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UPDATE: Courtesy of NASA's blog again: "The STS-119 launch was scrubbed at 2:37 p.m. EDT due to a hydrogen leak in a Liquid Hydrogen vent line between the shuttle and the external tank. The launch team is currently beginning the process of draining the external fuel tank. We'll turn around for launch attempt tomorrow at 8:54 p.m. EDT."NASA's blog, post date 12:10:03 PM EDT today:
Space shuttle Discovery's external tank is being filled with more than 500,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. The three-hour operation began at 11:56 a.m. EDT. There still is a 95 percent chance that weather will not affect the 9:20 p.m. launch of STS-119. The forecast also is favorable at the Kennedy Space Center Shuttle Landing Facility, Edwards Air Force Base in California and all three overseas Transatlantic sites, should an abort landing be necessary.
Go to their home page for full coverage, or at least look at Bill Ingalls' photos.
(A nearly full Moon sets as the space shuttle Discovery sits atop Launch pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, in the early morning hours of Wednesday, March 11, 2009. Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls) -
UPDATE: Courtesy of NASA's blog again: "The STS-119 launch was scrubbed at 2:37 p.m. EDT due to a hydrogen leak in a Liquid Hydrogen vent line between the shuttle and the external tank. The launch team is currently beginning the process of draining the external fuel tank. We'll turn around for launch attempt tomorrow at 8:54 p.m. EDT."NASA's blog, post date 12:10:03 PM EDT today:
Space shuttle Discovery's external tank is being filled with more than 500,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. The three-hour operation began at 11:56 a.m. EDT. There still is a 95 percent chance that weather will not affect the 9:20 p.m. launch of STS-119. The forecast also is favorable at the Kennedy Space Center Shuttle Landing Facility, Edwards Air Force Base in California and all three overseas Transatlantic sites, should an abort landing be necessary.
Go to their home page for full coverage, or at least look at Bill Ingalls' photos.
(A nearly full Moon sets as the space shuttle Discovery sits atop Launch pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, in the early morning hours of Wednesday, March 11, 2009. Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls) -
The news on the economic front is still grim, but already the recovery package is saving and creating those jobs in towns across the country, stemming losses and spurring growth in ways that affect real families and communities. Here are just a few stories plucked from the local news over the past few days.
California [U.S. News and World Report, 3/9/09]:
Obama's Stimulus Keeps the Solar Power Dream Alive for Start-ups… When the $787 billion stimulus bill was signed in February, there were more than a few sighs of relief at BrightSource. The bill showered renewable energy with new funds, including $60 billion in loan guarantees for companies building wind and solar plants. BrightSource was among a small group of start-ups that had already been selected for Department of Energy loans, but the stimulus vastly increased the funds available. It also loosened rules governing tax credits, greatly expanding the pool of potential investors. After months of wondering where to turn for funding, BrightSource had been given a reprieve. "Now, all of a sudden," says Jenkins-Stark, "I have a very different worry proposition for half the capital of our project."
Governor Jim Douglas hauled out the barricade to officially close the Bridge Street bridge to traffic. Such construction doesn't usually draw this much attention, but it's the first project in the state to put federal stimulus dollars to work… Eleven projects have finished or nearly finished the bidding process. Among them are plans for improving or replacing bridges in Barre, Brownington, and East Montpelier, and paving roads in Colchester, Rockingham and Royalton. Together, the 11 projects use $33.6 million in federal stimulus funding. Another 20 projects are already scheduled to go out to bid.
Virginia Lequeux, lives in Peabody Apartments: "My whole apartment, I mean I’ve been blessed…blessed." Just recently she was upgraded to a newly renovated floor. New security cameras, laundry facility and even a dishwasher in her apartment. Up until about a year ago, that was the plan for the whole building…but then the money ran out. Richard Arfman, Augusta Housing Authority, Director of Planning and Development: "It was first built back in 1967 and there are 250 units in there and it’s designated for seniors. So it was built in ‘67, some of the insides needed some work done, especially the plumbing, mechanical and electrical systems." But things are looking up again for this public housing high rise. $6.1 million was given to Augusta’s Housing Authority…just enough to finish renovations to the remaining 6 floors.
Tennessee [WTVF News Channel 5, 3/9/09]:
Tennessee will put nearly 12,000 young adults to work while providing free labor to businesses as part of the economic stimulus package. Unemployment numbers across the nation. According to the numbers, teens and young adults are among the hardest hit… Help is coming soon. The Tennessee Department of Labor has received $25 million to provide summer jobs for thousands of youth across the state. "Basically, employers fill out the time sheets, the department pays the paycheck and kids get the employment. Everybody wins in this situation," says Jeff Hentchel with the Department of Labor. "Whether its sweeping, emptying trash cans, painting tables."
Maryland [Baltimore Sun, 3/10/09]:
Maryland is receiving more than $1 billion in federal stimulus money earmarked for education, and Gov. Martin O'Malley said yesterday he would use some of it to increase funding for community colleges and maintain the freeze on undergraduate tuition at state universities. The governor's initial budget for next year did not include an increase for community colleges, which are seeing thousands more students enroll to gain new skills to help them find jobs in the recession. But with the stimulus money, O'Malley is increasing state aid by 5 percent over the next two years.
