Author: WhiteHouse

02.11.10 06:01 PM

Today, the United States Senate confirmed 27 of my high-level nominees, many of whom had been awaiting a vote for months.

At the beginning of the week, a staggering 63 nominees had been stalled in the Senate because one or more senators placed a hold on their nomination. In most cases, these holds have had nothing to do with the nominee’s qualifications or even political views, and these nominees have already received broad, bipartisan support in the committee process.

Instead, many holds were motivated by a desire to leverage projects for a Senator’s state or simply to frustrate progress. It is precisely these kinds of tactics that enrage the American people.

And so on Tuesday, I told Senator McConnell that if Republican senators did not release these holds, I would exercise my authority to fill critically-needed positions in the federal government temporarily through the use of recess appointments. This is a rare but not unprecedented step that many other presidents have taken. Since that meeting, I am gratified that Republican senators have responded by releasing many of these holds and allowing 29 nominees to receive a vote in the Senate.

While this is a good first step, there are still dozens of nominees on hold who deserve a similar vote, and I will be looking for action from the Senate when it returns from recess. If they do not act, I reserve the right to use my recess appointment authority in the future.

White House.gov Press Office Feed

02.11.10 11:37 AM

President Obama called Victor Yanukovych of Ukraine today to congratulate him on his election and wish him success in carrying out his mandate. The President commended the Ukrainian people on the conduct of their February 7 vote. This peaceful expression of the political will of Ukrainian voters is another positive step in strengthening democracy in Ukraine. They agreed on the importance of continuing cooperation on nuclear non-proliferation. They also wished each other’s athletes success in the Vancouver Olympic Games.

The strategic partnership between the United States and Ukraine is based on shared interests and values. These include expanding democracy and prosperity, protecting security and territorial integrity, strengthening the rule of law, promoting non-proliferation, and supporting reform in Ukraine’s economic and energy sectors. The United States looks forward to working with President-elect Yanukovych and continuing to strengthen our cooperation with Ukraine’s government and its Parliamentary leaders.

White House.gov Press Office Feed

02.11.10 09:45 AM

“The President is gratified to see the Senate moving forward in a bipartisan manner on steps to help put Americans back to work. The draft bill released today by Senators Baucus and Grassley includes several of the President’s top priorities for job creation, including a tax incentive to encourage businesses to hire, a tax cut to make it easier for small businesses to invest and expand, further measures to keep people at work repairing our nation’s roads and bridges, and extended unemployment insurance and health care assistance for Americans who are out of work.

“The American people want to see Washington put aside partisan differences and make progress on jobs. The House has already passed a constructive set of measures and the President is hopeful that the draft language presented today will lead to a bipartisan Senate bill. The President looks forward to working with members from both parties on this bill and on the additional job creation measures he has identified, including incentives for energy efficiency investments and increased access to credit for small businesses."

White House.gov Press Office Feed

02.11.10 06:26 AM

Report Outlines Administration’s Roadmap for Rescuing, Rebalancing, and Rebuilding America’s Economy

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Dr. Christina Romer, the Chair of President Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers, will present the annual Economic Report of the President. The President will sign the report and it will be delivered to Congress today.

The Economic Report of the President lays out detailed analysis of the immediate actions President Obama took to prevent the economy from falling into a depression, and looks at our long-term economic challenges. For a decade, Washington failed to make the tough choices necessary for our continued prosperity. The report details the actions the Administration has already taken to address these challenges and the President’s agenda for continued progress and his proposals for rebuilding and rebalancing our economy for the future.

Dr. Romer said, “The economic challenges facing the nation when President Obama took office were among the greatest in our history. But as great as the immediate challenges were, our country’s economic problems were also deeper and more long-standing. Over the past year, the President, working with Congress, has sought to rescue the economy from the immediate crisis, rebalance the economy toward greater investment and exports and away from unsustainable budget deficits, and begin the process of rebuilding the economy on a stronger foundation of quality, affordable health care, better education and job training, clean energy, and innovation. The Economic Report of the President details both the actions we have taken so far and the President’s plans for continued progress.”

A summary of the report is below. The full report is available HERE.

A link to Dr. Romer’s post on the White House blog can be seen HERE.

As part of the White House’s continuing effort to make information about the government accessible and convenient, the Economic Report of the President will be available in formats accessible to e-book readers including Amazon’s Kindle, Barnes & Noble’s Nook, Sony’s Reader and more, later in the day today.

FOR ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND: A Guide to the Economic Report of the President:

OVERVIEW
The Economic Report of the President in fact contains three reports:

The Economic Report of the President is a brief overview by the President of the Administration’s economic policies and goals for future initiatives. The Annual Report of the Council of Economic Advisers is a 300-page comprehensive economic analysis of the first year of the Obama Administration. Appendix B provides over 100 pages of key economic statistics in a convenient, coherent format.The Report of the Council of Economic Advisers does three things:

It provides an in-depth analysis of the economic challenges we face as a Nation, including both the immediate financial crisis and recession and the longer-run trends toward stagnating middle-class incomes, soaring health care costs, and failure to invest adequately in the future. It provides a comprehensive catalog of the numerous policy actions taken in the past year to address these challenges and the effects of those policies. It provides a description of the President’s policy agenda going forward and discusses the motivation for the policy prescriptions.THEME
The theme of this year’s Economic Report is rescuing, rebalancing, and rebuilding the American economy.

Rescue refers to the need to deal with the current economic crisis.

Chapter 2 examines the economy that President Obama inherited and the extensive policy actions taken in the areas of financial rescue, monetary policy, housing policy, and fiscal policy. It details the impact of the actions and the challenges that remain. It also discusses future jobs initiatives.Chapter 3 examines the international dimensions of the crisis. It describes how the financial crisis spread throughout the world and how countries working individually and in concert took actions to stem the downturn and help support worldwide recovery.Rebalance refers to the need to move the economy away from its bubble and bust tendencies.

Chapter 4 discusses the likely continued rise in the personal saving rate going forward and the need to spur investment and exports to fill the gap left in aggregate demand. It discusses both the progress that has already been made and proposals, such as the Administration’s National Export Initiative, to make further progress.Chapter 5 discusses the need to reduce the Federal government budget deficit. It analyzes the source of the long-run deficit, the problems it will eventually cause for the economy, and the Administration’s plans for dealing with it over the medium and long run.Chapter 6 discusses the importance of a well-functioning financial system for balanced growth. It describes the role of financial intermediaries, the causes of financial crises, and the benefits of the proposed regulatory reforms.Rebuild refers to the need to strengthen the foundation of the economy. For too long, problems have been ignored and as a result long-run living standards and economic security have been compromised.

Chapter 7 shows that the current health care system is leading to skyrocketing costs and insurance premiums, increasing numbers of uninsured families, and ever-rising government budget deficits. It identifies the accomplishments of the past year, such as the expansion of the Children’s Health Insurance Program and the health care investments made through the Recovery Act. Reform legislation currently passed by the House and the Senate would do much more to contain costs, expand coverage, and make insurance more secure and more affordable.Chapter 8 discusses the challenges that have faced American workers for the past decade and the differential impact the recession has had on various demographic groups. It shows that investment in education and training is a key source of improved wages and living standards. It then discusses the educational investments made through the Recovery Act, the investments in preschool education, community colleges, and Pell Grants that the President has proposed to fund by eliminating the subsidy to private providers of student loans, and other key legislative initiatives. Chapter 9 examines the importance of dealing with climate change and the progress that has already been made in jumpstarting the transition to the clean energy economy through the Recovery Act. It also discusses the benefits of a market-based approach to addressing greenhouse gas emissions.Chapter 10 looks at another fundamental source of increases in income over time—productivity growth. It discusses the Administration’s large increase in investment in R&D through the Recovery Act and the 2010 Budget, and the President’s overall innovation agenda. It also discusses the role that trade can play in spurring productivity growth and the institutions that help to ensure that gains are widely shared.HIGHLIGHTS
Some highlights of the analysis are:

An extended discussion of the evidence that developments on Wall Street affect Main Street (Chapter 2).Presentation of the Administration’s forecast and discussion of the anomalous behavior of the unemployment rate over the recession (Chapter 2).Novel cross-country evidence that fiscal stimulus leads to better-than-expected economic performance (Chapter 3).An empirical model of saving behavior that suggests that saving rates will likely rise further before stabilizing near their historical average (Chapter 4).A telling comparison of the CBO long-term forecasts from January 2001 and January 2009 that shows the dramatic deterioration of the budget situation between the beginning and the end of the previous Administration (Chapter 5).An original formulation of the three different types of financial market contagion and a discussion of how the Administration’s plan for regulatory reform deals with each (Chapter 6).A detailed explanation of the market failures and externalities that cause the market for health insurance to behave differently from competitive markets (Chapter 7).A discussion of the key role community colleges play in raising educational attainment and improving job training (Chapter 8).An accounting of the $90 billion of clean energy investments in the Recovery Act and their likely jobs impact (Chapter 9).A progressive approach to harnessing the benefits of innovation and trade while ensuring that the gains are broadly shared (Chapter 10).WHAT IS UNIQUE ABOUT THE 2010 ECONOMIC REPORT?

The Economic Report is a series with a distinguished history of rigor and accuracy. The 2010 Report stays true to this legacy.The economic challenges facing the country are some of the greatest in history and this year’s volume reflects the President’s commitment to address a wide range of short-run and long-run economic problems.The 2010 Economic Report pays particular attention to the evidence behind the economic policy recommendations. It includes original research and, for the first time, 20 pages of references so that the underlying studies can be found easily.The Report emphasizes market failures as a motivation for public policy.This is the first Economic Report to be published in color. This allows figures to show more detail.

White House.gov Press Office Feed

02.10.10 08:02 AM

8:08 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT: Welcome to the White House, everybody. And thank you for braving the storm. I am thrilled to see all of you here today — friends, guests, members of my Cabinet, members of Congress, our Vice President and Dr. Jill Biden, and everyone watching at home — for the fifth in a series of evenings celebrating the music that tells the story of America.

Tonight, we celebrate the music of a movement.

To help us do that, Michelle and I are thrilled to welcome a tremendous group of artists who influenced that music, and artists who were influenced by it:

Yolanda Adams; Joan Baez; Natalie Cole; Morgan Freeman; Jennifer Hudson; John Mellencamp; Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon; Smokey Robinson; the Blind Boys of Alabama; the Howard University Choir; and a man who was good enough to take a night off from his Never Ending Tour — Mr. Bob Dylan.

