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This week, the President responded to the shootings at the Navy Yard in DC, invited small business owners to the White House as he spoke on the 5 year anniversary of the financial crisis, addressed the Business Roundtable and the Export Council, sat down for interviews with ABC & Telemundo, welcomed the Amir of Kuwait, newly appointed Foreign Ambassadors, and Youth of the Year winners, and the First Lady spoke on marketing healthier food to children.
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President Barack Obama delivers remarks at a meeting with the President's Export Council, in Room 350 of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building of the White House, Sept. 19, 2013. Seated with the President, from left are: Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker; Council Vice-Chair Ursula Burns, Chairwoman and CEO of Xerox; and and Council Chair Jim McNerney, Jr., President and CEO, The Boeing Company (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Today President Obama met with his Export Council, a committee of government and private-sector leaders who advise him on trade and export related issues.
President Obama told the council that although there is more work to do five years after the start of the financial crisis, our economic recovery is well underway thanks to the grit and resilience of the American people, the work of our business sector and timely government response to the crisis .
“But I tell you, one of the biggest bright spots in our economy has been exports,” President Obama said, “the fact that "Made in America" means something and has provided a boost to our domestic economy, and has reminded the world just how competitive we are.”
Now, we can still do more when it comes to exports, and thanks in part to new trade deals that I’ve signed as well as obviously really great products and services that you’ve all designed, America now exports more to the rest of the world than ever before. We’re on track to export even more this year. Last year, $1 billion in exports supported nearly 50,000 jobs -- or 5,000 jobs in the United States.
President Obama said his Administration is focused on keeping that momentum going by completing Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations as well as expanding our trade relationship with Europe.
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For decades, America has chased after the promise of clean, domestic energy. But even as costs fell and technology matured, that clean energy future seemed to linger just beyond our reach. Critics often said this new world would “always be five years away.” Today, that is changing.
In recent years, costs for numerous critical clean energy technologies -- wind power, solar panels, super energy-efficient LED lights and electric vehicles -- have fallen significantly. The accompanying surge in deployment has been truly spectacular. Such a surge is tantamount to topping the barricades -- a level of cost reduction and market penetration that will enable a full scale revolution in the relatively near term. A new Department of Energy report, "Revolution Now: the Future Arrives for Four Clean Energy Technologies" documents this transformation and what it means for America’s energy economy. The clean technology revolution is upon us.
While these technologies still represent a small percentage of their respective markets, that share is expanding at a rapid pace and influencing markets. For instance:
- In 2012, wind was America’s largest source of new electrical capacity, accounting for 43 percent of all new installations. Altogether the United States has deployed about 60 gigawatts of wind power -- enough to power 15 million homes.
- Since 2008, the price of solar panels has fallen by 75 percent, and solar installations have multiplied tenfold. Many major homebuilders are incorporating rooftop panels as a standard feature on new homes.
- In that same five years, the cost of super-efficient LED lights has fallen more than 85 percent and sales have skyrocketed. In 2009, there werefewer than 400,000 LED lights installed in the U.S.; today, the number has grown 50-fold to almost 20 million.
- During the first six months of 2013, America bought twice as many plug-in electric vehicles (EVs) as in the first half of 2012, and six times as many as in the first half of 2011. In fact, the market for plug-in electric vehicles has grown much faster than the early market for hybrids. Today, EVs rangingfrom the Chevy Volt to the Tesla Model S also boast some of the highest consumer satisfaction ratings in America. And prices are falling and exportmarkets are opening up. Since 2008, the cost of electric vehicle batteries -- which really drive the economics of EVs -- has dropped by 50 percent.
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September 19, 2013
02:23 PM EDTEd. Note: This is adapted from the Let's Move! blog. You can see the original post here.
From the State Dining Room of the White House yesterday, the First Lady addressed a diverse cross section of leaders from food and media industry executives, advocates, parent leaders, government agency representatives and researchers about the power of marketing in influencing kids’ food choices and the need for leveraging this power toward healthier food options for our nation’s children. The goal of the convening was to begin a constructive, collaborative dialogue and strategize about ways to shift the marketing of unhealthy products to healthier products and decrease the marketing of unhealthy products to kids.
First Lady Michelle Obama delivers remarks during a "Let's Move!" food marketing convening in the State Dining Room of the White House, Sept. 18, 2013. (Official White House Photo by Amanda Lucidon)
When the average child is now spending nearly eight hours a day in front of some kind of screen, many of their opinions and preferences are being shaped by the marketing campaigns you all create. And that’s where the problem comes in.
And I’m here today with one simple request -- and that is to do even more and move even faster to market responsibly to our kids.
Mrs. Obama praised companies such as Disney and Birds Eye Vegetables for their success in utilizing marketing to encourage healthier food choices in our kids. However, children are still being exposed to thousands of food ads each year for products loaded with sugar, fat, and salt.
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On October 1, Americans will have a new way to find affordable health insurance: the Health Insurance Marketplace.
Whether you need coverage or have insurance already and want to look at other options, you’ll be able to use the Marketplace to see all your options side-by-side, find out if you qualify for lower costs and enroll in a plan that fits your needs and your budgets – all online at healthcare.gov.
You can learn more right now about the Marketplace visiting healthcare.gov, or watch this episode of Tech Feed News featuring Bryan Sivak, Chief Technology Officer at the Department of Health and Human Services, to find out more about the process of building a straightforward and user-friendly online health care marketplace.
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New data out yesterday from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and discussed in a piece in Health Affairs show that economy-wide health spending continues to grow at a historically slow rate. After adjusting for inflation, health spending growth was 1.7 percent (3.9 percent nominal) in 2011, is estimated at 2.1 percent in 2012 (3.9 percent nominal), and is projected at 2.3 percent (3.8 percent nominal) for 2013. Assuming the projections hold, these rates of spending growth are the three lowest on record, well below the 4.2 percent average inflation-adjusted rate observed over the decade ending in 2010 and the 5.5 percent average inflation-adjusted rate from 1965 to 2010. As the President said earlier today, these reductions in health cost growth are good for American companies’ bottom lines, good for our economy, and good for jobs.
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September 19, 2013
06:00 AM EDTRight now, Congress’ top priorities should be growing the economy and creating good middle class jobs so we build on the progress we’ve made over the last four years. But a few extreme Republicans in Congress are attempting to reverse that progress by shutting down the government and threatening to force the United States to default on the bills it has already racked up and owes.
For decades, Congress has paid its bills dozens of times by raising the debt limit on schedule with little drama or delay. Unfortunately, as Treasury Secretary Jack Lew noted on Tuesday, that all changed two years ago when:
…the issue of raising the debt ceiling turned into a high stakes political drama. We saw for the first time a debate take place over whether the United States should voluntarily default on its obligations. Some actually argued that default was a viable outcome. There were in fact members of Congress willing to default on our full faith and credit rather than reach a good faith compromise.
Even the hint of defaulting on our obligations by a minority of Republicans in Congress had great consequences for our economy in the summer of 2011:
- The stock market plummeted 17%
- The US credit rating was downgraded
- Consumer confidence dropped to its lowest points since the financial crisis in 2008
- Widespread uncertainty for middle class families
- Businesses froze hiring—initially reported zero jobs added for August of 2011, and even with later revisions was one of the lowest months of job growth over the last two years
That’s why the President has been clear that there is no negotiating over the whether or not Congress should pay its bills; Congress needs to pass a budget to keep the government functioning for the American people. Many Republicans have agreed that it would be reckless and irresponsible to use the threat of default as a bargaining chip:
Speaker John Boehner: “[D]o you want to risk the full faith and credit of the United States government over ObamaCare? That’s a very tough argument to make.” [BuzzFeed, 3/13/13]
Sen. Kelly Ayotte: "I don't think that shutting down the government is going to be productive." [CNN, 9/18/2013]
Rep. Tom Cole: “….shutting down the government to, you know, get your way over an unrelated piece of legislation is political equivalent of throwing a temper tantrum. It's just not helpful, and I think it's the sort of thing that can create a backlash, that could cost the Republicans majority in the House…” [Fox News Network, 7/24/13]
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President Barack Obama delivers remarks and participates in a Q&A with Business Roundtable members at their headquarters in Washington, D.C., Sept. 18, 2013. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Today President Obama spoke to members of the Business Roundtable, a group of CEOs of the country’s leading companies.
“I’m hugely invested in your success because this room represents not only an enormous amount of economic output, but also represents the hopes and dreams of people who are working very hard trying to make a living,” President Obama told the business leaders. “When you succeed, when you’re doing well, when you’re competitive at a global scale, then America can do well also.”
President Obama said that our economy has come a long way since the financial crisis that began with the collapse of Lehman Brothers five years ago. For example, 7.5 million jobs have been created in the private sector, thanks in part to the many Business Roundtable members who have added to their payrolls over the last five years.
"We are in a much stronger position now than when we were then," President Obama said.
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September 18, 2013
02:50 PM EDTEd. Note: This is adapted from DipNote, the official blog of the U.S. Department of State. You can see the original post here.
On Monday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon briefed members of the Security Council on the report of the United Nations Mission to Investigate Allegations of the Use of Chemical Weapons in Syria. Professor Ake Sellstrom, the UN Chief Investigator on the mission to Syria, joined the Council and the Secretary General to discuss the report’s findings. The report concludes unequivocally that chemical weapons were used on a relatively large scale in the Ghouta area of Damascus on August 21, 2013, causing numerous casualties, particularly among civilians.
While the United States will continue analyzing the UN’s findings carefully, a preliminary review makes clear that only the regime could have carried out this large-scale chemical weapons attack.
Indeed, several crucial details confirm the regime’s guilt. The United States has associated one of the munitions identified in the UN report - 122 mm improvised rockets - with previous Assad regime attacks. We have reviewed thousands of open source videos related to the current conflict in Syria, but have not observed the opposition manufacturing or using this style of rocket.
Equally significant, the environmental, chemical, and medical samples that the UN investigators collected provide clear and compelling evidence that the surface-to-surface rockets used in the Ghouta area of Damascus on August 21 contained the nerve agent sarin. We know the regime possesses sarin. We have no evidence, however, that the opposition does.
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September 18, 2013
02:34 PM EDTLast year, President Obama articulated an ambitious and multifaceted agenda to combat human trafficking in his speech at the Clinton Global Initiative. This week, the Administration took two important steps to advance that agenda.
In 2012, the President charged the Advisory Council on Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships with making recommendations for strengthening the partnerships the federal government forms with community organizations, both religious and secular, to prevent and combat trafficking. The Advisory Council delivered its report of recommendations, “Building Partnerships to Eradicate Modern-day Slavery,” to the President in April 2012.
In partial fulfillment of those recommendations, we welcomed more than one hundred leaders to the White House this week for a day-long convening focused on human trafficking. The gathering included heads of religious denominations, rabbis and nuns, CEOs of large non-profits such as the United Way and Girl Scouts, foundation leaders, along with human trafficking survivors and experts, all united in their interest to join forces to eradicate modern-day slavery. Participants discussed ways their organizations can work together to raise awareness and educate the public, identify victims, expand services for survivors and eliminate slavery in the goods and products we consume. We look forward to continuing to work with this group in coming days.
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President Barack Obama, lower left, looks on as 24 active duty service members take an oath during a naturalization ceremony in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, D.C., April 23, 2010. (White House photo by Lawrence Jackson)
America was founded as a beacon of freedom, inclusion, and opportunity for the world, and has since thrived – powered largely by our unique diversity and constant influx of fresh energy, talent, and ideas. This is who we are, and what makes us great.
On September 17th, we paused to recognize National Constitution Day and Citizenship Day, and to reaffirm our pride as a nation of immigrants. In more than 180 naturalization ceremonies taking place this week, over 18,000 new citizens are being welcomed into the American family.
But today we are also reminded of the countless individuals who at this point in our nation’s history do not have the opportunity to earn their citizenship. 11 million people are waiting in the shadows as a result of our broken immigration system, which is why the President and his Administration stand firmly with the majority of Americans pushing for commonsense, comprehensive immigration reform that includes a pathway to earned citizenship. We know it is possible, we just need Congress to act, and finish the job.
