On the passing of former Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger, President Obama and Vice President Biden released the following statements:

Statement by the President:

With the passing of former Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger, our nation has lost a distinguished diplomat and public servant.  Through more than four decades of service, first in the Army and then as a dedicated foreign service officer and statesman, Lawrence Eagleburger devoted his life to the security of our nation and to strengthening our ties with allies and partners.  As Deputy Secretary and then Secretary of State under President George H. W. Bush, he helped our nation navigate the pivotal days during the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War.  Our nation is grateful for Secretary Eagleburger’s lifetime of service, and our thoughts and prayers are with his family, especially his three sons.   

And a statement by the Vice President:

President Barack Obama hugs a woman who lost a loved one, during the memorial service for victims of the tornado in Joplin, Missouri, May 29, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

A quick look at the week of May 30th on WhiteHouse.gov:

Joplin: President Obama visits Joplin, MO to meet with those in the community who lost so much in the tornados last week and participate in a Memorial Service at Missouri Southern University.

Small School, Big Dreams: Labor Secretary Hilda Solis delivers the Commencement address at Bridgeport High School in Washington, one of the top three finalists in the Race to the Top Commencement Challenge.  

West Wing Week: "One Step at a Time" takes you to Joplin, Poland, Arlington and inside the Situation Room with President Obama.

LGBT Pride Month: Kicking off Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) Pride Month, the Office of Public Engagement has launches a new webpage. And here's the Presidential Proclamation.

#UrbanSummit: Russell Simmons gives his thoughts on entrepreneurship and small business in America, in anticipation of Urban Entrepreneurship Summit. Join the conversation on twitter #UrbanSummit.

President Barack Obama greets workers during a shift change at the Wrangler Paint Facility at Chrysler Group’s Toledo Supplier Park complex in Toledo, Ohio, June 3, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)

Today, President Obama travelled to Toledo, Ohio where he toured the Chrysler Group Toledo Supplier Park and spoke with employees there about the tough decision he made in 2009 to support the restricting of the company rather than allowing it to fail.  

Now, we had a few options.  We could have followed the status quo and kept the automakers on life support by just giving them tens of billions of dollars of taxpayer money, but never really dealing with the structural issues at these plants. But that would have just kicked the problem down the road.

Or we could have done what a lot of folks in Washington thought we should do, and that is nothing.  We could have just let U.S. automakers go into an uncontrolled freefall.  And that would have triggered a cascade of damage all across the country.  If we let Chrysler and GM fail, plants like this would have shut down, then dealers and suppliers across the country would have shriveled up, then Ford and other automakers could have failed, too, because they wouldn’t have had the suppliers that they needed.  And by the time the dominos stopped falling, more than a million jobs, and countless communities, and a proud industry that helped build America’s middle class for generations wouldn’t have been around anymore.

So in the middle of a deep recession, that would have been a brutal and irreversible shock to the entire economy and to the future of millions of Americans.  So we refused to let that happen. 

Today, President Obama will travel to Toledo, Ohio where he will visit the Chrysler Group’s Toledo Supplier Park – an operation that employs more than 1,700 workers producing Jeep Wranglers, Jeep Liberties, and Dodge Nitros.  Just two years ago, Chrysler was filing for bankruptcy, and President Obama made the tough decision to support the restructuring of the company rather than allow it to fail – which would have cost tens of thousands of American jobs.

Today, Chrysler is repaying its government loans six years ahead of schedule and posted five consecutive quarters of operating profit.  Earlier this week, the National Economic Council released a new report on the resurgence of the American automotive industry.  Over the past two years, the auto industry has added 113,000 jobs - the fastest pace of job growth in the auto industry since 1998.

Check out this infographic that highlights some of the key successes in the auto industry since 2009.

The First Lady just announced that she will travel to Johannesburg and Cape Town, South Africa and Gaborone, Botswana during an official visit to Africa later this month. The trip, focused on youth leadership, education, health and wellness, is a continuation of Mrs. Obama’s work to engage young people at home and abroad. Stay tuned for updates on the trip and ways to engage on WhiteHouse.gov.

Here's the full press release:

Today’s employment report shows that private sector payrolls increased by 83,000 in May and the unemployment rate ticked up to 9.1 percent. There are always bumps on the road to recovery, but the overall trajectory of the economy has improved dramatically over the past two years. 

