The White House Blog: The Vice President

Photo: President Obama’s Monthly Meeting on Afghanistan and Pakistan

Today President Obama convened a monthly meeting on Afghanistan and Pakistan with his national security team. Check out the readout from the meeting and photo below.

President Barack Obama, along with Vice President Joe Biden, meets with members of his national security team for a monthly meeting on Afghanistan in the Situation Room of the White House, June 6, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

President Obama on the Passing of Lawrence Eagleburger: “Our Nation Has Lost a Distinguished Diplomat and Public Servant”

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:

A Major Investment In Helping Students Get Off On The Right Foot

"Investing in early learning is one of the smartest things we can do as a nation,” said Secretary Arne Duncan earlier this morning at a town hall meeting with US Human and Health Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to announce a new $500 million state-level Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge. Secretary Sebelius explained that “the only way America can out-compete the rest of the world is if we out-educate the rest of the world … And the only way we can do that is if every child gets a healthy start and a rich early learning experience.”

The Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge rewards states that create comprehensive plans to transform early learning systems with better coordination and assessment mechanisms, clearer learning standards, and meaningful workforce development and family engagement initiatives.

The President on TOP COPS: "It Wasn’t Talk; It Was What They Did"

Watch the President's and the Vice President's full remarks here.

It was a beautiful day in the Rose Garden to honor the National Association of Police Organizations (NAPO) TOP COPS.  The Vice President spoke first, reiterating the commitment that he and the President have to supporting America's law enforcement, from giving states the funding they need to keep them on the job, to better communication resources, to supporting their rights as workers.  The President spoke to that commitment as well, and also commended the outstanding officers who had earned this year's title of "Top Cops":