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September 17, 2013
01:30 PM EDTEarlier today, the Census Bureau released estimates of the number of Americans who lacked health insurance in 2012, and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) estimated that nearly 6 out of 10 uninsured Americans could be able to access low-cost, high value health insurance for under $100 per person per month starting in 2014. The numbers indicate that the President’s policies are making progress in expanding access to affordable health care – progress that will accelerate in the months ahead, as the Affordable Care Act creates simple new ways for every American to get the secure health care coverage they deserve.
Overall, Census found that the share of Americans without health insurance declined by 0.3 percentage points, from 15.7 percent in 2011 to 15.4 percent in 2012. Adding this to last year’s decline, the share of Americans without health insurance has declined by 0.9 percentage points since the enactment of the Affordable Care Act in 2010.
The declines in uninsurance were especially large for young adults ages 19-25. From 2011 to 2012, the share of young adults in this age group without insurance declined by 0.5 percentage points to 27.2 percent, which tied the largest drop for any age group in 2012 and which comes on the heels of a sharp 3.7 percent decline from 2009 to 2011. Research has found that most of the recent coverage gains in this age group can be attributed to the ACA’s provision allowing young adults to remain on their parents’ health insurance plans through age 25.
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Today, before delivering remarks on the economy, President Obama gave a brief statement about the tragic events at the Washington Navy Yard.
“We still don’t know all the facts, but we do know that several people have been shot, and some have been killed,” he said. “So we are confronting yet another mass shooting -- and today, it happened on a military installation in our nation’s capital.”
It’s a shooting that targeted our military and civilian personnel. These are men and women who were going to work, doing their job, protecting all of us. They’re patriots, and they know the dangers of serving abroad -- but today, they faced unimaginable violence that they wouldn't have expected here at home.
So we offer our gratitude to the Navy and local law enforcement, federal authorities, and the doctors who’ve responded with skill and bravery. I’ve made it clear to my team that I want the investigation to be seamless, so that federal and local authorities are working together. And as this investigation moves forward, we will do everything in our power to make sure whoever carried out this cowardly act is held responsible.
In the meantime, we send our thoughts and prayers to all at the Navy Yard who’ve been touched by this tragedy. We thank them for their service. We stand with the families of those who’ve been harmed. They’re going to need our love and support. And as we learn more about the courageous Americans who died today -- their lives, their families, their patriotism -- we will honor their service to the nation they helped to make great. And obviously, we're going to be investigating thoroughly what happened, as we do so many of these shootings, sadly, that have happened, and do everything that we can to try to prevent them.
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September 15, 2013
09:41 PM EDTFive years ago this week, a financial crisis unlike any in generations rocked Wall Street, turning a recession that was already hammering Main Street into the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. In the months before President Obama took office, the economy was shrinking at a rate of over 8%, businesses were shedding 800,000 jobs a month, lending to families and small businesses dried up, and the American auto industry was on the brink of collapse.
Upon taking office, Obama acted with unprecedented speed to respond to the crisis and its impact on American families – taking actions to stabilize the financial system, rescue the auto industry, and boost the economy by providing tax relief to working families and keeping teachers and first responders on the job. Within six months, he had signed the Recovery Act into law, announced a framework for a new financial stability plan and implemented its key elements, and taken action to support GM and Chrysler while requiring the companies to retool. Now, on the five-year anniversary of the crisis, the Administration has prepared a report that describes 15 key elements of the response to the financial crisis and where we find ourselves today.
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President Obama follows up on his speech to the nation on Tuesday and describes the possibility for a diplomatic solution in Syria, partially because of the credible threat of U.S. military force.
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September 13, 2013
06:06 PM EDTSyria: On Tuesday, the President traveled to the Capitol to meet with the Senate Democratic Caucus and the Senate Republican Conference to discuss the situation in Syria.
A little after 9:00 PM that night, President Obama addressed the nation on the Syrian regime’s use of chemical weapons.
America is not the world’s policeman. Terrible things happen across the globe, and it is beyond our means to right every wrong. But when, with modest effort and risk, we can stop children from being gassed to death, and thereby make our own children safer over the long run, I believe we should act. That’s what makes America different. That’s what makes us exceptional. With humility, but with resolve, let us never lose sight of that essential truth.
