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The White House Blog: The President

  • President Obama Hails the Housing Agreement

    Posted by Matt Compton on February 9, 2012 at 3:49 PM EST

    President Barack Obama delivers remark on a landmark housing agreement (February 9, 2012)

    President Barack Obama delivers remarks announcing the finalization of a $26 billion settlement between mortgage providers, state attorneys general and the Justice Department, in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building of the White House, Feb. 9, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)

    This morning, the federal government and the attorneys general of 49 states announced an agreement with the nation’s five largest mortgage providers -- Ally Financial, Bank of America, Citigroup, JP Morgan, and Wells Fargo.

    Because of that agreement, the financial institutions will provide at least $25 billion to address mortgage loan servicing and foreclosure abuses. It will not only help thousands of working families now, it will establish new protections for homeowners going forward.

    Earlier, President Obama spoke about what he called a "landmark settlement." He discussed the irresponsible practices from lenders that created the housing crisis and said:

    Under the terms of this settlement, America’s biggest banks -- banks that were rescued by taxpayer dollars -- will be required to right these wrongs.  That means more than just paying a fee.  These banks will put billions of dollars towards relief for families across the nation.  They’ll provide refinancing for borrowers that are stuck in high interest rate mortgages.  They’ll reduce loans for families who owe more on their homes than they’re worth.  And they will deliver some measure of justice for families that have already been victims of abusive practices.

    All told, this isn’t just good for those families -- it’s good for their neighborhoods, it's good for their communities, and it's good for our economy.

    read the rest

  • President Obama Launches a Marshmallow Cannon

    Posted by Megan Slack on February 7, 2012 at 6:38 PM EST

    Who says science can’t be fun?

    At today’s White House Science Fair, President Obama got the chance to shoot a marshmallow across the State Dining Room using 14-year-old inventor Joey Hudy’s “Extreme Marshmallow Cannon.” Hudy designed and built the machine, which can launch the fluffy white confections up to 175 feet away using pressurized air.

    Check out the video above to watch the President and Joey put the cannon to the test.

    For more on the White House Science Fair, see:

  • President Obama Hosts the White House Science Fair

    Posted by Megan Slack on February 7, 2012 at 4:54 PM EST

    President Obama Speaks to Samantha Garvey

    President Barack Obama hosts the second White House Science Fair celebrating the student winners of a broad range of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) competitions from across the country. The President talked with Samantha Garvey, 18, of Bay Shore, N.Y., about her environmental sciences project examining the effect of physical environment and predators on a specific species of mussel, in the State Dining Room of the White House, Feb. 7, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

    Today, President Obama hosted the second-ever White House Science Fair, featuring research and inventions from more than 100 students representing 30 student teams. From robots in the Blue Room to rockets in the Red Room to marshmallow cannons in the State Dining Room, projects showcased the talents of America’s next generation of scientists, engineers, inventors, and innovators.

    President Obama Speaks to Taylor Wilson

    President Barack Obama hosts the second White House Science Fair celebrating the student winners of a broad range of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) competitions from across the country, in the State Dining Room of the White House, Feb. 7, 2012. Taylor Wilson, 17, of Reno, Nevada conducted research on novel techniques for detecting nuclear threats and developed an environmentally friendly, cost-effective, and highly sensitive system capable of detecting small quantities of nuclear material. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

    After viewing some of the displays and talking with students about their work, the President addressed students, parents, and teachers in the East Room.

    “When students excel in math and science, they help America compete for the jobs and industries of the future,” said President Obama. “That’s why I’m proud to celebrate outstanding students at the White House Science Fair, and to announce new steps my Administration and its partners are taking to help more young people succeed in these critical subjects."

    Includes Video
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  • How You Can Join the White House Science Fair (Virtually)

    Posted by Kori Schulman on February 7, 2012 at 8:30 AM EST

    On Tuesday, February 7, over 100 students from over 45 states are heading to the White House with their robots, research and new inventions for the second ever White House Science Fair.

    Now, the White House is calling on folks across the country to join the Science Fair virtually! While students at the White House share their latest inventions -- from a robotic arm to waste-reducing dissolvable sugar packets -- we want to hear about the projects you've worked on. Tell us about your favorite science fair project and share pictures on Twitter with the hashtag #WHScienceFair or through a form on WhiteHouse.gov. Then, we’ll display some of our favorite submissions on WhiteHouse.gov.

