The White House Blog: The Vice President
President Obama Honors Iraq Veterans at the White House
Posted by on February 29, 2012 at 9:33 PM EDT
President Barack Obama delivers remarks at a Department of Defense dinner in the East Room of the White House, Feb. 29, 2012. The President and Mrs. Obama hosted the dinner to honor Armed Forces who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn, and to honor their families. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)
President Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and Dr Jill Biden tonight welcomed a group of true American heroes to the White House. “A Nation’s Gratitude: Honoring those who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn” was a formal dinner that paid tribute to our Iraq veterans and marked the end of the war.
More than 100 service members and their guests were in attendance, and the invitees included men and women in uniform from all ranks, each U.S. state and territory, and every branch of the Armed Forces. Together, they represented the million American troops who served in Iraq, and they also represented what Vice President Joe Biden called the finest generation of warriors in all of history.
In his remarks, the President welcomed the veterans home, praised their bravery and dedication to their mission, and thanked them on behalf of more than 300 million Americans:
Tonight, what we can do is convey what you’ve meant to the rest of us. Because through the dust and the din and the fog of war, the glory of your service always shone through. In your noble example, we see the virtues and the values that sustain America, that keep this country great.
You taught us about duty. Blessed to live in the land of the free, you could have opted for an easier path. But you know that freedom is not free. And so you volunteered and you stepped forward, and you raised your hand and you took an oath -- to protect and defend; to serve a cause greater than yourself, knowing, in a time of war, you could be sent into harm’s way.
You taught us about resolve. Invasion turned to insurgency and then sectarian strife. But you persevered, tour after tour, year after year. Indeed, we’re mindful that even as we gather here, Iraq veterans continue to risk their lives in Afghanistan, and our prayers are with them all tonight.
In one of our nation’s longest wars, you wrote one of the most extraordinary chapters in American military history. Now the Iraqi people have a chance to forge their own destiny, and every one of you who served there can take pride in knowing you gave the Iraqis this opportunity; that you succeeded in your mission.
National Guard Adjutants General Visit the White House, Meet with Vice President Biden
Posted by on February 29, 2012 at 6:40 PM EDT
VP Biden shakes hands with General McKinley, Chief of the National Guard Bureau, after speaking to National Guard Adjutants General Meeting at the White House. February 29, 2012. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann)
Today Vice President Biden spoke with the top ranking National Guard Officers from every state and territory to thank them for their service and discuss some of the most pressing challenges facing the Guard today.
At a White House meeting with National Guard Adjutants General from across the country, the Vice President talked about America’s place in the world three years into the Administration. From Iraq to Afghanistan, the Vice President discussed the progress made and the challenges still ahead. He said that nothing we’ve achieved in those countries would have been possible without the dedication and unparalleled service of our men and women in uniform.
“This 9/11 Generation is better than any generation of warriors we have ever produced in the history of the world,” he said. “I’m just in awe of the way all of you stepped up.”
And while thanking the Generals for their service, he also stressed that America’s commitment to its servicemembers can’t stop when they step off the battlefield. The Vice President promised that we won’t “yield one single solitary inch” on making sure that all of our veterans have “the care they need” and “the opportunities for jobs they deserve.”
Vice President and Dr. Biden Host the Third Annual Black History Month Reception
Posted by on February 29, 2012 at 1:35 PM EDT
Vice President Biden speaks to guests at the third annual Black History Month reception at the Naval Observatory, February 27, 2012 (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann)
This week, Vice President Biden and Dr. Biden hosted their third annual Black History Month reception at the Naval Observatory. More than 140 guests were in attendance, including Attorney General Eric Holder, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk, and EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, as well as members of the Congressional Black Caucus, the National Black Caucus of State Legislators, the National Conference of Black Mayors and the National Organization of Black County Officials.
In addition to hearing from the Vice President, Dr. Biden and civil rights leader Congressman John Lewis, guests had the opportunity to see a collection of photos from the Delaware Historical Society’s special exhibit, Wilmington in the 1930s: Focus on the East Side. Henry Szymanski, Sr.’s collection provides a rare Depression-era glimpse into the daily lives of people living in the city’s East side community.
Training Workers with the Skills Employers Need
Posted by on February 27, 2012 at 2:35 PM EDT
Vice President Joe Biden, Dr. Jill Biden, and Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis make remarks at Davidson County Community College, in Thomasville, North Carolina, February 24, 2012. The Vice President Joined Dr. Biden and Secretary Solis for the last stop of their community college tour to announce the availability of $500 million to fund partnerships between community colleges and businesses to train workers with skills employers need. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann)
Last Friday, Vice President Biden joined Dr. Jill Biden and Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis at Davidson County Community College in Thomasville, North Carolina to discuss the importance of training workers with the skills employers need right now. This visit was the final leg of a five-state, three-day Community College to Career Bus Tour that Dr. Biden and Secretary Solis took to highlight the $8 billion Community College to Career Fund recently proposed as part of the President’s FY 2013 Budget.
Speaking to over 300 faculty, students, and other members of the Davidson community, the Vice President argued that America’s skilled workforce is one of our greatest economic assets. But now that many American manufacturers and other businesses are growing again, too many are having trouble finding workers with the exact skills they need. That’s why it’s so important to forge partnerships between community colleges and businesses to train workers with the skills that employers need for jobs that are open right now. On Friday, the Vice President announced that the Administration is taking further steps to do exactly that by making available another $500 million to create and expand these partnerships as part of the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) Community College and Career Training grant program.
The Administration’s efforts to create and expand these training partnerships are already showing results at places like Davidson County Community College (DCCC). Thanks to a grant they received in the first round of this program, DCCC has been able to expand their partnerships with local companies to train workers with the skills they need—companies like Ingersoll Rand, which is working with DCCC to train workers with computer numerically controlled manufacturing skills, or Unilin Flooring, which is training workers in electronics engineering. And these programs are working—in fact, every single graduate of the electronics engineering program at Davidson County Community College has been able to secure a job, many of them at companies like Unilin.
Together We Must End Dating Violence
Posted by on February 27, 2012 at 11:38 AM EDT
Vice President Biden with Ann Burke at a reception to mark the 17th anniversary of the passage of the Violence Against Women Act at the Naval Observatory, September 13th, 2012 (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann)
Over the past month, college newspapers across the country have run an op-ed penned by Vice President Biden in which he urges college students to take action to help put an end to dating violence and sexual assault on their campuses. February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month, and Vice President Biden took the opportunity to remind students that dating violence is still a very real problem in our country.
The facts are clear: nearly one in five college women will be the victim of a sexual assault, and one in ten teens will be hurt by someone they are dating. As the Vice President wrote, these are not merely statistics, “these are the people you know: your roommates, your friends, your sisters, and your classmates.”
As the Vice President has often said, we all have an absolute obligation to try to stop abuse when we see it – no matter what. That’s why this Administration is working so hard to confront the problem head on.
Last April, new standards were announced that make it clear that colleges are responsible for creating campus environments that refuse to tolerate dating violence. And in September, the Vice President launched the “1 is 2 Many” project – an effort to change attitudes that lead to violence and educate the public on the realities of abuse.
New Report Highlights Wireless Broadband Benefits for Public Safety and Job Creation
Posted by on February 21, 2012 at 8:32 PM EDT
Vice President Joe Biden holds a conference call in the West Wing to thank first responders and to discuss the economic value of increasing spectrum, Feb. 21, 2012. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann)
Today, Vice President Biden met with law enforcement officials, firefighters and public safety groups in the Roosevelt Room and spoke to a couple hundred more first responders by telephone to thank them for their service and to discuss the new nationwide public-safety broadband network included in the Payroll Tax Extension legislation.
Members of the audience included police chiefs and sergeants from the New York City Police Department, the International Association of Fire Chiefs, and the National Association of Police Organization, among others. The Vice President discussed the need to ensure the safety of first responders and the public,and announced a new report from the Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) that discusses the positive benefits of wireless broadband for public safety as well as jobs, growth, and investment.
The report illustrates the economic impact of President Obama’s goal of doubling the amount of spectrum available for wireless broadcast over ten years, while adopting a nationwide inter operable wireless network.
Vice President Biden said the expanded access “will enable new spectrum to be used for innovation, to speed wireless communication, and to fulfill a promise made to first responders after 9/11 that they would have the technology they need to stay safe and do their jobs.”
“I’ve been working on changing the way we allocate spectrum for a long time,” Vice President Biden said, “because a smarter system is good for our economy, good for innovation, and vital to keeping our communities as well as our cops, firefighters and EMTs safe.”
Vice President Biden’s Turn to Host Vice President Xi of China in the U.S.
Posted by on February 15, 2012 at 7:10 PM EDT
Vice President Joe Biden talks with Chinese Vice President Xi and former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger during a luncheon at the State Department, in Washington, DC, February 14, 2012. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann)
Yesterday, at the invitation of Vice President Biden, Vice President Xi Jinping of the People’s Republic of China spent the morning at the White House for a series of meetings with President Obama, Vice President Biden, and other Administration officials. Vice President Xi’s visit to the United States this week – which includes stops in Washington, D.C., Iowa and California – is the second of the planned reciprocal visits between the Vice Presidents announced by President Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao during President Hu’s state visit to Washington last year.
Welcoming Vice President Xi to the Roosevelt Room in the West Wing of the White House, Vice President Biden reflected on his four-day visit to China last August. “As we discussed in my visit to China, this bilateral relationship is one of the most important in the world… important not only to both our countries but to the world at large,” he said.
From the White House, the Vice Presidents continued on to the State Department for a lunch in Vice President Xi’s honor, co-hosted by Secretary Clinton. Over 200 guests enjoyed Asian-inspired dishes prepared by acclaimed Chinese-American chef Ming Tsai.
“Few other nations in history have come so far, so fast, and it’s a great credit to the talent and industriousness of the Chinese people,” Vice President Biden said in his remarks.
Senate Judiciary Committee Passes Violence Against Women Act
Posted by on February 14, 2012 at 12:43 PM EDTOn February 2, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). Even though VAWA has a bipartisan group of co-sponsors, the eight Republicans on the committee voted against this critical piece of legislation. Now the Act goes to the full Senate for consideration.
First authored by then Senator Biden in 1994, VAWA provides funding to states and local communities to improve the criminal justice response to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking. VAWA supports specialized law enforcement units to investigate these crimes and helps prosecutors get dangerous offenders off the streets. VAWA also protects victims living in subsidized housing from being evicted after suffering domestic violence, supports training for health care providers, and brings help to victims in rural areas of the country. The hallmark of VAWA is the coordinated community response, bringing different agencies together to create a seamless approach to combating violence.
One day’s look at the headlines tells us why we still need VAWA. Domestic violence often spills into streets, workplaces, and communities, and is estimated to cost our nation 8 billion dollars a year in lost productivity and health care costs. This violence causes more than two million injuries each year, three deaths each day, and untold amounts of suffering to women. The hidden crime of stalking affects 1 in 6 women and 1 in 19 men, and sexual assault remains the most underreported violent crime in the country. 1 in 5 women and 1 in 71 men have been sexually assaulted at some time in their lives, most before the age of 18.
It's fitting that the Senate Judiciary Committee took up VAWA during Teen Dating Violence Prevention and Awareness Month, because teens and young adults are at THE highest risk for this violence. The proposed legislation provides funding to schools, youth groups, and victim service agencies to develop new strategies to intervene in and prevent dating violence and sexual assault. If we can stop violence in this generation, some day we won’t need these services. But today, the need is still urgent. We need the full Senate to approve VAWA reauthorization and for Congress to send this legislation to President Obama to sign into law this year.
Senate Judiciary Committee Passes Violence Against Women Act
Posted by on February 14, 2012 at 12:43 PM EDTOn February 2, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). Even though VAWA has a bipartisan group of co-sponsors, the eight Republicans on the committee voted against this critical piece of legislation. Now the Act goes to the full Senate for consideration.
First authored by then Senator Biden in 1994, VAWA provides funding to states and local communities to improve the criminal justice response to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking. VAWA supports specialized law enforcement units to investigate these crimes and helps prosecutors get dangerous offenders off the streets. VAWA also protects victims living in subsidized housing from being evicted after suffering domestic violence, supports training for health care providers, and brings help to victims in rural areas of the country. The hallmark of VAWA is the coordinated community response, bringing different agencies together to create a seamless approach to combating violence.
One day’s look at the headlines tells us why we still need VAWA. Domestic violence often spills into streets, workplaces, and communities, and is estimated to cost our nation 8 billion dollars a year in lost productivity and health care costs. This violence causes more than two million injuries each year, three deaths each day, and untold amounts of suffering to women. The hidden crime of stalking affects 1 in 6 women and 1 in 19 men, and sexual assault remains the most underreported violent crime in the country. 1 in 5 women and 1 in 71 men have been sexually assaulted at some time in their lives, most before the age of 18.
It's fitting that the Senate Judiciary Committee took up VAWA during Teen Dating Violence Prevention and Awareness Month, because teens and young adults are at THE highest risk for this violence. The proposed legislation provides funding to schools, youth groups, and victim service agencies to develop new strategies to intervene in and prevent dating violence and sexual assault. If we can stop violence in this generation, some day we won’t need these services. But today, the need is still urgent. We need the full Senate to approve VAWA reauthorization and for Congress to send this legislation to President Obama to sign into law this year.
Vice President Highlights New College Affordability Proposals at Florida State
Posted by on February 8, 2012 at 6:56 PM EDT
Vice President Joe Biden speaks to Florida State University students about college affordability, February 6, 2012. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann)
The Vice President visited Florida State University on Monday to talk with students about our comprehensive plan to address rising college costs. The Vice President began by calling on Congress to permanently extend the $2,500 per year American Opportunity Tax Credit for tuition and other expenses, double the number of work-study jobs over the next five years, and help 7.4 million borrowers by stopping the interest rates on federal student loans from doubling later this year.
These proposals are important, but increasing federal aid is only part of the solution. States and universities also share some responsibility for reining in costs. The Vice President detailed our plan to steer federal campus-based aid to schools that keep tuition affordable – and away from schools that don’t. While we plan to significantly increase the availability of campus-based aid by offering more Perkins loans to needy students and creating more work-study slots, the additional dollars will only flow to colleges that are providing good value to their students.
We are also proposing to create a new “Race to the Top” for college affordability and completion. This competitive grant program will encourage states to reform their higher education systems in ways that lower costs and increase completion rates. And because state funding cuts are one of the primary drivers of tuition increases at public universities, any state that wants a grant will have to promise not to slash funding for higher education.
You can learn more about our plan here.
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