and other government programs through the expanded use of payment recapture audits. The initiative is the latest component in President Obama’s commitment to embrace the best ideas – from both parties – in advancing reform.

In his remarks on health insurance reform in St. Charles, Missouri, President Obama will discuss a new effort to recoup taxpayer dollars through the use of payment recapture audits, which offer specialized private auditors financial incentives to root out improper payments, and have been demonstrated through pilot programs to be highly effective. In fact, expanded use of payment recapture audits could return at least $2 billion in taxpayer money over the next three years– double the current amount of projected recovered costs.

The President will sign a presidential memorandum today that directs all federal departments and agencies to expand and intensify their use of payment recapture audits under their current authority. He will also announce his support for the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act, bipartisan legislation to expand the ability of government agencies to fund the audits with recaptured payments.

“The fact is, Washington is a place where tax dollars are often treated like Monopoly money, bartered and traded, divvied up among lobbyists and special interests. And it has been a place where waste – even billions of dollars in waste – is accepted as the price of doing business,” said President Obama. “Well, I don’t accept business as usual. And the American people don’t accept it either, especially when one of the most pressing challenges we face is reining in long-term deficits with threaten to leave our children a mountain of debt.”

The President’s health insurance reform proposal builds on an unprecedented array of aggressive new authorities to fight waste, fraud and abuse in the House and Senate bills with a number of additional proposals proposed by Democrats and Republicans alike. President Obama, in a March 2 letter to Congressional leaders, also expressed interest in a proposal suggested by U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) at the bipartisan health care meeting on February 25 to use undercover investigations to further combat fraud.

A fact sheet on today’s announcement appears below:

FACT SHEET: CUTTING DOWN ON WASTE AND FRAUD
THROUGH PAYMENT RECAPTURE AUDITS

Each year, the federal government wastes billions of American taxpayers’ dollars on improper payments to individuals, organizations, and contractors. These are payments made in the wrong amounts, to the wrong person, or for the wrong reason. In 2009, improper payments totaled $98 billion, with $54 billion stemming from Medicare and Medicaid. We cannot afford nor should we tolerate this waste of taxpayer dollars and in our health care system.

Today, the President is announcing a new effort to improve accountability and cut down on this waste and fraud through the use of payment recapture audits. These are investigations in which specialized private sector auditors use cutting-edge technology and tools to scrutinize government payments and then find and reclaim taxpayer funds made in error or gained through fraud. These auditors can be compensated based on the amount of improper payments they identify and are reclaimed – providing a powerful incentive to find every error. A pilot program run by Medicare in three large states – California, New York, and Texas – from 2005 to 2008 recaptured $900 million for taxpayers.

Currently, using reclaimed funds to pay for recapture audits is only possible for the Medicare Fee-for-Service program payments and for government contracts at the 20 out of 24 major government agencies that do more than $500 million in government contracting. This leaves out contract payments made by numerous other agencies as well as grants and other forms of federal benefit payments made to organizations such as state and local governments, colleges and universities, banks, and non-profit organizations. That is why the President today is announcing two key steps to intensify and expand the use of payment recapture audits:

Presidential Memorandum on Payment Recapture Audits. The President will sign a presidential memorandum today that directs all federal departments and agencies to expand and intensify their use of payment recapture audits under the authority they currently have. It is anticipated that using the payment recapture audits will return at least $2 billion over the next three years to American taxpayers – double the current amount of projected recovered costs.

Support the bipartisan Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act. Since government agencies can only use recaptured fund to pay for these audits in specific situations, the President today is announcing his support for the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act, a bipartisan bill that would expand the ability of government agencies to fund these specialized audits with recaptured payments. The bill has been offered by Senators Tom Carper, D-Del., Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., Joseph Lieberman, I.D.-Conn., Tom Coburn, R-Okla., Susan Collins, R-Maine, and John McCain, R-Ariz. Similar legislation has been introduced in the House by Representatives Patrick Murphy, D-Penn., and Brian Bilbray, R-Calif.

These actions build on the Executive Order the President issued on improper payments in November 2009. There, the President focused on reducing improper payments, which totaled $98 billion in Fiscal Year 2009, with three categories of action: boost transparency, hold agencies accountable, and create strong incentives for compliance.

Boost transparency. The Administration is moving forward with an Improper Payment Dashboard, launching this spring, to allow the public to see details on improper payments, view payment error rates by agency and program, and see a list of bad actors (e.g., registered fraud offenders or contractors with pervasive over or duplicate billing issues that have gone through appropriate due process).Hold agencies accountable for waste. The Administration has required each agency to designate a Senate-confirmed appointee to be accountable to the President for meeting improper payment reduction targets and consolidating program integrity activities. The Administration also is increasing data-sharing among agencies so once a mistake is caught, it is not repeated.Create incentives for compliance. The federal government is creating incentives for states and other entities to reduce improper payments and increase penalties for contractors who fail to timely disclose improper payments.In addition, the Administration has been moving aggressively to crack down on waste and fraud:

Dramatically reduce unnecessary costs and minimize waste in the Medicare, Medicaid and CHIP programs. The President’s FY2011 Budget devoted more than $1.8 billion for program integrity – an increase of $225 million (or 14 percent) over FY2010 – to combat waste, fraud and abuse in these health programs. This robust approach, including the Budget’s program integrity legislative proposals, will save taxpayers an estimated $23 billion over 10 years.Cut programs that are broken, duplicative, or just not needed. In his FY 2010 Budget, the President proposed more than 120 program terminations or reductions, for a potential one-year savings of $20 billion. Congress approved 60 percent of the proposed cuts to discretionary programs – a high-water mark for any recent administration. The Fiscal Year 2011 Budget outlined more than $20 billion in terminations and reductions, streamlining programs that work and cutting ones that do not.Reduce contracting costs, increase accountability, and eliminate high-risk contracts. The federal government spends more than $500 billion annually on federal contracts. Because of a lack of oversight, these contracts too often are directed to projects we don’t need or can’t afford, executed inefficiently, and done in ways that force the government to bear too much risk and not realize savings. The Administration is committed to reducing contract spending by $40 billion by the end of 2011, cutting sole-source or no-bid contracts, and strengthening the federal acquisition workforce to improve agencies’ capacity to manage contracts and ensure value for the taxpayers’ dollars.

White House.gov Press Office Feed

03.10.10 09:37 AM

Muq’ata
Ramallah

PRESIDENT ABBAS: In the name of God the merciful, the compassionate, it is our pleasure to welcome the Vice President, our friend, Joseph Biden, here in Ramallah. This visit comes as an expression of the interest that President Obama’s administration has according to the peace process and to achieve the two-state solution.

