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September 15, 2010
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Universities in the United States have led the world in scientific research for a century. Sometimes however, innovators, including universities, struggle to translate research ideas into technologies that satisfy real world needs. Universities across the country have embraced the need to address climate and energy challenges, and now we need to effectively harness the resources and intellectual capital of our world’s leading research institutions. The wealth of ideas originating from our university laboratories will help build innovative cleantech companies that drive future economic development and create jobs for Americans.
Today, the Department of Energy is announcing new steps toward strengthening the commercialization successes of our nation’s research universities through a variety of partnerships. We call these projects ‘Innovation Ecosystems’ – collaborative environments that unite key players to identify and develop new clean energy technologies. Through the Department’s Innovation Ecosystem Development Initiative, five selections were made from regions throughout the U.S., which include Southern California, Utah, Florida, the Chicago metropolitan area, and New England. Each project will bring together the strengths of multiple partners, including universities, businesses, financial institutions, government, research institutes, economic development organizations, business accelerators and national laboratories – all with a common goal of moving high impact innovations from the lab to the marketplace.
The key to deploying successful ideas is having a network of individuals that move great, innovative ideas to the prototype stage and on to commercial scale. With over eighty partners in five ecosystems, a combination of resources will be used to review hundreds of nascent technologies, provide entrepreneurship education and business services to faculty and students, and in some cases create challenging competitions among university teams to turn innovative business plans into cleantech realities. Through these partnerships, the brightest scientists and engineers will team with experienced entrepreneurs and investors, who will do what they do best – find and nurture market relevant technologies.
These Innovation Ecosystems will be the blueprint for encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship by students, faculty, staff and alumni at universities across the country. By increasing the number of players in this space, we will put new technologies in the hands of more Americans and help move our country toward a competitive clean energy economy – grown here at home.
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Tomorrow at 4 PM EDT, the White House is hosting a special live chat with former NASA astronaut and first American woman in space Dr. Sally Ride. Dr. Ride will be taking questions from students across the country on the importance of getting a strong education in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) subjects and discussing how her education helped her in her career.
If you’re a student, be sure to submit your questions for Dr. Ride via our webform and tune in tomorrow at 4 PM EDT to watch the discussion on WhiteHouse.gov/live.
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If Congressional Republicans’ goal is to convince the American people that they care about spending, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s latest tax proposal that would double the nation’s deficit over the next decade to $4 trillion is a perplexing start. A story in The Washington Post today outlines the Senate Republicans’ plan, while ironically quoting him as saying “We have a spending problem.”
And just this morning, according to another Washington Post story John Boehner caved to the wealthy special interests and flipped his position back to supporting the extension of the tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans while holding the middle class tax cuts hostage.
Instead of joining President Obama in his call to extend the middle class tax cuts to working families, to the people who need it most, McConnell and Boehner’s focus appears to be on millionaires and billionaires who aren’t asking for a tax cut. During these challenging economic times, we simply can’t afford to borrow another $700 billion over the next decade to give an average tax cut of $100,000 to Americans making over $1 million per year.
What’s clear is that Senator McConnell’s and Congressman Boehner’s plan would do absolutely nothing to grow our economy, put people back to work and strengthen America’s middle class. Instead, it would take us back to the same exact failed economic policies that created the mess we’re in: cut taxes for millionaires and billionaires; cut rules for the special interests and big corporations and cut the middle class loose to fend for itself.
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September 15, 2010
12:25 PM EDTLet’s get the word out! Tens of thousands veterans whose service in Iraq or Afghanistan was involuntarily extended or retirement was suspended due to ‘stop loss’ are not applying for retroactive pay to which they are entitled, and the deadline is October 21! Under legislation President Obama signed into law last year, servicemen and women whose service was extended due to ‘stop loss’ are eligible for $500 per month in retroactive pay for each month their service was extended.
