The Final State of the Union
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Summary:
Governors from across the nation gather in Washington, D.C. for the 2014 National Governors Association (NGA) Winter Meeting.
President Barack Obama meets with the National Governors Association in the State Dining Room of the White House, Feb. 24, 2014. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
This weekend, governors from across the nation gathered in Washington, D.C. for the 2014 National Governors Association (NGA) Winter Meeting. The meeting gives governors an opportunity to talk about issues affecting states and discuss innovative solutions.
Last night, the President and the First Lady welcomed the NGA to the White House for the 2014 Governors' Dinner. The President told the governors in attendance that he looked forward to working with them, "not just in our meetings tomorrow, but throughout this year – what I hope to be a year of action. Our partnership on behalf of the American people, on issues ranging from education to health care to climate change, runs deep, deeper than what usually hits the front page."
This morning, President Obama and Vice President Biden both delivered additional remarks to the NGA in the State Dining Room at the White House.
During the President's remarks, he reiterated his desire to work closely with the governors in order to make their states -- and our nation as a whole -- even better:
[E]ven when there is little appetite in Congress to move on some of these priorities, at the state level you guys are governed by practical considerations. You want to do right by your people and you see how good policy impacts your citizens, and you see how bad policy impacts your citizens, and that means that there’s less room for posturing and politics, and more room for getting stuff done.
We want to work with you. And I’m committed to making sure that every single member of my Cabinet, every single person in the White House, every single member of my team will be responsive to you. We won’t agree on every single issue every single time, but I guarantee you that we will work as hard as we can to make sure that you succeed -- because when you succeed, the people in your states succeed and America succeeds, and that’s our goal.