    What's your favorite science fair project? Let us know on Twitter with the hashtag #WHScienceFair or through a form WhiteHouse.gov.

    We also hope you’ll join us for a special session of White House Office Hours: Science Fair edition. On Tuesday, February 7 at 2:00 p.m. EST, Bill Nye "the science guy" and Tom Kalil "the White House Office of Science and Technology guy" are answering your questions live on Twitter.

    Here’s how it works:

    • Starting now, you can ask your questions on Twitter with the hashtag #WHChat. We'll also be using the hashtag #WHScienceFair
    • At 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February 7, Bill Nye the Science Guy (@TheScienceGuy) and Tom Kalil, Deputy Director for Policy, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (@WhiteHouseOSTP) will answer your questions live on Twitter.
    • Follow the Q&A through the @WHLive Twitter account
    • If you miss the live event, the full session will be posted on WhiteHouse.gov and Storify.com/WhiteHouse

    The White House Science Fair celebrates the student winners of a broad range of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) competitions from across the country. At the fair, President Obama will view student projects and speak on the importance of STEM education. The President will also announce key steps that the Administration is taking to help more students excel in math and science, and earn degrees in these subjects. You can watch the President’s remarks live at 11:25 a.m. EST at WhiteHouse.gov/live.

  • Weekly Address: It’s Time for Congress to Act to Help Responsible Homeowners

    Posted by Matt Compton on February 4, 2012 at 5:30 AM EST

    President Obama continues his call for a return to American values, including fairness and equality, as part of his blueprint for an economy built to last. 


    Transcript | Download mp4 | Download mp3

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  • Creating a Veterans Job Corps

    Posted by Matt Compton on February 3, 2012 at 2:42 PM EST

    President Barack Obama delivers remarks on the Veterans Job Corp (February 3, 2012)

    President Barack Obama delivers remarks on the Veterans Job Corp and the economy while speaking at Fire Station #5 in Arlington, Va., Feb. 3, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

    Even with the news that the economy added 257,000 private sector jobs in January, there is more work to do to help our veterans returning from war find new jobs at home. And this morning, President Obama visited a fire station in Arlington, Virginia to discuss a new set of ideas to do just that -- including a Veterans Job Corps.

    In the State of the Union, President Obama said:

    [Our] freedom endures because of the men and women in uniform who defend it. As they come home, we must serve them as well as they’ve served us. That includes giving them the care and the benefits they have earned –- which is why we’ve increased annual VA spending every year I’ve been President. And it means enlisting our veterans in the work of rebuilding our nation.

    That's a sentiment the President echoed today at Fire Station #5:

    Our veterans are some of the most highly trained, highly educated, highly skilled workers that we’ve got.  These are Americans that every business should be competing to attract. These are the Americans we want to keep serving here at home as we rebuild this country. So we’re going to do everything we can to make sure that when our troops come home, they come home to new jobs and new opportunities and new ways to serve their country.

    Already, the Obama Administration has helped 600,000 veterans and their family members go back to school on the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill and hired more than 120,000 veterans to serve in the federal government. First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden have worked with the private sector to secure a pledge from businesses to hire 135,000. And President Obama worked with Congress last fall to pass two new tax credits for companies that put veterans to work.

    Now President Obama is making a new push to help veterans build the lives the deserve. In Arlington, he called for three new initiatives.

    First, President Obama is working to help state and local communities hire veterans to work as first responders. The administration will make available $166 million in 2012 Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Hiring Grant funding and $320 million in 2012 Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grants and award that money with a preference to communities that recruit and hire post-9/11 veterans. The President's budget for the 2013 fiscal year will include additional $5 billion for these grant programs.

    Second, the President is working to develop a Veterans Job Corps conservation program that will put up to 20,000 veterans to work over the next five years. They'll work to restore habitats, eradicate invasive species, maintain public lands, and operate public facilities.

    Third, President Obama wants to expand entrepreneurship training opportunities for service members and veterans. Back in August, the Administration established a two-day course in entrepreneurship as part of the Transition Assistance Program with the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs, along with the Small Business Administration. The SBA also offers an eight week online training program that will teach the fundamentals of small business ownership to more than 10,000 veterans every year.

    Learn More

    • Visit Joining Forces to learn more about ways to help military families.
    • Check out the online tools available to help veterans search for jobs.

  • Watch: The Tuskegee Airmen Visit the White House

    Posted by Colleen Curtis on February 3, 2012 at 11:35 AM EST

     

    President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama invited a group of American heroes to the White House for a very special movie night. The guests were retired Tuskegee Airmen, the African American veterans who overcame segregation and prejudice to become one of the most highly respected fighter groups of World War II, and whose achievements paved the way for full integration of the U.S. military.

    The movie was "Red Tails", a new film that tells the Tuskegee story. "Red Tails"was produced by George Lucas, directed by Anthony Hemingway and stars Cuba Gooding Jr., who all joined the President, the First Lady and the Airmen for the screening in the White House theater.

  • President Obama at the 2012 National Prayer Breakfast

    Posted by Matt Compton on February 2, 2012 at 5:02 PM EST

    Read the Transcript  |  Download Video: mp4 (186MB) | mp3 (18MB)

    This morning at the National Prayer Breakfast, President Obama gave a speech where he described how his faith as a Christian informs his thinking as a leader.

    And he talked about the importance of our shared set of values as Americans:

    We can’t leave our values at the door. If we leave our values at the door, we abandon much of the moral glue that has held our nation together for centuries, and allowed us to become somewhat more perfect a union. Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, Jane Addams, Martin Luther King, Jr., Dorothy Day, Abraham Heschel -- the majority of great reformers in American history did their work not just because it was sound policy, or they had done good analysis, or understood how to exercise good politics, but because their faith and their values dictated it, and called for bold action -- sometimes in the face of indifference, sometimes in the face of resistance.

    This is no different today for millions of Americans, and it’s certainly not for me.

    The whole speech is worth a watch. Check it out above.

    Includes Video
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  • President Obama Talks About Ways to Help Homeowners

    Posted by Matt Compton on February 1, 2012 at 7:05 PM EST

    HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan listens as President Obama delivers remarks on housing (February 1, 2012)

    Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan listens as President Barack Obama delivers remarks on housing and the Homeowners Bill of Rights at the James Lee Community Center in Falls Church, Va., Feb. 1, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

    Today, in Falls Church, Virginia, President Obama expanded on the ideas he first presented in the State of the Union on ways to help responsible homeowners refinance their mortgages.

    Here are more details about that plan.

    But the President also said that we can't wait on Congress to take action to help working families in this country:

    Already, we’ve set up a special task force I asked my Attorney General to establish to investigate the kind of activity banks took when they packaged and sold risky mortgages.  And that task force is ramping up its work as we speak. We’re going to keep at it and hold people who broke the law accountable and help restore confidence in the market.  We’re going to speed assistance to homeowners. And we’re going to turn the page on an era of recklessness that hurt so many hardworking Americans. 

    Read the full remarks here. Or watch the video to learn more.

    Read the Transcript  |  Download Video: mp4 (183MB) | mp3 (18MB)
     

    Learn more

     

  • In the Showroom of the Washington Auto Show

    Posted by Matt Compton on January 31, 2012 at 6:30 PM EST

    President Barack Obama is shown the American Pride Chevrolet Camaro (January 31, 2012)

    President Barack Obama is shown the American Pride Chevrolet Camaro, as Ed Welburn, Vice President of Global Design for General Motors, explains design and manufacturing details of the car during a visit to the Washington Auto Show at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C., Jan. 31, 2012. Gerard Murphy, President of the Washington New Automobile Dealers Association, is at left. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

    This afternoon, President Obama made the trip across town to the Washington Auto Show to look at some of the incredible new vehicles being built by Detroit.

    There, he told reporters:

    Let me just say, when you look at all these cars, it is testimony to the outstanding work that's been done by workers -- American workers, American designers.  The U.S. auto industry is back.  The fact that GM is back, number one, I think shows the kind of turnaround that's possible when it comes to American manufacturing.

    Check out the video.

    Read the Transcript  |  Download Video: mp4 (11MB) | mp3 (1MB)

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