I want to thank some of them for spending some time earlier here today, leading a workshop of high school students — perhaps even inspiring the next generation of civil rights leaders.

Let me also just acknowledge a good friend to us all, Dr. Joseph Lowery, who was here — who couldn’t be here with us today, but he is recuperating after an illness and we want to keep him in our thoughts and prayers tonight.

Now, the civil rights movement was a movement sustained by music. It was lifted by spirituals inspired by the Bible. It was sharpened by protest songs about wrongs that needed righting. It was broadened by folk artists like a New York-born daughter of immigrants, and a young storyteller from Minnesota, who captured the hardships and hopes of people who were worlds different from them, in ways that only song can do.

It was a movement with a soundtrack — diverse strains of music that coalesced when the moment was right. But that soundtrack wasn’t just inspired by the movement; it gave strength in return — a fact not lost on the movement’s leaders.

It’s been said that when Dr. King and his associates were looking for communities to organize and mobilize, they’d know which were disciplined enough and serious enough when they saw folks singing freedom songs. Dr. King himself once acknowledged that he didn’t see “the real meaning of the movement” until he saw young people singing in the face of hostility.

You see, it’s easy to sing when you’re happy. It’s easy to sing when you’re among friends. It’s easy to sing when times are good. But it is hard to sing when times are rough. It’s hard to sing in the face of taunts, and fear, and the constant threat of violence. It’s hard to sing when folks are being beaten, when leaders are being jailed, when churches are being bombed.

It’s hard to sing in times like that. But times like that are precisely when the power of song is most potent. Above the din of hatred; amidst the deafening silence of inaction; the hymns of the civil rights movement helped carry the cause of a people and advance the ideals of a nation.

Bernice Johnson Reagon knew this. One day when she was young, she was sitting in church when a local sheriff and his deputies showed up to intimidate the congregation. “They stood at the door,” Bernice wrote, “making sure everyone knew they were there. Then,” she said; “a song began. And the song made sure that the sheriff and his deputies knew that we were there.”

Joan Baez and Bob Dylan knew this. One day in 1963, they joined hundreds of thousands on the National Mall and sang of a day when the time would come; when the winds would stop; when a ship would come in. They sang of a day when a righteous journey would reach its destination.

And Congressman John Lewis — a man of that Moses Generation; a man who couldn’t be here tonight, but whose sacrifices helped make it possible for me to be here tonight — he knew this too. For in the darkest hour, he said, “the songs fed our spirits and gave us hope.”

So to everyone here, or watching at home, let us enjoy the music we hear tonight. Let the music feed our spirits; give us hope; and carry us forward — as one people, and as one nation. Enjoy. (Applause.)

END
8:13 P.M. EST

White House.gov Press Office Feed

02.09.10 07:52 AM

Cabinet Room

10:21 A.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT: Hello, everybody. Well, I want to thank both Democratic and Senate Leaders — Democratic Senate Leaders, Democratic House Leaders, as well as Republican Leaders from the House and Senate for joining us.

As I said in my State of the Union, part of what we’d like to see is the ability of Congress to move forward in a more bipartisan fashion on some of the key challenges that the country is facing right now. I think it’s fair to say that the American people are frustrated with the lack of progress on some key issues. And although the parties are not going to agree on every single item, there should be some areas where we can agree and we can get some things done even as we have vigorous debates on some of those issues that we don’t agree on.

A good place to start, and what I hope to spend a lot of time on in these discussions today, is how we can move forward on a jobs package that encourages small business to hire, that is helping to create the kind of environment where now that we have economic growth people actually are starting to add to their payroll. I think there are some ideas on both the Republican and Democrat side that allow us to potentially, for example, lower rates for small businesses on their taxes, to help spur on some growth. And my hope is is that both in the House and the Senate we’ll see some packages moving over the next several weeks that can provide a jumpstart to hiring and start lowering the unemployment rate.

Another area where I hope we can find some agreement is on the issue of getting our deficits and debt under control. Both parties have stated their concerns about it; I think both parties recognize that it’s going to take a lot of work. I have put forward the idea of a fiscal commission and I’m going to be discussing both with my Democratic and Republican colleagues how we can get that moving as quickly as possible so that we can start taking some concrete action. I think the American people want to see that concrete action.

I’m also going to just be talking about some more mundane matters, things like making sure that we have our government personnel in place on critical positions — in critical positions that involve our basic government function and seeing if we can accelerate that and try to find some agreement in those areas. And then I’m going to spend some time listening because there may be some priorities that both the Republican and Democratic Leaders have that they want to raise at this meeting.

My hope is this is not going to be a rare situation; we’re going to be doing these on a regular basis. And I’m very thankful that everybody here has taken the time to come. I’m confident that if we move forward in a spirit of keeping in mind what’s best for the American people that we should be able to accomplish a lot.

All right. Thank you very much everybody.

END
10:24 A.M. EST

White House.gov Press Office Feed

02.09.10 09:00 AM

America’s move to raise a healthier generation of kids
www.LetsMove.gov

THE WHITE HOUSE, WASHINGTON – First Lady Michelle Obama today announced an ambitious national goal of solving the challenge of childhood obesity within a generation so that children born today will reach adulthood at a healthy weight and unveiled a nationwide campaign – Let’s Move – to help achieve it.

The Let’s Move campaign will combat the epidemic of childhood obesity through a comprehensive approach that builds on effective strategies, and mobilizes public and private sector resources. Let’s Move will engage every sector impacting the health of children to achieve the national goal, and will provide schools, families and communities simple tools to help kids be more active, eat better, and get healthy.

To support Let’s Move and facilitate and coordinate partnerships with States, communities, and the non-profit and for-profit private sectors, the nation’s leading children’s health foundations have come together to create a new independent foundation – the Partnership for a Healthier America – which will accelerate existing efforts addressing childhood obesity and facilitate new commitments towards the national goal of solving childhood obesity within a generation.

Almost a year ago, Mrs. Obama began a national conversation about the health of America’s children when she broke ground on the White House Kitchen Garden with students from Bancroft Elementary School in Washington, DC. Through the garden, she began a discussion with kids about proper nutrition and the role food plays in living a healthy life. That discussion grew into the Let’s Move campaign announced today.

Over the past three decades, childhood obesity rates in America have tripled, and today, nearly one in three children in America are overweight or obese. One third of all children born in 2000 or later will suffer from diabetes at some point in their lives; many others will face chronic obesity-related health problems like heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer, and asthma. A recent study put the health care costs of obesity-related diseases at $147 billion per year. This epidemic also impacts the nation’s security, as obesity is now one of the most common disqualifiers for military service.

“The physical and emotional health of an entire generation and the economic health and security of our nation is at stake,” said Mrs. Obama. “This isn’t the kind of problem that can be solved overnight, but with everyone working together, it can be solved. So, let’s move.”

The First Lady launched the Let’s Move campaign at the White House where she was joined by members of the President’s cabinet, including Agriculture Secretary Vilsack, HHS Secretary Sebelius, Education Secretary Duncan, HUD Secretary Donovan, Labor Secretary Solis, and Interior Secretary Salazar, Surgeon General Regina Benjamin, Members of Congress, mayors from across the nation and leaders from the media, medical, sports, entertainment, and business communities who impact the health of children and want to be part of the solution. Program participants included: Tiki Barber, NBC correspondent and former NFL football player; Dr. Judith Palfrey, President of the American Academy of Pediatrics; Will Allen, Founder and CEO of Growing Power; Mayor Curtatone of Somerville, Massachusetts; Mayor Chip Johnson of Hernando, Mississippi; and local students, including a student from DC’s Bancroft elementary school, and members of the 2009 National Championship Pee-Wee football team, the Watkins Hornets.

Let’s Move is comprehensive, collaborative, and community-oriented and will include strategies to address the various factors that lead to childhood obesity. It will foster collaboration among the leaders in government, medicine and science, business, education, athletics, community organizations and more. And it will take into account how life is really lived in communities across the country – encouraging, supporting and pursuing solutions that are tailored to children and families facing a wide range of challenges and life circumstances.

President Barack Obama kicked off the launch by signing a Presidential Memorandum creating the first ever Task Force on Childhood Obesity which will include the DPC, Office of the First Lady, Interior, USDA, HHS, Education, NEC and other agencies. Within 90 days, the Task Force will conduct a review of every single program and policy relating to child nutrition and physical activity and develop a national action plan that maximizes federal resources and sets concrete benchmarks toward the First Lady’s national goal.

While the review is underway, Administration and public and private efforts are already moving to combat obesity and reach the First Lady’s national goal:

Helping Parents Make Healthy Family Choices
Parents play a key role in making healthy choices for their children and teaching their children to make healthy choices for themselves. But in today’s busy world, this isn’t always easy. So Let’s Move will offer parents the tools, support and information they need to make healthier choices for their families. The Administration, along with partners in the private sector and medical community, will:

Empower Consumers: By the end of this year, the Food and Drug Administration will begin working with retailers and manufacturers to adopt new nutritionally sound and consumer friendly front-of-package labeling. This will put us on a path towards 65 million parents in America having easy access to the information needed to make healthy choices for their children.
Already, the private sector is responding. Today, the American Beverage Association announced that its member companies will voluntarily put a clear, uniform, front-of-pack calorie label on all of their cans, bottles, vending and fountain machines within two years. The label will reflect total calories per container in containers up to 20oz. in size. For containers greater than 20 oz., the label will reflect a 12 oz. serving size. While more work remains to be done, this marks an important first step in ensuring parents have the information they need to make healthier choices
Provide Parents with a Rx for Healthier Living: The American Academy of Pediatrics, in collaboration with the broader medical community, will educate doctors and nurses across the country about obesity, ensure they regularly monitor children’s BMI, provide counseling for healthy eating early on, and, for the first time ever, will even write a prescription for parents laying out the simple things they can do to increase healthy eating and active play.
Major New Public Information Campaign: Major media companies – including the Walt Disney Company, NBC, Universal and Viacom – have committed to join the First Lady’s effort and increase public awareness of the need to combat obesity through public service announcements (PSAs), special programming, and marketing. The Ad Council, Warner Brothers and Scholastic Media have also partnered with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to run PSAs featuring top professional athletes, Scholastic Media’s Maya & Miguel, and Warner Brothers’ legendary Looney Tunes characters.

