We know that economic prosperity and educational success go hand in hand, which is why the Obama Administration is concerned by looming state and local budget cuts that threaten the jobs of hundreds of thousands of teachers across the country.  As the President has said, we live in a global economy where the greatest job qualification isn't what you can do but what you know.  Our teachers are vital to our nation’s success and if we don’t act now and act boldly, we will not only endanger the future of tens of millions of students but threaten to undermine the recovery of our economy.

At this year’s Teacher of the Year Awards, President Obama highlighted our Administration’s work to save over 400,000 jobs through the Recovery Act’s emergency aid.  

And it’s why, through our recovery efforts, we’ve provided emergency aid that saved the jobs of more than 400,000 teachers and other education jobs -– and why I believe these efforts must continue.  I believe these efforts must continue as states face severe budget shortfalls that put hundreds of thousands of jobs at risk.  We need and our children need our teachers in the classroom.  We need your passion and your patience, your skill and experience, your determination to reach every single child.

Now we need swift, bold action from Congress to respond to state and local budget cuts that are placing public education at risk and endangering teacher jobs.  Thanks to the leadership of Senator Harkin and Congressmen Miller and Obey, we have legislation to avert this crisis. Today, our Administration wrote to Congressional leaders indicating the President's support for this critical legislation, and urging Congress to include education jobs funding in the supplemental appropriations bills soon to be considered in the House and Senate.  See below for the Obama Administration’s letter to Speaker Pelosi and Leader Reid on this legislation.

President Obama travelled to Buffalo, New York this afternoon, where he visited Industrial Support Inc. and discussed the important role that small businesses have as the “backbone of America’s economy.” He explained that the government has been removing barriers to help businesses get loans as part of the President's broader economic agenda, and that this agenda is starting to bear fruit:

All those tough steps we took, they’re working.  Despite all the naysayers who were predicting failure a year ago, our economy is growing again.  Last month we had the strongest job growth that we’d seen in years.  And by the way, almost all of it was in the private sector, and a bunch of it was manufacturing.  So this month was better than last month.  Next month is going to be stronger than this month.  And next year is going to be better than this year.  Last month we gained 290,000 jobs -- that was the largest increase in four years. 

Check out the chart below to see the job losses and gains by month over the last year and half:
 

[Download the data as a csv file.]

The President talked about business owner Dave Sullivan who received a loan from the Small Business Administration as part of the Recovery Act, which allowed him to pay bills, purchase new equipment, and increase his workforce. The President explained that the Administration has continued to take steps to help companies grow, including enacting seven tax cuts for small business last year, and supporting over 63,000 loans through the Recovery Act. The President also signed a law a few weeks ago that makes businesses eligible for tax cuts for hiring unemployed workers.

President Barack Obama delivers remarks on the economy at Industrial Support Inc., in Buffalo, N.Y., May 13, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Samantha Appleton)

He referred back to his State of the Union address, when he called for a $30 billion small business lending fund to help ensure that business owners would get the capital they need. The President said that the legislation has been sent to Congress and now includes a new state small business credit initiative that will help expand lending for small businesses and manufacturers.

He pointed out that Republicans have been criticizing the initiatives as “big government,” and explained that government helping businesses grow and create jobs isn’t just “another debate about big versus small government.”

That’s our jobs agenda -- empowering small businesses so they can hire.  I hear a lot of noise from some of our friends out there that say, this is nothing more than “big government.”  I want everybody here to understand, I don't -- I personally don't think that giving tax cuts to businesses is big government.  I don’t understand how helping businesses get loans so they can grow and hire more workers is big government.  

I’m not interested in another debate about big government versus small government.  I care about whether government is meeting its responsibilities to the people it represents.  And I want to unleash the great power of our economy, so Americans who are looking for work can find it.  And I'm hopeful that our small business agenda doesn’t fall victim to the same partisanship that we’ve seen over the last year.  Helping businesses to create jobs should be something that both parties can agree to.   

President Barack Obama places his order for wings during a stop for lunch at Duff's Famous Wings in Cheektowaga, New York, May 13, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Samantha Appleton)

Ed. Note: Attorney General Eric Holder and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will discuss the Obama Administration’s efforts to fight fraud today using new tools provided by the Affordable Care Act at 4:00 PM EDT today.  Click here to watch.

As the Affordable Care Act has kicked in over the last few weeks, Americans around the country have been getting some long overdue good news about health care.  While most of us see this historic new law as an opportunity to give all of us more control over our own health care and bring down health care costs, there are others who are trying to use the new law to defraud seniors and try to rip off the system.

Sadly, criminals see health insurance reform an opportunity to launch new schemes. My message to them is this: there has never been a worse time to try to steal Americans’ health care dollars.

What these criminals may not know is that the Affordable Care Act is not just about making our health insurance system work better for families.  It’s also has some of the strongest anti-health care fraud provisions in American history.

Over the past year and a half, we have made great strides in fighting fraud, working with the Department of Justice and state and local partners to deploy innovative fraud-fighting strategies like our HEAT strike force. 

A new report released today by the Attorney General and I shows that our fraud-fighting efforts are working – in FY 2009 anti-fraud efforts put $2.51 billion back in the Medicare Trust Fund, a $569 million, or 29 percent, increase over FY 2008, and over $441 million in federal Medicaid money was returned to the Treasury, a 28 percent increase from FY 2008.
   
But criminals aren’t quitting yet. In just the past few weeks, in states from Delaware to Wyoming, we’re hearing unfortunate examples of schemers promising medical benefits to seniors in exchange for their personal information. These schemes are not only a threat to taxpayer dollars, but are potentially devastating to seniors seeking care.

That is why we’re turning up the heat on scam artists who try to defraud taxpayers and exploit consumers. The Affordable Care Act will improve our ability to detect, track and prevent fraud, through enhanced communication and transparency across agencies and geographic regions, and stronger penalties for criminals.

Over the next 10 years, we’ll be investing $600 million towards these detection and enforcement efforts – investments that studies have shown pay for themselves many times over. And we’ll be working to empower Americans to help us fight fraud by building strong coalitions on the state and local level with law enforcement and seniors groups to educate people about their rights and to enlist them to become fraud fighters too.

As the new law is implemented, we will aggressively work to safeguard our tax dollars and protect our seniors every step of the way.  Fighting fraud, strengthening Medicare and protecting seniors is the core of our mission when it comes to this new law and we will act swiftly and aggressively to both prevent fraud from happening and against those who break the law.

Kathleen Sebelius is Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services

Today, the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board announced that it is moving Recovery.gov to the cloud. As the world’s largest consumer of information technology and as stewards of taxpayer dollars, the Federal Government has a duty to be a leader in pioneering the use of new technologies that are more efficient and economical.

For those of you not familiar with cloud computing, here is a brief explanation. There was a time when every household, town, or village had its own water well. Today, shared public utilities give us access to clean water by simply turning on the tap. Cloud computing works a lot like our shared public utilities. However, instead of water coming from a tap, users access computing power from a pool of shared resources. Just like the tap in your kitchen, cloud computing services can be turned on or off as needed, and, when the tap isn’t on, not only can the water be used by someone else, but you aren’t paying for resources that you don’t use.  Cloud computing is a new model for delivering computing resources – such as networks, servers, storage, or software applications.

Recovery.gov is the first government-wide system to move to the cloud. The move is part of the Administration’s overall efforts to cut waste and fix or end government programs that don’t work. By migrating to the public cloud, the Recovery Board is in position to leverage many advantages including the ability keep the site up as millions of Americans help report potential fraud, waste, and abuse. The Board expects savings of about $750,000 during its current budget cycle and significantly more savings in the long-term.

In April, HHS leveraged cloud computing to support implementation of Electronic Health Records (EHR) systems. To coordinate healthcare providers’ implementation of new Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems, HHS is deploying a cloud-based customer relationship and project management solution provided by Salesforce.com. The solutions will support HHS’s Regional Extension Centers in assisting doctors and rural hospitals in the selection, implementation and meaningful use of EHRs. Various implementation approaches can be analyzed to quickly identify best practices for EHR implementation as they emerge.

By using cloud services, the Federal Government will gain access to powerful technology resources faster and at lower costs. This frees us to focus on mission-critical tasks instead of purchasing, configuring, and maintaining redundant infrastructure.

The Obama Administration is committed to leveraging the power of cloud computing to help close the technology gap and deliver for the American people. I am hopeful that that the Recovery Board’s move to the cloud will serve as a model for making government’s use of technology smarter, better, and faster.

Vivek Kundra is U.S. Chief Information Officer

Earlier today, First Lady Michelle Obama spoke at a summit hosted by the National Military Family Association and called it the country's "moral obligation" to recognize the state of military families today. She commended families for their resilience and dedication to service and called for the “vision of a nation that truly supports our military families.”

The First Lady discussed hardships that military spouses endure, including struggling to access benefits and assistance and mental health counseling for the stress of separation. She called for the nation to support and engage military families not only during their time of military service, but at every stage of their lives.

And although I think it would pain most Americans to hear this, we have to be honest.  Too many of our military families still think a lot of Americans don’t fully appreciate what they’re going through, how they sacrifice for us.  As one military mom appealed to me in a letter, she said, “Please don’t let Americans forget or ignore what we live with.”  She said, “We are at war.”

And finally, we know that the needs of our military families are only going to grow.  Our forces and their families face more deployments.  That means more veterans needing care, especially those with post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injury.  It means more caregivers needing support.  It means more survivors who can never be forgotten.

First Lady Michelle Obama delivers remarks to the National Military Family Association Military Child Summit at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. May 12, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)

The First Lady explained that the Administration has made military families an important priority by increasing benefits and funds for military housing, childcare, counseling and career development, and also expanding health care for veterans and support for caretakers.  She praised the Department of Defense for launching the Military Family Life Project, a study of over 100,000 spouses and service members to assess their quality of life for a better understanding of how families are affected by deployments. She also talked about the Department of Agriculture’s 4-H program, which forged partnerships with the armed services to help military children when their parents are deployed.

The First Lady announced that the President has directed the national security staff to lead a government-wide review to identify new priorities and partnerships to support military families. She explained that the initiative will lay the foundation for a coordinated government approach to supporting and engaging military families.

And it won’t be easy.  It’s going to take many years.  It’s going to require a great deal of patience, as you all know.  But if Americans respond to this challenge; if we mobilize every segment of society; if we work together; if we hold ourselves to the same high standard of excellence that our military families live by every day, then I know we can succeed.  I know we can realize our vision of an America that truly supports and engages our military families not just now, but for decades to come.  

First Lady Michelle Obama talks with National Military Family Association Board Chair Mary Scott after speaking at the National Military Family Association Military Child Summit at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., May 12, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)

When it comes to trying to defeat financial reform, Wall Street lobbyists just won’t give up.  This afternoon the Senate began consideration of a Republican effort to wipe out the strong derivatives provisions written by Senators Lincoln and Dodd in the Senate’s financial reform bill.

Here’s the bottom line: the Republican substitute has weak standards for major market players and no transparent trading.  It doesn’t require major firms to hold capital against their derivatives transactions, doesn’t require an open and transparent market, and doesn’t regulate the next AIG or ENRON.

So what does the substitute amendment do?  It keeps risky derivatives trading in the dark and strips the Senate bill of provisions that would help prevent the build-up of risk that threatened the financial system in the financial crisis.  It  strips provisions that make the derivatives market safer and more transparent.  It deletes whistleblower protections. It weakens rules on conflicts of interest.  It eliminates a requirement that cleared transactions be publicly reported.  And it deletes new authority for the SEC to set position limits – leaving room for Wall Street’s manipulation and abuse.