The establishment of the Palestinian state and the 1967 borders — the decisions that the Israeli government has announced over the past two days and the establishment and the construction of thousands of new units in the Palestinian territories constitute an undermining of the confidence and all the efforts that were exerted over the past months to launch the indirect negotiations. The decision to approve these negotiations was taken with great difficulties within the Arab Committee and the leadership entities of the Palestinian people. And in order to reiterate our intention to support the American efforts to launch the peace process, to revive the peace process, the Israeli resettlement policies and particularly, in Jerusalem, threaten these negotiations and we ask that these decisions are revoked.

I reiterate, Mr. Vice President, our commitment to peace as a strategic option, just and comprehensive, a permanent peace on all tracks, including the Syrian and the Lebanese tracks that would lead to ending the Israeli occupation that started in 1967, based on the roadmap plan, including the Arab Peace Initiative. I would like to address the Israelis’ settling. The time has come to make peace, peace under a two-state solution — based on the two-state solution, the state of Israel that lives in peace and security alongside the state of Palestine on the borders of the 4th of June 1967 with its capitol East Jerusalem. And here it is important to speak about the siege that is imposed on Gaza strip that should be lifted in order to provide for the basic needs of our people in Gaza strip in addition to the construction materials that are necessary, because there are 25,000 houses that are in debris and there are hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who live without shelter and need houses. And, therefore, we ask that the Gaza strip is provided with construction materials.

Again, I would like to call out to the Israeli government not to waste this opportunity to make peace. I call upon this government to stop its settlement policies and to stop imposing fights on the ground and to give the efforts of President Obama’s administration and Representative Mitchell’s efforts the opportunity to succeed. Thank you, Mr. Vice President.

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Mr. President, thank you very much for your hospitality and for the opportunity to be with you again. I greatly appreciate the time you’ve given me, you and the Palestinian Authority. I also had the pleasure of meeting earlier this morning with your Prime Minister Fayyad in — here in Ramallah. I must say I admire the courage and conviction of the two of you, whom President Obama and I consider willing partners in the quest for a lasting peace in the region.

Our administration is fully committed to the Palestinian people and to achieving a Palestinian state that is independent, viable, and contiguous. Everyone should know — everyone should know by now that there is no viable alternative to a two-state solution, which must be an integral part of any comprehensive peace plan. The United States considers the goal to be not only in the interest of the Palestinians and the Israelis, but in the United States’ interest as well. We also believe that the divide between the Israelis and Palestinians can only be resolved by negotiations. The indirect talks being launched should lead to direct negotiations, which will necessarily reach — which would be necessary to reach an agreement on the permanent status — status issues which you referenced, Mr. President, such as borders, security, refugees, and Jerusalem. And the United States pledges to play an active as well as a sustained role in these talks. It’s incumbent on both parties to build an atmosphere of support for negotiations and not to complicate them.

Yesterday — yesterday, the decision by the Israeli government to advance planning for new housing units in east Jerusalem undermined that very trust, the trust that we need right now in order to begin as well as produce — have profitable negotiations. That is why I immediately condemned the action.

As we move forward, the United States will hold both sides accountable for any statements or actions that inflame tensions or prejudice the outcome of talks, as this decision did. The United States strongly supports the Palestinian Authority’s efforts to build as well as strengthen its institutions and develop the economy of a state, including Prime Minister Fayyad’s two-year institution building plan.

We must find a way to improve the lives of Gazans, as well. The Palestinian Authority offers the possibility of a peaceful, independent, and more prosperous future rather than the false promises of extremists. A historic peace is going to require both the Palestinians as well as the Israelis, as well as their leaders, to be historically bold.

And I promise you, Mr. President, the United States will always stand with those who take the risk that peace requires. Again, Mr. President, I thank you very much for the courage you’ve shown in moving forward. I thank you for the hospitality you’ve extended to me and my delegation. And I look forward to seeing you many more times.

Thank you.

PRESIDENT ABBAS: Thank you.

White House.gov Press Office Feed

03.10.10 09:50 AM

Rose Garden

12:01 P.M. EST

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Please be seated. Good afternoon, everybody. And on behalf of the American people, I want to welcome President Préval, the First Lady, and their delegation to the United States.

The President and I have just concluded a very productive meeting in the Oval Office on the urgent and overriding challenges before us — helping the people of Haiti as they recover and rebuild after one of the most devastating natural disasters ever to strike our hemisphere.

Mr. President, as I did when I spoke to you in those first days after the earthquake, I again want to express to you and to the Haitian people the deepest condolences of the American people. Your grief is shared by our strong and vibrant Haitian American community, some of whom join us here today and who continue to mourn the loss of their loved ones back in Haiti. To you, and to our fellow Americans, please know that you remain in our thoughts and in our prayers.

The United States joins in mourning the loss of American citizens, as more than 100 Americans died in this earthquake — and our hearts also go out to their loved ones. We also remember that this natural disaster was an international tragedy, taking the lives of Dominicans and Canadians, French, Brazilians, and people from dozens of nations around the world.

President Préval and his delegation offered an update on the status of relief, recovery and reconstruction efforts — the progress so far and the daunting challenges ahead in a disaster that, even now, defies comprehension. To offer just some perspective on the awful scale of Haitian loss, it’s as if the United States, in a terrible instant, lost nearly 8 million people; or it’s as if one-third of our country — 100 million Americans — suddenly had no home, no food, or water. That gives you a sense of, relative to the populations, what has happened in Haiti. No nation could respond to such a catastrophe alone. It would require a global response. And that’s exactly what we have seen these past two months.

Mr. President, even as you and other Haitian leaders have endured your personal tragedies — losing your own homes, your loved ones — you have carried on with great courage and determination. You’ve persevered, leading an international effort with critical support from the United Nations, many partner nations and countless nongovernmental organizations. Representatives of some of the NGOs are here today, and for the extraordinary work that you’ve done to uplift lives every day — in Haiti and around the world — often at great risk to your own lives, we salute you as well.

In this international response, the United States has been proud to play a leading role. Mr. President, we are joined today by men and women representing all the Americans who answered Haiti’s call in its hours of need, including members of Congress, and many state and local officials who we thank for their support, and leaders from across my administration — the Department of State, USAID, Homeland Security, FEMA, Health and Human Services, Transportation, and the Department of Defense, including our great folks at Southern Command. Today I want to thank all of them for leading a swift and coordinated response during one of the most complex humanitarian efforts ever attempted.

We’re joined by Ambassador Ken Merten and some of our heroic embassy staff who worked around the clock. We’re joined by our disaster response teams, who were on the scene within 24 hours; our military personnel who quickly reopened the airport and the port, making way for a massive humanitarian effort; our search and rescue teams, who crawled into the rubble to pull survivors out to safety, Haitian and American; the volunteer physicians and nurses and paramedics who treated tens of thousands of patients with life-threatening injuries; and all our men and women in uniform who have helped to distribute desperately needed food and water and medicine to millions of people — our remarkable soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen.

I just want to personally say how extraordinarily proud I am of each and every one of you, because I think you represent what’s best in America. And I could not be prouder of the response that all of you were engaged in during this humanitarian crisis.

Now, no relief effort of this magnitude is without its difficulties, but there should be absolutely no doubt in anybody’s mind, along with their Haitian and international partners, these men and women made a difference. They saved lives — countless lives — of men and women and children.

So, Mr. President, if you will permit us this moment to briefly express once again our admiration for all those who stepped forward, who volunteered, who represent the true character of our country and who projected to the world the best face of America — a face of compassion and generosity. Each and every one of you can take enormous pride at your service, and every single American thanks you for making us so proud. (Applause.)

I also want to acknowledge the enormous generosity of so many individual Americans, who gave what they could to support Haiti even in difficult economic times. That help makes possible an extraordinary response from the courageous and capable nongovernmental organizations that have been at the scene, and that support all kinds of efforts that the government is engaged in. And I know that the support of the American people will continue to be essential as Haiti tries to recover and rebuild.

As President Préval and I discussed, the situation on the ground remains dire, and people should be under no illusions that the crisis is over. Many Haitians are still in need, desperate need in some cases, of shelter and food and medicine. And with the spring rains approaching, those needs will only grow. The challenge now is to prevent a second disaster.

And that’s why, at this very moment, thousands of Americans, both civilian and military, remain on the scene at the invitation of the Haitian government. And that’s why, even as the U.S. military responsibly hands off relief functions to our Haitian and international partners, America’s commitment to Haiti’s recovery and reconstruction must endure and will endure. This pledge is one that I made at the beginning of this crisis and I intend for America to keep our pledge. America will be your partner in the recovery and reconstruction effort. (Applause.)

Toward that end, the international donors conference at the United Nations later this month will be an opportunity, an important opportunity, for all parties. Haiti can lead the way, and will lead the way, with a strong vision for its future. The international community can pledge the resources that will be necessary for a coordinated and sustained effort. And working together, we can ensure that assistance not simply delivers relief for the short term, but builds up Haiti’s capacity to deliver basic services and provide for the Haitian people over the long term.

So, Mr. President, in the face of devastation that shocked the world, the people of Haiti responded with resolve and faith that inspired the world — in song and in prayer, and in the determination to carry on. As you declared during last month’s national day of mourning, it is time to wipe away the tears; it is time for Haiti to rebuild.

And to you, and to the Haitian people, I say today, as you embark on the heavy work ahead, you will continue to have a steady and reliable partner in the United States of America. (Applause.)

So with that, let me turn this over to President Préval.

PRESIDENT PRÉVAL: (As translated.) Mr. President, dear friends in Congress, members of the organizations that helped Haiti in this moment of need, the Haitians of Washington. The damages caused in Haiti by the earthquake of January 12, 2010 are unimaginable. But the response from the international community — from Asia to Africa, from the United States, from Canada, from all of Latin America, from the Caribbean, from Europe, all the way to the Middle East — this response, thanks to its swiftness, thanks to its size, was commensurate with the disaster.

Today, here and now, I would like to thank the American people, I would like to thank Congress, I would like to thank the administration, and you, in particular, Mr. President, as well as your wife, not only for the material aid, but also for the moral support, the psychological support, that helped us realize that we were not alone and that provide us great comfort in our distress.

You, thanks to your statements, sent a message to all of those who provided help to Haiti. Needless for me to repeat that which you said. So I would like to thank you for having made it possible for these people to come to help us.

Mr. President, for me this is also an opportunity to express my sympathy, my condolences, to all of the American families for whom members of their families were killed, injured in Haiti during this earthquake.

Dear friends, we must draw the lessons from what occurred in Haiti. These are lessons for all of mankind. The Haiti earthquake was immediately followed by the earthquake in Chile, as well as other earthquakes throughout the world. And the countries that have seismic risks are not merely those countries which are located on top of seismic faults. In fact, the tsunamis, which are the repercussions of break in faults, threaten other regions as well as the United States.

In addition to earthquakes and tsunamis, global warming is a major concern for the entire planet. We must draw the lessons from what occurred in Haiti — the massive, spontaneous, generous help was a good response to the disaster. However, its effectiveness must be improved, because effectiveness depends on the quality of coordination.

This is why I support the idea of the creation of so-called “red helmets” within the United Nations, and these would be an observatory, a warning system, a provision system for natural disaster, and a humanitarian force which would be the equivalent of the blue helmets. It was proposed that there should be so-called “red helmets,” a humanitarian force in order to intervene, and that would work in a coordinated manner as soon as the first minutes after a disaster, which are fundamental to saving lives.

Mr. President, during our meeting I mentioned what Haiti’s preoccupations and priorities were. Our priorities are, first and foremost, as you said, protection of those people who today are homeless and who must be relocated. And in parallel, we must prepare the rainy season, which just last week has already caused the deaths of 15 people.

And at the same time, much more basically, we must deal with the need of rebuilding Haiti, thanks to an effective decentralization policy — namely, offering health care, education, jobs to all Haitians, men and women, regardless of where they live in the country, in order to prevent migratory flows towards the big cities, towards Port-au-Prince, and that will help avoid that disaster such as the earthquake would cause so many victims.

On March 31st, there will be at the United Nations an international conference in order to support the reconstruction of Haiti. I do hope that all participants will share this philosophy, this vision, of decentralization.

And at the same time, just as the first responders, I do recommend the concept of a coordination via the creation of a trust fund, a donors trust fund, whose implementation would be done followed according to a unique procedure carried out by one executing agency. We talked about this and I do know that we can already count on your support to be the advocate of that idea during this conference in support of our vision.

Thank you very much. (Applause.)

END
12:18 P.M. EST

White House.gov Press Office Feed

03.10.10 10:17 AM

I’ve directed my administration to launch a swift, coordinated, and aggressive effort to save lives and support the recovery in Haiti. The losses that have been suffered in Haiti are nothing less than devastating, and responding to a disaster of this magnitude will require every element of our national capacity – our diplomacy and development assistance; the power of our military; and, most importantly, the compassion of our country.

President Obama
January 14, 2010

In response to the President’s direction, a whole of government effort has been launched to support the people of Haiti. More than 20,000 U.S. civilian and military personnel have been directly engaged in carrying out activities from search and rescue to restoring airports and seaports to providing live saving health and medical service to helping meet the basic food, water, and shelter needs of the Haitian people. They have also engaged in efforts to evacuate more than 21,000 U.S. citizens and provide for the respectful return of remains of U.S. citizens who perished as a result of the January 12 earthquake.

SEARCH & RESCUE

• U.S. urban search and rescue teams from Fairfax County, Los Angeles County, Miami, Miami-Dade, Virginia Beach, and New York City were deployed and, with rescue teams from other countries, pulled a total of 136 survivors from the rubble.
• The Coast Guard transported 696 Urban Search and Rescue team members into Haiti in the immediate days after the earthquake.

AIRPORTS & PORTS

Elements of the U.S. Air Force 1st Special Operations Wing restored flight operations to the Port au Prince airport within 48 hours of the earthquake and facilitated 3,842 flights, delivering 18,040 tons of commodities in the following 34 days, with as many as 162 flights in one day, more than ten times the pre-earthquake capacity at the airport.Coast Guard and Navy combined team assessed port damage, installed aids to navigation, began interim port repairs and conducted site surveys for temporary joint over the shore logistics package (JLOTS) that was used to move cargo while more permanent pier repairs were completed.Using interim capabilities, the capacity of the main port in Port Au Prince was doubled from pre-earthquake standards; 8,867 twenty foot equivalent container units (TEU), with 103,000 tons of commodities were offloaded while the permanent repairs to the south pier were completed.HEALTH/MEDICAL

Disaster Medical Assistance Teams and International Medical Surgical Response Teams from the Department of Health and Human Services conducted 31,365 patient visits, performed 167 surgeries, and delivered 45 babies.U.S. military medical professionals treated 9,800 patients, admitted 1,464 patient admissions, performed 1,025 surgeries, 2,200 patient transfers and carried out 255 MEDEVACS. Coast Guard aircraft conducted an additional 240 MEDEVACS.HHS activated two Federal Coordinating Centers in Atlanta and Tampa as part of the National Disaster Medical System (NDMS). These centers processed medical evacuation flights from Haiti and arranged ground transport to appropriate hospitals in the U.S. In total, NDMS evacuated 79 Haitian nationals and 10 U.S. citizens with life-threatening conditions that could not be addressed in Haiti.Experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) participated on Initial Rapid Assessment teams that collected health, food, water, nutrition, and sanitation data from 224 sites across Haiti and are assisting with surveillance of health conditions and communicable diseases to prioritize public health interventions and anticipate resources needed by health care facilities.The USAID-led emergency response team has supported government vaccination efforts in IDP camps. To date, 233,251 people have been vaccinated.FOOD/WATER

U.S. food aid contributions and members of JTF-Haiti providing logistical and security have supported the ongoing provision of emergency food assistance to more than 2 million people by the World Food Program and partners through March. USAID water purification units have been providing water for 110,000 people per day. JOBS

• U.S. relief programs are prioritizing activities that benefit the local Haitian economy, including buying relief commodities locally where it is feasible. USAID-funded cash-for-work programs have employed 14,232 people at 267 sites sites nationwide for public works projects like rubble removal.

COORDINATION/UNITY OF EFFORT/COMMUNICATIONS

A joint Coast Guard-FEMA team supported USAID and Defense Department leaders at the Joint Task Force in coordination of relief efforts with the Government of Haiti, MINUSTAH, elements of the UN Cluster system, and over 900 non-governmental agencies providing relief in Haiti.The Defense Department distributed more than 68,000 self-powered radios ensuring that the people of Haiti could receive important information on how to obtain emergency assistance, food, water and medical care as well as important messages from the Haitian Government.The Defense Department provided airborne broadcasting services in the days immediately following the quake with emergency services information to the people of Haiti until Haitian radio stations could recover and begin transmitting again.SHELTER

USAID has provided 160,000 plastic sheets and 24,500 family size tents that will help 185,000 families out of the estimated 260,000 families in need of shelter assistance.Defense Department units working for the Joint Task Force (JTF) have conducted rubble clearing operations across 283 acres or 87 city blocks of Port Au Prince and conducted engineering assessments of 2,043 structures allowing many displaced persons to return to their homes.EVACUATION & RETURN OF REMAINS

HHS deployed to Haiti a disaster mortuary team and a disaster portable morgue unit, and continues to work with the Department of State, the Department of Defense, and families of U.S. citizens to identify and repatriate the remains of 38 U.S. citizens who perished in the earthquake.More than 21,000 U.S. citizens have been evacuated from Haiti since the earthquake.

White House.gov Press Office Feed

03.09.10 12:15 PM

"I condemn the decision by the government of Israel to advance planning for new housing units in East Jerusalem. The substance and timing of the announcement, particularly with the launching of proximity talks, is precisely the kind of step that undermines the trust we need right now and runs counter to the constructive discussions that I’ve had here in Israel. We must build an atmosphere to support negotiations, not complicate them. This announcement underscores the need to get negotiations under way that can resolve all the outstanding issues of the conflict. The United States recognizes that Jerusalem is a deeply important issue for Israelis and Palestinians and for Jews, Muslims and Christians. We believe that through good faith negotiations, the parties can mutually agree on an outcome that realizes the aspirations of both parties for Jerusalem and safeguards its status for people around the world. Unilateral action taken by either party cannot prejudge the outcome of negotiations on permanent status issues. As George Mitchell said in announcing the proximity talks, "we encourage the parties and all concerned to refrain from any statements or actions which may inflame tensions or prejudice the outcome of these talks.""

White House.gov Press Office Feed

03.09.10 01:32 PM

Jerusalem
Tuesday, March 9, 2010

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: I want to thank our hosts for showing us through Yad Vashem. As a young father, when I introduced each of our sons — who are grown men now — to Europe at age 15, I took them first to Dachau for them to understand as young men the human capacity — ability of mankind to be so brutal. But also, I took my son here to Israel to let him know that the indomitable spirit of the human being is not able to be snuffed out.

What I wrote in the book is as a fan of the Irish poet William Butler Yeats. Writing about his Ireland, he said, “Too long a suffering makes a stone of the heart.” What I wrote here is that every day, Israel makes a lie of the poet’s words — ”too long a suffering makes a stone of the heart” — because for world Jewry, Israel is the heart. For world Jewry, Israel is the light. For world Jewry, Israel is the hope. If anyone ever wondered about that, they ought to take the tour of the museum. They would not doubt it again. The word — phrase “never again” is used so often it almost has lost its meaning. But, again, all you have to do is walk through — walk through Yad Vashem and understand how incredible — how incredible the journey has been and the spirit a world Jewry and that Israel is such a central part to its existence.

Thank you.

White House.gov Press Office Feed

03.09.10 10:18 AM

10:42 A.M. EST

MRS. OBAMA: Thank you, everyone. Thanks so much.

Well, clearly, it’s a pleasure and an honor to be here with all of you today.

Let me begin by thanking Secretary Clough for that generous introduction. I want to thank him and his wife Anne for their dedication to the mission of the Smithsonian.

And I want to thank our hosts from the National Museum of American History -– Dr. Brent Glass and John Rogers. Thank you for making these museums such wonderful places for people of all ages to learn and to explore.

And I have to also do my part in recognizing our very special guests, the students and the teachers from Huntington High School, who made the trip all the way from New York to be here. You all please stand so we can see you. (Applause.) Now, there’s a special reason why I invited these students here. They sent me this book of beautifully designed inaugural gowns of their own creations, and I had so much fun looking through all the designs. You all are obviously a very talented and beautiful and handsome group of people. And I am so pleased to be able to share this special day with you. You make us proud. And thank you for the gifts.

And, finally, I also want to thank all the board members, the staff, the supporters of these museums, all of you, for the work that you do every day, and for being here and sharing this moment with me, as well.

So, here we are. It’s the dress. (Laughter.) And I have to say, to be honest, I am very honored and very humbled, but I have to say that I’m also a little embarrassed by all the fuss being made over my dress. Like many of you, I’m not used to people wanting to put things I’ve worn on display. (Laughter.) So, all of this is a little odd, so forgive me.

But, at the same time, I truly recognize the significance of this day. This gown –- and all of the items that we’ll see in this wonderful exhibit –- help us connect with a moment in history in a very real way.

When we look at the gown that Jackie Kennedy wore 50 years ago, or the one that Mary Todd Lincoln wore more than a hundred years before that, it really takes us beyond the history books and the photographs, and it helps us understand that history is really made by real live people.

The detail of each gown –- the fabric, the cut, the color –- tells us something much more about each single First Lady. It’s a visual reminder that we each come from such different backgrounds, from different generations, and from different walks of life.

Each gown places us right in the moment and makes us wonder about the intimate details of that evening, like how did she feel in the dress? Did her feet hurt in those shoes? (Laughter.) How many times did her husband step on that train? (Laughter.) But, more importantly, these gowns and this exhibit uniquely define a moment in our American history.

When I look at my gown –- which I, in fact, have not seen since the day that I took it off –- memories of that moment truly come rushing back. I remember that it was freezing cold in Washington. I know we all remember that. Yet, despite the frigid temperatures, hundreds of thousands of people flooded the Mall. Nothing was going to stop them from being part of history.

That day was so hectic for us. And I remember the inaugural parade and how the President and I stood and we waved until every last band walked by.

Then we only had less than an hour — ladies, if you can believe that — (laughter) — all of my friends left us in the stands, by the way. (Laughter.) “See ya, good luck!” (Laughter.) I was like, “Yeah, thanks.” (Laughter.) “We have to get ready for the ball.” (Laughter.) Like, “Yeah, so do I.” (Laughter.) So at the time I wasn’t really focused on what I was wearing that evening -– I was really just trying to stay warm.

But I’ll never forget the moment that I slipped on this beautiful gown. I remember how just luscious I felt as the President and I were announced onto the stage for the first of many dances. And I’ll cherish that moment for the rest of my life.

And now that the crowds are gone, and the Mall is silent, and our family has settled into our new home, the White house, this gown is one of the most tangible things I have left to remember that day. And that’s why it will always hold a special place in my heart.

And today, when I look at the dress, I remember all of the incredible people that we met along our journey and on that day, and how warmly — welcome they received us.

I remember the joy on the faces of so many young people who devoted so much time to getting us to that point.

I remember the wonderful letters we received from folks who were there and others who watched the event from home; people who told us about how much that day meant for them and their families — letters from octogenarians who told us how they never thought they’d live to see the day.

I remember all the men and women who worked so hard and so long to make sure that every single detail was just perfect.

And I remember the time we shared with Americans from every corner of this nation.

And one of the people who made that day possible is the creator of this beautiful gown, Jason Wu, a young man who, not so long ago, was just an aspiring designer like many of you students here. When Jason was just five years old, growing up in Taiwan, his parents would take him to the bridal shops so that he could sketch the gowns in the windows. He started making clothes for dolls when he was 16, and after studying under some of the best designers in the world, he opened his own shop four years ago with the money he had saved.

And Jason’s dress, as you can see — this gown is a masterpiece. It is simple, it’s elegant, and it comes from this brilliant young mind, someone who is living the American Dream.

The countless hours that you can see that he spent sewing this piece made my night even more special, and now I am proud that millions of visitors will be able to see just how talented this young man is.

Thank you, Jason. Thank you for your vision and for your hard work, because, in the end of the day, today is about much more than this gown. It’s also about how, with enough focus and with enough determination, someone in this room could be the next Jason Wu. Someone in this room could be the next Barack Obama. It’s about how the American story is written by real people –- not just names on a page. And it’s about how something you create today –- whether it’s a dress, or a painting, or a story or a song –- can help teach the next generation in a way that nothing else can.

Thank you all so much. (Applause.)

END
10:50 A.M. EST

White House.gov Press Office Feed

03.09.10 06:14 AM

Presidency
Jerusalem

9:16 A.M. (local)

PRESIDENT PERES: Well, I want to express our profound appreciation for your visit, not just because you are the Vice President of the United States and the most senior person to visit our region at the time; because for us you are a stoic friend, a man with profound judgment. You were the youngest senator in the United States. And from that age, so to speak, you showed friendship, understanding, and judgment, which we appreciate to this day. We think you are coming on a mission of peace. You understand there are two sides to the mission. And I dont see, I think, any contradiction in between being friendly and understanding to the two sides. And since the mission is peace, we are following the same mission.

I want to say that Im not impressed by the perception of the agreement about the proximity talks, because the situation is both more serious and also maybe more promising. If I compare the present situation with the previous situations, I can see three major changes, which I want to mention briefly.

One, the Palestinians started to build a state. Lets not underestimate it. And we learned from early age, from the early beginning felt that better build a state without borders than negotiate borders within every state, so to this very day, in our declaration of independence, there is no borders. I think if the Palestinians started to negotiate about borders and postponing building a state, its a mistake from their side, because the problem with borders here is there was never a Palestinian state — we didnt have a precedent like we had with the Jordanians and with Egypt and so we didnt have borders as we did have with the Jordanians, Egyptians, Lebanese, and Syrians and also because in that case borders have a holy aspect to it, as well. Jerusalem does not trust a territorial border.

So the effect that the United States, the Israeli government, the Palestinian Authority — all of them agreed to build a state is an innovation and a very promising process that we have to support and enlarge. And I do not see much difficulties in continuing to do so. I think we have to be, all of us, more generous, more compromising and to supply the Palestinians with the necessary means to build their own home.

If it would — we do just that, they would say we are escaping the negotiations. We are not. So the building of a state is not instead of the negotiations, but in addition to it. The negotiations, its very hard to open it and all of us know there will be — as it is always — a difference between the opening position and the fall-back position. The opening position is tougher and everybody emphasizes the difference. Anyway, I dont know a way — how can you start with the fall-back positions. Even in Hollywood, the happy end is at the end; you dont begin negotiations with the happy end.

So the present declarations on both sides are very careful, and everybody wants to shop as much as he can his own position. And I think we have accepted, as a matter of fact — and I dont think it will save us the difficulties, but lets not see in it the end of the negotiations or the end of the day. Thats the second thing that I believe why its better to have it.

The third change which I see is the Iranian presence. I think the tone and extremacy of Ahmadinejad against Israel is a cover up of his own ambition to create hegemony in the Middle East, since he doesnt want to appear as a Shiite or a Sunnite. He wants to appear as an anti-Israel, which gives him an entry to other countries. And that way, everybody is using Israel as an excuse or a cover up for their real positions. I believe the higher-ups are aware that Iran is a danger to them. More than a thousand years of history in the Middle East — there is thousand years, 900 years the Arabs were under occupation of empires, and Muslims as well. Its only in the last 100 years they have had any independence. And they dont want to give up, rightly so, their independence.

And understand that in the name of religion, Iran is trying to establish a super structure of the Iranians in the Middle East. But at the same time, short of President Mubarak who stood up and some other leaders, theyre reluctant to declare their real position because of the conflict between us and the Palestinians. Everybody uses the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a cover up. And I think its a strange situation over the world that the secret relations are better than the open relations, that the relations among the different intelligence organizations are better than the diplomatic one. The reason is diplomacy covers and intelligence discovers, because today to win the fight against the terrorists is not a victory but a discovery. If you discover them ahead of time, you win it.

But I think we — sorry — we have had many problems in the domain of, I think, terrorists. In our own domain, we are very successful and that should serve as an example. And that is the model of our relations or the relations between Jordan and ourselves. No matter what the political mood is, the two countries decided not to permit terrorists to play on. And the Jordanians are the most quiet border — all the time between us and the Jordanians, understanding that today its not a total war, but a war against the terrorists.

I want to make a short remark about Iran as I see it. First of all, the United States should lead the Iranian policy — there is nobody else in the world. The United States, with whatever criticism you may have, you are the most serious, the most organized, and the most analytical approach to the Iranian. And we have trust in President Obama. I dont envy neither you nor him. You have inherited an extremely difficult situation worldwide and otherwise. And its easy to give advice. I know it. Its more difficult to face the trials that are coming from uninvited angles, and participation.

I believe that the best policy vis–vis Iran, and Im speaking of — from our perspective — I cannot suggest to do it in my advice — should comprise three major efforts — one, which is major, and that is the moral code. I think moral sanctions are not less important than economic sanctions. A person like Ahmadinejad that calls openly to destroy the state of Israel cannot be a full member of the United Nations. A man that calls for acts in terror and who hangs people in the streets, not just because of the Israeli conflict — and as Hillary described him as a military dictator. I think he should be placed in his proper definition. He cannot go around almost like a cultural hero.

However, President Obama considers Niebuhr as his philosophical preference. I like to listen to the lectures of Reinhold Niebuhr. The subject was the Judeo-Christian heritage. The first six lectures were about Judeo-Christians. I never heard anything more profound or more moving than that. But he said one word which I believe fits the present situation. He says all of us have to stand up against moral corruption. But moral corruption is more dangerous even than financial corruption. And the first code, in my judgment, is to voice a real struggle against the moral corruption. From an Israeli standpoint, we are totally surprised. They try to de-legitimize us. Were a democratic country. Nobody is being hanged in Israel. We try to make peace. We give back land. We are in a difficult situation, but still on a moral foundation. So he tries to de-legitimize us or you. We are the Satan; he is the Lord. So I think that must be done in a strong and clear voice.

It will also help the people of Iran, the Persians, to continue their struggle to defend their culture. They are ashamed of him. In my judgment, this should be done strongly, clearly, vocally. Then the economic sanctions, which I dont have to advise.

Maybe I would like to see a third point, and that is to surround Iran with an envelope of self-defense — the Palestinians side, as well — against their missiles and nuclear trap. And nobody knows exactly what theyre going to do. But self-defense will be an additional weight in limiting the danger of Iran. Again, only you can do it.

Thats one point. And I want to say about the Palestinians, there is a way to increase the help to the Palestinians to build their state. I know that our government is ready to continue the dismantling of different checkpoints to free the movement. The Palestinians have never had a state in their history, and now theyre beginning to taste what does it mean to build a city or to plan trees or to introduce an economy. On all this, we as the immediate neighbor — you as the guiding the party, and the Europeans, and the Russians, everybody — can participate in helping them to build a state, which I want to say must be affluent. And its not to build another poor state; that would be a mistake. If we are going to build, lets build it a modern state. And I believe that the Palestinians have already leaders. The person that built the city, Bashar Masri, for example, is an extremely intelligent man, up to date — Rawabi is the new city of the Palestinians.

And we have to introduce hi-tech. They cannot make a living just on land. The problem today is not the land, but the level of knowledge. Agriculture went down only to two or three percent. And Israel is an example of making a living out of knowledge, out of hi-tech. We are ready to share. And I believe that they can be providing those of — money. I want to identify immediately. I wont ask from you today money. But I think the Monetary Fund is willing and able to provide serious amounts of money. I spoke with the head of the Monetary Fund. They say that they can support trends; they dont have to support enterprises, contrary to the World Bank. And if the trend is peace, they are ready to invest seriously. In uniting, you have to take them in the picture.

Thats number one. Now, in the negotiations itself, I know the mood. I know that among the Palestinians there is mistrust vis–vis Israel and our government. We are aware of it. What Im asking — and why is that? Because there isnt — if Israel would be against a Palestinian state, would we permit you to build an economy, a police force, institutions? Why are we doing it? And I believe that as things will progress, we can handle the responsibilities for security wherever and whenever they will be ready. For example, if Jenin can police herself, our army will be glad to hand over the security to them. And if there are six or seven cities, lets go.

We suggested, like in the road map to recognize the Palestinian state with provisional borders. But the Palestinians didnt like it, and Mubarak told me leave it alone. They are getting angry with it. Okay. So we dont need lines. We dont need — okay, I shall stop here, because –

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: No, Im anxious — I love hearing you speak. (Laughter.) I really do. Ive told you, Mr. President, you are the most articulate statesman I have ever known. And I have been around for a long, long time. I always — I always enjoy not only your knowledge, but your wisdom. I mean that sincerely. You know I have told you that over the years.

PRESIDENT PERES: I know. I keep it –

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Well, let me just briefly respond.

PRESIDENT PERES: Yes.

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: First of all, you know you talked about my being a friend of Israel from the time I was a young senator.

PRESIDENT PERES: What was it, 32?

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Thirty years old — 29, actually. But I arrived at the Senate educated by a righteous Christian, my father, who — we spent our dinner table — we assembled at our dinner table in the evening to have discussions and incidentally eat rather than eat and incidentally have discussions. And — but Israel captured my heart. I make no bones about it. That does not mean I do not understand and have a great empathy for the circumstances of the Palestinians, but Israel captured my heart and my imagination.

And my first visit here as a young senator, I sat before the desk of Golda Meir as she was chain smoking and pulling maps up and down behind me, explaining to me the Six Day War. And there was a young man sitting to my right, his name was Rabin. So I have had the great privilege of not only knowing you, but knowing every Prime Minister and President since the days of Golda Meir.