During his address, he explained his reasons behind calling for a military strike, laid out his reasons for asking Congress to authorize the use of force, and described how the threat of U.S. action has created the potential for a diplomatic breakthrough. See the President’s remarks on Syria here.
Remembering September 11th: On Wednesday, the First and Second Families honored those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001. At 8:46 AM, President Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, Vice President Biden and Dr. Jill Biden were joined by White House staff to observe a moment of silence on the South Lawn—marking the moment the first plane hit the World Trade Center twelve years ago.
The President then traveled to the Pentagon Memorial for the September 11th Observance ceremony, where he laid a wreath at the Zero Age Line and observed a moment of silence for the 184 victims of the attack at the Pentagon. “They left this Earth. They slipped from our grasp. But it was written, ‘What the heart has once owned and had, it shall never lose,’” the President said. Read the President’s full remarks here.
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Today marks the 19th anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). As the original author and champion of VAWA, Vice President Biden brought national attention to what had too-long been a hidden problem. Then-Senator Biden held the first hearing on violence against women in the Senate Judiciary Committee in 1990 and introduced the first version of the Act that same year. After five years of hearings exposing the extent of rape, battering and stalking, the Act finally passed Congress and was signed into law by President Clinton on September 13, 1994.
The initial VAWA legislation focused on changing law enforcement practices, improving the criminal justice system, and increasing access to shelters and services for victims. VAWA strengthened the federal criminal code, creating interstate crimes of domestic violence and doubling penalties for repeat sex offenders. And, VAWA sparked the passage of hundreds of laws at the state level to protect victims and hold offenders accountable. Since 1994, VAWA has sent billions of dollars to states and local communities to develop a coordinated response to domestic violence, dating violence sexual assault, and stalking.
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This week, the President represented the US at the G20 in St. Petersburg, addressed the nation on the ongoing crisis in Syria, and honored the 12th anniversary of September 11th at the Pentagon and with a service project, while the Vice President highlighted infrastructure improvements and the First Lady traveled to Watertown, WI to ask Americans to drink more water.
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President Barack Obama holds a Cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House, Sept. 12, 2013. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
This morning, President Obama convened a meeting of his Cabinet -- the third of 2013.
"Even as we have been spending a lot of time on the Syria issue and making sure that international attention is focused on the horrible tragedy that occurred there," he said, "it is still important to recognize that we’ve got a lot more stuff to do here in this government."
In talking through the agenda, the President described focusing on the steps necessary to improve education, put people back to work, and tackle some of the budget debates looming in the near future.
Check out his full remarks.
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Last night, Joe and I had the tremendous honor of hosting Wounded Warriors and their families from Walter Reed, Fort Belvoir, and Fort Meade at our home for a barbecue. I can think of no better way to commemorate the solemn anniversary of September 11, 2001 than by spending time with these incredible men and women who stepped up to serve our nation.
Vice President Joe Biden watches First Lieutenant Jason Church as he hits a birdieball, during a barbecue for Wounded Warriors and their families, at the Naval Observatory Residence, in Washington, D.C., Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2013. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann) September 11, 2013. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann)
As Joe said, their generation is “the most remarkable in the history of this country.” I could not agree more. Since September 11, 2001, more than 3.5 million men and women have volunteered to serve in the military, including more than a third who have deployed multiple times.
I have many roles: Second Lady, teacher, grandmother, but one that I am most proud of is that of a military mom. Our son Beau served for a year in Iraq and our son Hunter is an ensign in the Navy. We understand that we are indebted not only to those that serve in uniform, but also to their families, who also serve in so many ways.
That’s one reason First Lady Michelle Obama and I have spent the last few years working on our Joining Forces initiative, to find ways for all Americans to support our service men and women and their families. We have been inspired by the many ways community groups, businesses, teachers, doctors, nurses, and individuals have stepped up to help.
Dr. Jill Biden chats with attendees during a barbecue that she and Vice President Joe Biden hosted for Wounded Warriors and their families, at the Naval Observatory Residence, in Washington, D.C., Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2013. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann) September 11, 2013. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann)
Less than one percent of the American population has served. But the other 99 percent of us owe them, and their families. As Joe said, our “admiration for you is beyond my ability to express.”
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