Michigan [Michigan Messenger, 3/9/09]:
Jackson Police Chief Matt Heins said Monday in a phone interview that federal stimulus grants announced last week will help him save four positions in his department. The money, released by the White House, was part of the Justice Assistance Grants (JAG) program administered by the Justice Department. Heins said he had planned on eliminating four posts — one that was currently empty and three that were currently filled. But with the money from JAG, the police chief said he will be able to protect those positions from elimination.
Minnesota [Finance and Commerce, 3/9/09]:
A series of federal stimulus projects in Minnesota are about to graduate from concept to signed contract. On Friday, the Minnesota Department of Transportation plans to award contracts for a series of highway projects to be paid for by the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which includes $502 million for Minnesota highways and bridges and $92 million for transit.
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Last week, in addition to nomiating Governor Kathleen Sebelius as Secretary of Health and Human Services, the President appointed Nancy-Ann DeParle as the new director of the White House Office for Health Reform. DeParle has seen the health reform fight from virtually every perspective, and she hits the ground running today, taking to the op-ed page of the Boston Globe to give her perspective on why the drive for health reform can be successful now after so many decades of frustration:As a participant in the 1993-'94 health reform effort, I can say that this time, it feels different already.Thursday's forum participants came from all sides of the debate. They were Democrats and Republicans; members of Congress and constituents; businesses and labor unions; hospitals, doctors, patients, and insurance companies. People who worked to pass healthcare reform a decade ago strategized with those who worked to defeat it. And while they certainly didn't all agree on every aspect of how to fix the system, they all agreed that the one thing we cannot do is continue on the current course.Fifteen years ago, many felt that if they couldn't have exactly the change they wanted, their second choice was no change at all. Last week, there were no defenders of the status quo. More than one Republican member of Congress agreed with the principles the president laid out for reform. Even a representative of the insurance companies that famously played such a huge role in killing reform in the 1990s pledged the industry's cooperation this time around.Read the whole thing by all means, and if you missed the Forum last week don't worry, you can still watch the President's opening and closing discussions, see the slideshow, revisit the liveblog, or just stay tuned for the Regional Forums happening over the next month or so.
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In the spirit of transparency, Norm Eisen, special counsel to the president for ethics and government reform, asked us to pass along this update on the President’s Executive Order on Ethics:
The White House periodically gets questions about the President’s Executive Order on Ethics and how it is being implemented. In addition to responding to these questions individually, we thought it might make sense to provide an overview to the public of the background for the Order and how it has been working so far.One of President Obama’s first official acts upon taking office was to sign the ethics Executive Order. The Order establishes some of the toughest ethics rules ever imposed on executive branch appointees. It has been widely praised by commentators and leading good government advocates for the hard line it takes on lobbyists and others riding the revolving door between government service and the private sector in order to achieve personal gain at the expense of the public interest.Because the rules are so stringent, it is important to have reasonable exceptions in case of exigency or when the public interest so demands. That is why the Order provides that a waiver of the restrictions may be granted when it is determined "(i) that the literal application of the restriction is inconsistent with the purposes of the restriction, or (ii) that it is in the public interest to grant the waiver." Sec. 3(a). The Order goes on to explain that the "public interest" may include, but is not limited to, exigent circumstances relating to national security or to the economy and that de minimis contact with an executive agency shall also be cause for a waiver. Sec. 3(b). As we discuss below, this provision was intended to be used sparingly, and has been so used.The availability of a waiver has been praised by ethics experts and commentators alike:*Norman Ornstein, a Resident Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute stated that "This tough and commendable new set of ethics provisions goes a long way toward breaking the worst effects of the revolving door. There are many qualified people for the vast majority of government posts. But a tough ethics provision cannot be so tough and rigid that it hurts the country unintentionally. Kudos to President Obama for adding a waiver provision, to be used sparingly for special cases in the national interest. This is all about appropriate balance, and this new executive order strikes just the right balance."*Thomas Mann, Senior Fellow of Governance Studies and the Brookings Institution said that "The new Obama ethics code is strict and should advance the objective of reducing the purely financial incentives in public service. I applaud another provision of the EO, namely the waiver provision that allows the government to secure the essential services of individuals who might formally be constrained from doing so by the letter of the code. The safeguards built into the waiver provision strike the right balance."*The Washington Post editorialized that the President had "adopted a tough ethics policy . . . sweeping in time and scope." Specifically endorsing the waiver granted to Bill Lynn, the editorial board wrote that "The president's rule ensures that any conflicts will be carefully watched, and his flexibility despite certain criticism signals an ability to make hard but reasonable calls."Out of the approximately 800 appointments to the executive branch made to date, only three waivers have been granted. In addition to Bill Lynn, Jocelyn Frye and Cecilia Muñoz have received the only other waivers to date. Both Ms. Frye and Ms. Muñoz were granted waivers from paragraphs 2 and 3 of the ethics pledge pursuant to section 3(a)(ii) of the Executive Order. The waivers are attached. Both Ms. Frye and Ms. Muñoz will otherwise comply with the remainder of the pledge and with all preexisting government ethics rules.We took the rare step of granting the waivers to Ms. Frye and Ms. Muñoz because of the importance of their respective positions and because of each woman’s unequalled qualifications for her job. Each is a leading substantive expert on the relevant issue areas and each also has long-standing relationships with constituencies important to their respective offices.Ms. Frye now serves as the Director of Policy and Projects in the Office of the First Lady. In that regard, she is responsible for the entire range of issues with which Mrs. Obama is concerned, with a particular focus on women, families and on engagement with the greater D.C. community. She was previously General Counsel at the National Partnership for Women & Families, where she directed the National Partnership’s Workplace Fairness Program and, in that capacity, focused primarily on a wide range of employment and gender discrimination issues, with a particular emphasis on employment barriers facing women of color and low-income women. Her work involved monitoring and analyzing the effectiveness of federal equal employment enforcement efforts, as well as the scope of gender- and race-based employment barriers. In these areas, she became an expert on the relevant employment laws and their applications. She has also worked with federal agencies as a technical expert on these issues, and has testified before Congress and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on federal enforcement of employment discrimination laws. She coordinated the organization’s work on amicus curiae briefs and judicial nominations and worked with the public to improve education on employment discrimination, women’s rights and civil rights policies.Ms. Frye has also written extensively on a wide range of issues affecting women and employment. Her assessment of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission appeared in Change for America: A Progressive Blueprint for the 44th President (Mark Green and Michele Jolin eds., 2008). And she has written or co-authored numerous articles on women’s rights and civil rights, including "The Pregnancy Discrimination Act: Where We Stand 30 Years Later," (National Partnership for Women & Families, 2008) (co-author); "Women at Work: Looking Behind The Numbers 40 Years After The Civil Rights Act of 1964," (National Partnership for Women & Families, 2004) (co-author) and "Affirmative Action: Understanding the Past and Present," in THE AMERICAN WOMAN 1996-97 (Cynthia Costello and Barbara K. Krimgold eds., 1996).Ms. Frye has also participated in numerous coalitions and volunteer organizations. She has served as the co-chair of the economic security and employment task forces for the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights. She served on the Board of Directors at the National Cathedral School for Girls. She was on the Board of Deacons at the Shiloh Baptist Church. And she has served as a volunteer attorney at the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless. We note her deep involvement in these community endeavors because, in addition to her mastery of the policy areas of significance to her new role, the strong community ties she brings with her to the First Lady’s Office make her an ideal aide to a First Lady committed to being a part of the local Washington, D.C., community.Ms. Muñoz now serves as the Director of Intergovernmental Affairs in the Executive Office of the President. In that capacity, she manages the White House’s relationships with state and local governmental entities and also serves as a principal liaison to the Hispanic community. She was previously the Senior Vice President for the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), where she supervised all legislative and advocacy activities conducted by NCLR policy staff nationally, including on the state and local levels.In her twenty years at NCLR, Ms. Muñoz became one of the nation’s foremost experts on a range of issues critically important to the Latino community, including immigration, civil rights, employment, poverty, farm worker issues, education, and housing. Ms. Muñoz regularly represented NCLR before the media, Congress, and policy-makers on a variety of issues of concern to Latinos, and received regular requests from members of Congress, major media outlets, and Latino community institutions for presentations and strategic advice.Prior to her time at NCLR, Ms. Muñoz worked as a community organizer for the Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago. In that capacity, she trained Latino community groups to set up neighborhood community services to address local problems and directed Chicago's largest non-profit legalization program under the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986.Ms. Muñoz has written extensively on immigration and civil rights issues. Her writing has appeared in publications such as Migration Week, The American Prospect, and NACLA Report on the Americas, and she has published opinion editorials for the Washington Post, Christian Science Monitor, American Enterprise, and the Miami Herald, among others.Ms. Muñoz’s leadership skills have been widely recognized. She has served as the Chair of the Board of the Center for Community Change, and served on the U.S. Programs Board of the Open Society Institute and the Board of Directors of the Atlantic Philanthropies. She has received the Irma Flores Gonzalez Award from the Farmworker Justice Fund, an advocacy achievement award from the Washington, D.C. NCLR affiliate AYUDA, and was honored by the Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus as a leader of the 21st century civil rights movement.In June 2000, Ms. Muñoz was awarded a MacArthur Foundation "genius grant" in recognition of her innovative work, including on immigration and civil rights. As the daughter of immigrants from Bolivia, she brings a deep personal commitment to these causes that makes her an authoritative voice nationally. As with Ms. Frye, we felt the public interest would be sacrificed if she could not serve in the White House, and so made the determination to grant the waiver.* View the signed waiver for Jocelyn Frye (pdf)
* View the signed waiver for Cecilia Muñoz (pdf) -
The White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) Chair Nancy Sutley announced yesterday that Van Jones – an early green jobs visionary -- will start Monday as Special Advisor for Green Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation at CEQ:Van Jones has been a strong voice for green jobs and we look forward to having him work with departments and agencies to advance the President’s agenda of creating 21st century jobs that improve energy efficiency and utilize renewable resources. Jones will also help to shape and advance the Administration’s energy and climate initiatives with a specific interest in improvements and opportunities for vulnerable communitiesJones is the founder of Green For All, an organization focused on creating green jobs in impoverished areas. He is also the co-founder of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights and Color of Change, and was the author of the 2008 New York Times best-seller, The Green Collar Economy.Watch Jones’ panel at the first official meeting of the Middle Class Task Force in Philadephia:{VIDEO|88}Elizabeth Kolbert of the New Yorker profiled Jones in January:"Your goal has to be to get the greenest solutions to the poorest people," Jones told me. "That’s the only goal that’s morally compelling enough to generate enough energy to pull this transition off. The challenge is making this an everybody movement, so your main icons are Joe Six-Pack—Joe the Plumber—becoming Joe the Solar Guy, or that kid on the street corner putting down his handgun, picking up a caulk gun."
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In Brussels today at NATO Headquarters, Vice President Biden stated his purpose at the meeting: "I came to listen."What we want to learn is what your countries believe are working, what you think is not working, how we can do a better job in stopping Afghanistan and Pakistan from being a haven for terrorists. And the United States believes that we share a vital security interest in meeting that challenge.The Vice President emphasized how much value he and the President see in America’s alliances, and explained from experience how consensus can be built not just amongst international governments, but amongst the peoples of those countries:I had been a United States senator for 36 years before becoming Vice President. I have made multiple trips to this building. I've observed when we consult, when we genuinely consult, when we internally argue and bang out our differences, we generate the kind of consensus that our political leadership needs to take to our own people to make the case about what we've decided.The Vice President was also asked about the new strategy being considered by the President in Afghanistan of talking with moderate elements of the Taliban:Well, let me just say -- and to paraphrase Secretary Holbrooke, our Special Envoy, and I agree with his assessment after numerous visits to the region and throughout the country -- 5 percent of the Taliban is incorrigible, not susceptible to anything other than being defeated. Another 25 percent or so are not quite sure, in my view, the intensity of their commitment to the insurgency. And roughly 70 percent are involved because of the money, because of them being -- getting paid.To state the obvious, as you know, the Taliban, most of whom are Pashtun -- you have 60 percent of the Pashtun population in Pakistan; only 40 percent live in Afghanistan. The objectives that flow from Kandahar may be different than Quetta, may be different than the FATA. So it's worth exploring.The idea of what concessions would be made is well beyond the scope of my being able to answer, except to say that whatever is initiated will have to be ultimately initiated by the Afghan government, and will have to be such that it would not undermine a legitimate Afghan government. But I do think it is worth engaging and determining whether or not there are those who are willing to participate in a secure and stable Afghan state.
(Vice President Joe Biden greets the North Atlantic Council at NATO headquarters in
(Vice President Joe Biden addresses the North Atlantic Council at NATO headquarters in Brussles, Belgium, Tuesday, March 10, 2009. Vice President Biden is joined by Deputy Secretary General Claudio Bisogniero, left, and NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, right. White House Photo by David Lienemann.)
(Vice President Joe Biden attends a joint press conference with NATO Secretary General Jaap De Hoop Scheffer at NATO headquarters in Brussles, Belgium, Tuesday, March 10, 2009. White House Photo/David Lienemann.) -
Viewing this video requires Adobe Flash Player 8 or higher. Download the free player.In the opening of his speech today at the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the President met critics head on who complain of too much change, too fast:Every so often, throughout our history, a generation of Americans bears the responsibility of seeing this country through difficult times and protecting the dream of its founding for posterity. This is a responsibility that has fallen to our generation. Meeting it will require steering our nation’s economy through a crisis unlike any we have seen in our time. In the short-term, that means jumpstarting job creation, re-starting lending, and restoring confidence in our markets and our financial system. But it also means taking steps that not only advance our recovery, but lay the foundation for lasting, shared prosperity.I know there are some who believe we can only handle one challenge at a time. They forget that Lincoln helped lay down the transcontinental railroad, passed the Homestead Act, and created the National Academy of Sciences in the midst of Civil War. Likewise, President Roosevelt didn’t have the luxury of choosing between ending a depression and fighting a war. President Kennedy didn’t have the luxury of choosing between civil rights and sending us to the moon. And we don’t have the luxury of choosing between getting our economy moving now and rebuilding it over the long term.The President explained why, on education in particular, we cannot afford to wait, noting that even within a few years America will see a different reality: "By 2016, four out of every ten new jobs will require at least some advanced education or training."The President pledged to end pointless partisan finger-pointing, and to ensure that new investments also came with new reforms. He pointed to deep commitments both in the recovery act and his budget proposal, while also telling the audience that "It is time to start rewarding good teachers and stop making excuses for bad ones."He proposed five pillars of reform:1) "Investing in early childhood initiatives" like Head Start;2) "Encouraging better standards and assessments" by focusing on testing itineraries that better fit our kids and the world they live in;3) "Recruiting, preparing, and rewarding outstanding teachers" by giving incentives for a new generation of teachers and for new levels of excellence from all of our teachers.4) "Promoting innovation and excellence in America’s schools" by supporting charter schools, reforming the school calendar and the structure of the school day.5) "Providing every American with a quality higher education--whether it's college or technical training."And for students themselves, the President had a message for them as well:Of course, no matter how innovative our schools or how effective our teachers, America cannot succeed unless our students take responsibility for their own education. That means showing up for school on time, paying attention in class, seeking out extra tutoring if it’s needed, and staying out of trouble. And to any student who’s watching, I say this: don’t even think about dropping out of school. As I said a couple of weeks ago, dropping out is quitting on yourself, it’s quitting on your country, and it is not an option – not anymore. Not when our high school dropout rate has tripled in the past thirty years. Not when high school dropouts earn about half as much as college graduates. And not when Latino students are dropping out faster than just about anyone else. It is time for all of us, no matter what our backgrounds, to come together and solve this epidemic.