I think your observation is one that more of the world should understand, because as you pointed out, there is an international attempt to isolate Israel and — right now. And sometimes, we are our own worst enemy and playing into the hands of those who wish to do that. The peace process, as you pointed out, has two components to it, it always has: the actual definition of a state by borders and sovereign immunity and sovereign capabilities, but also the actual stuff of which a state is made. Institutions, everything from security forces to tax collection capability and everything in between. And that is underway.

And I hope — notwithstanding the mistrust you referenced, I hope the beginning of what I referred to as these indirect or proximity talks, I hope it is a vehicle, a vehicle by which we can begin to allay that layer of mistrust that has built over the last several years. Because if you look at the region, there is obviously a great deal more that should be uniting the Palestinians and the Israelis than any time since Ive been involved for 36 years. You point out that the great Persian people have had their history besmirched by the presence of the — Mr. Ahmadinejad and the theocracy.

But I would point out, Mr. President, that the moral sanctions you refer to have begun — and need not have been imposed by us, theyre being imposed by their own people. The people of Iran are making that argument clearly, engaging in their own form of morally sanctioning their government as we have and as the rest of the world is. I remote — since our administration has come to power, I would point out that Iran is more isolated — internally, externally — has fewer friends in the world. One of the reasons why President Obama insisted on engaging was in the — was with eyes wide open. The hope was that there would be some movement. But the reality was — the reality was so that we could in a sense point out to the rest of the world we need to deal with many of the things you mentioned.

But let me conclude in my very brief response here that I — I think this — we are at a moment of real opportunity. And I think that the — the interest of both the Palestinians and the Israeli people are — if everyone will just step back and take a deep breath — are actually very much more in line than they are in opposition. And when I first came here, my first 10 or 12 trips, the idea that we would speak with certitude about a two-state solution wasnt so obvious. So Id like to focus with you — if we have a chance to speak privately, Id like to focus with you on how we — how we take advantage of this moment for the security of Israel.

I just want to conclude by saying one thing that I know you understand — I know you understand about me and I know you understand it about President Obama — theres absolutely no space between the United States and Israel in terms of Israels security and our mutual security — none, none at all. Thats the basis in which this starts. Theres a lot we can do. But Im really flattered you would see me. And I’m anxious to –

PRESIDENT PERES: We were waiting for you. (Laughter.)

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Well, its good to be home. (Laughter.)

END
9:45 A.M. (local)

White House.gov Press Office Feed

03.09.10 08:31 AM

12:36 P.M. (local)

PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU: Vice President Biden, Joe, welcome to Israel and welcome to Jerusalem. We’ve been personal friends for almost three decades. Can you believe it has been that long?

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: No. You’re getting older, Bibi, I don’t know how.

PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU: But you remain younger all the time. (Laughter.) And in all that time, you’ve been a real friend to me, and a real friend to Israel and to the Jewish people. And you’ve come to Israel many times since you came here first on the eve of the Yom Kippur. But now, you’re coming as the Vice President of the United States of America. And this is deeply appreciated and, for me, deeply moving.

President Obama has said in Cairo, and he has repeated this many times since, that the bonds between Israel and the United States are unbreakable. And he has shown that in the last year in things that are known to the public and some things that are not known to the public. In pursuing, for example, the joint military exercises for military defense between the Israeli army and the American military; in securing Israel’s qualitative military edge; and in many other activities along the world’s scene, including the battle against the infamous Goldstone report. I think that the bonds — exactly as President Obama has said, the bonds are unbreakable. And your visit demonstrates how strong they are.

I think this unbreakable bond will help our two countries meet the two historic challenges that we face today in the Middle East. The first and foremost among them is the need to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, and the second is the need to advance a secure peace between Israel and our Palestinian and other Arab neighbors.

I very much appreciate the efforts of President Obama and the American government to lead the international community to place tough sanctions on Iran. The stronger those sanctions are, the more likely it will be that the Iranian regime will have to choose between advancing its nuclear program and advancing the future of its own permanence. I think that the international community and the leading countries in the international community have to join the American effort. And Israel has been helping out with key countries and continues to do so.

I also appreciate the administration’s effort to advance peace in the region. I know that this has been difficult and has required a great deal of patience. But I’m pleased that these efforts are beginning to bear fruit. And we have to be persistent and purposeful in making sure that we get to those direct negotiations that will enable us to resolve this conflict.

I look forward to working with President Obama, and with you and your entire administration, to forge a historic peace agreement in which the permanence and legitimacy of the Jewish state of Israel is recognized by our Palestinian neighbors, and in which Israel’s security is guaranteed for generations to come.

Again, Vice President — my friend, Joe, it’s a pleasure to welcome you to Jerusalem. Welcome.

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Thank you very much. Mr. Prime Minister, it’s a pleasure to be back. It’s been too long between visits here. And it is true that you and I have been friends a long, long time. And as a matter of fact, when each of us were in the minority, we’d — occasionally, I’d find — get a phone call at home and I’d call you as well to get a sense of what’s going on. Our friendship is real, but it is — what’s even deeper is the relationship between the United States and Israel.

But Prime Minister, I’m sure you’d agree we’ve had a — we had a very productive discussion spanning a wide range of issues that affect both our nations. The relationship between Israel and the United States has been, and will continue to be, a centerpiece — a centerpiece of American policy. And it’s been that way since Israel’s founding in 1948. And, quite frankly, it was a major focus of my work for all those years as a United States Senator and chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee.

Our two countries are bound by historic and cultural ties, and so many shared interests, that it would take too long to enumerate, and also by a wide range of deep-seated personal relationships and friendships that span the time even before 1948. Our ties have been strengthened by our deep cooperation in many fields including science and economic development, and a range of other policy areas as well.

But the cornerstone of the relationship — the cornerstone of the relationship is our absolute, total, unvarnished commitment to Israel’s security. Bibi, you heard me say before, progress occurs in the Middle East when everyone knows there is simply no space between the United States and Israel. There is no space between the United States and Israel when it comes to Israel’s security. And for that reason, and many others, addressing Iran’s nuclear program has been of — one of our administration’s priorities.

We’re determined — we’re determined to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. And we’re working with many countries around the world to convince Tehran to meet its international obligations and cease and desist. Iran must also curb its other destabilizing actions in the region, well beyond their desire to acquire nuclear weapons. And that is their continued support for terrorist groups that threaten Israel, and I might add, our interests as well.

President Obama and I strongly believe that the best long-term guarantee for Israel’s security is a comprehensive Middle East peace with the Palestinians, with the Syrians, with Lebanon and leading eventually to full and normalized relationships with the entire Arab world. It’s overwhelmingly in the interest of Israel, but it’s also overwhelmingly of interest to the Arab world. And it’s in our interest, as well.

And so, Mr. Prime Minister, toward that end I am very pleased that — that you and the Palestinian leadership have agreed to launch indirect talks. We hope that these talks will lead, and they must lead, eventually to negotiations and direct discussions between the parties. The goal is, obviously, to resolve the final status issues and to achieve a two-state solution with Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace and security. And historic peace is going to require both parties to make some historically bold commitments. You have done it before, and I’m confident for real peace you would do it again.

Over the last year, Mr. Prime Minister, you have taken significant steps including the moratorium that has limited new settlement construction activity. And you have significantly increased freedom of movement across the West Bank. Palestinian leaders are beginning to make progress on their determined willingness to — especially in their efforts to reform their institutions of government and with their security force — their security forces becoming much more reliable.

It’s easy to point fingers, particularly in this part of the world, at what each side has not done. But it’s also important to give credit where things have been done in order to be able to move forward. Mr. Prime Minister, the United States will always stand with those who take risks for peace. And you’re prepared to do that. And I am hopeful. And I’ll be having discussions with Palestinian leaders. It is my hope and expectation that they will be prepared, as well.

The proximity start — talks are just that, a start. They’re not designed to finish the process. And so, Mr. Prime Minister, I thank you for all the time you have given me. And it’s just, quite frankly, good to be back in your company and see you again.

PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU: Thank you. Thank you, Joe. I have one thing to offer you right now, and it’s broken glass. (Laughter.) So what I’m going to do is I’m going to sign — but I need a pen. Thank you.

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Don’t cut yourself.

PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU: Now, this is a significant piece of paper. I will say that agreements are dependent on the arrangements not on paper but on the ground. Here is a piece of paper that reflects an arrangement on the ground. We have planted a circle of trees in Jerusalem in memory of your mother, Catherine Eugenia Finnegan Biden, because you have said many times that she was a source of immeasurable strength, which I recognize in you, Joe. So we planted a tree to serve as a tribute — a circle of trees next to the leaders of the nations. We have a forest of the leaders of the nations, and right next to it are the trees that we have planted in memory of your mother as a tribute to her immeasurable strength. And I want to offer it to you on your visit to Israel.

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Well, thank you very much. If you don’t mind my saying, Mr. Prime Minister, my love for your country was watered by this Irish lady, who was proudest of me when I was working with and for the security of Israel. So that’s a great honor. Thank you very much.

END
12:50 P.M. (local)

White House.gov Press Office Feed

03.08.10 01:56 PM

NOMINATIONS SENT TO THE SENATE:

Major General Robert A. Harding, United States Army (Retired), of Virginia, to be an Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security, vice Edmund S. Hawley, resigned.

David K. Mineta, of California, to be Deputy Director for Demand Reduction, Office of National Drug Control Policy, vice Bertha K. Madras.

White House.gov Press Office Feed

03.08.10 01:59 PM

Oval Office

3:56 P.M. EST

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Hello, everybody. I want to welcome President Funes and the First Lady of El Salvador to the United States. Bienvenido. We are very grateful and honored by his visit. I’ve been following the President since his election nine months ago and have been very favorably impressed by the steps that he’s taking to try to break down political divisions within the country and move it forward with a spirit of progress and focusing on prosperity at every level of Salvadorian society.

Obviously the friendship between our two countries in part is the result of the 2 million Salvadorians who are here in the United States working, sending remittances back to El Salvador. Those ties provide an outstanding foundation for continuing cooperation in our two countries.

That cooperation has to be based on mutual interest and mutual respect. We’ve discussed ways that we can continue to improve our trading relationship. Over half of El Salvador’s exports go to the United States and over one-third of its imports come from the United States, so we already have strong economic ties there. But I very much applaud the President’s vision that growth in El Salvador has to be balanced and reach all aspects of Salvadorian society; that it has to be socially inclusive. And we want to assist in any way we can in making sure that there’s adequate credit and infrastructure and other tools that can bring about the long-term prosperity within El Salvador.

And there are some wonderful projects that we can do multilaterally. For example, I know the United States, Brazil and El Salvador jointly are interested in pursuing additional measures that can expand biofuels and energy development that could be good for all three countries.

We also discussed security issues in the region. I think that there has been progress within Central America, but we still have concerns, obviously, about drug trafficking, about gangs. The security challenges obviously are connected to the economic challenges within the region and we want to be supportive not only in addressing the symptoms that we see in terms of crime, but also the root causes, and I know that’s something that the President cares deeply about as well.

And finally, I want to congratulate President Funes in the leadership that he’s already shown both regionally and internationally. His pragmatic and wise approach to the situation in Honduras I think helped to contribute to a solution in that country that promises long-term stability and peace. The generosity of the Salvadorian people towards Haiti in the aftermath of the terrible earthquake there I think is another example of his vision for a region that supports each other.

And so my main goal today is communicating how interested the United States is in continuing to be an equal partner with El Salvador and other countries in the region — a relationship based on mutual interest and mutual respect. And I wish him all the best as he continues to pursue his goals for a more prosperous and secure El Salvador.

PRESIDENT FUNES: (As translated.) And to the press, I am extremely surprised about this excellent summary. After 20 years of being a journalist, I thought that I could summarize our interview of more than an hour in a better way, but President Obama has surprised me in how he has summarized the meeting.

I would like to talk about two or three things. I have spoken to President Obama about this, and I want to commend him because he shares the same democratic values, and his new vision of how he is dealing with the hemisphere and particularly in Central America.

Traditionally Central America has been seen as a migratory problem for the United States. But Central America, and in particular El Salvador, needs to generate the opportunities of work in order to be able to keep people back in El Salvador. And as they have a better job generation, and people have better health and education, people will be able to remain in countries and have a better life.

We have spoken with President Obama about how to make a strategic alliance and face common problems that we have in the nation, such as drug traffic and organized crime. And the alliance that we wish to make is in order to combat poverty and to get people out of marginal situations and out of the exclusion. This has to be a regional effort and we have to — and they have social policies that we need to build together.

The U.S. needs to be a strategic — or we hope it will be a strategic partner for our country. And in this way, the people will have better social well-being and we will be able to combat drug traffic, organized crime, because they will not find — as we have new policies, they will not find fertile grounds.

I’m not here to ask President Obama to do for us what we haven’t been able to do for such a long time. We have a big challenge on our hands, and one of our challenges is to have better tax collection in order to have more resources for the use of our government. This has been going on for many decades, but basically what we’re looking for is funding for the poor and small and medium enterprises in order to be able to create a better economic situation in El Salvador.

We have to re-strengthen the productive network, and we have to have a different vision. But we definitely cannot blame the United States for the situation that we are in. And instead, we are looking for the United States to become a strategic partner, as President Obama so well said; not a bigger partner or a lesser partner but an equal partner and an efficient partner.

And as President Obama’s administration, we hope that there will be a good alliance and it will be a better world for us and for all — and a better administration.

PRESIDENT OBAMA: All right, thank you, everybody.

END
4:12 P.M. EST

White House.gov Press Office Feed