Next Generation Food Pyramid: To help people make healthier food and physical activity choices, the U.S. Department of Agriculture will revamp the famous food pyramid. MyPyramid.gov is one of the most popular websites in the federal government, and a 2.0 version of the Web site will offer consumers a host of tools to help them put the Dietary Guidelines into practice.

Empower Change: USDA has created the first-ever interactive database – the Food Environment Atlas – that maps healthy food environments at the local level across the country. It will help people identify the existence of food deserts, high incidences of diabetes, and other conditions in their communities. This information can be used by parents, educators, government and businesses to create change across the country.

LetsMove.gov: To help children parents, teachers, doctors, coaches, the non-profit and business communities and others understand the epidemic of childhood obesity and take steps to combat it, the Administration has launched a new “one-stop” shopping website — LetsMove.gov — to provide helpful tips, step-by-step strategies for parents, and regular updates on how the federal government is working with partners to reach the national goal.

Serving Healthier Food in Schools
Many children consume as many as half of their daily calories at school. As families work to ensure that kids eat right and have active play at home, we also need to ensure our kids have access to healthy meals in their schools. With more than 31 million children participating in the National School Lunch Program and more than 11 million participating in the National School Breakfast Program, good nutrition at school is more important than ever. Together with the private sector and the non-profit community, we will take the following steps to get healthier food in our nation’s schools:

Reauthorize the Child Nutrition Act: The Administration is requesting an historic investment of an additional $10 billion over ten years starting in 2011 to improve the quality of the National School Lunch and Breakfast program, increase the number of kids participating, and ensure schools have the resources they need to make program changes, including training for school food service workers, upgraded kitchen equipment, and additional funding for meal reimbursements. With this investment, additional fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat dairy products will be served in our school cafeterias and an additional one million students will be served in the next five years.

Double the number of schools participating in the Healthier US School Challenge: The Healthier US School Challenge establishes rigorous standards for schools’ food quality, participation in meal programs, physical activity, and nutrition education – the key components that make for healthy and active kids – and provides recognition for schools that meet these standards. Over the next school year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, working with partners in schools and the private sector, will double the number of schools that meet the Healthier US School Challenge and add 1,000 schools per year for two years after that.

We are bringing to the table key stakeholder groups that have committed to work together to improve the nutritional quality of school meals across the country.

New Commitments from Major School Food Suppliers: School food suppliers are taking important first steps to help meet the Healthier US School Challenge goal. Major school food suppliers including Sodexho, Chartwells School Dining Services, and Aramark have voluntarily committed to meet the Institute of Medicine’s recommendations within five years to decrease the amount of sugar, fat and salt in school meals; increase whole grains; and double the amount of produce they serve within 10 years. By the end of the 2010-2011 school year, they have committed to quadruple the number of the schools they serve that meet the Healthier US School Challenge.

School Nutrition Association: The School Nutrition Association (SNA), which represents food service workers in more than 75% of the nation’s schools, has joined the Let’s Move campaign. Working with other education partners, SNA has committed to increasing education and awareness of the dangers of obesity among their members and the students they serve, and ensuring that the nutrition programs in 10,000 schools meet the Healthier US School Challenge standards over the next five years.

School Leadership: Working with school food service providers and SNA, the National School Board Association, the Council of Great City Schools and the American Association of School Administrators Council have all embraced, and committed to meeting, the national Let’s Move goal. The Council of Great City Schools has also has set a goal of having every urban school meet the Healthier US Schools gold standard within five years. The American Association of School Administrators has committed to ensuring that an additional 2,000 schools meet the challenge over the next two years. These combined efforts will touch 50 million students and their families in every school district in America.

Accessing Healthy, Affordable Food
More than 23 million Americans, including 6.5 million children, live in low-income urban and rural neighborhoods that are more than a mile from a supermarket. These communities, where access to affordable, quality, and nutritious foods is limited, are known as food deserts. Lack of access is one reason why many children are not eating recommended levels of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. And food insecurity and hunger among children is widespread. A recent USDA report showed that in 2008, an estimated 49.1 million people, including 16.7 million children, lived in households that experienced hunger multiple times throughout the year. The Administration, through new federal investments and the creation of public private partnerships, will:

Eliminate Food Deserts: As part of the President’s proposed FY 2011 budget, the Administration announced the new Healthy Food Financing Initiative – a partnership between the U.S. Departments of Treasury, Agriculture and Health and Human Services that will invest $400 million a year to help bring grocery stores to underserved areas and help places such as convenience stores and bodegas carry healthier food options. Through these initiatives and private sector engagement, the Administration will work to eliminate food deserts across the country within seven years.

Increase Farmers Markets: The President’s 2011 Budget proposes an additional $5 million investment in the Farmers Market Promotion Program at the U.S. Department of Agriculture which provides grants to establish, and improve access to, farmers markets.

Increasing Physical Activity
Children need 60 minutes of active play each day. Yet, the average American child spends more than 7.5 hours a day watching TV and movies, using cell phones and computers, and playing video games, and only a third of high school students get the recommended levels of physical activity. Through public-private partnerships, and reforms of existing federal programs, the Administration will address this imbalance by:

Expanding and Modernizing the President’s Physical Fitness Challenge: In the coming weeks, the President will be naming new members to the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, housed at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The council will be charged with increasing participation in the President’s Challenge and with modernizing and expanding it, so that it is consistent with the latest research and science.

Doubling the Number of Presidential Active Lifestyle Awards: As part of the President’s Physical Fitness Council, the President will challenge both children and adults to commit to physical activity five days a week, for six weeks. As part of the First Lady’s commitment to solve the problem of childhood obesity in a generation, the Council will double the number of children in the 2010-2011 school year who earn a “Presidential Active Lifestyle Award” for meeting this challenge.

Safe and Healthy Schools: The U.S. Department of Education will be working with Congress on the creation of a Safe and Healthy Schools fund as part of the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary School Education Act this year. This fund will support schools with comprehensive strategies to improve their school environment, including efforts to get children physically active in and outside of school, and improve the quality and availability of physical education.

Professional Sports: Professional athletes from twelve leagues including the NFL, MLB, WNBA, and MLS have joined the First Lady on the Let’s Move campaign and will promote “60 Minutes of Play a Day” through sports clinics, public service announcements, and more to help reach the national goal of solving the problem of childhood obesity in a generation.

Partnership for a Healthier America

Core to the success of this initiative is the recognition that government approaches alone will not solve this challenge. Achieving the goal will require engaging in partnerships with States, communities, and the non-profit and for-profit private sectors. To support this effort, several foundations are coming together to organize and fund a new central foundation – the Partnership for a Healthier America – to serve as a nonpartisan convener across the private, non-profit and public sectors to accelerate existing efforts addressing childhood obesity and to facilitate commitments towards the national goal of solving childhood obesity within a generation. The Partnership for a Healthier America is being created by a number of leading health care foundations and childhood obesity non-profits, including the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, The California Endowment, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, The Alliance for Healthier Generation, Kaiser Permanente, and Nemours, and will seek to add new members in the days and months ahead.

***EMBARGOED UNTIL NOON EST***
Remarks of First Lady Michelle Obama
As Prepared for Delivery
Let’s Move Launch
Washington, DC
February 9, 2010

Hello everyone, thank you so much. It is such a pleasure to be here with all of you today.

Tammy, thank you for that wonderful introduction and for your outstanding work in the White House garden.

I want to recognize the extraordinary Cabinet members with us today – Secretaries Vilsack, Sebelius, Duncan, Salazar, Donovan and Solis – as well as Surgeon General Benjamin. Thanks to all of you for your excellent work.

Thanks also to Senators Harkin and Gillibrand, and Representatives DeLauro, Christensen and Fudge for their leadership and for being here today.

And I want to thank Tiki Barber, Dr. Judith Palfrey, Will Allen, and Mayors Johnson and Curtatone for braving the weather to join us, and for their outstanding work every day to help our kids lead active, healthy lives.

And I hear that congratulations are in order for the Watkins Hornets, who just won the Pee Wee National Football Championship. Let’s give them a hand to show them how proud we are.

We’re here today because we care deeply about the health and well-being of these kids and kids like them all across the country. And we’re determined to finally take on one of the most serious threats to their future: the epidemic of childhood obesity in America today – an issue that’s of great concern to me not just as a First Lady, but as a mom.

Often, when we talk about this issue, we begin by citing sobering statistics like the ones you’ve heard today – that over the past three decades, childhood obesity rates in America have tripled; that nearly one third of children in America are now overweight or obese – one in three.

But these numbers don’t paint the full picture. These words – “overweight” and “obese” – they don’t tell the full story. This isn’t just about inches and pounds or how our kids look. It’s about how our kids feel, and how they feel about themselves. It’s about the impact we’re seeing on every aspect of their lives.

Pediatricians like Dr. Palfrey are seeing kids with high blood pressure and high cholesterol – even Type II diabetes, which they used to see only in adults. Teachers see the teasing and bullying; school counselors see the depression and low-self-esteem; and coaches see kids struggling to keep up, or stuck on the sidelines.

Military leaders report that obesity is now one of the most common disqualifiers for military service. Economic experts tell us that we’re spending outrageous amounts of money treating obesity-related conditions like diabetes, heart disease and cancer. And public health experts tell us that the current generation could actually be on track to have a shorter lifespan than their parents.

None of us wants this kind of future for our kids – or for our country. So instead of just talking about this problem, instead of just worrying and wringing our hands about it, let’s do something about it. Let’s act…let’s move.

Let’s move to help families and communities make healthier decisions for their kids. Let’s move to bring together governors and mayors, doctors and nurses, businesses, community groups, educators, athletes, Moms and Dads to tackle this challenge once and for all. And that’s why we’re here today – to launch “Let’s Move” – a campaign that will rally our nation to achieve a single, ambitious goal: solving the problem of childhood obesity in a generation, so that children born today will reach adulthood at a healthy weight.

But to get where we want to go, we need to first understand how we got here. So let me ask the adults here today to close your eyes and think back for a moment…think back to a time when we were growing up.

Like many of you, when I was young, we walked to school every day, rain or shine – and in Chicago, we did it in wind, sleet, hail and snow too. Remember how, at school, we had recess twice a day and gym class twice a week, and we spent hours running around outside when school got out. You didn’t go inside until dinner was ready – and when it was, we would gather around the table for dinner as a family. And there was one simple rule: you ate what Mom fixed – good, bad, or ugly. Kids had absolutely no say in what they felt like eating. If you didn’t like it, you were welcome to go to bed hungry. Back then, fast food was a treat, and dessert was mainly a Sunday affair.