(President Barack Obama gives remarks on education at the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce gathering Tuesday, March 10, 2009, in Washington at the Washington Marriott Metro Center's Grand Ballroom. White House Photo by Pete Souza)
(President Barack Obama lists to remarks as he waits to go on stage to discuss education issues at the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce gathering Tuesday, March 10, 2009, in Washington at the Washington Marriott Metro Center's Grand Ballroom. White House Photo by Pete Souza) -
Days after the President and Sen. Ted Kennedy discussed one of the most pressing issues of the day and one of the Senator's greatest passions throughout his career at the White House Forum on Health Reform, the President showed up for a slightly more light-hearted affair.Obama leads birthday salute to Ted Kennedy
Andrew Miga, Associated Press - March 9, 2009President Barack Obama led a Kennedy Center crowd in a performance of "Happy Birthday," capping a star-studded musical birthday tribute to ailing Sen. Edward M. Kennedy.The Massachusetts Democrat was honored at the Kennedy Center at an event Sunday night hosted by comedian Bill Cosby. Actresses Lauren Bacall and Bernadette Peters, singer James Taylor and conductor John Williams were among those who performed.Toward the end of the gala, Cosby introduced Obama to loud applause from the performers and the audience. The president strode to the center of the stage and then conducted the performers in the birthday tune. Kennedy stood and delivered a thumbs-up from his balcony, where he was accompanied by first lady Michelle Obama.The president later met Kennedy in his box as the performers sang "The Best Is Yet to Come."Caroline Kennedy presented her uncle with her family's Profile in Courage Award, paying tribute to his efforts to reform the U.S. health care system. When reform becomes a reality, Caroline Kennedy said: "We will all have you to thank. ... We love you, Uncle Teddy."
(President Barack Obama and a stage full of entertainment luminaries sign "happy birthday" to Sen. Ted Kennedy on Sunday, March 3, 2009, at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., as Kennedy listened from the balcony. White House Photo by Joyce N. Boghosian)
From the Kennedy Center Presidential Box, First Lady Michelle Obama applauds as Sen. Ted Kennedy and his wife salute President Barack Obama and host of entertainment stars who have just sung "Happy Birthday" to Kennedy on Monday night, March 3, 2009, in Washington, D.C. White House Photo by Joyce N. Boghosian) -
At a time when the issue of stem cell research seemed to be fading from the national consciousness, a number of advocates stepped forward – as the President described this morning -- to ensure it wasn’t forgotten. None were more passionate than Christopher and Dana Reeve. We asked Peter Wilderotter, who is the current President and CEO of the Reeves Foundation, and who attended the signing today, to tell us what the day meant to him. This is what he told us:Last Friday marked the three-year anniversary of the death of our beloved Dana and in an instant sadness turned to hope as only she could do when we learned of the President's decision to lift the restrictions. Today in the East Room of the White House to be surrounded by so many allies and friends who fought so long on this -- I was reminded of Chris Reeves’ edict that nothing is impossible. The eloquence of President Obama and his graceful and stirring remembrance of Chris and Dana shall echo always and be the fuel for our journey to provide today’s care as we search for tomorrow’s cures.Here is that remembrance from the President as he closed out his remarks at the ceremony today:One of Christopher’s friends recalled that he hung a sign on the wall of the exercise room where he did his grueling regimen of physical therapy. It read: "For everyone who thought I couldn’t do it. For everyone who thought I shouldn’t do it. For everyone who said, ‘It’s impossible.’ See you at the finish line."Christopher once told a reporter who was interviewing him: "If you came back here in ten years, I expect that I’d walk to the door to greet you."Christopher did not get that chance. But if we pursue this research, maybe one day – maybe not in our lifetime, or even in our children’s lifetime – but maybe one day, others like him might.There is no finish line in the work of science. The race is always with us – the urgent work of giving substance to hope and answering those many bedside prayers, of seeking a day when words like "terminal" and "incurable" are finally retired from our vocabulary.Today, using every resource at our disposal, with renewed determination to lead the world in the discoveries of this new century, we rededicate ourselves to this work.Thank you, God bless you, and may God bless America.
(Nobel Laureates stand behind President Barack Obama as he offers remarks Monday, March 9, 2009, in the East Room of the White House before the signing of the Stem Cell Executive Order and Presidential Memorandum on Scientific Integrity. White House Photo by Pete Souza) -
Moments ago President Obama marked a monumental moment for hope with an audience of Nobel Laureates, leaders of the faith community, and patient advocates.Today, with the Executive Order I am about to sign, we will bring the change that so many scientists and researchers; doctors and innovators; patients and loved ones have hoped for, and fought for, these past eight years: we will lift the ban on federal funding for promising embryonic stem cell research. We will vigorously support scientists who pursue this research. And we will aim for America to lead the world in the discoveries it one day may yield.The President acknowledged that there are those who strongly oppose this research, and insisted that even as he had come to a different conclusion those opinions deserved full respect. He explained that the American government has not only a role but a responsibility to keep the country at the forefront of medical science. But he also made clear that his decision was not made based on his belief in science alone: "As a person of faith, I believe we are called to care for each other and work to ease human suffering."The President said that a false choice has often been presented between science and faith, and that corrupting, shielding, or shying away from the facts science lays bare benefits nobody:That is why today, I am also signing a Presidential Memorandum directing the head of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy to develop a strategy for restoring scientific integrity to government decision making. To ensure that in this new Administration, we base our public policies on the soundest science; that we appoint scientific advisors based on their credentials and experience, not their politics or ideology; and that we are open and honest with the American people about the science behind our decisions. That is how we will harness the power of science to achieve our goals – to preserve our environment and protect our national security; to create the jobs of the future, and live longer, healthier lives.Read the Executive Order here, and the Presidential Memorandum here. One of the President’s closing notes was to pay homage to those who dedicated so much of their time and energy, often in their last days when both were short, to the cause of allowing this research to see its full potential:As we restore our commitment to science, and resume funding for promising stem cell research, we owe a debt of gratitude to so many tireless advocates, some of whom are with us today, many of whom are not. Today, we honor all those whose names we don’t know, who organized, and raised awareness, and kept on fighting – even when it was too late for them, or for the people they love. And we honor those we know, who used their influence to help others and bring attention to this cause – people like Christopher and Dana Reeve, who we wish could be here to see this moment.The President shakes hands with Rep. Jim Langevin of Rhode Island, who was paralyzed at the age of 16:
(Surrounded by a group comprised of 30 members of Congress and 10 Nobel Laureates, President Barack Obama offers remarks and then signs the Stem Cell Executive Order and Presidential Memorandum on Scientific Integrity in the East Room of the White House on Monday, March 9, 2009. White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy.) -
March 07, 2009
06:00 AM EDTIn his March 7th weekly address, the President capped off a busy week in Washington remarking on new lending guidelines aimed at lowering mortgage payments; an initiative to generate funds for small business and college loans; the release of his administration's first budget which includes $2T in deficit reduction, and the start of long overdue health care reform.Viewing this video requires Adobe Flash Player 8 or higher. Download the free player. -
Yesterday Mrs. Obama served food at Miriam’s Kitchen, a local non-profit organization that provides healthy, nutritious meals to the homeless in Washington, D.C. Mrs. Obama discussed the need to support food banks and soup kitchens around the country given that things will get worse before they get better.She said Miriam’s Kitchen "is an example of what we can do, as a country and as a community, to help folks when they’re down. We’re all going to need one another in these times. We’re going to need to keep lifting each other up, in prayer and in hope."
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In light of an imminent government shut-down as result of delays in passing last year’s appropriations bills, Congress has passed and President Obama has signed a continuing resolution to maintain the prior year’s funding levels through Wednesday while negotiations continue on last year’s budget work. The Office of the Press Secretary has just issued the following bill announcement:On Friday, March 6, 2009, the President signed into law:H.J.Res. 38, which provides FY 2009 appropriations for continuing projects and activities of the Federal Government through Wednesday, March 11, 2009. The Federal Government was currently funded under Public Law 110-329, the "Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations Act, 2009" which was due to expire March 6, 2009, at midnight. By signing this resolution, it allows additional time for the Congress to complete action on H.R. 1105, the FY 2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act, which provides funding for the nine remaining FY 2009 appropriations bills that have yet to be enacted.
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Today the President went to Ohio for the Graduation of the Columbus Police Division’s 114th Class. He went as the Department of Justice was making available $2 billion in Justice Assistance Grants from the recovery act, funding that will put more people to work -- more cops on the street, more prosecutors helping in overloaded offices, more factory jobs making law enforcement equipment (learn much more on that at recovery.gov). It was also another very bad day in economic news, demonstrating why it was so necessary to pass the recovery plan and start getting the country moving forward again.This city of Columbus needs the courage and the commitment of this graduating class to keep it safe, to make sure that people have the protection that they need. This economy needs your employment to keep it running. Just this morning we learned that we lost another 651,000 jobs throughout the country in the month of February alone, which brings the total number of jobs lost in this recession to an astounding 4.4 million.Four point four million jobs. I don't need to tell the people of this state what statistics like this mean, because so many of you have been watching jobs disappear long before this recession hit.
President Obama made clear that while the economy he inherited seemed like it was in an endless free fall, "Well, that is not a future I accept for the United States of America." The recovery plan will help make sure the graduating class he saluted today doesn’t find themselves hitting a brick wall of budget cuts, and can still find the work they thought would be there to support themselves and their families. And that is just one sector in just one town, something that will be replicated all over the country:
In Savannah, Georgia, the police department would use this funding to hire more crime and intelligence analysts and put more cops on the beat protecting our schools. In Long Beach, California, it will be able to help fund 17,000 hours of overtime for law enforcement officials who are needed in high-crime areas. West Haven, Connecticut will be able to restore crime prevention programs that were cut, even though they improved the quality of life in the city's most troubled neighborhoods. And the state of Iowa will be able to rehire drug enforcementPresident Obama made clear that these real stories and real lives are what has made him so passionate about passing a plan that could create real jobs:So for those who still doubt the wisdom of our recovery plan, I ask them to talk to the teachers who are still able to teach our children because we passed this plan. I ask them to talk to the nurses who are still able to care for our sick, and the firefighters and first responders who will still be able to keep our communities safe. I ask them to come to Ohio and meet the 25 men and women who will soon be protecting the streets of Columbus because we passed this plan. (Applause.) I look at these young men and women, I look into their eyes and I see their badges today and I know we did the right thing. -
As always, White House Photographer Pete Souza captured the day in a way nobody else could:play
White House Forum on Health Reform
Bringing key stakeholders together with full transparency, a major step for health care reform.
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(View larger images)But as important a step as yesterday was, there is a long way to go. The process will now fan out across the country, with a new series of Regional White House Forums on Health Reform which will be hosted by Governors in their states and will include doctors, patients, policy experts and everybody in between. The regional forums, which will be in California, Iowa, Michigan, North Carolina and Vermont over the coming weeks, will be open conversations across ideological and partly lines that build off of what was learned in the forum yesterday, with a video from President Obama to kick them off.