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Back in April, the President asked me along with Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and the Office of Management and Budget to lead the newly created Task Force on Federal Contracting Opportunities for Small Businesses. We were charged with working on behalf of the entire Administration to create more opportunities for small businesses to compete for and win contracts. Today – as a result of extensive collaboration, focus and commitment throughout the federal government – we are offering 13 actionable recommendations (pdf) to ensure that all federal agencies continue to make progress in getting more contracts into the hands of American’s small businesses. These recommendations fall into three categories:
- Clearer, stronger policies at federal agencies, including better guidance on how to do small business set-asides and implement effective mentor-protégé programs;
- A better-trained federal workforce, with stronger certification and training requirements, coupled with meaningful incentives to help agencies reach their goals; and,
- More user-friendly tools and technologies, such as improving FedBizOpps to be a one-stop resource for small businesses looking for matchmaking events, subcontracting opportunities, agency contact information, and more.
Why is small business contracting so important?
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I am writing today with some exciting news and a great video that I want to share with all of you.
I was delighted last spring when President Obama asked me to convene the first-ever White House Summit on Community Colleges to highlight the importance of community colleges to our students and our economy. I am pleased to announce today that this summit will take place on Tuesday, October 5th.
The summit will bring together students, community colleges, business, philanthropy, federal and state policy leaders and others to discuss how community colleges can ensure that we have the most educated workforce in the world. Community colleges touch so many lives – so I am writing to encourage you to share your own stories, ideas, and questions for the summit. You can submit them via video or our online dialogue tools – and we will also host a live webcast of most of the Summit at WhiteHouse.gov next month.
I see firsthand the power of community colleges to change lives every single day I am in the classroom, and after 17 years as a community college teacher, I am still energized and inspired by my students every day.
Please take a moment to watch the video below – hopefully these stories will inspire you too:
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The American private sector is the engine of job creation in our economy. This is why the President has made it a priority from the beginning of his Administration to take steps to encourage business investment and job growth in the U.S. and give all businesses the tools they need to prosper.
A new report (pdf) from Business Roundtable highlights the principles and priorities that provide the foundation for the President’s new ideas to accelerate business investment and increase the competitiveness of American firms. The report acknowledges the critical linkages between small and large businesses in our economy, and argued that “government policies should be aiming to promote investment growth and job creation for all U.S. businesses.”
While the report does not acknowledge the Administration’s policy efforts, its findings underscore the importance of the steps the Administration has already taken to encourage investment and the new proposals we are pushing to help small and large businesses alike:
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First Lady Michelle Obama delivered remarks to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI) today. For more than 30 years, CHCI has been working to develop the next generation of leaders for the future of the Hispanic community and the country as a whole through scholarships, fellowships, and career programs.
First Lady Michelle Obama delivers remarks before the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Public Policy Conference in Washington. September 14, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)
She discussed the need for forward-looking organizations like CHCI to address the challenges of tomorrow, particularly the challenge of childhood obesity in America. An issue important to Mrs. Obama, not just as First Lady, but as a mother.
Now, we all know this is a serious problem in every single community in this country. But like with so many of the other challenges we face today, communities of colors have been hit especially hard. Nearly two in five Hispanic children are overweight or obese. And this isn’t just teenagers or school-age kids that we’re talking about. Believe it or not, the obesity rate among Hispanic preschoolers is higher than their white or African American peers.
And we all know what this means for their overall health. We all know the links between obesity and cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease.
But we also know that childhood obesity is not a stand-alone problem. We know that it is bound up in just about every other issue that we face. It is about health care. It’s about education, economic opportunity. It’s about how our food is processed, and how our cities are designed, how our children spend each day in school. It’s about the restaurants where we eat, and the grocery stores where we shop, and the decisions we make for our children every single day: decisions about how much time they spend with TV and video games, as opposed to running around outside; decisions about what they eat, how much of it, and how often. So we all have a stake in this problem. And we all have a role in finding a solution.
That’s why the First Lady launched Let’s Move!, a nationwide campaign to solve the problem of childhood obesity in a generation and she asked for CHCI's help in solving it. From working to sign up schools for the Healthier US Schools Challenge to encouraging kids to enroll in the 6-week President’s Active Lifestyle Awards program, there are countless ways to make an impact. And one way is by starting at home.
It’s about families making manageable changes that fit with their budgets and schedules, with their needs and with their tastes. And that might be something as simple as going for regular walks with your kids or maybe turning off the TV and turning on the radio and dancing a little bit in the living room until you break a sweat. (Laughter.) That counts.
Small things like cutting back on portion sizes or replacing soda with water or just putting some more fruits and vegetables on the table, all of this can add up over time and make a big difference in the lives of our kids. And, believe me, you don’t have to throw Abuela’s cookbook out the window. (Laughter and applause.)
There is a role for those time-honored family recipes, but it’s about moderation. It’s about doing our best to monitor what our kids are consuming. How many snacks are they eating? How many sodas are they drinking? Has dessert become an all-the-time food instead of just a once-in-a-while treat? It’s about being proactive, about going to the doctor and getting our kids screened for obesity.
But most of all, it’s about doing something. There are countless ways for us to start making a difference. The key is to start now, because when it comes to our children’s health and happiness, when it comes to their future, we don’t have a moment to waste. And if anyone knows what it takes to make real change in this country, it’s all of you. It’s what you’ve been doing for nearly 35 years.
In closing, the First Lady touched on the core mission of the organization and the health of our nation's kids:
Now I remember hearing that when you all started the Hispanic Caucus back in 1976, the Speaker of the House joked that the first meeting could be held in a phone booth, because back then you had just five members. And now, you have 23. (Applause.) CHCI’s first class of fellows was all of four strong. And today, there are more than 5,000 students that have benefited from your educational services and your leadership development programs.
See, now those are results, right? That’s the kind of real impact that you have had, and can have, on this nation and on our children. And that’s the core mission of this organization, to give our children opportunities that we never dreamed of for ourselves. And that’s why all of you have organized. It’s why you’ve marched. It’s why you stood up and spoke out and refused to back down, no matter what kind of odds you faced.
And I don’t think any one in this room -- or any of your parents or grandparents -- fought so hard for so long only to see a future where the greatest threat to our children is their own health.
But the good news is, is that we can do something about this. This is one of those problems that’s in our hand. The solution to this problem is right within our grasp, but only if we reach for it, and only if we work for it and fight for it, only if we once again summon that urgency that has spurred us forward, generation after generation, seeking something better for our children.
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This afternoon the President gave his second annual back to school speech, this time around at Julia R. Masterman Laboratory and Demonstration School in Philadelphia, PA, a 2010 National Blue Ribbon School. Like last year it was an opportunity to speak directly to students, in a speech shown in schools across the country, about the importance of committing to their educations.
He began by talking to them on the level about what they see in their daily lives, and what might be on their minds even beyond the dreaded end of summer vacation:
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Early this afternoon the President released the statement below on the release of Sarah Shourd, the American hiker who was held in an Iranian prison for 14 months, and the continued imprisonment of Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal:
I am very pleased that Sarah Shourd has been released by the Iranian government, and will soon be united with her family. All Americans join with her courageous mother and family in celebrating her long-awaited return home. We are grateful to the Swiss, the Sultanate of Oman, and other friends and allies around the world who have worked tirelessly and admirably over the past several months to bring about this joyous reunion.
While Sarah has been released, Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal remain prisoners in Iran who have committed no crime. We remain hopeful that Iran will demonstrate renewed compassion by ensuring the return of Shane, Josh and all the other missing or detained Americans in Iran. We salute the courage and strength of the Shourd, Bauer, and Fattal families, who have endured the unimaginable absence of their loved ones. We have gained strength from their resolve, and will continue do everything we can to secure the release of their loved ones.
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"So my question is," began a woman in the the backyard of John Nicholas and Nicole Armstrong, "I work for Fairfax County public schools, and I haven’t had a raise in two years and I may not even have a job next year -- because I hear it’s going to get worse before it’s going to get better. Do you agree with that? Like, I mean, I know it’s -- we’re starting to improve and jobs are starting to come back, but how long do you think this is going to take?"
President Barack Obama talks with John Nicholas, Nicole Armstrong, and their twins Trevor and Olivia, on the patio of their home in Fairfax, Virginia September 13, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)
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Ed. Note: Cross posted from the Energy Blog.
Some people think our economy can run on white collar and service jobs alone, but they are wrong. We can and must make high quality products in America. We are on the verge of a new Industrial Revolution and I believe it will revolve around the greatest untapped opportunity of our time, clean energy. China and Europe see this opportunity and they are already moving aggressively to be at the forefront of it. It is time for America to get into the clean energy race and play to win -- and that is exactly what A123 Systems is doing in Michigan.
At a difficult time for America’s workers and businesses, A123 Systems is leading the way to a brighter future. It is building factories in Livonia, Romulus, and Brownstown. It has already has hired 200 local workers since last August and it expects to hire more than 3,000 people by 2012. Today marks an important milestone for A123 Systems, as they open largest lithium-ion automotive battery production facility in North America. This will help make sure the cars of the future are built right here in America.
This particular project is important because it has managed to link innovation in America to manufacturing in America, an essential connection that has been neglected in recent years.
We are – and have long been – the world leader in innovation. To give just a few examples from the last century: we created the laser, the solar cell, the transistor, and GPS technology. Historically, we’ve also been a powerhouse in manufacturing. But where are high tech products made today? They are largely manufactured in Asia.
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Over the weekend House Republican Leader John Boehner changed his position and came out in support of the President’s plan to provide middle class tax cuts, even without additional tax cuts worth about $100,000 to millionaires and paid for by borrowing $700 billion that we don’t have. Time will tell whether this change will lead to anything but continued support for the failed economic policies that got us into this mess, but for now we are certainly pleased to have his support.
However, shortly after his original statement, it became clear that Republicans remain intent on holding tax relief for middle class families hostage. As the Washington Post reported:
Even as Boehner shows voters that he is willing to be flexible, he has created some confusion within his party on the issue. Many GOP lawmakers, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.), believe it's a big mistake to raise taxes on anyone during an economic downturn. They want all the Bush cuts extended, no exceptions, a position McConnell vigorously reasserted Monday by introducing legislation for full extension.
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First Lady Michelle Obama delivers remarks at the National Restaurant Association’s Fall Board Meeting at the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. September 13, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)
“So today I’m going to talk about food, which is something that all of you here today know a little bit about,” said First Lady Michelle Obama to an audience representing forty percent of the nearly one million restaurants in the United States, from the biggest chains to the smallest diners, at the National Restaurant Association Meeting in Washington, DC.
The First Lady discussed Let’s Move!, her nationwide campaign to solve the problem of childhood obesity in a generation, so that kids born today can reach adulthood at a healthy weight. Let’s Move! is about attacking the problem from all different angles – from giving parents the information and the resources they need to making sure every community has access to fresh and nutritious food. Today, the First Lady called on America’s restaurant owners for their help, challenging them to offer healthy, accessible menu options:
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This morning, President Obama hosted a reception for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU’s) at the White House in honor of National HBCU Week. HBCU’s have played a crucial role in the American higher education system. As President Obama said in his remarks, HBCU’s have “made it possible for millions of people to achieve their dreams and gave so many young people a chance they never thought they’d have -- a chance that nobody else would give them.”
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The Affordable Care Act is already strengthening our health care system for Americans across the country, but some opponents of reform are determined to take us backwards. From the moment the law was signed by President Obama, some called for repealing the new law. And in recent days, some Members of Congress have discussed their plans to “defund” the law if they get the chance.
Make no mistake: defunding the Affordable Care Act is just Washington-speak for taking us back to the days when insurance companies – not you and your doctor – were in control of your care. If the new law was defunded, the new Patient’s Bill of Rights would be an empty promise, seniors’ costs for their prescription drugs would increase, and small businesses offering health insurance would pay higher taxes.
Here’s a look at just some of the effects of defunding the Affordable Care Act.
Patient’s Bill of Rights in Peril: After decades of insurance company abuses, the new law implements a real patient’s bill of right and bans some of the worst insurance company practices. Under the new law:
- All insurance plans will be prohibited from putting lifetime caps on the dollar amount that they will spend on benefits, like cancer treatment, or canceling, or rescinding your coverage because you get sick, or you made an unintentional mistake on your application.
- Young adults will be allowed to remain on their parent’s plan until their 26th birthday, unless they are offered coverage at work.
- Most insurance companies will have restrictions on their ability to place annual limits on care.
- New rules will prevent most insurance companies from denying coverage to children under the age of 19 due to a pre-existing condition.
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And if you purchase or join a new plan after September 23:
- Insurance companies must cover recommended preventive services, including mammograms, colonoscopies, immunizations, pre-natal and new baby care without charging deductibles, co-payments or co-insurance.
- Insurance companies will be prohibited from denying coverage for needed care without a chance to appeal to an independent third party.
- You will be guaranteed your choice of primary care provider within your plan’s network of doctors, including OB-GYNs and pediatricians, without a referral, as well as out-of-network emergency care.
If the Affordable Care Act is defunded, there will be no federal oversight of insurance companies’ compliance with the Patients’ Bill of Rights, leaving consumers at risk of future insurance industry abuses.
Tax Hikes for Small Businesses: The Affordable Care Act includes tax credits for small businesses that provide health care to their workers. If Affordable Care Act was defunded, the tax credits could not be administered and small businesses across the country would be left with higher taxes.
More Expensive Prescription Drugs for Seniors: Today, senior citizens who reach the prescription drug coverage gap known as the donut hole receive a $250 rebate check. Next year, seniors in the donut hole will receive a 50 percent discount on their prescription drugs and the donut hole will be closed completely by 2020. If the new law was defunded, the rebate checks would stop being delivered to seniors, next year’s discounts would not materialize and the donut hole would remain, leaving millions of seniors choosing between paying higher prescription drug costs, or changing the medicines their doctors recommend they take.
No Protection for Your Premium Dollars: In 2011, insurance companies will be required to spend at least 80 percent of premium dollars on health care instead of overhead, salaries or administrative expenses. If they fail to do so, they will be required to provide a rebate to consumers. But if the Affordable Care Act is defunded, there will be less money for enforcement, no rebates for consumers and insurance companies will once again have free reign to unjustifiably hike premiums and pad their bottom line.
No Safeguards Against Premium Hikes: Under the Affordable Care Act, states are eligible for $250 million to help strengthen their oversight of premium increases – 46 states are already using these resources to increase insurance company oversight. Defunding the law means states are left on their own and insurance companies are put back in control.Seniors Pay for Prevention: Under the Affordable Care Act, starting in January, seniors on Medicare can’t be charged a deductible or co-payment for preventive services like mammograms and colonoscopies. If the new law is defunded, seniors’ costs will increase for the critical services that help stop disease and illness before they start.
And That’s Not All: This is just a partial list of the consequences of defunding the Affordable Care Act and going back to our old broken insurance system, and they illustrate why President Obama and his team are committed to moving forward. In the days ahead, we’ll post more information about what’s at stake if the new law is defunded and why families and businesses can’t afford a return to the bad old days.
Stephanie Cutter is Assistant to the President for Special Projects -
The President was joined by Defense Secretary Gates and Admiral Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs at the Pentagon Memorial. Vice President Biden and Dr. Jill Biden were at Zuccotti Park in New York City. And the First Lady was with Mrs. Laura Bush at the memorial ceremony in honor of the passengers and crew of United Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Watch a short, moving video touching on all three events above.
All of them took part in service projects afterwards, and Serve.gov is helping Americans across the country take part in this Day of Service and Remembrance. Excerpts of their remarks below the photo gallery, which you can also view in full size.
playThe Ninth Anniversary of September 11
The President, The Vice President, Dr. Jill Biden, and the First Lady participate in a Day of Service and Remembrance marking the anniversary of the attacks on September 11, 2001 at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., Ground Zero in New York City, and the Flight 93 memorial site in Shanksville, Pa.
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The President marks the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks as a National Day of Service and Remembrance to honor those who lost their lives.
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Today the President once again discussed his proposals to boost America’s economic recovery – from rebuilding America’s roads and bridges, to giving businesses incentives to invest, to help for small business. If one sat back and tried to think of the most bipartisan idea the President could possibly propose to boost job creation, it would probably be providing tax breaks for small businesses, and yet even this has been blocked by the partisan Republican minority from even coming up for an up-or-down vote for months.
But for any who thought that blocking even such common sense measures was the limit of how far Republicans in Congress could go in putting partisanship ahead of getting Americans back to work, the Vice Chairman of the House Republicans’ campaign committee (the NRCC) was across town making clear that they were prepared to go much further. While the President was laying out bipartisan solutions to continue creating jobs, this Republican Congressman was rallying his political base in favor of his preferred solution – simply shutting the government down altogether:
Speaking to hundreds of activists gathered at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington for the Faith and Freedom Conference, Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-Ga.) urged the audience to stand with House Republicans when they go toe-to-toe with President Barack Obama.
Westmoreland said his caucus – presuming it takes control of the House come November – aims to pass spending bills that Obama is likely to veto. He predicted Republicans would not be able to override such a veto, creating a standoff that could cause Congress to grind to a halt.
“If the government shuts down, we want you with us,” he said.
The congressman recalled a similar shutdown that took place in 1995, when Newt Gingrich – also a speaker at the conference – was serving as House speaker.
This is far from the first time shutting down the government has been put forth by prominent conservatives. Newt Gingrich himself has been urging Republicans to follow the strategy laid out above, and Fox News correspondent Dick Morris recently gave a speech in which he said: "There's going to be a government shutdown just like in '95 and '96, but we're going to win it this time."
We have already heard the head of the same NRCC say “we need to go back to the exact same agenda” they supported during the past 10 years on the economy. And we have heard the House Republican Leader John Boehner promise to push for repeal of Wall Street Reform, allowing huge banks to go right back to the reckless gambling with our economy that led to the crisis the President is leading America out of.
While the President is offering a vision about how to move the country forward and help middle class Americans and small business owners, Republicans in Congress are busy telling partisans and Republican party activists to get prepared for the same stalemate and gridlock they brought the last time they were in charge. The President, like most Americans, is open to hearing new ideas to create jobs and boost the recovery from anybody in any party – unfortunately Americans are not hearing those ideas from Republicans in Congress.
Dan Pfeiffer is White House Communications Director
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Earlier today the President held a press conference in the East Room of the White House. He gave opening remarks on the economy, saying that America faces a choice between going forward towards an economy that works for the middle class and rewards hard work, or going back to the economy that works for special interests and rewards the kind of recklessness that caused the economic disaster we are now emerging from. He also announced that Austan Goolsbee -- who he described as "a brilliant economist," and "someone who has a deep appreciation of how the economy affects everyday people" -- would be taking over as the Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers. When asked about the mosque and community center in New York that has garnered so much attention recently, he reiterated that religous freedom is a bedrock principle of this country, and that "I’ve got Muslims who are fighting in Afghanistan in the uniform of the United States armed services. They’re out there putting their lives on the line for us." Click on the links beneath the video to jump directly to the any question and answer you want to see (questions are paraphrased).
- Opening remarks
- Will the election be a referendum on the economy?
- Will you support a compromise on small business tax cuts and tax cuts for the wealthy?
- Why did you wait to roll out economic plans? Is it a “second stimulus”?
- Is Elizabeth Warren still a leading candidate to head the consumer financial protection bureau? Are you unofficially concerned about a Senate confirmation?
- How have you changed Washington?
- Nine years after the September 11th attacks, why do you think it is that we are now seeing such an increase in suspicion and outright resentment of Islam?
- If talks between Palestinian and Israeli leaders fail at an early stage, will this administration disengage?
- When Defense Gates called the pastor in Florida, were you “elevating somebody who is clearly from the fringe?” Did health care reform live up to its promise?
- Could you discuss your efforts at reviewing history as it relates to the poverty agenda, meaning LBJ and Dr. King? Comment on Senate Republicans holding up the issue of Cobell and Pigford?
- On Afghanistan, how can you lecture Hamid Karzai about corruption when so many of these corrupt people are on the U.S. payroll? And on the Middle East, do you believe that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should extend the settlement moratorium?
- Ann Compton. What does it say about the status of American system of justice when so many of those who are thought to be plotters for September 11th or accused, suspected terrorists are still awaiting any kind of trial? How long for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed? Will that trial ever happen?
- Do you still believe it’s a critical part of your policy to capture or Osama bin Laden?
- I wonder if I can get you to weigh in on the wisdom of building a mosque a couple of blocks from Ground Zero.
A couple excerpts below -- the first on fighting for the middle class vs. fighting just for tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans:
As I just indicated, middle-class families had been struggling for a decade, before I came into office. Their wages and incomes had flat-lined. They were seeing the cost of everything from health care to sending their kids to college going up. Job growth was the weakest of any economic expansion between 2001 and 2008 since World War II. The pace was slower than it’s been over the last year.
So these policies of cutting taxes for the wealthiest Americans, of stripping away regulations that protect consumers, running up a record surplus to a record deficit -- those policies finally culminated in the worst financial crisis we’ve had since the Great Depression. And for 19 months, what we have done is steadily worked to avoid a depression, to take an economy that was contracting rapidly and making it grow again; a situation where we were losing 750,000 jobs a month, and now we’ve had eight consecutive months of private sector job growth; and made investments that are going to strengthen the economy over the long term.
But we’re not there yet. We lost 4 million jobs in the six months before I was sworn in, and we lost 8 million jobs total during the course of this recession. That is a huge hole to dig ourselves out of. And people who have lost their jobs around the country and can’t find one, moms who are sending out resumes and not getting calls back, worried about losing homes and not being able to pay bills -- they’re not feeling good right now. And I understand that.
And I ran precisely because I did not think middle-class families in this country were getting a fair shake. And I ran because I felt that we had to have a different economic philosophy in order to grow that middle class and grow our economy over the long term.
President Barack Obama holds a news conference in the East Room of the White House September 10, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
The last question was about the mosque and community center in New York that has garnered so much attention recently:
With respect to the mosque in New York, I think I’ve been pretty clear on my position here, and that is, is that this country stands for the proposition that all men and women are created equal; that they have certain inalienable rights -- one of those inalienable rights is to practice their religion freely. And what that means is that if you could build a church on a site, you could build a synagogue on a site, if you could build a Hindu temple on a site, then you should be able to build a mosque on the site.
Now, I recognize the extraordinary sensitivities around 9/11. I’ve met with families of 9/11 victims in the past. I can only imagine the continuing pain and anguish and sense of loss that they may go through. And tomorrow we as Americans are going to be joining them in prayer and remembrance. But I go back to what I said earlier: We are not at war against Islam. We are at war against terrorist organizations that have distorted Islam or falsely used the banner of Islam to engage in their destructive acts.
And we’ve got to be clear about that. We’ve got to be clear about that because if we’re going to deal with the problems that Ed Henry was talking about, if we’re going to successfully reduce the terrorist threat, then we need all the allies we can get. The folks who are most interested in a war between the United States or the West and Islam are al Qaeda. That’s what they’ve been banking on.
And fortunately, the overwhelming majority of Muslims around the world are peace-loving, are interested in the same things that you and I are interested in: How do I make sure I can get a good job? How can I make sure that my kids get a decent education? How can I make sure I’m safe? How can I improve my lot in life? And so they have rejected this violent ideology for the most part -- overwhelmingly.
And so from a national security interest, we want to be clear about who the enemy is here. It’s a handful, a tiny minority of people who are engaging in horrific acts, and have killed Muslims more than anybody else.
The other reason it’s important for us to remember that is because we’ve got millions of Muslim Americans, our fellow citizens, in this country. They’re going to school with our kids. They’re our neighbors. They’re our friends. They’re our coworkers. And when we start acting as if their religion is somehow offensive, what are we saying to them?
I’ve got Muslims who are fighting in Afghanistan in the uniform of the United States armed services. They’re out there putting their lives on the line for us. And we’ve got to make sure that we are crystal-clear for our sakes and their sakes they are Americans and we honor their service. And part of honoring their service is making sure that they understand that we don’t differentiate between them and us. It’s just us.
And that is a principle that I think is going to be very important for us to sustain. And I think tomorrow is an excellent time for us to reflect on that.
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- …
- next &rsaquo