In my home, we weren’t rich. The foods we ate weren’t fancy. But there was always a vegetable on the plate. And we managed to lead a pretty healthy life.

Many kids today aren’t so fortunate. Urban sprawl and fears about safety often mean the only walking they do is out their front door to a bus or a car. Cuts in recess and gym mean a lot less running around during the school day, and lunchtime may mean a school lunch heavy on calories and fat. For many kids, those afternoons spent riding bikes and playing ball until dusk have been replaced by afternoons inside with TV, the Internet, and video games.

And these days, with parents working longer hours, working two jobs, they don’t have time for those family dinners. Or with the price of fresh fruits and vegetables rising 50 percent higher than overall food costs these past two decades, they don’t have the money. Or they don’t have a supermarket in their community, so their best option for dinner is something from the shelf of the local convenience store or gas station.

So many parents desperately want to do the right thing, but they feel like the deck is stacked against them. They know their kids’ health is their responsibility – but they feel like it’s out of their control. They’re being bombarded by contradictory information at every turn, and they don’t know who or what to believe. The result is a lot of guilt and anxiety – and a sense that no matter what they do, it won’t be right, and it won’t be enough.

I know what that feels like. I’ve been there. While today I’m blessed with more help and support than I ever dreamed of, I didn’t always live in the White House.

It wasn’t that long ago that I was a working Mom, struggling to balance meetings and deadlines with soccer and ballet. And there were some nights when everyone was tired and hungry, and we just went to the drive-thru because it was quick and cheap, or went with one of the less healthy microwave options, because it was easy. And one day, my pediatrician pulled me aside and told me, “You might want to think about doing things a little bit differently.”

That was a moment of truth for me. It was a wakeup call that I was the one in charge, even if it didn’t always feel that way.

And today, it’s time for a moment of truth for our country; it’s time we all had a wakeup call. It’s time for us to be honest with ourselves about how we got here. Our kids didn’t do this to themselves. Our kids don’t decide what’s served to them at school or whether there’s time for gym class or recess. Our kids don’t choose to make food products with tons of sugar and sodium in super-sized portions, and then to have those products marketed to them everywhere they turn. And no matter how much they beg for pizza, fries and candy, ultimately, they are not, and should not, be the ones calling the shots at dinnertime. We’re in charge. We make these decisions.

But that’s actually the good news here. If we’re the ones who make the decisions, then we can decide to solve this problem. And when I say “we,” I’m not just talking about folks here in Washington. This isn’t about politics. There’s nothing Democratic or Republican, liberal or conservative, about doing what’s best for our kids. And I’ve spoken with many experts about this issue, and not a single one has said that the solution is to have government tell people what to do. Instead, I’m talking about what we can do. I’m talking about commonsense steps we can take in our families and communities to help our kids lead active, healthy lives.

This isn’t about trying to turn the clock back to when we were kids, or preparing five course meals from scratch every night. No one has time for that. And it’s not about being 100 percent perfect 100 percent of the time. Lord knows I’m not. There’s a place for cookies and ice cream, burgers and fries – that’s part of the fun of childhood.

Often, it’s just about balance. It’s about small changes that add up – like walking to school, replacing soda with water or skim milk, trimming those portion sizes a little – things like this can mean the difference between being healthy and fit or not.

There’s no one-size-fits-all solution here. Instead, it’s about families making manageable changes that fit with their schedules, their budgets, and their needs and tastes.

And it’s about communities working to support these efforts. Mayors like Mayors Johnson and Curtatone, who are building sidewalks, parks and community gardens. Athletes and role models like Tiki Barber, who are building playgrounds to help kids stay active. Community leaders like Will Allen who are bringing farmers markets to underserved areas. Companies like the food industry leaders who came together last fall and acknowledged their responsibility to be part of the solution. But there’s so much more to do.

And that’s the mission of Let’s Move – to create a wave of efforts across this country that get us to our goal of solving childhood obesity in a generation.

We kicked off this initiative this morning when my husband signed a presidential memorandum establishing the first ever government-wide Task Force on Childhood Obesity. The task force is composed of representatives from key agencies – including many who are here today. Over the next 90 days, these folks will review every program and policy relating to child nutrition and physical activity. And they’ll develop an action plan marshalling these resources to meet our goal. And to ensure we’re continuously on track to do so, the Task Force will set concrete benchmarks to measure our progress.

But we can’t wait 90 days to get going here. So let’s move right now, starting today, on a series of initiatives to help achieve our goal.

First, let’s move to offer parents the tools and information they need – and that they’ve been asking for – to make healthy choices for their kids. We’ve been working with the FDA and several manufacturers and retailers to make our food labels more customer-friendly, so people don’t have to spend hours squinting at words they can’t pronounce to figure out whether the food they’re buying is healthy or not. In fact, just today, the nation’s largest beverage companies announced that they’ll be taking steps to provide clearly visible information about calories on the front of their products – as well as on vending machines and soda fountains. This is exactly the kind of vital information parents need to make good choices for their kids.

We’re also working with the American Academy of Pediatrics, supporting their groundbreaking efforts to ensure that doctors not only regularly measure children’s BMI, but actually write out a prescription detailing steps parents can take to keep their kids healthy and fit.

In addition, we’re working with the Walt Disney Company, NBC Universal, and Viacom to launch a nationwide public awareness campaign educating parents and children about how to fight childhood obesity.

And we’re creating a one-stop shopping website – LetsMove.gov – so with the click of a mouse, parents can find helpful tips and step-by-step strategies, including healthy recipes, exercise plans, and charts they can use to track their family’s progress.

But let’s remember: 31 million American children participate in federal school meal programs – and many of these kids consume as many as half their daily calories at school. And what we don’t want is a situation where parents are taking all the right steps at home – and then their kids undo all that work with salty, fatty food in the school cafeteria.

So let’s move to get healthier food into our nation’s schools. That’s the second part of this initiative. We’ll start by updating and strengthening the Child Nutrition Act – the law that sets nutrition standards for what our kids eat at school. And we’ve proposed an historic investment of an additional $10 billion over ten years to fund that legislation.

With this new investment, we’ll knock down barriers that keep families from participating in school meal programs and serve an additional one million students in the first five years alone. And we’ll dramatically improve the quality of the food we offer in schools – including in school vending machines. We’ll take away some of the empty calories, and add more fresh fruits and vegetables and other nutritious options.

We also plan to double the number of schools in the HealthierUS School Challenge – an innovative program that recognizes schools doing the very best work to keep kids healthy – from providing healthy school meals to requiring physical education classes each week. To help us meet that goal, I’m thrilled to announce that for the very first time, several major school food suppliers have come together and committed to decrease sugar, fat and salt; increase whole grains; and double the fresh produce in the school meals they serve. And also for the first time, food service workers – along with principals, superintendents and school board members across America – are coming together to support these efforts. With these commitments, we’ll reach just about every school child in this country with better information and more nutritious meals to put them on track to a healthier life.

These are major steps forward. But let’s not forget about the rest of the calories kids consume – the ones they eat outside of school, often at home, in their neighborhoods. And when 23.5 million Americans, including 6.5 million American children, live in “food deserts” – communities without a supermarket – those calories are too often empty ones. You can see these areas in dark purple in the new USDA Food Environment Atlas we’re unveiling today. This Atlas maps out everything from diabetes and obesity rates across the country to the food deserts you see on this screen.

So let’s move to ensure that all our families have access to healthy, affordable food in their communities. That’s the third part of this initiative. Today, for the very first time, we’re making a commitment to eliminate food deserts in America – and we plan to do so within seven years. Now, we know this is ambitious. And it will take a serious commitment from both government and the private sector. That’s why we plan to invest $400 million a year in a Healthy Food Financing initiative that will bring grocery stores to underserved areas and help places like convenience stores carry healthier food options. And this initiative won’t just help families eat better, it will help create jobs and revitalize neighborhoods across America.

But we know that eating right is only part of the battle. Experts recommend that children get 60 minutes of active play each day. If this sounds like a lot, consider this: kids today spend an average of seven and a half hours a day watching TV, and playing with cell phones, computers, and video games. And only a third of high school students get the recommended levels of physical activity.

So let’s move. And I mean that literally. Let’s find new ways for kids to be physically active, both in and out of school. That’s the fourth, and final, part of this initiative.

We’ll increase participation in the President’s Physical Fitness Challenge. And we’ll modernize the challenge, so it’s not just about how athletic kids are – how many sit-ups or push-ups they can do – but how active they are. We’ll double the number of kids who earn a Presidential Active Lifestyle Award in the next school year, recognizing those who engage in physical activity five days a week, for six weeks. We’ve also recruited professional athletes from a dozen different leagues – including the NFL, Major League Baseball, and the WNBA – to promote these efforts through sports clinics, public service announcements and more.

So that’s some of what we’re doing to achieve our goal. And we know we won’t get there this year, or this Administration. We know it’ll take a nationwide movement that continues long after we’re gone. That’s why today, I’m pleased to announce that a new, independent foundation has been created to rally and coordinate businesses, non-profits, and state and local governments to keep working until we reach our goal – and to measure our progress along the way. It’s called the Partnership for a Healthier America, and it’s bringing together some of the leading experts on childhood obesity, like The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, The California Endowment, The Kellogg Foundation, the Brookings Institution, and the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, which is a partnership between the American Heart Association and the Clinton Foundation. And we expect others to join in the coming months.

So this is a pretty serious effort. And I know that in these challenging times for our country, there are those who will wonder whether this should really be a priority. They might view things like healthy school lunches and physical fitness challenges as “extras” – as things we spring for once we’ve taken care of the necessities. They might ask, “How can we spend money on fruits and vegetables in our school cafeterias when many of our schools don’t have enough textbooks or teachers?” Or they might ask, “How can we afford to build parks and sidewalks when we can’t even afford our health care costs?”

But when you step back and think about it, you realize – these are false choices. If kids aren’t getting adequate nutrition, even the best textbooks and teachers in the world won’t help them learn. If they don’t have safe places to run and play, and they wind up with obesity-related conditions, then those health care costs will just keep rising.

So yes, we have to do it all…we’ll need to make some modest, but critical, investments in the short-run…but we know that they’ll pay for themselves – likely many times over – in the long-run. Because we won’t just be keeping our kids healthy when they’re young. We’ll be teaching them habits to keep them healthy their entire lives.