"Health care reform is a fiscal imperative," President Obama said. "Skyrocketing health care costs are draining our federal budget, undermining our long-term economic prosperity and devastating American families. The time for reform is now and these regional forums are some of the key first steps toward breaking the stalemate we have been stuck in for far too long. The forums will bring together diverse groups of people all over the country who have a stake in reforming our health care system and ask them to put forward their best ideas about how we bring down costs and expand coverage for American families."
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Today, Vice President Biden, U.S. Transportation Secretary LaHood, and Miami Mayor Diaz announced the availability of $8.4 billion in public transportation investments from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to states and local transportation authorities to repair and build America's public transportation infrastructure."All over the country, resources are being put to work not only creating jobs now – but also investing in the future. A future that strengthens our transit system, makes us more energy efficient and increases safety," said Vice President Joe Biden. Biden commuted by train from Delaware to Washington, DC daily while he was a US Senator.
Vice President Joe Biden shakes hands after speaking at the Intermodal project in Miami, Florida,
Thursday, March 5, 2009. White House Photo/David LienemannOur current automobile habits account for a substantial part of our nation’s carbon dioxide emissions. Public transportation projects like the ones that will be funded with this major investment, help the United States meet some of the daunting environmental challenges facing our nation and the world.Access to mass-transit also helps by providing a wider range of work options to those who don’t own their own vehicles. "Investments in public transportation put people to work, but they also get people to work in a way that moves us towards our long term goals of energy security and a better quality of life," said Secretary LaHood. The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) has found that every billion invested in federally aided public transportation capital projects supports 30,000 jobs.Learn how much funding has been made available to repair and build the public transportation infrastructure in your state by visiting Recovery.gov. -
We asked Rebecca Adelman of the Department of Health and Human Services, which today unveiled HealthReform.gov, to give us an inside look at the forum as it happens.The President's Opening Remarks
1:00: The media is filing in to the East Room as we close in on the start of the Forum on Health Reform. Guests are just beginning to arrive in the Grand Foyer, where they are receiving a copy of the Report on Health Care Community Discussions being presented to the President this afternoon. More on the contents of the report soon!
1:07: In the last ten minutes, the Grand Foyer has filled with members of Congress, health care experts and physicians, business owners, insurers, and everyday Americans - all with a stake in the health reform effort. The energy is building as guests make their way into the East Room.
1:09: The President just entered the room joined by Policy Director Melody Barnes, and Travis Ulerick, a firefighter and EMT who held a community discussion in his hometown of Dublin, Indiana.
[Ed. Note: Watch the President live-streamed here.]
1:15: Travis Ulerick tells the assembled group that the time is now to reform our health system. He thanks President Obama for challenging him to get involved - he held a discussion in his community in January that grappled with the problems in our health system, and submitted suggestions for reforming the system to the President's health care team. Travis was one of over 30,000 Americans who held community discussions on health care over the holidays.
[Ed. Note: Read about discussions in your state at HealthReform.gov]1:20: President Obama greets the packed house, saying "This was the hottest ticket in town." The President's first address at the Forum is unambiguous that we cannot delay health reform: "Our goal will be to enact comprehensive health reform by the end of this year."
1:25: Before the group heads to breakout discussion sessions on the subject, the President says he believes this time around the effort to reform the health care system is different: "this time the call for reform is coming from the bottom up."
1:30: The President concludes his first address to the forum guests, telling everyone to get to work: "this time there is no debate about whether all Americans should have quality, affordable health care - the only question is how?"
[Ed. Note: Few people explain the problems the country faces on health care better than Travis Ulerick, not because he's a leading political advocate, but because he lives those problems. We took some video of him and his town, it's a must-watch.]
Viewing this video requires Adobe Flash Player 8 or higher. Download the free player.Breakout Sessions2:07: Now I'm sitting in a breakout session in the Executive Office building. It's quite a group - former HHS Secretary Donna Shalala, Marian Wright Edelman, Senators Rockefeller, Bingaman and Wyden, are among the participants. The group is moderated by Larry Summers and HHS's Neera Tanden.[Ed. Note: We're pushing it to capacity but you can watch breakout sessions at the same live-stream link.]
2:20: US Chamber of Commerce President Tom Donohue addresses the panel, saying there is a "vigorous understanding" that improvement is needed and health care costs need to be lower. It's an intense discussion, but productive.
2:32: On to the 3rd floor of the Executive Office building to another panel. Moderating this discussion are Valerie Jarrett and OMB's Zeke Emanuel. Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, Senators Chris Dodd, Robert Bennett, Debbie Stabenow, and Bernie Sanders are among the 22 panelists. Chip Kahn of the Federation of American Hospitals and Pfizer's Jeff Kindler are also part of the discussion.
[Ed. Note: Watch that breakout at this link]
2:50: I keep coming back to the report that Travis Ulerick presented to the President earlier this afternoon. As background, over the holidays, then President-elect Obama called on Americans to hold community discussions on health care. Over 9,000 Americans signed up to host in all 50 states - over 30,000 Americans attended a discussion near them. The groups submitted reports to the President's health care team listing their concerns about the system and their suggestions for reform. The responses from around the country were summarized and analyzed in the report. And today, seven Americans who participated in these discussions are joining us at the White House today. There are a lot of "stakeholders" here at the Forum, but I have a sense that having those people here who engaged just as a way of standing up with their community keeps everybody grounded by realizing that every oridinary person is a "stakeholder" in this discussion.
[Ed. Note: Read the report in full (pdf)]
3:05: I just entered another one of the five breakout sessions as Sister Carol Keehan from the Catholic Health Association was passionately addressing her fellow panelists about the need for reform. Budget Director Peter Orszag and Secretary Shinseki are moderating.
[Ed. Note: Watch that breakout here. You can also find the OMB fact sheet on the budget for HHS here (pdf).]
3:16: Dan Danner from the National Federation of Independent Businesses urged Orszag's panel to pay special attention to the voices of small business owners in the health reform debate, who are struggling to insure their workers because of skyrocketing costs. Danner told the lawmakers, including Congressmen Patrick Kennedy, Eric Cantor, and Senator Barbara Mikulski that "The status quo is not acceptable."
3:25: Ron Pollack from Families USA just closed Orszag's panel. He stressed to the assembled members of Congress that President Obama's budget was the first important step in helping make health coverage affordable. Now we're heading back to the East Room where the President will again address the group and take questions.
The President's Wrap-up Session3:50: It's another meeting of the health care minds in the White House Grand Foyer - We're all heading into to the East Room now. The President will join the full group shortly to recap what we discussed and achieved this afternoon.4:05: Everyone is seated - the President will enter any minute. This time the East Room is set up in a town hall style format, with seating on all sides of the podium. Sitting in the first row behind the President's podium are the 7 everyday Americans who hosted health care discussions in their hometowns.
4:09: The President and surprise guest Senator Ted Kennedy were just introduced and walked in to the East Room together. The whole room leaps to their feet and erupts in cheering, the President introduces the Senator as "Sir Edward Kennedy" as the cheers subside. The two receive another sustained standing ovation.
4:20: The President passes the microphone to Senator Kennedy, who said "the time for action is now." He said he looked forward to being a footsoldier in the reform effort and firmly stated: "This time we will not fail." The room erupts in applause again.
5:15: The President closed with some marching orders - he asked the groups to stay involved, he promised a summary report describing the views aired today, and stressed it was time to move aggressively to achieve health care reform. He then addressed the notion that we are taking on too much in attempting reform this year. He said when times were good - when the economy was better and we were not at war, we failed to get it done. President Obama said there is always a reason not to do it - and he could think of no better time than now. Everyone stood and cheered as the President shook hands with participants and the event concluded/
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March 05, 2009
09:51 AM EDTIt's been a busy couple of weeks, and you might not feel like you truly got to know President Obama's choice to head up the Commerce Department. Here's your chance -- we sat down with former Washington governor Gary Locke for this brief video:Viewing this video requires Adobe Flash Player 8 or higher. Download the free player.download .mp4 (32 MB) -
Last week the President laid out the foundation of a new vision for our budget and the way government does business. It is a vision based not on ideology, but on the idea that we can and must invest boldly in our future while also making the hard choices and being vigilant to bring in a new era of fiscal responsibility.Last week began with the fiscal responsibility summit, where the President and members of Congress came together to generate ideas to get the country on a sustainable long-term track. One of the exchanges that got the most attention was between the President and Senator John McCain, who discussed the idea of procurement overruns, in Defense Department contracts in particular.Today Sen. McCain joined the President again to develop that idea further, along with Senators Carl Levin and Claire McCaskill and Representatives Edolphus Towns and Peter Welch. The President signed a Presidential Memorandum that will reform government contracting by strengthening oversight and management of taxpayer dollars, ending unnecessary no-bid and cost-plus contracts and maximizing the use of competitive procurement processes, and clarifying rules prescribing when outsourcing is and is not appropriate. The OMB will be tasked with giving guidance to every agency on making sure contracts serve the taxpayers, not the contractors.In addition, the President endorsed the goals of the bipartisan effort on defense procurement reform led by Senators Carl Levin and McCain, and has asked Defense Secretary Gates to work with the Senators going ahead. In his remarks, President Obama made clear that while there are those who will try to protect contractor excesses behind cries of weakening our national defenses, there will be a bipartisan, firm stand to put those excesses to an end:The American people's money must be spent to advance their priorities -- not to line the pockets of contractors or to maintain projects that don't work.Recently that public trust has not always been kept. Over the last eight years, government spending on contracts has doubled to over half a trillion dollars. Far too often, the spending is plagued by massive cost overruns, outright fraud, and the absence of oversight and accountability. In some cases, contracts are awarded without competition. In others, contractors actually oversee other contractors. We are spending money on things that we don't need, and we're paying more than we need to pay. And that's completely unacceptable.This problem cuts across the government, but I want to focus on one particular example, and that is the situation in defense contracting. Now, I want to be clear, as Commander-in-Chief, I will do whatever it takes to defend the American people, which is why we've increased funding for the best military in the history of the world. We'll make new investments in 21st century capabilities to meet new strategic challenges. And we will always give our men and women the -- in uniform, the equipment and the support that they need to get the job done.But I reject the false choice between securing this nation and wasting billions of taxpayer dollars. And in this time of great challenges, I recognize the real choice between investments that are designed to keep the American people safe and those that are designed to make a defense contractor rich.Last year, the Government Accountability Office, GAO, looked into 95 major defense projects and found cost overruns that totaled $295 billion. Let me repeat: That's $295 billion in wasteful spending. And this wasteful spending has many sources. It comes from investments and unproven technologies. It comes from a lack of oversight. It comes from influence peddling and indefensible no-bid contracts that have cost American taxpayers billions of dollars.
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