Derivatives exist to help businesses manage risk. They can help airline companies protect against an unexpected rise in fuel prices and they can help farmers lock in a price for their produce.

But derivatives can also allow big financial firms make large, risky bets in the shadows. For example, because of a lack of transparency in the derivatives market, AIG was allowed to place hundreds of billions of dollars in bets without the money to back them up if the bets went bad. And in the end, AIG built up so much risk through derivatives that it put the entire financial system at risk.

The Dodd bill would help prevent excessive risk in derivatives  from threatening the system again.

In place of the unregulated market we have today, the Dodd bill would bring the derivates markets into the open. It would subject derivatives dealers to strong, comprehensive oversight with robust capital and margin buffers. And it would require that all standard derivatives be traded on exchanges or other electronic trading platforms.

Despite the enormous damage wrought by unregulated derivatives trading, Wall Street lobbyists are spending millions of dollars to weaken reform with loopholes and carve-outs that would exempt large derivatives traders from the rules of the road.  The lobbyist might keep fighting, but it’s up to the Senate to show which side they are on, and throughout this process reform for the American people have won.  We hope the Senate keeps up this winning streak and defeats this dangerous amendment.

Dan Pfeiffer is White House Communications Director

As a former middle school science teacher, I know teachers and students rarely have an opportunity to interact with the scientific community on common ground.  Yes, there are great professional development opportunities for teachers at research facilities and college tours for students, but seldom do we put all three groups in the same room and offer an opportunity for conversation.  This was the impetus for our National Lab Day event Dinner with a Scientist, an event where we invite local scientists to talk about their work and share activities in a format that is part career day, part prom, and part speed dating.  

Chani Sentiwany, Criminalist from the Oakland Police Department Crime Laboratory, shares how forensic biology is used to solve crimes. May 12, 2010. (by Oakland Unified School District)

On May 5th, 250 Oakland secondary students, teachers, and scientists gathered at the Oakland Zoo to see the animals up close and talk about science in a semiformal setting.

Twenty-five scientists attended including researchers from UC Berkeley who shared about particle astrophysics, engineers from Lawrence Berkeley National Lab who discussed materials in computer chips, and chemists from Chevron who talked about the environment.  Every thirty minutes, scientists would change tables and meet a different group of teachers and students.

The global importance of science was also highlighted by Oakland Zoo’s Amy Gotliffe who shared about her work as a conservationist and how important it is to change the habits and mindsets of people in the United States and Africa.

Amy Gotliffe, Conservation Manager for the Oakland Zoo, holds up a walrus tusk to talk about the importance of conservation to students from Montera Middle School and United for Success Academy. May 12, 2010. (by Oakland Unified School District)

Abbey Barnard a teacher from United for Success Academy, brought three eight graders who were really interested in science.  Among them was a student that recently immigrated to the United States.  He was excited learn about conservation around the world and also commented on the fact that eating with silverware was a cross-cultural experience!

Dinner with a Scientist is a unique opportunity for teachers to link their students with working scientists.  Discussions ranged from the daily work of scientists to life in college to early childhood experiences, and teachers who influenced their careers.  No topic was off limits or too rigorous.  The eighth graders discussed multiverses with a physicist from the Space Science Laboratory with ease!

This event was so successful that we’ll host a second Dinner with a Scientist event on June 2nd for upper elementary students and teachers.  For more details, checkout the Science in Oakland website.

Whether you’re a teacher or a scientist, getting involved with National Lab Day is easy.   To learn more about how to get involved check out these videos on the National Science Foundation website or visit NationalLabDay.org. 

Caleb Cheung is the Science Manager for Oakland Unified School District

Ed. Note: Also see the President's statement out this afternoon.

As debate over Wall Street reform continues on the Senate floor, opponents of the legislation and their lobbyists continue to try to spread mistruths about the bill, particularly when it comes to the impact of financial reform on small businesses.

Let’s set the record straight once again: neither the Senate bill nor the Administration’s original proposal has ever applied to small businesses – not to florists, not to butchers, and not to orthodontists. When it comes to authorities for the new consumer financial protection agency, we have absolutely no interest in any company that is not significantly engaged in providing financial goods and services.

The Snowe-Landrieu amendment that will be considered soon makes clear once and for all that the Senate bill does not apply to small businesses – any small business.   That means if you are a small business owner that simply extends credit to facilitate sales of nonfinancial goods or services to your customers and keeps the credit on your own accounts, you will not be affected.

But it’s important to be equally clear on who IS covered:  with or without the Snowe-Landrieu amendment, this bill covers banks, it covers auto-dealer-lenders, it covers payday lenders, and all other companies engaged in providing financial services to consumers.  As it should.

As we mentioned here yesterday and articles in the New York Times and Washington Post note today, there's a fight looming as lobbyists argue for unjustifiable loopholes and carve-outs.  Auto dealer-lenders -who compete directly with banks and are responsible for originating 80 percent of car loans nationwide - are looking for a total exemption from the bill's consumer financial protection provisions.  Given the fact that, after a house, a car is the biggest purchase most American families make, the attempt to exempt auto lenders from consumer protection rules is particularly egregious.
 

We saw in the financial crisis that companies that originate loans for the purpose of selling them off to Wall Street— which is exactly what auto dealer-lenders do—often have skewed incentives.   For example, Wall Street pays dealer-lenders more to bring in loans with higher interest rates than the borrower qualifies for.  This encourages dealer-lenders to inflate rates and pack loans with expensive and unnecessary add-ons, while using deceptive tactics to make customers think they’re getting a good deal.  
 
For the sake of responsible consumers – as well as for responsible community banks and credit unions --we must ensure that all businesses that are significantly engaged in providing consumer financial products and services play by the same basic rules of the road.  That puts auto dealer lenders and payday lenders squarely within the parameters of this bill.  But it puts the butcher, the orthodontist and the floral arrangement maker squarely beyond its scope. 

Beware of any and all misleading attempts to blur those lines.  

Michael Barr is Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Institutions

[View Full Size]

Last week, Vice President Biden traveled to Belgium and Spain. In a major address to the European Parliament, the Vice President talked about the relationship between the U.S. and Europe:

What began as a simple pact among a half-a-dozen nations to create a common market for coal and steel grew into an economic and political powerhouse; a community dedicated to free thought, free movement, and free enterprise; a Europe that one historian has called, not so much a place but an idea.
 
And I’m here to reaffirm that President Obama and I believe in this idea, and in a better world and better Europe it has already helped to bring about; a Europe where all member states benefit by negotiating trade agreements and fighting environmental degradation with one unified voice; a Europe that bolsters the cultural and political values that my country shares with all of you; a Europe that is whole, a Europe that is free, and a Europe that is at peace.
 
As President Obama said in Prague a little more than a year ago, a strong Europe makes a stronger partner for the United States, and we need strong partners.  That is why we will do everything we can to support this great endeavor of yours.  Because the past 65 years have shown that when Americans and Europeans devote their energies to common purpose, there is almost nothing we are unable to accomplish.

During his first stop in Brussels, the Vice President met with NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, European Parliament President Jerzy Buzek, leaders of the European Parliament, and Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme. The Vice President also attended a lunch meeting with President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy and President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso, and a dinner meeting with all 28 allied Permanent Representatives to the North Atlantic Council.

While in Madrid, Vice President Biden met with King Juan Carlos to discuss the ongoing cooperation between the United States and Spain to address major global challenges. On Saturday, the Vice President and Spanish President Zapatero spoke to the press about the strong bilateral relationship between the United States and Spain and visited Spanish troops where the Vice President told them, "Our country is proud and grateful to be partners with all of you, with Spain - a partnership we are committed to strengthening and deepening in the years ahead."