We saw this firsthand here at the White House when we planted our garden with students like Tammy last Spring. One of Tammy’s classmates wrote in an essay that her time in the garden, and I quote, “…has made me think about the choices I have with what I put in my mouth…” Another wrote with great excitement that he’d learned that tomatoes are both a fruit and a vegetable and contain vitamins that fight diseases. Armed with that knowledge, he declared, “So the tomato is a fruit and is now my best friend.”

Think about the ripple effect when children use this knowledge to make healthy decisions for the rest of their lives. Think about the effect it will have on every aspect of their lives. Whether they can keep up with their classmates on the playground and stay focused in the classroom. Whether they have the self-confidence to pursue careers of their dreams, and the stamina to succeed in those careers. Whether they’ll have the energy and strength to teach their own kids how to throw a ball or ride a bike, and whether they’ll live long enough to see their grandkids grow up – maybe even their great grandkids too.

In the end, we know that solving our obesity challenge won’t be easy – and it certainly won’t be quick. But make no mistake about it, this problem can be solved.

This isn’t like a disease where we’re still waiting for the cure to be discovered – we know the cure for this. This isn’t like putting a man on the moon or inventing the Internet – it doesn’t take some stroke of genius or feat of technology. We have everything we need, right now, to help our kids lead healthy lives. Rarely in the history of this country have we encountered a problem of such magnitude and consequence that is so eminently solvable. So let’s move to solve it.

I don’t want our kids to live diminished lives because we failed to step up today. I don’t want them looking back decades from now and asking us, why didn’t you help us when you had a chance? Why didn’t you put us first when it mattered most?

So much of what we all want for our kids isn’t within our control. We want them to succeed in everything they do. We want to protect them from every hardship and spare them from every mistake. But we know we can’t do all of that. What we can do…what is fully within our control…is to give them the very best start in their journeys. What we can do is give them advantages early in life that will stay with them long after we’re gone. As President Franklin Roosevelt once put it: “We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future.”

That is our obligation, not just as parents who love our kids, but as citizens who love this country. So let’s move. Let’s get this done. Let’s give our kids what they need to have the future they deserve.

Thank you so much.

White House.gov Press Office Feed

02.09.10 06:36 AM

MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES

SUBJECT: Establishing a Task Force on Childhood Obesity

Across our country, childhood obesity has reached epidemic rates and, as a result, our children may live shorter lives than their parents. Obesity has been recognized as a problem for decades, but efforts to address this crisis to date have been insufficient. My Administration is committed to redoubling our efforts to solve the problem of childhood obesity within a generation through a comprehensive approach that builds on effective strategies, engages families and communities, and mobilizes both public and private sector resources.

Nearly one third of children in America are overweight or obese — a rate that has tripled in adolescents and more than doubled in younger children since 1980. One third of all individuals born in the year 2000 or later will eventually suffer from diabetes over the course of their lifetime, while too many others will face chronic obesity-related health problems such as heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer, and asthma. Without effective intervention, many more children will endure serious illnesses that will put a strain on our health-care system. We must act now to improve the health of our Nation’s children and avoid spending billions of dollars treating preventable disease.

Therefore, I have set a goal to solve the problem of childhood obesity within a generation so that children born today will reach adulthood at a healthy weight. The First Lady will lead a national public awareness effort to tackle the epidemic of childhood obesity. She will encourage involvement by actors from every sector — the public, nonprofit, and private sectors, as well as parents and youth — to help support and amplify the work of the Federal Government in improving the health of our children. But to meet our goal, we must accelerate implementation of successful strategies that will prevent and combat obesity. Such strategies include updating child nutrition policies in a way that addresses the best available scientific information, ensuring access to healthy, affordable food in schools and communities, as well as increasing physical activity and empowering parents and caregivers with the information and tools they need to make good choices for themselves and their families. To succeed, these efforts must be strategically targeted, and accountability should be clear. They will help our children develop lifelong healthy habits, ensuring they reach their greatest potential toward building a healthier and more prosperous America. To these ends, I hereby direct the following:

Section 1. Establishment of the Task Force on Childhood Obesity. There is established a Task Force on Childhood Obesity (Task Force) to develop an interagency action plan to solve the problem of obesity among our Nation’s children within a generation. The Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy shall serve as Chair of the Task Force.

(a) Membership of the Task Force. In addition to the Chair, the Task Force shall consist of the following members, or any senior official designated by one of the following members who is a part of the member’s department, agency, or office, and who is a full time officer or employee of the Federal Government:

(1) the Secretary of the Interior;

(2) the Secretary of Agriculture;

(3) the Secretary of Health and Human Services;

(4) the Secretary of Education;

(5) the Director of the Office of Management and Budget;

(6) the Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff to the First Lady;

(7) the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy; and

(8) the heads of other executive departments, agencies, or offices as the Chair may designate.

At the direction of the Chair, the Task Force may establish subgroups consisting exclusively of Task Force members or their designees under this section, as appropriate.

(b) Administration of the Task Force. The Department of Health and Human Services shall provide funding and administrative support for the Task Force to the extent permitted by law and within existing appropriations.

Sec. 2. Mission and Functions of the Task Force. The Task Force shall work across executive departments and agencies to develop a coordinated Federal response while also identifying nongovernmental actions that can be taken to solve the problem of childhood obesity within a generation. The functions of the Task Force are advisory only and shall include, but are not limited to, making recommendations to meet the following objectives:

(a) ensuring access to healthy, affordable food;

(b) increasing physical activity in schools and communities;

(c) providing healthier food in schools; and

(d) empowering parents with information and tools to make good choices for themselves and their families.

Sec. 3. Interagency Action Plan. Within 90 days of the date of this memorandum, the Task Force shall develop and submit to the President a comprehensive interagency plan that:

(a) details a coordinated strategy by executive departments and agencies to meet the objectives of the Task Force and identifies areas for reform to ensure complementary efforts and avoid duplication, both across the Federal Government and between other public or nongovernmental actors;

(b) includes comprehensive, multi-sectoral strategies from each member executive department, agency, or office and describes the status and scope of its efforts to achieve this goal;

(c) identifies key benchmarks and provides for regular measurement, assessment, and reporting of executive branch efforts to combat childhood obesity;

(d) describes a coordinated action plan for identifying relevant evidence gaps and conducting or facilitating needed research to fill those gaps;

(e) assists in the assessment and development of legislative, budgetary, and policy proposals that can improve the health and well-being of children, their families, and communities; and

(f) describes potential areas of collaboration with other public or nongovernmental actors, taking into consideration the types of implementation or research objectives the Federal Government, other public actors, or nongovernmental actors may be particularly well-situated to accomplish.

Sec. 4. Outreach. Consistent with the objectives set out in this memorandum, the Task Force, in accordance with applicable law, and in addition to regular meetings, shall conduct outreach with representatives of private and nonprofit organizations, State, tribal and local authorities, and other interested persons that can assist with the Task Force’s development of a detailed set of recommendations to solve the problem of childhood obesity.

Sec. 5. General Provisions. (a) The heads of executive departments and agencies shall assist and provide information to the Task Force, consistent with applicable law, as may be necessary to carry out the functions of the Task Force. Each executive department, agency, and office shall bear its own expense for participating in the Task Force.

(b) Nothing in this memorandum shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) authority granted by law to an executive department, agency, or the head thereof; or

(ii) functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

(c) This memorandum shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.

(d) 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.

Sec. 6. Publication. The Secretary of Health and Human Services is authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.

BARACK OBAMA

White House.gov Press Office Feed

02.09.10 06:48 AM

9:16 A.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning, everybody. I am so proud of the work that the First Lady, along with the Cabinet Secretaries behind me, have done in trying to tackle one of the most urgent health issues that we face in this country, and that is the increase of childhood obesity.

And because of the outstanding planning that they’ve done, they are going to be rolling out a terrific plan of action that involves the private sector as well as government agencies coordinating much more effectively a lot of public information out there to help parents make good decisions about allowing their children to be active and eating healthier.

And what the executive order I’m going to be signing today does is to create a 90-day plan that allows optimal coordination as we move forward, in addition to the coordination that we’re doing with private sector companies and not-for-profits and other organizations out there that are interested in this issue.

So we think that this has enormous promise in improving the health of our children, in giving support to parents to make the kinds of healthy choices that oftentimes are very difficult in this kind of environment. And so I just want to say how proud I am of the First Lady for her outstanding work and I will now sign this order.

(The executive order is signed.)

There you go.

MRS. OBAMA: Nice job.

THE PRESIDENT: It’s done, honey. Thanks. (Applause.)

MRS. OBAMA: Now we work.

THE PRESIDENT: Now they get to work. Thank you, guys.

END
9:19 A.M. EST

White House.gov Press Office Feed

02.08.10 02:40 PM

Michelle and I were deeply saddened today to hear about the passing of Congressman John Murtha. Jack was a devoted husband, a loving father and a steadfast advocate for the people of Pennsylvania for nearly 40 years. His passion for service was born during his decorated career in the United States Marine Corps, and he went on to earn the distinction of being the first Vietnam War combat veteran elected to Congress. Jack’s tough-as-nails reputation carried over to Congress, where he became a respected voice on issues of national security. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife of nearly 55 years, Joyce, their three children, and the entire Murtha family.

White House.gov Press Office Feed

02.08.10 07:10 AM

The United States and the European Union condemn the continuing human rights violations in Iran since the June 12 election. The large scale detentions and mass trials, the threatened execution of protestors, the intimidation of family members of those detained and the continuing denial to its citizens of the right to peaceful expression are contrary to human rights norms.

Our concerns are based on our commitment to universal respect for human rights. We are particularly concerned by the potential for further violence and repression during the coming days, especially around the anniversary of the Islamic Republic’s founding on 11 February. We call on the Government of Iran to live up to its international human rights obligations, to end its abuses against its own people, to hold accountable those who have committed the abuses and to release those who are exercising their rights.

White House.gov Press Office Feed

02.05.10 11:06 AM

The Central Intelligence Agency today held a memorial service at its headquarters for the seven Americans killed in eastern Afghanistan on December 30th. Family members and more than a thousand Agency officers gathered in attendance, along with guests including President Obama and senior officials from the Intelligence Community, the White House, and the Pentagon, as well as members of Congress.

President Obama spoke of the country’s gratitude to the families. “Everything you instilled in them — the virtues of service and decency and duty — were on display that December day. That is what you gave them. That is what you gave to America. And our nation will be forever in your debt.” He told CIA officers that their “seven heroes” were at the vanguard of a mission vital to national security. “Let their sacrifice be a summons. To carry on their work. To complete this mission. To win this war, and to keep our country safe.”

CIA Director Leon E. Panetta paid tribute to the talent and accomplishments of the fallen, telling their loved ones that Agency officers “simply cannot do these jobs—we can’t do these jobs—without the love and support of our families.” He called the seven “genuine patriots” who “lived up to our highest principles,” and pledged that CIA would strive to be worthy of them. Panetta added: “As they worked to protect lives, they sacrificed their own. For this, we honor them—now and always…We will carry this fight to the enemy. Our resolve is unbroken, our energy undiminished, and our dedication to each other and to our nation, unshakable.”

***

Remarks by The President at Memorial for CIA Officers
CIA Headquarters
Langley, Virginia

THE PRESIDENT: America’s intelligence agencies are a community, and the CIA is a family. That is how we gather here today. I speak as a grateful Commander-in-Chief who relies on you. There are members of Congress here who support you. Leaders — Leon Panetta, Steve Kappes — who guide you. And most of all, family, friends and colleagues who love you and grieve with you.

For more than 60 years, the security of our nation has demanded that the work of this agency remain largely unknown. But today, our gratitude as citizens demands that we speak of seven American patriots who loved their country and gave their lives to defend it:

[Names redacted.]

They came from different corners of our country — men and women — and each walked their own path to that rugged base in the mountains. Some had come to this work after a lifetime of protecting others — in law enforcement, in the military; one was just a few years out of college.

Some had devoted years, decades, even, to unraveling the dark web of terrorists that threatened us; others, like so many of you, joined these ranks when 9/11 called a new generation to service. Some had spent years on dangerous tours around the globe; others had just arrived in harm’s way.

But there, at the remote outpost, they were bound by a common spirit. They heard their country’s call and answered it. They served in the shadows and took pride in it. They were doing their job and they loved it. They saw the danger and accepted it. They knew that the price of freedom is high and, in an awful instant, they paid that price.

There are no words that can ease the ache in your hearts. But to their colleagues and all who served with them — those here today, those still recovering, those watching around the world — I say: Let their sacrifice be a summons. To carry on their work. To complete this mission. To win this war, and to keep our country safe.

To their parents — it is against the natural order of life for parents to lay their children to rest. Yet these weeks of solemn tribute have revealed for all to see — that you raised remarkable sons and daughters. Everything you instilled in them — the virtues of service and decency and duty — were on display that December day. That is what you gave them. That is what you gave to America. And our nation will be forever in your debt.

To the spouses — your husbands and wives raised their hand and took an oath to protect and defend the country that they loved. They fulfilled that oath with their life. But they also took your hand and made a vow to you. And that bond of love endures, from this world to the next. Amidst grief that is sometimes unbearable, may you find some comfort in our vow to you — that this agency, and this country, will stand with you and support you always.

And to the beautiful children — I know that this must be so hard and confusing, but please always remember this. It wasn’t always easy for your mom or dad to leave home. But they went to another country to defend our country. And they gave their lives to protect yours. And as you grow, the best way to keep their memory alive and the highest tribute you can pay to them is to live as they lived, with honor and dignity and integrity.

They served in secrecy, but today every American can see their legacy. For the record of their service — and of this generation of intelligence professionals — is written all around us. It’s written in the extremists who no longer threaten our country — because you eliminated them. It’s written in the attacks that never occurred — because you thwarted them. And it’s written in the Americans, across this country and around the world, who are alive today — because you saved them.

And should anyone here ever wonder whether your fellow citizens truly appreciate that service, you need only remember the extraordinary tributes of recent weeks: the thousands of Americans who have sat down at their computers and posted messages to seven heroes they never knew; in the outpouring of generosity to the memorial foundation that will help support these proud families.

And along a funeral procession in Massachusetts, in the freezing cold, mile after mile, friends and total strangers paying their respects, small children holding signs saying “thank you.” And a woman holding up a large American flag because, she said simply, “He died for me and my family.”

As a nation, we pledge to be there for you and your families. We need you more than ever. In an ever-changing world where new dangers emerge suddenly, we need you to be one step ahead of nimble adversaries. In this information age, we need you to sift through vast universes of data to find intelligence that can be acted upon swiftly. And in an era of technology and unmanned systems, we still need men and women like these seven — professionals of skill and talent and courage who are willing to make the ultimate sacrifice to protect our nation.

Because of them, because of you, a child born in America today is welcomed into a country that is proud and confident, strong and hopeful — just as Molly Roberson welcomed her daughter Piper this week, both of whom join us today. Piper will never know her dad, Scott. But thanks to Molly, she will know what her father stood for — a man who served his country, who did his duty, and who gave his life to keep her safe.

And on some distant day, years from now, when she is grown, if Piper — or any of these children — seeks to understand for themselves, they’ll need only come here — to Langley, through these doors, and stand before that proud Memorial Wall that honors the fallen.

And perhaps they’ll run their fingers over the stars that recall their parent’s service. Perhaps they’ll walk over to that Book of Honor, turn the pages, and see their parent’s names. And at that moment of quiet reflection, they will see what we all know today — that our nation is blessed to have men and women such as these. That we are humbled by their service, that we give thanks for every day that you keep us safe.

May God bless these seven patriots, may he watch over their families. And may God bless the United States of America.

***

Excerpts from Remarks by CIA Director Leon E. Panetta
At Memorial Service Held at CIA Headquarters for Those Who Fell In The Line Of Duty In Afghanistan On December 30, 2009

Mr. President, Honored Guests, my colleagues from the CIA, Ladies and Gentlemen: Today we come together to honor seven courageous men and women. And to their loved ones, we come together to offer our comfort, our support, and our lasting gratitude.

As Director, I have never had a more difficult duty than to bid farewell to colleagues taken from us. From Dover, to the family services, to this memorial, it is tough to say good-bye. Within this Agency, they were more than co-workers or friends—they were part of our family. And as family, even knowing that God has a plan for each human life, it’s hard to accept the sudden loss of so many good and decent people.

Thank you, Mr. President, for being here–you honor us with your presence, and I thank you. Thank you, Madam Speaker—you also honor us with your presence. We are also joined this morning by many senior officials—from the Intelligence Community, the White House, the Congress, the Pentagon, and many other places. You, too, are part of our family, because the responsibility to protect and defend the nation belongs to all of us. On behalf of the entire Agency, I thank you for your support, both public and private, during these difficult days. Your presence here is important to all of us.

The deepest grief, of course, is felt by those who knew our officers best and who loved them most—who called them husband and wife, father, mother, son, daughter, sister, brother.

Despite the pain and the grief, the families of our fallen have been pillars of strength. As tragic as this event has been, you are our inspiration. Thank you for sharing with us your loved ones—these extraordinary people. All they are and all they achieved is because of you. We simply cannot do these jobs—we can’t do these jobs—without the love and support of our families. We are forever grateful for the support and for the love. We are forever grateful for the sacrifices all of you made as they faithfully served our nation. We are honored to have you as part of the CIA family because, in a very real way, your love is what made them patriots. They gave their lives because they loved you—and they wanted all of us, and all of you—to have a safer nation.

Six decades ago, Adlai Stevenson famously described patriotism as “the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime.” What he said next was equally important, and I quote: “These are words that are easy to utter. But this is a mighty assignment. For it is easier to fight for principles than to live up to them.”

The men and women we remember today are genuine patriots. They took on that mighty assignment. They not only fought for this nation, they lived up to our highest principles. They understood that America is more than a place. It is the keeper of our ideal—that all people deserve to live in freedom and without fear.

Devotion to that ideal brought our colleagues to Khowst, that little known outpost in Afghanistan. Like others before them, they stepped forward to perform a very dangerous, but essential, mission. They collected intelligence—which was what they were trained to do—that simply cannot be obtained anywhere else. With courage and skill, they worked to defeat the most urgent threat of our time. And as they worked to protect lives, they sacrificed their own. For this, we honor them—now and always.

************************************************** *

These remarkable men and women are the story of America. They are the heart and soul of this great country. Their devotion to duty is the foundation of our country. Throughout history, our nation’s strength has rested on the service and the sacrifice of individual Americans—brave warriors who believed that the life of the nation was worth their own lives. The officers killed and wounded on December 30th upheld that enduring truth.

In silent service to our country, they accepted great risks, and they bore heavy burdens. They can rest now in the knowledge that they did their duty: They helped to keep our nation safe.

In their name and in their honor, the men and women of CIA will carry on their noble mission. Each of their stars—stars that we see here—will be emblazoned on our Memorial Wall, and will forever be a reminder of their sacrifice—and will forever be an inspiration to carry on their mission. For this Agency—by virtue of its purpose and its people—we find strength in adversity. We are on the front lines. We will carry this fight to the enemy. Our resolve is unbroken, our energy undiminished, and our dedication to each other and to our nation, unshakable.

White House.gov Press Office Feed

02.05.10 12:23 PM

President Obama will welcome Prime Minister (Taoiseach) Brian Cowen of Ireland to the White House on Wednesday, March 17. The United States and Ireland share strong bilateral relations, deep cultural ties, and a commitment to positive change in the world. The President appreciates the personal contributions and steadfast support of the Taoiseach and U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown in support of the historic agreement achieved by Northern Ireland leaders today, which is an important step on the pathway to greater peace and prosperity for all communities on the island. The President looks forward to commemorating his second St. Patrick’s Day in the White House with the Taoiseach, a celebration which serves as a reminder of the shared history and close kinship between our two countries.

The President will also greet First Minister Peter Robinson and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness of Northern Ireland at the White House on March 17 and discuss their progress toward meeting their shared commitments.

White House.gov Press Office Feed

02.05.10 01:11 PM

WASHINGTON – Today, President Barack Obama announced his intent to appoint the following individuals to key administration posts:

Chuck Close, Member, President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities Fred Goldring, Member, President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities Sheila Johnson, Member, President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities Pamela Joyner, Member, President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities Jhumpa Lahiri, Member, President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities Ken Solomon, Member, President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities President Obama said, “I am proud that these distinguished individuals will serve in my Administration. The arts and the humanities enhance the vibrancy of our society, inspire us and strengthen our democracy. I look forward to working with them in the weeks and months ahead.”

President Obama announced today his intent to nominate the following individuals:

Chuck Close, Member, President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities
Chuck Close is a visual artist noted for his highly inventive techniques used to paint the human face, and is best known for his large-scale, photo based portrait paintings. He is also an accomplished printmaker and photographer whose work has been the subject of more than 200 solo exhibitions in more than 20 countries, including major retrospective exhibitions at New York’s Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and most recently at The State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia. In 2000, Mr. Close was presented with the prestigious National Medal of Arts by President Clinton. Close is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and has served on the boards of many arts organizations.

Fred Goldring, Member, President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities
Fred Goldring co-founded the prominent California-based entertainment law firm Goldring, Hertz and Lichtenstein which represents numerous global superstar recording and performing artists, and is also co-founder of entertainment strategic consultancy, MemBrain, which works with Fortune 500 companies and new media and technology enterprises regarding entertainment marketing strategy. Mr. Goldring is also the former Chairman of the Board of Directors of Rock The Vote, and has been the co-recipient of an Emmy Award, a Clio Award, a Global Media Award and an NAACP Image Award.

Sheila Johnson, Member, President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities
Sheila Johnson is the founder and CEO of Salamander Hospitality; co-founder of Black Entertainment Television; a documentary film producer; and the only African-American woman to co-own three professional sports teams. A classically trained violinist who began her career as a music teacher, Ms. Johnson is a long time advocate for the arts. She serves as Chair of the Board of Governors of Parsons The New School for Design and several boards including Americans for the Arts.

Pamela Joyner, Member, President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities
Pamela Joyner is the Founder of Avid Partners, LLC. Her other business experiences include holding senior positions at Bowman Capital, LLC and Capital Guardian Trust Company. Ms Joyner is a former Co-Chair and current Trustee Emeritus of the San Francisco Ballet. She is a Trustee of The MacDowell Colony, The School of American Ballet and Dartmouth College. Ms. Joyner also serves a Director of The California Healthcare Foundation and an Advisory Board Member of First Republic Bank.

Jhumpa Lahiri, Member, President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities
Jhumpa Lahiri is a fiction writer whose debut collection of stories, Interpreter of Maladies, received the Pulitzer Prize, the PEN/Hemingway Award, the Addison M. Metcalf Award, and the New Yorker magazine’s Debut of the Year. Her novel, The Namesake, was a New York Times Notable Book, a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and was selected as one of the best books of the year by USA Today and Entertainment Weekly. Her latest story collection, Unaccustomed Earth, won the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award and the Vallombrosa-Gregor von Rezzori Prize.

Ken Solomon, Member, President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities
Ken Solomon is chairman of Ovation TV, a national cable and satellite network focused on bringing art, culture and personal creativity to all Americans. He is also chairman and CEO of Tennis Channel, the only 24-hour network dedicated to both the professional sport and tennis lifestyle. With more than 25 years of television and multimedia experience, Mr. Solomon has held top posts with the Walt Disney Corp., Universal Television, DreamWorks, News Corp. and Scripps. He is currently vice chairman of the Young Presidents Organization Bel-Air (YPO) and has been named “Humanitarian of the Year” by H.E.L.P. Group, one of the largest and most influential children’s charities in the United States, for which he serves on the Circle of Friends advisory board.

White House.gov Press Office Feed

02.06.10 11:34 AM

Capital Hilton Hotel
Washington, D.C.

10:26 A.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you, DNC. Everybody have a seat — have a seat. Thank you. Oh, it is good to see you — good to be among friends so committed to the future of this party and this country that they’re willing to brave a blizzard. (Laughter.) Snowmageddon here in D.C. (Laughter.) I noticed somebody had “Californians for Obama” and I was thinking — (applause) — you guys are not used to this. (Laughter.)

I’ve got some special thanks to the folks here. First of all I want to thank Eleanor Holmes Norton for fighting the good fight here in the District of Colombia. (Applause.) Ray Buckley, Our DNC vice chair from New Hampshire. (Applause.) Alice Germond, DNC secretary. Andy Tobias, DNC treasurer. Thanks for the great work that you guys do.

I want to thank Tim Kaine, who’s not only an outstanding former governor, but an outstanding leader of this party –- (applause) — busy building the best online and in-field grassroots organization we’ve ever had. Give Tim Kaine a big round of applause. (Applause.)

And if I’m not mistaken we’ve got a couple of terrific members of Congress here, Mike Honda, congressman and DNC vice chair — Mike, are you here? He’s on his way; he’s still shoveling. (Laughter.) And how about Barbara Lee, is Barbara here? Well, we love her anyway. So give Barbara and Mike a big round of applause. (Applause.)

I want to thank the governors, the legislators, the mayors from across this country for working to move their states and local communities forward in extraordinarily challenging times. They’ve done heroic work. I want to thank the DNC members, state party leaders and, most of all, I want to thank the millions of Americans who’ve taken up the cause of change at the grassroots level in all 50 states.

Now, Tim alluded to this, but I just want to remind everybody — we knew from the beginning that this would not be easy. Change never is. But that’s especially true in these times, when we face an array of challenges as tough as any we have seen in generations. President Kennedy once said: “When we got into office, the thing that surprised me most was to find that things were just as bad as we’d been saying they were.” (Laughter.) Truth was things were worse.

We took office facing a financial crisis that was something we hadn’t seen since the Great Depression, an economy that we now know was bleeding 750,000 jobs a month, a $1.3 trillion deficit, and two wars that were costly in every sense of the word. From the specter of terrorism to the impacts of globalization, we face tremendous new challenges in this young century. And all of this comes on top of one of the toughest decades our middle class had ever faced — a decade where jobs grew more slowly than during any prior expansion; where the income of the average American household actually declined; where the costs of everything seemed to keep going up.

Everything we’ve done over the past year has been not only to right our economy, to break the back of this recession, but also to restore some of the security middle-class families have felt slipping away for over a decade now. Some of the steps we took were done without the help of the other party, which made a political decision all too often to jump in the backseat, let us do the driving and then critique whether we were taking the right turns. That’s okay. That’s part of what it means to govern.

And all the steps we took were necessary. None of us wanted to throw a lifeline to the banks. But the outrage shouldn’t be that we did –- because it had to happen in order to prevent millions more from losing their jobs, millions of businesses and homes foreclosed. The real outrage is that we had to do it in the first place in order to fend off the collapse of the financial system. That’s the outrage. (Applause.)

Then we passed almost $300 billion in tax relief — tax cuts for small businesses; tax cuts for 95 percent of working Americans. We put Americans to work building the infrastructure of tomorrow — doing the work America needs done. We passed a Credit Card Bill of Rights to protect consumers from getting ripped off by credit card companies. (Applause.) We put the law behind the principle of equal pay for equal work. (Applause.) We extended the promise of health care to 4 million more children of working families, we protected every child from being targeted from tobacco companies. (Applause.)

We passed a service bill named for Ted Kennedy –- (applause) — that gives young folks and old folks new ways to give back to their communities. We appointed Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. (Applause.) And we’ve begun working with Congress and our military to finally repeal the law that denies gay Americans the right to serve the country that they love because of who they are. (Applause.)

Overseas — overseas we’ve begun a new era of engagement. We’re working with our partners to stop the spread of nuclear weapons, and to seek a world free of nuclear weapons. We banned torture. We have begun to leave Iraq to its own people. We’ve charted a new way forward in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and made good progress in taking the fight to al Qaeda across the globe. I went to Cairo on behalf of America to begin a new dialogue with the Muslim world. And we are living up to a moment that demands American leadership by standing side-by-side with the people of Haiti. (Applause.)

So if you look at a tally of the things we said we would do –- even in the midst of this extraordinarily challenging economy –- we’ve kept our promises. We’ve kept our commitments. We have moved forward on behalf of a more prosperous and more secure future for the American people.

But for all our efforts, we have to acknowledge change can’t come fast enough for many Americans. In recent weeks, I’ve visited Allentown, Pennsylvania; Elyria, Ohio; Tampa, Florida; Nashua, New Hampshire; talking with workers in factories, and families in diners. And they want to know, how are they going to find a job when they only know one trade in their life. Or how are they going to afford to send their kids to college. How are they going to pay their medical bills when they get sick. How can they retire with their 401(k) so banged up. And most of all, they’re wondering if anyone can or will do anything about it — especially here in Washington.

Now, I understand their frustration –- you understand it as well. I was talking to Michelle the other day –- Michelle is always a good barometer –- and, you know, the front page was, oh, what’s Obama going to do to get his poll numbers up, and, are the Democrats all in a tizzy and this and that. And she said, you know, listen, if you’re the average family, if I’m a mom out there and I’m working and my husband is working but we’re worried about losing our jobs, our hours have been cut back, the cost of our health care premium just went up 30 percent, the credit card company just jacked up our interest rates 39 percent, and our home value has gone down by $100,000, our 401(k) is all banged up –- and suddenly somebody calls up and says, so, how do you think President Obama is doing right now? (Laughter.) What are they going to say? What are they going to say? (Applause.)

Of course people are frustrated. And they have every right to be. And I know that during the course of this gathering, you know, some of the press have been running around, well, what do you think we should be doing and this and that and the other, you know, what’s the strategy.

Look, when unemployment is 9.7 percent, when we are still digging ourselves out of an extraordinary recession -– people are going to be frustrated. And they’re going to be looking to the party in power to try to fix it. And when you’ve got another party that says, we don’t want to do anything about it –- of course people are going to be frustrated.

Folks are out there working hard every day, trying to meet their responsibilities. But all around them during this last, “lost” decade, what they’ve seen is a wave of irresponsibility from Wall Street to Washington –- they see a capital city where every day is treated like Election Day, and every act, every comment, every gesture passes through a political filter. They’ve seen the outsized influence of lobbyists and special interests, who too often hijack the agenda by leveraging campaign money and connections. Of course they wonder if their leaders can muster the will to overcome all of that and confront the real problems that touch their lives.

But here’s what everybody here has to remember: That’s why I ran for President. That’s why you worked so hard to elect a Democratic Congress. (Applause.) We knew this stuff was tough. But we stepped up because we decided we were going to take the responsibility of changing it. And it may not be easy, but change is coming. (Applause.)

I believe so strongly, I believe so strongly if we’re going to deal with the great challenges of our time; if we’re going to secure a better future just as past generations did for us; then we’re going to have to change the prevailing politics in this town, and it’s not going to be easy. We’re going to have to care less about scoring points and more about solving problems that are holding us back. (Applause.) At this defining moment, that’s never been more important.

We can continue, for example, to be consumed by the politics of energy. But we know that the nation that leads the clean energy revolution will lead the 21st century global economy. We know that a failure to act will put our planet in deeper peril. We know that China isn’t waiting and India isn’t waiting and Germany isn’t waiting to seize that future. And America can’t afford to wait, either. (Applause.) And I don’t intend to spend all my time taking polls to figure out whether we’re going to seize that future or not.

We can continue to spin our wheels with the old education debates; pitting teachers’ unions against reformers, and meanwhile our kids keep trailing their counterparts from South Korea to Singapore. But we know that the countries that out-educate us today will out-compete us tomorrow. (Applause.) We know that kids who are consigned to failing schools today will be condemned to lifetimes of lower wages and unfulfilled dreams. America can’t afford to wait. And I’m not going to take a poll to figure out whether or not we’re going to tackle education.

We can continue to allow the same special interests who stacked the deck in favor of financial speculators in the last decade to block reform again in this decade. But if we’ve learned anything from the devastating recession, it’s that we know that wise regulation actually can enhance the market and make it more stable and make our economy work better. We can’t return to the dereliction of duty that helped deliver this recession. We know that to do so would be to put at risk our jobs, our families, our businesses, and our future. America can’t afford to wait, and we can’t look backwards.

And, yes, we could continue to ignore the growing burden of runaway costs of health care. The easiest thing to do right now would be to just say this is too hard; let’s just regroup and lick our wounds and try to hang on. We’ve had a long and difficult debate on health care. And there are some, maybe even the majority in this town, who say perhaps it’s time to walk away.

But here’s the thing, Democrats. If we walk away, we know what will happen. We know that premiums and out-of-pocket expenses will skyrocket this decade, and the decade after that, and the decade after that, just as they did in the past decade. More small businesses will be priced out of coverage; more big businesses will be unable to compete internationally; more workers will take home less pay and fewer raises. We know that millions more Americans will lose their coverage; we know that our deficits will inexorably continue to grow because health care costs are the single biggest driver.

So just in case there’s any confusion out there, let me be clear. I am not going to walk away from health insurance reform. (Applause.) I’m not going to walk away from the American people. I’m not going to walk away on this challenge. I’m not going to walk away on any challenge. We’re moving forward. (Applause.) We are moving forward. (Applause.) Sometimes – sometimes we may be moving forward against the prevailing winds. Sometimes it may be against a blizzard. (Laughter.) But we’re going to live up to our responsibility to lead.

And I’m confident that if we stay steady, if we stay focused on all the people that we meet each and every day who are out there struggling, if we’ve got them in mind and we are working to deliver on their behalf, that in the end that’ll be good politics as well as good policy. It’ll be good for America, not just good for Democrats.

But in order to get any of these battles done, we’re going to have to change the way that Washington works. Now, we may not get a lot of attention for it, but we’ve actually already begun to do that. We’ve reined in the power of the special interests with the toughest ethics and transparency rules of any administration in the modern era. We’re the first White House ever to post our visitors online. We’ve excluded lobbyists from policymaking jobs or seats on federal boards and commissions. I’ve called on Congress to make all earmark requests public on one central website before they come up for a vote so that you know how the money is spent. We have — we’re going to have to confront the gaping loophole that the Supreme Court recently opened in our campaign finance laws –- (applause) –that allows special interests to spend without limit to influence American elections.

We also said that as we worked to change the ways of Washington, we’d also change the way we do things as a party. This committee is the first to ban contributions from political action committees and lobbyists. And I’m pleased to see the recommendations submitted by the Change Commission aimed at improving our nominating process — because I believe that the more Americans that get involved in this party, the stronger this party will be. (Applause.)

And, yes, we need to change the way we work with the other party as well. Now, I’m proud to be a Democrat. I’m proud to be a leader of this great party. But I also know that we can’t solve all of our problems alone. So we need to extend our hands to the other side — we’ve been working on it — (laughter) — because if we’re going to change the ways of Washington, we’re going to have to change its tone.

Now, as a step in that direction, I went and visited with the House Republican Caucus last Friday. (Laughter and applause.) And we had a good –- we had a good discussion about the challenges — we had a good discussion about the challenges facing the American people and our ideas to solve them. It was good for the country to see a robust debate. I had fun. (Laughter.)

And we have to acknowledge there are going to be some issues that Democrats and Republicans just don’t see eye to eye on, and that’s how it should be. That’s how our democracy works. But there have to be some issues on which we can find some common ground. It’s one thing to disagree out of principle; it’s another to simply stand in the way because of politics.

Now is not the time for sitting on the sidelines, or blocking progress, or pointing figures, or assigning blame. Now is not the time to do just what’s right for your party or your poll numbers. Now is the time to do what’s right for the country. Now is the time to do what’s necessary to see us through these difficult times. Now is the time to do everything in our power to keep the American Dream alive for the next generation.

And that’s our mission, Democrats.

I know we’ve gone through a tough year. But we’ve gone through tougher years. We’re the party of Thomas Jefferson, who declared that all men are created equal. And we had to work long and hard to ensure that those words meant something.

We’re the party of Franklin Roosevelt, who, in the midst of depression, said all we had to fear was fear itself; who saved freedom and democracy from being extinguished here on Earth. And that was hard because the natural impulse was to fear. But we as a party helped to lead the country out of that fear.

We’re the party of John F. Kennedy, who summoned us to serve; who called us to pay any price and bear any burden.

And we’re the party of Edward M. Kennedy, whose cause endures; who said that here, in the United States of America, the promise of health care should not be a privilege, but a fundamental right.

That is who we are, Democrats. (Applause.) That’s who we’ve got to be today. For all the stories we’ve heard, after all the campaigns we’ve waged, after all the promises we’ve made, this is our best chance to deliver change that the American people need. (Applause.)

And if we do that — if we speak to the hopes of the American people instead of their fears; if we inspire them instead of divide them; if we respond to their challenges with the same sense of urgency they feel in their own lives — we’re not just going to win elections — elections will take care of themselves — we will once again be the party that turns around the economy and moves this country forward, and secures the American Dream for another generation. (Applause.)

Thanks very much, everybody. God bless you. (Applause.)

END
10:48 A.M. EST

White House.gov Press Office Feed

02.06.10 03:00 AM

WASHINGTON – In this week’s address, President Barack Obama said that America’s small businesses are key to rebuilding the economy on a new, stronger foundation and creating jobs. He called on Republicans and Democrats in Congress to pass – without delay – a series of proposals that will help American small businesses thrive. These proposals include using $30 billion in TARP funds to create a new Small Business Lending Fund to provide capital to community banks to increase lending to small businesses, offering a new tax credit for over one million small businesses that hire new workers or raise wages, and providing targeted support for the most innovative small businesses with the potential to export new goods and products.

The audio and video will be available online at www.whitehouse.gov at 6:00 am ET, Saturday, February 6, 2010.

Remarks of President Barack Obama
As Prepared for Delivery
Weekly Address
February 6, 2010

Even though our economy is growing again, these are still tough times for America. Too many businesses are still shuttered. Too many families can’t make ends meet. And while yesterday, we learned that the unemployment rate has dropped below ten percent for the first time since summer, it is still unacceptably high – and too many Americans still can’t find work.

But what we must remember at a time like this is that we are not helpless in the face of our difficulties. As Americans, we make our own destiny. We forge our own path. And I am confident that if we come together and put aside the politics that keeps holding us back, we can do that again. We can rebuild this economy on a new, stronger foundation that leads to more jobs and greater prosperity.

I believe a key part of that foundation is America’s small businesses – the places where most new jobs begin.

These companies represent the essence of the American spirit – the promise that anyone can succeed in this country if you have a good idea and the determination to see it through. And every once in awhile, these ideas don’t just lead to a new business and new jobs, but a new American product that forever changes the world. After all, Hewlett Packard began in a garage. Google began as a simple research project.

Government can’t create these businesses, but it can give entrepreneurs the support they need to open their doors, expand, or hire more workers. And that’s what we’ve always done in this country. The folks at Southwest Windpower in Flagstaff, Arizona started their company in a small home. Since getting a loan from the Small Business Administration, they’ve sold 160,000 wind turbines to about 90 different countries, and are hiring even more workers today. When Sam Ko walked into one of the SBA’s small business development centers in Illinois, he didn’t have any business experience at all – just a patent for a new metal manufacturing technology. He was given a loan and a business plan, and today his company is still growing, with offices all over the Midwest.

Last year, the steps we took supported over 47,000 loans to small businesses and delivered billions in tax relief to small business owners, which helped companies keep their doors open, make payroll, and hire workers. But we can and must do more. That’s why I’ve proposed a series of steps this week to support small business owners and the jobs they create – to provide more access to credit, more incentives to hire, and more opportunities to grow and sell products all over the world.

Because financing remains difficult for good, credit-worthy small businesses across the country, I’ve proposed that we take $30 billion from the TARP fund originally used for Wall Street and create a new Small Business Lending Fund that will provide capital for community banks on Main Street. These are the small, local banks that will be able to give our small business owners more of the credit they need to stay afloat. We should also continue to waive fees, increase guarantees, and expand the size of SBA-backed loans for small businesses. And yesterday, I proposed making it easier for small business owners to refinance their mortgages during these tough times.

To give these companies greater incentives to grow and create jobs, I’ve proposed a new tax credit for more than one million small businesses that hire new workers or raise wages, as well as the elimination of all capital gains taxes on small business investment.

Finally, we should provide targeted support to the most innovative small businesses – the ones with the greatest potential to export new goods and products all over the world. A lot of these companies – like the wind turbine manufacturer I mentioned – are the foundation on which we can rebuild our economy to compete in the 21st century. They just need a little help securing the financing they need to get off the ground. We have every incentive to help them do that.

Next week, Congress will start debating many of these proposals. And if anyone has additional ideas to support small businesses and create jobs, I’m happy to consider them. My door is always open. But I urge members of both parties: do not oppose good ideas just because it’s good politics to do so. The proposals I’ve outlined are not Democratic or Republican; liberal or conservative. They are pro-business, they are pro-growth, and they are pro-job. Leaders in both parties have supported similar ideas in the past. So let’s come together and pass these measures without delay. Let’s put more Americans back to work, and let’s give our small business owners the support to do what they’ve always done: the freedom to pursue their dreams and build our country’s future. Thanks for listening.

White House.gov Press Office Feed