While the private sector has added more than 2.1 million jobs over the past 15 months, the unemployment rate is unacceptably high and faster growth is needed to replace the jobs lost in the downturn. The initiatives put in place by this Administration – such as the payroll tax cut and business incentives for investment – have contributed to solid employment growth overall this year, but this report is a reminder of the challenges that remain.  We are focused on promoting exports, reducing regulatory burdens and making the investments in education, research and development, and infrastructure that will grow our economy and create jobs.  We will continue to work with Congress to responsibly reduce the deficit and live within our means.

Overall payroll employment rose by 54,000 in May. Solid employment increases occurred in professional and business services (+44,000) and education and health services (+34,000). Sectors with employment declines included local government (-28,000), retail trade (-8,500), and manufacturing (-5,000). Despite the decline this month, manufacturing has added 238,000 jobs since the beginning of 2010, the best period of manufacturing job growth in over a decade.

The monthly employment and unemployment numbers are volatile and employment estimates are subject to substantial revision.  Therefore, as the Administration always stresses, it is important not to read too much into any one monthly report.

Austan Goolsbee is Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers

Schools across the country are taking steps to improve their learning models to include emerging technologies that our nation’s young people so heavily use.  The U.S. Department of Education recognizes that this initiative will better prepare students for success in college and their careers.  Now, we must ensure that the benefits of technology serve all students.

Last week, the Department and its Office for Civil Rights (OCR) took another step toward the Obama administration’s dual goals of better serving the needs of the millions of Americans with disabilities, and increasing educational opportunities.  In two Dear Colleague Letters, one for Elementary/Secondary and one for Post Secondary, and a Frequently Asked Questions document (pdf), we explained the obligations of educational institutions that provide benefits to students through these technologies, and their responsibility to provide equal opportunity with all types of technology for students with disabilities. 

As we wrap-up President Obama’s “100 Youth Roundtables” Initiative, over the next several weeks we will begin to highlight some of the conversations and solutions that young people have undertaken around the country, and follow-up with young leaders on the issues they discussed and presented.

Our first de-brief comes from the Village of Hope Academies at Vista Maria in Dearborn Heights, Michigan. Their roundtable consisted of a televised component through their local cable affiliates, and the young leaders created an online video with clips of what they discussed. Topics included affordable and reliable public transportation for youth in the Detroit metropolitan area, afterschool activities in neighborhoods, and the strong positive impact that adult mentors and others had made in their lives.

But don’t take our word for it, check out what these impressive young people had to say for themselves here:

Kalpen Modi is Associate Director in the Office of Public Engagement

Cross-posted on USDA blog and Let's Move!

Today was an exciting day at USDA as I was joined by First Lady Michelle Obama and Surgeon General Dr. Regina Benjamin to unveil USDA's new food icon, MyPlate. The icon is a departure from MyPyramid and serves as a quick, simple reminder to all consumers, built off of the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for all Americans.

We all know that what we eat matters - MyPlate offers a visual reminder to make healthy food choices when you choose your next meal. MyPlate can help prioritize food choices by reminding us to make half of our plate fruits and vegetables and shows us the other important food groups for a well-balanced meal: whole grains, lean proteins, and low fat dairy. 

 

June 2, 2011. (by USDA)

Today's announcement was a monumental step forward for consumers and partners, as well. It was a pleasure to be joined by leaders from the Food Marketing Institute, United Fresh Produce Association, Mission Readiness representative Lieutenant General Norman R. Seip (Ret.) and Chef Marcus Samuelson, all committed to making a positive change in our nation’s health.

MyPlateis only the first step in a multi-year effort to raise awareness and educate consumers of every age. We’ll continue working closely with First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! initiative and other stakeholders to deliver tips and information necessary to adopt healthier eating habits balanced with physical activity.

Head over to www.ChooseMyPlate.gov for information, tools, “how-to” materials about healthy eating. While you’re there, check out the interactive tools like the customizable Daily Food Plan or Food Tracker. We hope that MyPlate becomes your plate in the months and years ahead. We’d love to see what’s on your plate so snap a photo of your next meal and share with us on Twitter using the hashtag #MyPlate. 

If you missed the event today, check out this video announcing the new food icon, MyPlate: