FROM: THE WHITE HOUSE
April 03, 2015
Statement from the President on Passover
Michelle and I send our warmest greetings to all those celebrating Passover in the United States, in the State of Israel, and throughout the world.
Tonight, for the seventh year, I’ll hold a Seder in the White House, and we’ll join millions of Jewish families as we retell one of humanity’s great stories of liberation. The Exodus was neither easy nor quick. The Israelites’ journey to freedom required them to choose faith over fear and courage over complacency. Above all, it required the works of an awesome God, who led them out of bondage with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm.
The story of the Exodus – the signs and wonders that appeared when hope seemed lost, the Jewish people’s abiding belief that they would one day reach the Promised Land – has inspired countless generations over the years. It inspired Jewish families to hold fast to their faith, even during times of terrible persecution. It inspired young Civil Rights leaders as they marched across an Alabama bridge in search of their own Promised Land, half a century ago.
And it continues to inspire us today. Tonight, my family will read the passage of the Haggadah that declares we must see ourselves as though we personally were liberated from Egypt. The Exodus reminds us that progress has always come slow and the future has always been uncertain, but it also reminds there is always reason for hope.
Like the Israelites who Moses led out of slavery long ago, it is up to us to never lose faith in the better day that lies ahead. In our own country, we can continue our march toward a more perfect union. Around the world, we can seek to extend the miracles of freedom and peace, prosperity and security, to more of God’s creation. And together, we can continue the hard but awesome work of tikkun olam, and do our part to repair the world.
From my family to yours, Chag Sameach.
Showing posts with label PRESIDENT OBAMA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PRESIDENT OBAMA. Show all posts
Friday, April 3, 2015
Thursday, April 2, 2015
READOUT: PRESIDENT OBAMA'S CALL WITH KING SALMAN BIN ABDULAZIZ AL-SAUD REGARDING FRAMEWORK OF NUCLEAR DEAL WITH IRAN
FROM: THE WHITE HOUSE
April 02, 2015
Readout of the President’s Call With King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud of Saudi Arabia
The President called King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud of Saudi Arabia today to discuss the political framework reached between the P5+1, the EU, and Iran on a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action regarding Iran’s nuclear program. The President reiterated that the months ahead will be used to finalize the technical details for a lasting, comprehensive solution that effectively cuts off all of Iran’s pathways to a bomb and verifiably ensures the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program. He emphasized that the nuclear understanding between the P5+1 and Iran will not in any way lessen U.S. concern about Iran’s destabilizing activities in the region. The leaders agreed to increase consultations and remain vigilant in countering this threat. As part of this effort, the President invited the King and Gulf Cooperation Council leaders to Camp David this spring to continue consultations. The President and King Salman reaffirmed the enduring friendship between the United States and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
April 02, 2015
Readout of the President’s Call With King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud of Saudi Arabia
The President called King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud of Saudi Arabia today to discuss the political framework reached between the P5+1, the EU, and Iran on a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action regarding Iran’s nuclear program. The President reiterated that the months ahead will be used to finalize the technical details for a lasting, comprehensive solution that effectively cuts off all of Iran’s pathways to a bomb and verifiably ensures the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program. He emphasized that the nuclear understanding between the P5+1 and Iran will not in any way lessen U.S. concern about Iran’s destabilizing activities in the region. The leaders agreed to increase consultations and remain vigilant in countering this threat. As part of this effort, the President invited the King and Gulf Cooperation Council leaders to Camp David this spring to continue consultations. The President and King Salman reaffirmed the enduring friendship between the United States and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
READOUT: PRESIDENT OBAMA'S CALL WITH PRESIDENT AL-SISI OF EGYPT
FROM: THE WHITE HOUSE
March 31, 2015
Readout of the President’s Call with President al-Sisi of Egypt
President Obama spoke with Egyptian President Abdelfattah al-Sisi today regarding the U.S.-Egyptian military assistance relationship and regional developments, including in Libya and Yemen. President Obama informed President al-Sisi that he will lift executive holds that have been in place since October 2013 on the delivery of F-16 aircraft, Harpoon missiles, and M1A1 tank kits. The President also advised President al-Sisi that he will continue to request an annual $1.3 billion in military assistance for Egypt. Beginning in fiscal year 2018, the President noted that we will channel U.S. security assistance for Egypt to four categories – counterterrorism, border security, Sinai security, and maritime security – and for sustainment of weapons systems already in Egypt’s arsenal.
The President explained that these and other steps will help refine our military assistance relationship so that it is better positioned to address the shared challenges to U.S. and Egyptian interests in an unstable region, consistent with the longstanding strategic partnership between our two countries. President Obama also reiterated U.S. concerns about Egypt’s continued imprisonment of non-violent activists and mass trials. He encouraged increased respect for freedom of speech and assembly and emphasized that these issues remain a focus for the United States. The two leaders agreed to stay in touch in the weeks and months ahead.
March 31, 2015
Readout of the President’s Call with President al-Sisi of Egypt
President Obama spoke with Egyptian President Abdelfattah al-Sisi today regarding the U.S.-Egyptian military assistance relationship and regional developments, including in Libya and Yemen. President Obama informed President al-Sisi that he will lift executive holds that have been in place since October 2013 on the delivery of F-16 aircraft, Harpoon missiles, and M1A1 tank kits. The President also advised President al-Sisi that he will continue to request an annual $1.3 billion in military assistance for Egypt. Beginning in fiscal year 2018, the President noted that we will channel U.S. security assistance for Egypt to four categories – counterterrorism, border security, Sinai security, and maritime security – and for sustainment of weapons systems already in Egypt’s arsenal.
The President explained that these and other steps will help refine our military assistance relationship so that it is better positioned to address the shared challenges to U.S. and Egyptian interests in an unstable region, consistent with the longstanding strategic partnership between our two countries. President Obama also reiterated U.S. concerns about Egypt’s continued imprisonment of non-violent activists and mass trials. He encouraged increased respect for freedom of speech and assembly and emphasized that these issues remain a focus for the United States. The two leaders agreed to stay in touch in the weeks and months ahead.
PRESIDENT OBAMA'S LETTER ON CONTINUATION OF NATIONAL EMERGENCY WITH RESPECT TO SOUTH SUDAN
FROM: THE WHITE HOUSE
March 31, 2015
Letter -- Continuation of the National Emergency with Respect to South Sudan
Dear Mr. Speaker: (Dear Mr. President:)
Section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622(d)) provides for the automatic termination of a national emergency unless, within 90 days prior to the anniversary date of its declaration, the President publishes in the Federal Register and transmits to the Congress a notice stating that the emergency is to continue in effect beyond the anniversary date. In accordance with this provision, I have sent to the Federal Register for publication the enclosed notice stating that the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13664 of April 3, 2014, with respect to South Sudan is to continue in effect beyond April 3, 2015.
The situation in and in relation to South Sudan, which has been marked by activities that threaten the peace, security, or stability of South Sudan and the surrounding region, including widespread violence and atrocities, human rights abuses, recruitment and use of child soldiers, attacks on peacekeepers, and obstruction of humanitarian operations, continues to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States. For this reason, I have determined that it is necessary to continue the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13664 with respect to South Sudan.
Sincerely,
BARACK OBAMA
March 31, 2015
Letter -- Continuation of the National Emergency with Respect to South Sudan
Dear Mr. Speaker: (Dear Mr. President:)
Section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622(d)) provides for the automatic termination of a national emergency unless, within 90 days prior to the anniversary date of its declaration, the President publishes in the Federal Register and transmits to the Congress a notice stating that the emergency is to continue in effect beyond the anniversary date. In accordance with this provision, I have sent to the Federal Register for publication the enclosed notice stating that the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13664 of April 3, 2014, with respect to South Sudan is to continue in effect beyond April 3, 2015.
The situation in and in relation to South Sudan, which has been marked by activities that threaten the peace, security, or stability of South Sudan and the surrounding region, including widespread violence and atrocities, human rights abuses, recruitment and use of child soldiers, attacks on peacekeepers, and obstruction of humanitarian operations, continues to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States. For this reason, I have determined that it is necessary to continue the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13664 with respect to South Sudan.
Sincerely,
BARACK OBAMA
PRESIDENT OBAMA SETS 20205 TARGET TO CUT CLIMATE POLLUTION BY 26-28%
FROM: THE WHITE HOUSE
March 31, 2015
FACT SHEET: U.S. Reports its 2025 Emissions Target to the UNFCCC
State Department Submits President Obama’s Ambitious 2025 Target to Cut U.S. Climate Pollution by 26-28 Percent from 2005 Levels
To view the INDC submission, click HERE.
Building on the strong progress made under President Obama to curb the emissions that are driving climate change and lead on the international stage, today the United States submitted its target to cut net greenhouse gas emissions to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The submission, referred to as an Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC), is a formal statement of the U.S. target, announced in China last year, to reduce our emissions by 26-28% below 2005 levels by 2025, and to make best efforts to reduce by 28%.
Last November, President Obama and President Xi – leaders of the largest economies and largest polluters – made the historic announcement of the respective post-2020 climate targets for the United States and China. For the first time, China committed to limit its greenhouse gas emissions, with a commitment to peak emissions around 2030 and to make best efforts to peak early, and to increase its share of non-fossil energy consumption to around 20 percent by 2030. Following that historic announcement, the European Union put forward an ambitious and achievable INDC to cut their emissions 40% by 2030. And just last week, Mexico announced that it would peak its overall net greenhouse gases by 2026, backed by strong unconditional policies and a new bilateral task force to drive climate policy harmonization with the United States.
With these actions, as well as strong INDCs submitted by Norway and Switzerland, countries representing over 50% of global CO2 emissions have either announced or formally reported their targets. Today’s action by the United States further demonstrates real momentum on the road to reaching a successful climate agreement this December in Paris and shows President Obama is committed to leading on the international stage.
The U.S. target will roughly double the pace of carbon pollution reduction in the United States from 1.2 percent per year on average during the 2005-2020 period to 2.3-2.8 percent per year on average between 2020 and 2025. This ambitious target is grounded in intensive analysis of cost-effective carbon pollution reductions achievable under existing law and will keep the United States on the pathway to achieve deep economy-wide reductions of 80 percent or more by 2050. The Administration’s steady efforts to reduce emissions will deliver ever-larger carbon pollution reductions, public health improvements, and consumer savings over time and provide a firm foundation to meet the new U.S. target.
Building on Progress
Our leadership at the international level starts at home. In 2009, U.S. greenhouse gas emissions were projected to continue increasing indefinitely. When entering office, President Obama set an ambitious goal to cut emissions in the range of 17 percent below 2005 levels in 2020. Throughout the first term, the Administration took strong actions to cut carbon pollution, including investing more than $80 billion in clean energy technologies under the Recovery Act, establishing historic fuel economy and appliance energy efficiency standards, doubling solar and wind electricity, and implementing ambitious energy efficiency measures.
Early in his second term, President Obama launched an ambitious Climate Action Plan focused on cutting carbon pollution, preparing the nation for climate impacts, and leading on the international stage to bring nations large and small to the table to pledge to act on climate change. In addition to bolstering first-term efforts to ramp up renewable energy and efficiency, the Plan is cutting carbon pollution through new measures, including:
Clean Power Plan: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed guidelines for existing power plants in June 2014 that would reduce power sector emissions 30% below 2005 levels by 2030 while delivering $55-93 billion in annual net benefits from reducing carbon pollution and other harmful pollutants.
Standards for Heavy-Duty Engines and Vehicles: In February 2014, President Obama directed EPA and the Department of Transportation to issue the next phase of fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas standards for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles by March 2016. These will build on the first-ever standards for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles (model years 2014 through 2018), proposed and finalized by this Administration.
Energy Efficiency Standards: The Department of Energy set a goal of reducing carbon pollution by 3 billion metric tons cumulatively by 2030 through energy conservation standards issued during this Administration. The Department of Energy has finalized multiple measures addressing buildings sector emissions including energy conservation standards for 29 categories of appliances and equipment as well as a building code determination for commercial buildings. These measures will also cut consumers' annual electricity bills by billions of dollars.
Economy-Wide Measures to Reduce other Greenhouse Gases: EPA and other agencies are taking actions to cut methane emissions from landfills, coal mining, agriculture, and oil and gas systems through cost-effective voluntary actions and common-sense regulations and standards. At the same time, the State Department is working to slash global emissions of potent industrial greenhouse gases, called HFCs, through an amendment to the Montreal Protocol; EPA is cutting domestic HFC emissions through its Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) program; and, the private sector has stepped up with commitments to cut global HFC emissions equivalent to 700 million metric tons through 2025.
March 31, 2015
FACT SHEET: U.S. Reports its 2025 Emissions Target to the UNFCCC
State Department Submits President Obama’s Ambitious 2025 Target to Cut U.S. Climate Pollution by 26-28 Percent from 2005 Levels
To view the INDC submission, click HERE.
Building on the strong progress made under President Obama to curb the emissions that are driving climate change and lead on the international stage, today the United States submitted its target to cut net greenhouse gas emissions to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The submission, referred to as an Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC), is a formal statement of the U.S. target, announced in China last year, to reduce our emissions by 26-28% below 2005 levels by 2025, and to make best efforts to reduce by 28%.
Last November, President Obama and President Xi – leaders of the largest economies and largest polluters – made the historic announcement of the respective post-2020 climate targets for the United States and China. For the first time, China committed to limit its greenhouse gas emissions, with a commitment to peak emissions around 2030 and to make best efforts to peak early, and to increase its share of non-fossil energy consumption to around 20 percent by 2030. Following that historic announcement, the European Union put forward an ambitious and achievable INDC to cut their emissions 40% by 2030. And just last week, Mexico announced that it would peak its overall net greenhouse gases by 2026, backed by strong unconditional policies and a new bilateral task force to drive climate policy harmonization with the United States.
With these actions, as well as strong INDCs submitted by Norway and Switzerland, countries representing over 50% of global CO2 emissions have either announced or formally reported their targets. Today’s action by the United States further demonstrates real momentum on the road to reaching a successful climate agreement this December in Paris and shows President Obama is committed to leading on the international stage.
The U.S. target will roughly double the pace of carbon pollution reduction in the United States from 1.2 percent per year on average during the 2005-2020 period to 2.3-2.8 percent per year on average between 2020 and 2025. This ambitious target is grounded in intensive analysis of cost-effective carbon pollution reductions achievable under existing law and will keep the United States on the pathway to achieve deep economy-wide reductions of 80 percent or more by 2050. The Administration’s steady efforts to reduce emissions will deliver ever-larger carbon pollution reductions, public health improvements, and consumer savings over time and provide a firm foundation to meet the new U.S. target.
Building on Progress
Our leadership at the international level starts at home. In 2009, U.S. greenhouse gas emissions were projected to continue increasing indefinitely. When entering office, President Obama set an ambitious goal to cut emissions in the range of 17 percent below 2005 levels in 2020. Throughout the first term, the Administration took strong actions to cut carbon pollution, including investing more than $80 billion in clean energy technologies under the Recovery Act, establishing historic fuel economy and appliance energy efficiency standards, doubling solar and wind electricity, and implementing ambitious energy efficiency measures.
Early in his second term, President Obama launched an ambitious Climate Action Plan focused on cutting carbon pollution, preparing the nation for climate impacts, and leading on the international stage to bring nations large and small to the table to pledge to act on climate change. In addition to bolstering first-term efforts to ramp up renewable energy and efficiency, the Plan is cutting carbon pollution through new measures, including:
Clean Power Plan: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed guidelines for existing power plants in June 2014 that would reduce power sector emissions 30% below 2005 levels by 2030 while delivering $55-93 billion in annual net benefits from reducing carbon pollution and other harmful pollutants.
Standards for Heavy-Duty Engines and Vehicles: In February 2014, President Obama directed EPA and the Department of Transportation to issue the next phase of fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas standards for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles by March 2016. These will build on the first-ever standards for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles (model years 2014 through 2018), proposed and finalized by this Administration.
Energy Efficiency Standards: The Department of Energy set a goal of reducing carbon pollution by 3 billion metric tons cumulatively by 2030 through energy conservation standards issued during this Administration. The Department of Energy has finalized multiple measures addressing buildings sector emissions including energy conservation standards for 29 categories of appliances and equipment as well as a building code determination for commercial buildings. These measures will also cut consumers' annual electricity bills by billions of dollars.
Economy-Wide Measures to Reduce other Greenhouse Gases: EPA and other agencies are taking actions to cut methane emissions from landfills, coal mining, agriculture, and oil and gas systems through cost-effective voluntary actions and common-sense regulations and standards. At the same time, the State Department is working to slash global emissions of potent industrial greenhouse gases, called HFCs, through an amendment to the Montreal Protocol; EPA is cutting domestic HFC emissions through its Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) program; and, the private sector has stepped up with commitments to cut global HFC emissions equivalent to 700 million metric tons through 2025.
Monday, March 30, 2015
PRESIDENT OBAMA'S REMARKS AT DEDICATION OF EDWARD M. KENNEDY INSTITUTE
FROM: THE WHITE HOUSE
March 30, 2015
Remarks by the President at Dedication of the Edward M. Kennedy Institute
Edward M. Kennedy Institute
Boston, Massachusetts
12:16 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. (Applause.) Thank you so much. To Vicki, Ted, Patrick, Curran, Caroline, Ambassador Smith, members of the Kennedy family -- thank you so much for inviting me to speak today. Your Eminence, Cardinal O’Malley; Vice President Biden; Governor Baker; Mayor Walsh; members of Congress, past and present; and pretty much every elected official in Massachusetts -- (laughter) -- it is an honor to mark this occasion with you.
Boston, know that Michelle and I have joined our prayers with yours these past few days for a hero -- former Army Ranger and Boston Police Officer John Moynihan, who was shot in the line of duty on Friday night. (Applause.) I mention him because, last year, at the White House, the Vice President and I had the chance to honor Officer Moynihan as one of America’s “Top Cops” for his bravery in the line of duty, for risking his life to save a fellow officer. And thanks to the heroes at Boston Medical Center, I’m told Officer Moynihan is awake, and talking, and we wish him a full and speedy recovery. (Applause.)
I also want to single out someone who very much wanted to be here, just as he was every day for nearly 25 years as he represented this commonwealth alongside Ted in the Senate -- and that's Secretary of State John Kerry. (Applause.) As many of you know, John is in Europe with our allies and partners, leading the negotiations with Iran and the world community, and standing up for a principle that Ted and his brother, President Kennedy, believed in so strongly: “Let us never negotiate out of fear, but let us never fear to negotiate.” (Applause.)
And, finally, in his first years in the Senate, Ted dispatched a young aide to assemble a team of talent without rival. The sell was simple: Come and help Ted Kennedy make history. So I want to give a special shout-out to his extraordinarily loyal staff -- (applause) -- 50 years later a family more than one thousand strong. This is your day, as well. We're proud of you. (Applause.) Of course, many of you now work with me. (Laughter.) So enjoy today, because we got to get back to work. (Laughter.)
Distinguished guests, fellow citizens -- in 1958, Ted Kennedy was a young man working to reelect his brother, Jack, to the United States Senate. On election night, the two toasted one another: “Here’s to 1960, Mr. President,” Ted said, “If you can make it.” With his quick Irish wit, Jack returned the toast: “Here’s to 1962, Senator Kennedy, if you can make it.” (Laughter.) They both made it. And today, they’re together again in eternal rest at Arlington.
But their legacies are as alive as ever together right here in Boston. The John F. Kennedy Library next door is a symbol of our American idealism; the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate as a living example of the hard, frustrating, never-ending, but critical work required to make that idealism real.
What more fitting tribute, what better testament to the life of Ted Kennedy, than this place that he left for a new generation of Americans -- a monument not to himself but to what we, the people, have the power to do together.
Any of us who have had the privilege to serve in the Senate know that it’s impossible not to share Ted’s awe for the history swirling around you -- an awe instilled in him by his brother, Jack. Ted waited more than a year to deliver his first speech on the Senate floor. That's no longer the custom. (Laughter.) It's good to see Trent and Tom Daschle here, because they remember what customs were like back then. (Laughter.)
And Ted gave a speech only because he felt there was a topic -- the Civil Rights Act -- that demanded it. Nevertheless, he spoke with humility, aware, as he put it, that “a freshman Senator should be seen, not heard; should learn, and not teach.”
Some of us, I admit, have not always heeded that lesson. (Laughter.) But fortunately, we had Ted to show us the ropes anyway. And no one made the Senate come alive like Ted Kennedy. It was one of the great pleasures of my life to hear Ted Kennedy deliver one of his stem winders on the Floor. Rarely was he more animated than when he’d lead you through the living museums that were his offices. He could -- and he would -- tell you everything that there was to know about all of it. (Laughter.)
And then there were more somber moments. I still remember the first time I pulled open the drawer of my desk. Each senator is assigned a desk, and there’s a tradition of carving the names of those who had used it before. And those names in my desk included Taft and Baker, Simon, Wellstone, and Robert F. Kennedy.
The Senate was a place where you instinctively pulled yourself up a little bit straighter; where you tried to act a little bit better. “Being a senator changes a person,” Ted wrote in his memoirs. As Vicki said, it may take a year, or two years, or three years, but it always happens; it fills you with a heightened sense of purpose.
That’s the magic of the Senate. That’s the essence of what it can be. And who but Ted Kennedy, and his family, would create a full-scale replica of the Senate chamber, and open it to everyone?
We live in a time of such great cynicism about all our institutions. And we are cynical about government and about Washington, most of all. It’s hard for our children to see, in the noisy and too often trivial pursuits of today’s politics, the possibilities of our democracy -- our capacity, together, to do big things.
And this place can help change that. It can help light the fire of imagination, plant the seed of noble ambition in the minds of future generations. Imagine a gaggle of school kids clutching tablets, turning classrooms into cloakrooms and hallways into hearing rooms, assigned an issue of the day and the responsibility to solve it.
Imagine their moral universe expanding as they hear about the momentous battles waged in that chamber and how they echo throughout today’s society. Great questions of war and peace, the tangled bargains between North and South, federal and state; the original sins of slavery and prejudice; and the unfinished battles for civil rights and opportunity and equality.
Imagine the shift in their sense of what’s possible. The first time they see a video of senators who look like they do -- men and women, blacks and whites, Latinos, Asian-Americans; those born to great wealth but also those born of incredibly modest means.
Imagine what a child feels the first time she steps onto that floor, before she’s old enough to be cynical; before she’s told what she can’t do; before she’s told who she can’t talk to or work with; what she feels when she sits at one of those desks; what happens when it comes her turn to stand and speak on behalf of something she cares about; and cast a vote, and have a sense of purpose.
It’s maybe just not for kids. What if we all carried ourselves that way? What if our politics, our democracy, were as elevated, as purposeful, as she imagines it to be right here?
Towards the end of his life, Ted reflected on how Congress has changed over time. And those who served earlier I think have those same conversations. It’s a more diverse, more accurate reflection of America than it used to be, and that is a grand thing, a great achievement. But Ted grieved the loss of camaraderie and collegiality, the face-to-face interaction. I think he regretted the arguments now made to cameras instead of colleagues, directed at a narrow base instead of the body politic as a whole; the outsized influence of money and special interests -- and how it all leads more Americans to turn away in disgust and simply choose not to exercise their right to vote.
Now, since this is a joyous occasion, this is not the time for me to suggest a slew of new ideas for reform. Although I do have some. (Laughter.) Maybe I’ll just mention one.
What if we carried ourselves more like Ted Kennedy? What if we worked to follow his example a little bit harder? To his harshest critics, who saw him as nothing more than a partisan lightning rod -- that may sound foolish, but there are Republicans here today for a reason. They know who Ted Kennedy was. It’s not because they shared Ted’s ideology or his positions, but because they knew Ted as somebody who bridged the partisan divide over and over and over again, with genuine effort and affection, in an era when bipartisanship has become so very rare.
They knew him as somebody who kept his word. They knew him as somebody who was willing to take half a loaf and endure the anger of his own supporters to get something done. They knew him as somebody who was not afraid. And fear so permeates our politics, instead of hope. People fight to get in the Senate and then they’re afraid. We fight to get these positions and then don’t want to do anything with them. And Ted understood the only point of running for office was to get something done -- not to posture; not to sit there worrying about the next election or the polls -- to take risks. He understood that differences of party or philosophy could not become barriers to cooperation or respect.
He could howl at injustice on the Senate floor like a force of nature, while nervous aides tried to figure out which chart to pull up next. (Laughter.) But in his personal dealings, he answered Edmund Randolph’s call to keep the Senate a place to “restrain, if possible, the fury of democracy.”
I did not know Ted as long as some of the speakers here today. But he was my friend. I owe him a lot. And as far as I could tell, it was never ideology that compelled him, except insofar as his ideology said, you should help people; that you should have a life of purpose; that you should be empathetic and be able to put yourself in somebody else’s shoes, and see through their eyes. His tirelessness, his restlessness, they were rooted in his experience.
By the age of 12, he was a member of a Gold Star Family. By 36, two of his brothers were stolen from him in the most tragic, public of ways. By 41, he nearly lost a beloved child to cancer. And that made suffering something he knew. And it made him more alive to the suffering of others.
While his son was sleeping after treatment, Ted would wander the halls of the hospital and meet other parents keeping vigil over their own children. They were parents terrified of what would happen when they couldn’t afford the next treatment; parents working out what they could sell or borrow or mortgage just to make it just a few more months -- and then, if they had to, bargain with God for the rest.
There, in the quiet night, working people of modest means and one of the most powerful men in the world shared the same intimate, immediate sense of helplessness. He didn't see them as some abstraction. He knew them. He felt them. Their pain was his as much as they might be separated by wealth and fame. And those families would be at the heart of Ted’s passions. Just like the young immigrant, he would see himself in that child. They were his cause -- the sick child who couldn’t see a doctor; the young soldier sent to battle without armor; the citizen denied her rights because of what she looked like or where she came from or who she loves.
He quietly attended as many military funerals in Massachusetts as he could for those who fell in Iraq and Afghanistan. He called and wrote each one of the 177 families in this commonwealth who lost a loved one on 9/11, and he took them sailing, and played with their children, not just in the days after, but every year after.
His life’s work was not to champion those with wealth or power or connections; they already had enough representation. It was to give voice to the people who wrote and called him from every state, desperate for somebody who might listen and help. It was about what he could do for others.
It’s why he’d take his hearings to hospitals in rural towns and inner cities, and push people out of their comfort zones, including his colleagues. Because he had pushed himself out of his comfort zone. And he tried to instill in his colleagues that same sense of empathy. Even if they called him, as one did, “wrong at the top of his lungs.” Even if they might disagree with him 99 percent of the time. Because who knew what might happen with that other 1 percent?
Orrin Hatch was sent to Washington in part because he promised to fight Ted Kennedy. And they fought a lot. One was a conservative Mormon from Utah, after all; the other one was, well, Ted Kennedy. (Laughter.) But once they got to know one another, they discovered certain things in common -- a devout faith, a soft spot for health care, very fine singing voices. (Laughter.)
In 1986, when Republicans controlled the Senate, Orrin held the first hearing on the AIDS epidemic, even hugging an AIDS patient -- an incredible and very important gesture at the time. The next year, Ted took over the committee, and continued what Orrin started. When Orrin’s father passed away, Ted was one of the first to call. It was over dinner at Ted’s house one night that they decided to try and insure the 10 million children who didn’t have access to health care.
As that debate hit roadblocks in Congress, as apparently debates over health care tend to do, Ted would have his Chief of Staff serenade Orrin to court his support. When hearings didn’t go Ted’s way, he might puff on a cigar to annoy Orrin, who disdained smoking. (Laughter.) When they didn’t go Orrin’s way, he might threaten to call Ted’s sister, Eunice. (Laughter.) And when it came time to find a way to pay for the Children’s Health Insurance Program that they, together, had devised, Ted pounced, offering a tobacco tax and asking, “Are you for Joe Camel and the Marlboro Man, or millions of children who lack adequate health care?”
It was the kind of friendship unique to the Senate, calling to mind what John Calhoun once said of Henry Clay: “I don’t like Clay. He is a bad man, an imposter, a creator of wicked schemes. I wouldn’t speak to him, but, by God, I love him!” (Laughter.)
So, sure, Orrin Hatch once called Ted “one of the major dangers to the country.” (Laughter.) But he also stood up at a gathering in Ted’s last months, and said, “I’m asking you all to pray for Ted Kennedy.”
The point is, we can fight on almost everything. But we can come together on some things. And those “somethings” can mean everything to a whole lot of people.
It was common ground that led Ted and Orrin to forge a compromise that covered millions of kids with health care. It was common ground, rooted in the plight of loved ones, that led Ted and Chuck Grassley to cover kids with disabilities; that led Ted and Pete Domenici to fight for equal rights for Americans with a mental illness.
Common ground, not rooted in abstractions or stubborn, rigid ideologies, but shared experience, that led Ted and John McCain to work on a Patient’s Bill of Rights, and to work to forge a smarter, more just immigration system.
A common desire to fix what’s broken. A willingness to compromise in pursuit of a larger goal. A personal relationship that lets you fight like heck on one issue, and shake hands on the next -- not through just cajoling or horse-trading or serenades, but through Ted’s brand of friendship and kindness, and humor and grace.
“What binds us together across our differences in religion or politics or economic theory,” Ted wrote in his memoirs, “[is] all we share as human beings -- the wonder that we experience when we look at the night sky; the gratitude that we know when we feel the heat of the sun; the sense of humor in the face of the unbearable; and the persistence of suffering. And one thing more -- the capacity to reach across our differences to offer a hand of healing.”
For all the challenges of a changing world, for all the imperfections of our democracy, the capacity to reach across our differences is something that’s entirely up to us.
May we all, in our own lives, set an example for the kids who enter these doors, and exit with higher expectations for their country.
May we all remember the times this American family has challenged us to ask what we can do; to dream and say why not; to seek a cause that endures; and sail against the wind in its pursuit, and live our lives with that heightened sense of purpose.
Thank you. May God bless you. May He continue to bless this country we love. Thank you. (Applause.)
END
12:44 P.M. EDT
March 30, 2015
Remarks by the President at Dedication of the Edward M. Kennedy Institute
Edward M. Kennedy Institute
Boston, Massachusetts
12:16 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. (Applause.) Thank you so much. To Vicki, Ted, Patrick, Curran, Caroline, Ambassador Smith, members of the Kennedy family -- thank you so much for inviting me to speak today. Your Eminence, Cardinal O’Malley; Vice President Biden; Governor Baker; Mayor Walsh; members of Congress, past and present; and pretty much every elected official in Massachusetts -- (laughter) -- it is an honor to mark this occasion with you.
Boston, know that Michelle and I have joined our prayers with yours these past few days for a hero -- former Army Ranger and Boston Police Officer John Moynihan, who was shot in the line of duty on Friday night. (Applause.) I mention him because, last year, at the White House, the Vice President and I had the chance to honor Officer Moynihan as one of America’s “Top Cops” for his bravery in the line of duty, for risking his life to save a fellow officer. And thanks to the heroes at Boston Medical Center, I’m told Officer Moynihan is awake, and talking, and we wish him a full and speedy recovery. (Applause.)
I also want to single out someone who very much wanted to be here, just as he was every day for nearly 25 years as he represented this commonwealth alongside Ted in the Senate -- and that's Secretary of State John Kerry. (Applause.) As many of you know, John is in Europe with our allies and partners, leading the negotiations with Iran and the world community, and standing up for a principle that Ted and his brother, President Kennedy, believed in so strongly: “Let us never negotiate out of fear, but let us never fear to negotiate.” (Applause.)
And, finally, in his first years in the Senate, Ted dispatched a young aide to assemble a team of talent without rival. The sell was simple: Come and help Ted Kennedy make history. So I want to give a special shout-out to his extraordinarily loyal staff -- (applause) -- 50 years later a family more than one thousand strong. This is your day, as well. We're proud of you. (Applause.) Of course, many of you now work with me. (Laughter.) So enjoy today, because we got to get back to work. (Laughter.)
Distinguished guests, fellow citizens -- in 1958, Ted Kennedy was a young man working to reelect his brother, Jack, to the United States Senate. On election night, the two toasted one another: “Here’s to 1960, Mr. President,” Ted said, “If you can make it.” With his quick Irish wit, Jack returned the toast: “Here’s to 1962, Senator Kennedy, if you can make it.” (Laughter.) They both made it. And today, they’re together again in eternal rest at Arlington.
But their legacies are as alive as ever together right here in Boston. The John F. Kennedy Library next door is a symbol of our American idealism; the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate as a living example of the hard, frustrating, never-ending, but critical work required to make that idealism real.
What more fitting tribute, what better testament to the life of Ted Kennedy, than this place that he left for a new generation of Americans -- a monument not to himself but to what we, the people, have the power to do together.
Any of us who have had the privilege to serve in the Senate know that it’s impossible not to share Ted’s awe for the history swirling around you -- an awe instilled in him by his brother, Jack. Ted waited more than a year to deliver his first speech on the Senate floor. That's no longer the custom. (Laughter.) It's good to see Trent and Tom Daschle here, because they remember what customs were like back then. (Laughter.)
And Ted gave a speech only because he felt there was a topic -- the Civil Rights Act -- that demanded it. Nevertheless, he spoke with humility, aware, as he put it, that “a freshman Senator should be seen, not heard; should learn, and not teach.”
Some of us, I admit, have not always heeded that lesson. (Laughter.) But fortunately, we had Ted to show us the ropes anyway. And no one made the Senate come alive like Ted Kennedy. It was one of the great pleasures of my life to hear Ted Kennedy deliver one of his stem winders on the Floor. Rarely was he more animated than when he’d lead you through the living museums that were his offices. He could -- and he would -- tell you everything that there was to know about all of it. (Laughter.)
And then there were more somber moments. I still remember the first time I pulled open the drawer of my desk. Each senator is assigned a desk, and there’s a tradition of carving the names of those who had used it before. And those names in my desk included Taft and Baker, Simon, Wellstone, and Robert F. Kennedy.
The Senate was a place where you instinctively pulled yourself up a little bit straighter; where you tried to act a little bit better. “Being a senator changes a person,” Ted wrote in his memoirs. As Vicki said, it may take a year, or two years, or three years, but it always happens; it fills you with a heightened sense of purpose.
That’s the magic of the Senate. That’s the essence of what it can be. And who but Ted Kennedy, and his family, would create a full-scale replica of the Senate chamber, and open it to everyone?
We live in a time of such great cynicism about all our institutions. And we are cynical about government and about Washington, most of all. It’s hard for our children to see, in the noisy and too often trivial pursuits of today’s politics, the possibilities of our democracy -- our capacity, together, to do big things.
And this place can help change that. It can help light the fire of imagination, plant the seed of noble ambition in the minds of future generations. Imagine a gaggle of school kids clutching tablets, turning classrooms into cloakrooms and hallways into hearing rooms, assigned an issue of the day and the responsibility to solve it.
Imagine their moral universe expanding as they hear about the momentous battles waged in that chamber and how they echo throughout today’s society. Great questions of war and peace, the tangled bargains between North and South, federal and state; the original sins of slavery and prejudice; and the unfinished battles for civil rights and opportunity and equality.
Imagine the shift in their sense of what’s possible. The first time they see a video of senators who look like they do -- men and women, blacks and whites, Latinos, Asian-Americans; those born to great wealth but also those born of incredibly modest means.
Imagine what a child feels the first time she steps onto that floor, before she’s old enough to be cynical; before she’s told what she can’t do; before she’s told who she can’t talk to or work with; what she feels when she sits at one of those desks; what happens when it comes her turn to stand and speak on behalf of something she cares about; and cast a vote, and have a sense of purpose.
It’s maybe just not for kids. What if we all carried ourselves that way? What if our politics, our democracy, were as elevated, as purposeful, as she imagines it to be right here?
Towards the end of his life, Ted reflected on how Congress has changed over time. And those who served earlier I think have those same conversations. It’s a more diverse, more accurate reflection of America than it used to be, and that is a grand thing, a great achievement. But Ted grieved the loss of camaraderie and collegiality, the face-to-face interaction. I think he regretted the arguments now made to cameras instead of colleagues, directed at a narrow base instead of the body politic as a whole; the outsized influence of money and special interests -- and how it all leads more Americans to turn away in disgust and simply choose not to exercise their right to vote.
Now, since this is a joyous occasion, this is not the time for me to suggest a slew of new ideas for reform. Although I do have some. (Laughter.) Maybe I’ll just mention one.
What if we carried ourselves more like Ted Kennedy? What if we worked to follow his example a little bit harder? To his harshest critics, who saw him as nothing more than a partisan lightning rod -- that may sound foolish, but there are Republicans here today for a reason. They know who Ted Kennedy was. It’s not because they shared Ted’s ideology or his positions, but because they knew Ted as somebody who bridged the partisan divide over and over and over again, with genuine effort and affection, in an era when bipartisanship has become so very rare.
They knew him as somebody who kept his word. They knew him as somebody who was willing to take half a loaf and endure the anger of his own supporters to get something done. They knew him as somebody who was not afraid. And fear so permeates our politics, instead of hope. People fight to get in the Senate and then they’re afraid. We fight to get these positions and then don’t want to do anything with them. And Ted understood the only point of running for office was to get something done -- not to posture; not to sit there worrying about the next election or the polls -- to take risks. He understood that differences of party or philosophy could not become barriers to cooperation or respect.
He could howl at injustice on the Senate floor like a force of nature, while nervous aides tried to figure out which chart to pull up next. (Laughter.) But in his personal dealings, he answered Edmund Randolph’s call to keep the Senate a place to “restrain, if possible, the fury of democracy.”
I did not know Ted as long as some of the speakers here today. But he was my friend. I owe him a lot. And as far as I could tell, it was never ideology that compelled him, except insofar as his ideology said, you should help people; that you should have a life of purpose; that you should be empathetic and be able to put yourself in somebody else’s shoes, and see through their eyes. His tirelessness, his restlessness, they were rooted in his experience.
By the age of 12, he was a member of a Gold Star Family. By 36, two of his brothers were stolen from him in the most tragic, public of ways. By 41, he nearly lost a beloved child to cancer. And that made suffering something he knew. And it made him more alive to the suffering of others.
While his son was sleeping after treatment, Ted would wander the halls of the hospital and meet other parents keeping vigil over their own children. They were parents terrified of what would happen when they couldn’t afford the next treatment; parents working out what they could sell or borrow or mortgage just to make it just a few more months -- and then, if they had to, bargain with God for the rest.
There, in the quiet night, working people of modest means and one of the most powerful men in the world shared the same intimate, immediate sense of helplessness. He didn't see them as some abstraction. He knew them. He felt them. Their pain was his as much as they might be separated by wealth and fame. And those families would be at the heart of Ted’s passions. Just like the young immigrant, he would see himself in that child. They were his cause -- the sick child who couldn’t see a doctor; the young soldier sent to battle without armor; the citizen denied her rights because of what she looked like or where she came from or who she loves.
He quietly attended as many military funerals in Massachusetts as he could for those who fell in Iraq and Afghanistan. He called and wrote each one of the 177 families in this commonwealth who lost a loved one on 9/11, and he took them sailing, and played with their children, not just in the days after, but every year after.
His life’s work was not to champion those with wealth or power or connections; they already had enough representation. It was to give voice to the people who wrote and called him from every state, desperate for somebody who might listen and help. It was about what he could do for others.
It’s why he’d take his hearings to hospitals in rural towns and inner cities, and push people out of their comfort zones, including his colleagues. Because he had pushed himself out of his comfort zone. And he tried to instill in his colleagues that same sense of empathy. Even if they called him, as one did, “wrong at the top of his lungs.” Even if they might disagree with him 99 percent of the time. Because who knew what might happen with that other 1 percent?
Orrin Hatch was sent to Washington in part because he promised to fight Ted Kennedy. And they fought a lot. One was a conservative Mormon from Utah, after all; the other one was, well, Ted Kennedy. (Laughter.) But once they got to know one another, they discovered certain things in common -- a devout faith, a soft spot for health care, very fine singing voices. (Laughter.)
In 1986, when Republicans controlled the Senate, Orrin held the first hearing on the AIDS epidemic, even hugging an AIDS patient -- an incredible and very important gesture at the time. The next year, Ted took over the committee, and continued what Orrin started. When Orrin’s father passed away, Ted was one of the first to call. It was over dinner at Ted’s house one night that they decided to try and insure the 10 million children who didn’t have access to health care.
As that debate hit roadblocks in Congress, as apparently debates over health care tend to do, Ted would have his Chief of Staff serenade Orrin to court his support. When hearings didn’t go Ted’s way, he might puff on a cigar to annoy Orrin, who disdained smoking. (Laughter.) When they didn’t go Orrin’s way, he might threaten to call Ted’s sister, Eunice. (Laughter.) And when it came time to find a way to pay for the Children’s Health Insurance Program that they, together, had devised, Ted pounced, offering a tobacco tax and asking, “Are you for Joe Camel and the Marlboro Man, or millions of children who lack adequate health care?”
It was the kind of friendship unique to the Senate, calling to mind what John Calhoun once said of Henry Clay: “I don’t like Clay. He is a bad man, an imposter, a creator of wicked schemes. I wouldn’t speak to him, but, by God, I love him!” (Laughter.)
So, sure, Orrin Hatch once called Ted “one of the major dangers to the country.” (Laughter.) But he also stood up at a gathering in Ted’s last months, and said, “I’m asking you all to pray for Ted Kennedy.”
The point is, we can fight on almost everything. But we can come together on some things. And those “somethings” can mean everything to a whole lot of people.
It was common ground that led Ted and Orrin to forge a compromise that covered millions of kids with health care. It was common ground, rooted in the plight of loved ones, that led Ted and Chuck Grassley to cover kids with disabilities; that led Ted and Pete Domenici to fight for equal rights for Americans with a mental illness.
Common ground, not rooted in abstractions or stubborn, rigid ideologies, but shared experience, that led Ted and John McCain to work on a Patient’s Bill of Rights, and to work to forge a smarter, more just immigration system.
A common desire to fix what’s broken. A willingness to compromise in pursuit of a larger goal. A personal relationship that lets you fight like heck on one issue, and shake hands on the next -- not through just cajoling or horse-trading or serenades, but through Ted’s brand of friendship and kindness, and humor and grace.
“What binds us together across our differences in religion or politics or economic theory,” Ted wrote in his memoirs, “[is] all we share as human beings -- the wonder that we experience when we look at the night sky; the gratitude that we know when we feel the heat of the sun; the sense of humor in the face of the unbearable; and the persistence of suffering. And one thing more -- the capacity to reach across our differences to offer a hand of healing.”
For all the challenges of a changing world, for all the imperfections of our democracy, the capacity to reach across our differences is something that’s entirely up to us.
May we all, in our own lives, set an example for the kids who enter these doors, and exit with higher expectations for their country.
May we all remember the times this American family has challenged us to ask what we can do; to dream and say why not; to seek a cause that endures; and sail against the wind in its pursuit, and live our lives with that heightened sense of purpose.
Thank you. May God bless you. May He continue to bless this country we love. Thank you. (Applause.)
END
12:44 P.M. EDT
Thursday, March 26, 2015
WHITE HOUSE READOUT: PRESIDENT OBAMA'S CALL WITH PRESIDENT OF TURKEY TAYYIP ERDOGAN
FROM: THE WHITE HOUSE
March 26, 2015
Readout of the President’s Call with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey
The President spoke with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan today to discuss ongoing cooperation in the fight against ISIL and common efforts to bring security and stability to Iraq and Syria. The two leaders reviewed the train and equip program for vetted members of the moderate Syrian opposition. They discussed efforts to deepen cooperation to stem the flow of foreign fighters, and the President appreciated positive efforts in Turkey on this issue. The President expressed appreciation for Turkey’s continuing support to nearly two million refugees from Iraq and Syria. The leaders also discussed the latest developments in Yemen and Ukraine and in negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program, and pledged to continue to work closely on these and other regional issues.
March 26, 2015
Readout of the President’s Call with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey
The President spoke with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan today to discuss ongoing cooperation in the fight against ISIL and common efforts to bring security and stability to Iraq and Syria. The two leaders reviewed the train and equip program for vetted members of the moderate Syrian opposition. They discussed efforts to deepen cooperation to stem the flow of foreign fighters, and the President appreciated positive efforts in Turkey on this issue. The President expressed appreciation for Turkey’s continuing support to nearly two million refugees from Iraq and Syria. The leaders also discussed the latest developments in Yemen and Ukraine and in negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program, and pledged to continue to work closely on these and other regional issues.
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
WHITE HOUSE FACT SHEET ON STEPS TO ATTRACT FOREIGN INVESTORS AND CREATE JOBS THROUGH EXPANDING SELECTUSA
FROM: THE WHITE HOUSE
March 23, 2015
FACT SHEET: President Obama to Announce New Steps to Attract Foreign Investors and Create Jobs through the Continued Expansion of the SelectUSA Initiative
The United States is the bright spot in the global economy, further proof that the President’s middle class economic agenda is working. More than 12 million jobs have been created over the last 60 months, and wages are beginning to rise again. In fact, U.S. businesses have added more than 200,000 jobs per month every month for 12 consecutive months—the first time that’s happened in 37 years.
Global investors have taken notice and are accelerating their investment in the United States, already home to more foreign direct investment than any other country in the world. Foreign businesses have injected an average of $67 billion a quarter into the U.S. economy over the last three quarters, compared with an average of $49 billion quarterly from 2009 to 2013, according to Department of Commerce data released last week.
To maintain this momentum, today the President will announce new Administration initiatives to bring job-creating investment from around the world to the United States at the second SelectUSA Investment Summit.
Investment Announcements: Summit participants have already announced at least $13 billion in U.S. investments over the last year and an estimated 32,500 new U.S. jobs, according to data compiled by fDi Markets.
Further Expansions to SelectUSA: Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker will create the first-ever federal advisory committee focused on attracting and retaining foreign direct investment into the United States. SelectUSA will strengthen its partnership with states and expand customized trainings for first-time investors.
Administrative Actions to Recruit and Retain Global Talent: The Department of Homeland Security will clarify guidelines for global companies seeking to staff new and expanding U.S. operations with specialized knowledge related to their company or industry without impacting job opportunities for U.S. workers.
Second SelectUSA Investment Summit
Established by the President in 2011, SelectUSA is the first-ever government wide program to promote and facilitate job-creating business investment into the United States. Today, more than 2,600 people—including 1,300 companies from more than 70 countries and over 500 U.S. economic development officials from across the country—will attend the second SelectUSA Investment Summit for two days of matchmaking, information sessions, and presentations.
The United States is the world’s premier destination for investment and home to more foreign direct investment than any other country in the world. During the past year alone, 170 of the foreign firms attending the Summit have announced U.S. investments valued at about $13 billion and expected to create more than 32,500 U.S. jobs, according to data compiled by fDi Markets. The announcements come as the U.S. enjoys accelerated inflows of foreign direct investment in recent quarters.
This surge in FDI follows President Obama’s 2013 announcement of an aggressive enhancement and expansion of his SelectUSA investment-promotion initiative—and the results are billions in returns on taxpayer investment.
Since 2011, SelectUSA has helped facilitate more than $20 billion of investments in the United States, generating thousands of jobs and spurring economic growth. The program doubled the number of investors and U.S. economic development organizations (EDOs) it served last year to over 1,000, and is on track to increase its client base by more than 50 percent this year.
Actions to Enhance SelectUSA and Increase U.S. Attractiveness to Investors
Today, the Administration will announce further expansion of its assistance to U.S. economic development organizations and to international investors, through new partnerships with states, enhanced online tools, and a SelectUSA training program that was piloted at the Summit. Specifically:
New partnership with state economic development organizations: SelectUSA will convene at the Summit the first semi-annual gathering of a collaborative platform for federal and state economic development officials. The partnership will improve state-federal coordination, inform SelectUSA services and programs, and promote high standards in investment-promotion activities across the country.
Federal advisory committee: Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker will establish the first-ever federal advisory committee to solicit formal input on the development and implementation of strategies and programs to attract and retain foreign direct investment in the United States.
Improved online tools for investors: SelectUSA has made available on its site for the first time a database of state-level incentives. The Department of Commerce has also made the website clustermapping.us, a joint project of the Harvard Business School and the Economic Development Administration, available to investors and economic developers. The Cluster Mapping website provides data and tools that make it easier for investors to identify regional concentrations of specific industries and locate potential economic partners. SelectUSA is committed to further improving online tools so that investors can more fully consider the advantages offered by the United States.
New and improved foreign direct investment data coming out this year: The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) will begin to report new data this year about the impact of foreign direct investment on the U.S. economy, and FDI contributions to employment. The data will allow investors and policymakers to distinguish and assess patterns of “greenfield” investments that establish new U.S. businesses.
Launch of SelectUSA Academy: Through 2014, SelectUSA provided consultation for U.S. economic developers, seminars in at least 25 countries for investors, and a 101 series of webinars on infrastructure investing. This culminated in the first-ever SelectUSA Academy, held March 22nd, the evening before the Summit kick-off. Building on the success of this effort, SelectUSA will expand online and on-site training programs for investors and EDOs.
U.S. to be featured at 2016 Hannover Messe: Today, U.S. and German officials announced that the United States, led by the Department of Commerce, will be the featured official “Partner Country” for the 2016 Hannover Messe. Hannover Messe is the largest industrial trade fair in the world, attracting approximately 6,500 exhibitors and 250,000 visitors every year. As Partner Country, the United States will be featured to a global audience as a supplier of high quality products and a prime location for business investment.
Policy Guidance for L-1B Visas: Policy Guidance for L-1B Visas: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will increase clarity around the adjudication of the L-1B non immigrant visa that allows international companies to temporarily deploy workers with specialized knowledge to the United States when launching or conducting operations here. This long-anticipated policy guidance, which will be released for public feedback, is of particular interest to global companies participating in the SelectUSA Investment Summit.
Surging Interest in the U.S. as Place to Locate Businesses and Create Jobs
Record attendance at the Summit—more than twice as large as the inaugural 2013 event—reflects growing global interest in the United States as a place to launch and expand operations, invest in research and development, and create jobs. In fact:
Foreign direct investments have surged the last three quarters of 2014, compared with the year-earlier period. New Commerce Department data released last week showed that global investors pumped an average of $67 billion every quarter into the U.S. economy in the last three quarters of 2014, compared with an average of $50 billion per quarter in recent years.
Surveys show investors rate the U.S. as top destination for investment. After eclipsing China, Brazil, and India in 2013 to take the top spot in A.T. Kearney’s FDI Confidence Index, the United States remains “the prime destination” for investment in the world, according to the consulting firm’s survey of C-suite executives. More than half of large manufacturers will increase U.S. hiring by 5 percent or more in 2015, according to an October survey by the Boston Consulting Group.
March 23, 2015
FACT SHEET: President Obama to Announce New Steps to Attract Foreign Investors and Create Jobs through the Continued Expansion of the SelectUSA Initiative
The United States is the bright spot in the global economy, further proof that the President’s middle class economic agenda is working. More than 12 million jobs have been created over the last 60 months, and wages are beginning to rise again. In fact, U.S. businesses have added more than 200,000 jobs per month every month for 12 consecutive months—the first time that’s happened in 37 years.
Global investors have taken notice and are accelerating their investment in the United States, already home to more foreign direct investment than any other country in the world. Foreign businesses have injected an average of $67 billion a quarter into the U.S. economy over the last three quarters, compared with an average of $49 billion quarterly from 2009 to 2013, according to Department of Commerce data released last week.
To maintain this momentum, today the President will announce new Administration initiatives to bring job-creating investment from around the world to the United States at the second SelectUSA Investment Summit.
Investment Announcements: Summit participants have already announced at least $13 billion in U.S. investments over the last year and an estimated 32,500 new U.S. jobs, according to data compiled by fDi Markets.
Further Expansions to SelectUSA: Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker will create the first-ever federal advisory committee focused on attracting and retaining foreign direct investment into the United States. SelectUSA will strengthen its partnership with states and expand customized trainings for first-time investors.
Administrative Actions to Recruit and Retain Global Talent: The Department of Homeland Security will clarify guidelines for global companies seeking to staff new and expanding U.S. operations with specialized knowledge related to their company or industry without impacting job opportunities for U.S. workers.
Second SelectUSA Investment Summit
Established by the President in 2011, SelectUSA is the first-ever government wide program to promote and facilitate job-creating business investment into the United States. Today, more than 2,600 people—including 1,300 companies from more than 70 countries and over 500 U.S. economic development officials from across the country—will attend the second SelectUSA Investment Summit for two days of matchmaking, information sessions, and presentations.
The United States is the world’s premier destination for investment and home to more foreign direct investment than any other country in the world. During the past year alone, 170 of the foreign firms attending the Summit have announced U.S. investments valued at about $13 billion and expected to create more than 32,500 U.S. jobs, according to data compiled by fDi Markets. The announcements come as the U.S. enjoys accelerated inflows of foreign direct investment in recent quarters.
This surge in FDI follows President Obama’s 2013 announcement of an aggressive enhancement and expansion of his SelectUSA investment-promotion initiative—and the results are billions in returns on taxpayer investment.
Since 2011, SelectUSA has helped facilitate more than $20 billion of investments in the United States, generating thousands of jobs and spurring economic growth. The program doubled the number of investors and U.S. economic development organizations (EDOs) it served last year to over 1,000, and is on track to increase its client base by more than 50 percent this year.
Actions to Enhance SelectUSA and Increase U.S. Attractiveness to Investors
Today, the Administration will announce further expansion of its assistance to U.S. economic development organizations and to international investors, through new partnerships with states, enhanced online tools, and a SelectUSA training program that was piloted at the Summit. Specifically:
New partnership with state economic development organizations: SelectUSA will convene at the Summit the first semi-annual gathering of a collaborative platform for federal and state economic development officials. The partnership will improve state-federal coordination, inform SelectUSA services and programs, and promote high standards in investment-promotion activities across the country.
Federal advisory committee: Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker will establish the first-ever federal advisory committee to solicit formal input on the development and implementation of strategies and programs to attract and retain foreign direct investment in the United States.
Improved online tools for investors: SelectUSA has made available on its site for the first time a database of state-level incentives. The Department of Commerce has also made the website clustermapping.us, a joint project of the Harvard Business School and the Economic Development Administration, available to investors and economic developers. The Cluster Mapping website provides data and tools that make it easier for investors to identify regional concentrations of specific industries and locate potential economic partners. SelectUSA is committed to further improving online tools so that investors can more fully consider the advantages offered by the United States.
New and improved foreign direct investment data coming out this year: The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) will begin to report new data this year about the impact of foreign direct investment on the U.S. economy, and FDI contributions to employment. The data will allow investors and policymakers to distinguish and assess patterns of “greenfield” investments that establish new U.S. businesses.
Launch of SelectUSA Academy: Through 2014, SelectUSA provided consultation for U.S. economic developers, seminars in at least 25 countries for investors, and a 101 series of webinars on infrastructure investing. This culminated in the first-ever SelectUSA Academy, held March 22nd, the evening before the Summit kick-off. Building on the success of this effort, SelectUSA will expand online and on-site training programs for investors and EDOs.
U.S. to be featured at 2016 Hannover Messe: Today, U.S. and German officials announced that the United States, led by the Department of Commerce, will be the featured official “Partner Country” for the 2016 Hannover Messe. Hannover Messe is the largest industrial trade fair in the world, attracting approximately 6,500 exhibitors and 250,000 visitors every year. As Partner Country, the United States will be featured to a global audience as a supplier of high quality products and a prime location for business investment.
Policy Guidance for L-1B Visas: Policy Guidance for L-1B Visas: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will increase clarity around the adjudication of the L-1B non immigrant visa that allows international companies to temporarily deploy workers with specialized knowledge to the United States when launching or conducting operations here. This long-anticipated policy guidance, which will be released for public feedback, is of particular interest to global companies participating in the SelectUSA Investment Summit.
Surging Interest in the U.S. as Place to Locate Businesses and Create Jobs
Record attendance at the Summit—more than twice as large as the inaugural 2013 event—reflects growing global interest in the United States as a place to launch and expand operations, invest in research and development, and create jobs. In fact:
Foreign direct investments have surged the last three quarters of 2014, compared with the year-earlier period. New Commerce Department data released last week showed that global investors pumped an average of $67 billion every quarter into the U.S. economy in the last three quarters of 2014, compared with an average of $50 billion per quarter in recent years.
Surveys show investors rate the U.S. as top destination for investment. After eclipsing China, Brazil, and India in 2013 to take the top spot in A.T. Kearney’s FDI Confidence Index, the United States remains “the prime destination” for investment in the world, according to the consulting firm’s survey of C-suite executives. More than half of large manufacturers will increase U.S. hiring by 5 percent or more in 2015, according to an October survey by the Boston Consulting Group.
WHITE HOUSE FACT SHEET ON DELIVERING BROADBAND
FROM: THE WHITE HOUSE,
March 23, 2015
FACT SHEET: Next Steps in Delivering Fast, Affordable Broadband
“Twenty-first century businesses need 21st century infrastructure -- modern ports, and stronger bridges, faster trains and the fastest Internet…I intend to protect a free and open Internet, extend its reach to every classroom, and every community, and help folks build the fastest networks so that the next generation of digital innovators and entrepreneurs have the platform to keep reshaping our world.”
-President Obama, State of the Union, 2015
In January, the President traveled to Cedar Falls, Iowa to announce his plan to promote “Broadband that Works,” a public-private effort to help more Americans, in more communities around the country, get access to fast and affordable broadband. Making good on the vision he outlined in his State of the Union Address means promoting investment and rewarding competition. Today, the Administration announced progress since January and new steps in that effort, including:
Reaching the National Goal of Providing 98 Percent of Americans with Access to High-Speed, Mobile Broadband. In 2011, the President challenged the public and private sector to work together to expand wireless access and set the ambitious goal of providing 4th Generation (4G) mobile broadband to at least 98 percent of Americans. Today, based on newly released data from the U.S. Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), we are announcing that through significant private investment we have reached that goal — nearly two years ahead of schedule. The Obama Administration put in place policies that have helped drive progress toward this milestone, and will continue to promote robust investment in wireless broadband connectivity, including:
Initiating the Most Successful Mobile Spectrum Auction in American History. Setting in motion the highest-grossing auction of mobile spectrum in American history — raising more than $41 billion. Freeing up this spectrum for private investment will lead to better mobile connectivity while funding important priorities like a first-responders network and reducing the deficit. This success will keep the momentum for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)’s upcoming “incentive auction” of television broadcast spectrum slated for early 2016.
Continuing to Free Up Wireless Spectrum. Concerted government efforts to successfully free up wireless spectrum previously held by government agencies have, to date, formally recommended or otherwise identified 335 Mhz of Federal and non-Federal spectrum for potential reallocation.
Expanding Access to Broadband in Rural and Underserved Areas. Over $7 billion of Recovery Act funding went to increasing broadband connectivity, including to under-served areas, which is the foundation of high-speed wireless service. In all, these efforts have installed or upgraded over 174,000 miles of high-speed broadband infrastructure. The Administration will also continue to support the FCC’s Universal Service Fund (USF), which has invested over $25 billion since 2008, to encourage investment in high-cost and rural broadband, both fixed and mobile.
Standing up the Broadband Opportunity Council. Today the President signed a new Presidential Memorandum making good on his promise in Cedar Falls to stand up a new Council singularly focused on increasing broadband investment and adoption.
The Council, co-chaired by the Secretaries of Commerce and Agriculture, includes over twenty-five different government agencies and components, all united around clear policy objectives to:
Engage with industry and other stakeholders to understand ways the government can better support the needs of communities seeking broadband investment;
Identify regulatory barriers unduly impeding broadband deployment or competition;
Survey and report back on existing programs that currently support or could be modified to support broadband competition, deployment or adoption; and
Take all necessary actions to remove these barriers and re-align existing programs to increase broadband competition, deployment, and adoption.
The Council will report back to the President, within 150 days, with the steps each agency will take to advance these goals, including specific regulatory actions or budget proposals.
These steps will build on and expand several actions agencies have already taken during this Administration, such as developing a common application form for wireless broadband providers to lease space for their rooftop antennas, sharing of best practices for “dig once” policies by state and municipal governments nationwide, and offering new online tools for finding and leasing federal assets available for broadband networks.
Building on the FCC’s Landmark Decision to Promote Local Choice. The FCC last month independently decided to take action against two of the nineteen state laws that restrict communities from deciding what broadband solutions fit their needs. This step forward helped unserved and under-served communities, many of whom have no way to stay economically competitive absent a municipal provider of broadband.
As a result, communities in two states — Tennessee and North Carolina — will no longer be held back from setting up municipal networks like successful examples in Chattanooga and Wilson, where those networks affordably deliver broadband speeds around 100 times the national average.
Continued Support to Communities & Competitors Expanding Broadband Offerings. The Administration continues to build on the momentum we began earlier this year with the standup of Commerce’s BroadbandUSA program. Later this year, the Department of Agriculture will reopen a revamped broadband loan program, which offers financing to eligible rural carriers that invest in bringing high-speed broadband to unserved and under-served rural areas.
Today the Department of Agriculture is announcing a total of $35 million in broadband infrastructure loans in Arkansas, New Mexico, and Iowa to deliver enhanced services to help attract and grow businesses, as well as to improve educational and health care services. Time and again, studies show that affordable broadband offers increased economic opportunities in rural areas, which is why Rural Development is committed to delivering high-speed Internet service to these communities.
Through the BroadbandUSA program, the Department of Commerce has followed through on its promise to support more communities seeking to learn from the experts on how to increase broadband investment and competition — including through municipal broadband. Since January, Commerce has provided ongoing one-on-one advice to communities across the U.S. including in Ohio, Kansas, Florida, California, and West Virginia; organized a regional summit in Jackson, Mississippi; and held a national webinar to introduce BroadbandUSA and present the new Guide to Public-Private Partnerships for Broadband Investment.
Announcing the Community Broadband Summit.
March 23, 2015
FACT SHEET: Next Steps in Delivering Fast, Affordable Broadband
“Twenty-first century businesses need 21st century infrastructure -- modern ports, and stronger bridges, faster trains and the fastest Internet…I intend to protect a free and open Internet, extend its reach to every classroom, and every community, and help folks build the fastest networks so that the next generation of digital innovators and entrepreneurs have the platform to keep reshaping our world.”
-President Obama, State of the Union, 2015
In January, the President traveled to Cedar Falls, Iowa to announce his plan to promote “Broadband that Works,” a public-private effort to help more Americans, in more communities around the country, get access to fast and affordable broadband. Making good on the vision he outlined in his State of the Union Address means promoting investment and rewarding competition. Today, the Administration announced progress since January and new steps in that effort, including:
Reaching the National Goal of Providing 98 Percent of Americans with Access to High-Speed, Mobile Broadband. In 2011, the President challenged the public and private sector to work together to expand wireless access and set the ambitious goal of providing 4th Generation (4G) mobile broadband to at least 98 percent of Americans. Today, based on newly released data from the U.S. Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), we are announcing that through significant private investment we have reached that goal — nearly two years ahead of schedule. The Obama Administration put in place policies that have helped drive progress toward this milestone, and will continue to promote robust investment in wireless broadband connectivity, including:
Initiating the Most Successful Mobile Spectrum Auction in American History. Setting in motion the highest-grossing auction of mobile spectrum in American history — raising more than $41 billion. Freeing up this spectrum for private investment will lead to better mobile connectivity while funding important priorities like a first-responders network and reducing the deficit. This success will keep the momentum for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)’s upcoming “incentive auction” of television broadcast spectrum slated for early 2016.
Continuing to Free Up Wireless Spectrum. Concerted government efforts to successfully free up wireless spectrum previously held by government agencies have, to date, formally recommended or otherwise identified 335 Mhz of Federal and non-Federal spectrum for potential reallocation.
Expanding Access to Broadband in Rural and Underserved Areas. Over $7 billion of Recovery Act funding went to increasing broadband connectivity, including to under-served areas, which is the foundation of high-speed wireless service. In all, these efforts have installed or upgraded over 174,000 miles of high-speed broadband infrastructure. The Administration will also continue to support the FCC’s Universal Service Fund (USF), which has invested over $25 billion since 2008, to encourage investment in high-cost and rural broadband, both fixed and mobile.
Standing up the Broadband Opportunity Council. Today the President signed a new Presidential Memorandum making good on his promise in Cedar Falls to stand up a new Council singularly focused on increasing broadband investment and adoption.
The Council, co-chaired by the Secretaries of Commerce and Agriculture, includes over twenty-five different government agencies and components, all united around clear policy objectives to:
Engage with industry and other stakeholders to understand ways the government can better support the needs of communities seeking broadband investment;
Identify regulatory barriers unduly impeding broadband deployment or competition;
Survey and report back on existing programs that currently support or could be modified to support broadband competition, deployment or adoption; and
Take all necessary actions to remove these barriers and re-align existing programs to increase broadband competition, deployment, and adoption.
The Council will report back to the President, within 150 days, with the steps each agency will take to advance these goals, including specific regulatory actions or budget proposals.
These steps will build on and expand several actions agencies have already taken during this Administration, such as developing a common application form for wireless broadband providers to lease space for their rooftop antennas, sharing of best practices for “dig once” policies by state and municipal governments nationwide, and offering new online tools for finding and leasing federal assets available for broadband networks.
Building on the FCC’s Landmark Decision to Promote Local Choice. The FCC last month independently decided to take action against two of the nineteen state laws that restrict communities from deciding what broadband solutions fit their needs. This step forward helped unserved and under-served communities, many of whom have no way to stay economically competitive absent a municipal provider of broadband.
As a result, communities in two states — Tennessee and North Carolina — will no longer be held back from setting up municipal networks like successful examples in Chattanooga and Wilson, where those networks affordably deliver broadband speeds around 100 times the national average.
Continued Support to Communities & Competitors Expanding Broadband Offerings. The Administration continues to build on the momentum we began earlier this year with the standup of Commerce’s BroadbandUSA program. Later this year, the Department of Agriculture will reopen a revamped broadband loan program, which offers financing to eligible rural carriers that invest in bringing high-speed broadband to unserved and under-served rural areas.
Today the Department of Agriculture is announcing a total of $35 million in broadband infrastructure loans in Arkansas, New Mexico, and Iowa to deliver enhanced services to help attract and grow businesses, as well as to improve educational and health care services. Time and again, studies show that affordable broadband offers increased economic opportunities in rural areas, which is why Rural Development is committed to delivering high-speed Internet service to these communities.
Through the BroadbandUSA program, the Department of Commerce has followed through on its promise to support more communities seeking to learn from the experts on how to increase broadband investment and competition — including through municipal broadband. Since January, Commerce has provided ongoing one-on-one advice to communities across the U.S. including in Ohio, Kansas, Florida, California, and West Virginia; organized a regional summit in Jackson, Mississippi; and held a national webinar to introduce BroadbandUSA and present the new Guide to Public-Private Partnerships for Broadband Investment.
Announcing the Community Broadband Summit.
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
U.S.-AFGHANISTAN ISSUE JOINT STATEMENT
FROM: THE WHITE HOUSE
March 24, 2015
U.S.-Afghanistan Joint Statement
President Barack Obama welcomed Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, and the accompanying Afghan delegation to Washington from March 22-26, 2015.
The visit offered an opportunity to renew U.S.-Afghan relations, review the joint achievements of the last 13 years in Afghanistan, and to discuss the actions each country needs to take to ensure that the social, economic, security and human rights gains made over that period are sustained and advanced.
President Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah expressed deep appreciation for the contributions, sacrifices and sustained commitment of the United States that made these achievements possible and underscored that this support is paying dividends for Afghans, Americans, and the international community alike. The Afghan economy has grown more than fourfold over the last 13 years and young Afghans are attending school at unprecedented levels, with girls and women comprising a growing percentage of these students.
The leaders further noted the success of joint counter-terrorism efforts to date and emphasized that sustained U.S. and other international assistance will be important to enable the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) to address the significant security challenges facing Afghanistan and the wider region. President Obama and President Ghani reiterated their commitments under the U.S.-Afghanistan Enduring Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA) and the U.S.–Afghanistan Security and Defense Cooperation Agreement (also known as the Bilateral Security Agreement, or BSA) to advance common objectives in these and other areas. The Presidents welcomed the decision of Secretary of State Kerry and Foreign Minister Rabbani made on March 23 at Camp David to meet again in Kabul this year to restart the U.S.-Afghanistan Bilateral Commission meetings and to review progress in the implementation of the SPA.
Promoting Our Shared Democratic Values
President Obama commended President Ghani, Chief Executive Abdullah and the Afghan people on the landmark 2014 presidential election resulting in the first democratic and peaceful transfer of power in Afghanistan’s history. President Ghani noted that the broad based and inclusive National Unity Government that emerged from that election enjoys the full support of the Afghan people. President Obama welcomed the recent announcement of a slate of cabinet nominees. President Ghani reaffirmed the new Afghan government’s commitment to maintaining and expanding the role of an independent, vibrant civil society and to protecting the human rights of all Afghans. President Obama encouraged a strong partnership between President Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah and welcomed the National Unity Government’s goals of promoting security, economic growth, democracy and human rights, in particular the rights of women and minorities. President Obama further welcomed the announcement of the establishment of the Afghan Special Commission for Electoral Reform envisioned in the September 2014 political framework as a means to further the national unity government’s goals in this area and offered financial support for Afghan electoral operations and reform efforts.
Advancing Long-Term Security and Strengthening the Peace Process
President Ghani and President Obama reaffirmed their shared commitment, reflected in the SPA and BSA, to closely cooperate in preventing terrorists from ever again using Afghan soil to threaten Afghanistan, the region, or the world. President Obama hailed the successful completion of the security transition, the end of the NATO-led combat mission, and Afghan forces taking the lead on, and full responsibility for, security throughout Afghanistan. The leaders also acknowledged the important continuing role of NATO’s new Resolute Support Mission in supporting the further development of the ANDSF’s capabilities.
Both Presidents saluted the courage and growing capability of Afghan security forces, including their success in securing the elections last year. The leaders joined in paying their respects to the families of Afghan soldiers and civilians who have been killed or injured in the 13-year war. President Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah also offered condolences to the families of American soldiers and civilians who were killed and injured while serving in Afghanistan, and on behalf of the Afghan people, expressed gratitude to the American people for their sacrifices and continued support.
Both sides agreed on an early formation of the Joint Commission to oversee the implementation of the BSA and President Obama affirmed ongoing U.S. support for Afghan security forces. Based on President Ghani’s request for flexibility in the U.S. draw down timeline, the U.S. will maintain its current posture of 9,800 troops through the end of 2015. The specific trajectory of the 2016 U.S. troop drawdown will be established later in 2015 to enable the U.S. troop consolidation to a Kabul-based embassy presence by the end of 2016. This flexibility reflects the re-invigorated partnership with Afghanistan, which is aimed at making Afghanistan secure and preventing it from being used to launch terrorist attacks. Reconciliation and a political settlement remain the surest way to achieve the full retrograde of U.S. and foreign troops from Afghanistan in a way that safeguards international interests and peace in Afghanistan, as well as U.S. national security interests. Consistent with the principles of the SPA and BSA and as part of the broader bilateral security relationship, the two Presidents agreed to continue a dialogue on U.S. and Afghan counterterrorism (CT) objectives, to include the development of a joint CT partnership strategy through and beyond 2016.
While reaffirming their determination to cooperate against those who advocate violence and extremism, President Obama and President Ghani also stressed the need for an Afghan-led peace process, enjoying regional support, in particular from Pakistan, noting that as a part of the outcome of any such process, the Taliban and other armed opposition groups must end violence, break ties with international terrorist groups, and accept Afghanistan’s constitution, including its protections for the rights of women and minorities. President Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah emphasized their mutual and strong determination to advance a reconciliation process based on these principles. President Obama reaffirmed strong U.S. support for an Afghan-led, Afghan-owned peace process and committed to make available additional financial support for the Afghan Peace and Reintegration Program (APRP) to facilitate the peaceful reintegration of former combatants into their local communities.
President Obama welcomed recent developments in Afghan-Pakistani relations. Both leaders emphasized the importance of continued efforts to advance Afghan-Pakistani dialogue aimed at building trust and producing tangible progress in the peace process, and improving the security situation in Afghanistan, Pakistan and the region at large.
Reinforcing Regional Security and Cooperation
The leaders called on all countries in the region to support Afghanistan’s security, stability and prosperity. Both presidents endorsed efforts to deepen the Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process and expressed appreciation to China for hosting the October 2014 Heart of Asia summit and to Pakistan for hosting the next meeting later this year. President Obama welcomed steps by the National Unity Government to integrate Afghanistan more fully into the regional economy through various regional organizations, processes and programs and committed continued U.S. support for those efforts. President Ghani presented a development strategy built around regional connectivity, good governance, and investments for productivity. Central to this strategy is cooperation between Afghanistan and the region through trade, transit and investments. The two Presidents agreed to work to bring together like-minded countries to discuss Afghanistan and regional integration efforts at a high-level meeting on the margins of the 2015 United Nations General Assembly meeting.
Fostering Social and Economic Development
The leaders acknowledged the significant challenges Afghanistan is facing as it strives to overcome its current budgetary gap, and become increasingly economically and fiscally self-reliant. Emphasizing that economic reform is a central pillar of the National Unity Government’s agenda, President Ghani briefed President Obama on specific steps the Afghan government is taking to combat corruption, increase transparency, reduce poverty and create jobs. President Ghani noted that in addition to many recent achievements, Afghanistan continues to face formidable challenges, including the need to root out corruption and strengthen good governance, build the foundation for sustainable and inclusive economic growth, increase regional connectivity, and address illicit drug production in Afghanistan. In support of these efforts, President Obama and President Ghani announced a New Development Partnership that would focus up to $800 million in U.S. economic assistance on urgent Afghan priorities tied to Afghan achievements of specific development results and implementation of key policy reforms. President Obama also welcomed the recent successful negotiation of an IMF Staff Monitored Program for Afghanistan. President Ghani committed to take action on all necessary steps needed to implement this program.
Both Presidents further welcomed the decision to resume regular meetings of the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement Council and the agreement to expand capacity-building cooperation between the U.S. Treasury Department and relevant Afghan government agencies as set forth in the agreement signed by Treasury Secretary Lew and Finance Minister Hakimi on March 23 at Camp David.
President Obama and President Ghani agreed that Afghan prosperity depended on the development of the country’s human capital. To this end President Ghani reiterated the Afghan government’s determination to educate all Afghan boys and girls. President Obama expressed U.S. intent to provide sustained support for education in Afghanistan. Noting the significant impact that educational and cultural exchanges have had on Afghan and American society, and the U.S. commitment in the SPA to promote such programs, President Obama announced the U.S. intention to increase the number of Fulbright fellowships available to qualified Afghan students by 50 percent for the next five years, making this one of the largest Fulbright programs in the world. In addition, President Obama announced the establishment of an $18 million USAID scholarship program to support women attending universities throughout Afghanistan. The two presidents also welcomed the decision of the Smithsonian Institution to host a major exhibition of contemporary Afghan handicrafts in 2016.
Strengthening Afghan Institutions and Governance
President Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah outlined the National Unity Government’s efforts to improve government performance, effectiveness, efficiency, and combat corruption. They also underscored the National Unity Government’s commitment to upholding the rule of law and reforming the judiciary. They stressed that restoring Afghan people’s confidence in justice institutions is a top priority for the Afghan government. President Obama and President Ghani agreed on the importance of cooperating to provide justice sector personnel with the skills and qualifications needed to counter narcotics, ensure safe and humane corrections, expand legal education, protect the rights of women and girls, and provide other essential justice services.
Conclusion
This visit constituted the first meeting among President Obama, President Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah since the inauguration of the National Unity Government last September and marked a pivotal moment in the U.S.–Afghan partnership. Looking back, it was an opportunity to review the remarkable strategic, political and economic achievements of this partnership and the successful completion of the security transition in Afghanistan. Looking forward, both presidents endorsed a vision of a sustained relationship rooted in shared values, interests and sacrifices, bound by mutual commitments enshrined in the U.S.–Afghanistan Enduring Strategic Partnership Agreement.
March 24, 2015
U.S.-Afghanistan Joint Statement
President Barack Obama welcomed Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, and the accompanying Afghan delegation to Washington from March 22-26, 2015.
The visit offered an opportunity to renew U.S.-Afghan relations, review the joint achievements of the last 13 years in Afghanistan, and to discuss the actions each country needs to take to ensure that the social, economic, security and human rights gains made over that period are sustained and advanced.
President Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah expressed deep appreciation for the contributions, sacrifices and sustained commitment of the United States that made these achievements possible and underscored that this support is paying dividends for Afghans, Americans, and the international community alike. The Afghan economy has grown more than fourfold over the last 13 years and young Afghans are attending school at unprecedented levels, with girls and women comprising a growing percentage of these students.
The leaders further noted the success of joint counter-terrorism efforts to date and emphasized that sustained U.S. and other international assistance will be important to enable the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) to address the significant security challenges facing Afghanistan and the wider region. President Obama and President Ghani reiterated their commitments under the U.S.-Afghanistan Enduring Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA) and the U.S.–Afghanistan Security and Defense Cooperation Agreement (also known as the Bilateral Security Agreement, or BSA) to advance common objectives in these and other areas. The Presidents welcomed the decision of Secretary of State Kerry and Foreign Minister Rabbani made on March 23 at Camp David to meet again in Kabul this year to restart the U.S.-Afghanistan Bilateral Commission meetings and to review progress in the implementation of the SPA.
Promoting Our Shared Democratic Values
President Obama commended President Ghani, Chief Executive Abdullah and the Afghan people on the landmark 2014 presidential election resulting in the first democratic and peaceful transfer of power in Afghanistan’s history. President Ghani noted that the broad based and inclusive National Unity Government that emerged from that election enjoys the full support of the Afghan people. President Obama welcomed the recent announcement of a slate of cabinet nominees. President Ghani reaffirmed the new Afghan government’s commitment to maintaining and expanding the role of an independent, vibrant civil society and to protecting the human rights of all Afghans. President Obama encouraged a strong partnership between President Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah and welcomed the National Unity Government’s goals of promoting security, economic growth, democracy and human rights, in particular the rights of women and minorities. President Obama further welcomed the announcement of the establishment of the Afghan Special Commission for Electoral Reform envisioned in the September 2014 political framework as a means to further the national unity government’s goals in this area and offered financial support for Afghan electoral operations and reform efforts.
Advancing Long-Term Security and Strengthening the Peace Process
President Ghani and President Obama reaffirmed their shared commitment, reflected in the SPA and BSA, to closely cooperate in preventing terrorists from ever again using Afghan soil to threaten Afghanistan, the region, or the world. President Obama hailed the successful completion of the security transition, the end of the NATO-led combat mission, and Afghan forces taking the lead on, and full responsibility for, security throughout Afghanistan. The leaders also acknowledged the important continuing role of NATO’s new Resolute Support Mission in supporting the further development of the ANDSF’s capabilities.
Both Presidents saluted the courage and growing capability of Afghan security forces, including their success in securing the elections last year. The leaders joined in paying their respects to the families of Afghan soldiers and civilians who have been killed or injured in the 13-year war. President Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah also offered condolences to the families of American soldiers and civilians who were killed and injured while serving in Afghanistan, and on behalf of the Afghan people, expressed gratitude to the American people for their sacrifices and continued support.
Both sides agreed on an early formation of the Joint Commission to oversee the implementation of the BSA and President Obama affirmed ongoing U.S. support for Afghan security forces. Based on President Ghani’s request for flexibility in the U.S. draw down timeline, the U.S. will maintain its current posture of 9,800 troops through the end of 2015. The specific trajectory of the 2016 U.S. troop drawdown will be established later in 2015 to enable the U.S. troop consolidation to a Kabul-based embassy presence by the end of 2016. This flexibility reflects the re-invigorated partnership with Afghanistan, which is aimed at making Afghanistan secure and preventing it from being used to launch terrorist attacks. Reconciliation and a political settlement remain the surest way to achieve the full retrograde of U.S. and foreign troops from Afghanistan in a way that safeguards international interests and peace in Afghanistan, as well as U.S. national security interests. Consistent with the principles of the SPA and BSA and as part of the broader bilateral security relationship, the two Presidents agreed to continue a dialogue on U.S. and Afghan counterterrorism (CT) objectives, to include the development of a joint CT partnership strategy through and beyond 2016.
While reaffirming their determination to cooperate against those who advocate violence and extremism, President Obama and President Ghani also stressed the need for an Afghan-led peace process, enjoying regional support, in particular from Pakistan, noting that as a part of the outcome of any such process, the Taliban and other armed opposition groups must end violence, break ties with international terrorist groups, and accept Afghanistan’s constitution, including its protections for the rights of women and minorities. President Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah emphasized their mutual and strong determination to advance a reconciliation process based on these principles. President Obama reaffirmed strong U.S. support for an Afghan-led, Afghan-owned peace process and committed to make available additional financial support for the Afghan Peace and Reintegration Program (APRP) to facilitate the peaceful reintegration of former combatants into their local communities.
President Obama welcomed recent developments in Afghan-Pakistani relations. Both leaders emphasized the importance of continued efforts to advance Afghan-Pakistani dialogue aimed at building trust and producing tangible progress in the peace process, and improving the security situation in Afghanistan, Pakistan and the region at large.
Reinforcing Regional Security and Cooperation
The leaders called on all countries in the region to support Afghanistan’s security, stability and prosperity. Both presidents endorsed efforts to deepen the Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process and expressed appreciation to China for hosting the October 2014 Heart of Asia summit and to Pakistan for hosting the next meeting later this year. President Obama welcomed steps by the National Unity Government to integrate Afghanistan more fully into the regional economy through various regional organizations, processes and programs and committed continued U.S. support for those efforts. President Ghani presented a development strategy built around regional connectivity, good governance, and investments for productivity. Central to this strategy is cooperation between Afghanistan and the region through trade, transit and investments. The two Presidents agreed to work to bring together like-minded countries to discuss Afghanistan and regional integration efforts at a high-level meeting on the margins of the 2015 United Nations General Assembly meeting.
Fostering Social and Economic Development
The leaders acknowledged the significant challenges Afghanistan is facing as it strives to overcome its current budgetary gap, and become increasingly economically and fiscally self-reliant. Emphasizing that economic reform is a central pillar of the National Unity Government’s agenda, President Ghani briefed President Obama on specific steps the Afghan government is taking to combat corruption, increase transparency, reduce poverty and create jobs. President Ghani noted that in addition to many recent achievements, Afghanistan continues to face formidable challenges, including the need to root out corruption and strengthen good governance, build the foundation for sustainable and inclusive economic growth, increase regional connectivity, and address illicit drug production in Afghanistan. In support of these efforts, President Obama and President Ghani announced a New Development Partnership that would focus up to $800 million in U.S. economic assistance on urgent Afghan priorities tied to Afghan achievements of specific development results and implementation of key policy reforms. President Obama also welcomed the recent successful negotiation of an IMF Staff Monitored Program for Afghanistan. President Ghani committed to take action on all necessary steps needed to implement this program.
Both Presidents further welcomed the decision to resume regular meetings of the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement Council and the agreement to expand capacity-building cooperation between the U.S. Treasury Department and relevant Afghan government agencies as set forth in the agreement signed by Treasury Secretary Lew and Finance Minister Hakimi on March 23 at Camp David.
President Obama and President Ghani agreed that Afghan prosperity depended on the development of the country’s human capital. To this end President Ghani reiterated the Afghan government’s determination to educate all Afghan boys and girls. President Obama expressed U.S. intent to provide sustained support for education in Afghanistan. Noting the significant impact that educational and cultural exchanges have had on Afghan and American society, and the U.S. commitment in the SPA to promote such programs, President Obama announced the U.S. intention to increase the number of Fulbright fellowships available to qualified Afghan students by 50 percent for the next five years, making this one of the largest Fulbright programs in the world. In addition, President Obama announced the establishment of an $18 million USAID scholarship program to support women attending universities throughout Afghanistan. The two presidents also welcomed the decision of the Smithsonian Institution to host a major exhibition of contemporary Afghan handicrafts in 2016.
Strengthening Afghan Institutions and Governance
President Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah outlined the National Unity Government’s efforts to improve government performance, effectiveness, efficiency, and combat corruption. They also underscored the National Unity Government’s commitment to upholding the rule of law and reforming the judiciary. They stressed that restoring Afghan people’s confidence in justice institutions is a top priority for the Afghan government. President Obama and President Ghani agreed on the importance of cooperating to provide justice sector personnel with the skills and qualifications needed to counter narcotics, ensure safe and humane corrections, expand legal education, protect the rights of women and girls, and provide other essential justice services.
Conclusion
This visit constituted the first meeting among President Obama, President Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah since the inauguration of the National Unity Government last September and marked a pivotal moment in the U.S.–Afghan partnership. Looking back, it was an opportunity to review the remarkable strategic, political and economic achievements of this partnership and the successful completion of the security transition in Afghanistan. Looking forward, both presidents endorsed a vision of a sustained relationship rooted in shared values, interests and sacrifices, bound by mutual commitments enshrined in the U.S.–Afghanistan Enduring Strategic Partnership Agreement.
Monday, March 23, 2015
PRESIDENT ANNOUNCES "CALL TO ARTS" INITIATIVE
FROM: THE WHITE HOUSE
March 20, 2015
President Obama Announces New “Call to Arts” Initiative as Part of his National Call To Service
AFI and SAG-AFTRA Answer the President’s Call to Service and Pledge to Work Toward One Million Hours of Mentorship in Support of the Next Generation of Storytellers
Washington, DC - Today President Obama will host the second-annual White House Student Film Festival where he will announce a new Call to Arts Initiative through the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), the federal agency tasked with leading United We Serve, to help inspire and mentor young artists around the country. The President will also announce that the American Film Institute (AFI) and Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) have answered his call and will work toward a goal of one million mentor hours over the next three years together with the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS).
The film festival showcases 15 students’ visions on the theme, “The Impact of Giving Back” and highlights the promise of mentorship in the arts and calls for the entertainment industry to build upon their mentoring programs and engagement nationwide. The fifteen student videos from around the country were chosen as “Official Selections” in collaboration with the American Film Institute who engage with Participant Media and their Teach Initiative to expand the festival this year.
In keeping with President Obama’s vision of giving every child the chance to reach their full potential, the Administration continues to expand opportunities for mentoring and to support the individuals who enable future leaders. The Administration is working with businesses to increase apprenticeship programs and connect groups traditionally underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and math fields with role models in STEM careers. First Lady Michelle Obama's Reach Higher initiative is encouraging campus groups and college students to connect with high schoolers and other near-peers who do not always see themselves completing higher education. The Council on Women and Girls and initiatives like My Brother’s Keeper were launched by the President to recognize our responsibility to reach every young person regardless of who they are or where they come from.
About the “Call to Arts”:
The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), the federal agency that leads the President’s United We Serve initiative, is joining forces with the American Film Institute (AFI) and AFTRA to help lead a three-year effort entitled Call to Arts aimed at inspiring young artists. AFI and SAG-AFTRA will enlist mentors to help young people grow as artists by sharing their passion and furthering their goals.
These groups share a goal of together dedicating more than a million mentorship hours during the next three years.
How this Partnership Works:
CNCS, working with organizations like MENTOR: The National Mentoring Project, will identify partner organizations that can link SAG-AFTRA members to local organizations where they will share their skills and experience to inspire young people to pursue careers in the arts. Serve.gov/CalltoArts, the website for the President’s Call to Service, will include resources and guidance for SAG-AFTRA members. This feature will be in addition to the existing mentoring resources open to all Americans. www.serve.gov/calltoarts
Mentoring:
President Obama believes that we all have unique talents that can open more doors of opportunity for our young people through mentoring. He is now calling on the artist community to join in and help nurture the creativity in the next generation. Research shows that mentoring works. Studies by MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership show:
Students who meet regularly with their mentors are 52% less likely than their peers to skip a day of school and 37% less likely to skip a class.
Youth who meet regularly with their mentors are 46% less likely than their peers to start using illegal drugs and 27% less likely to start drinking.
Seventy-six percent of at-risk young adults who had a mentor aspire to enroll in and graduate from college versus half of at-risk young adults who had no mentor. They are also more likely to be enrolled in college.
Mentoring reduces “depressive symptoms” and increases “social acceptance, academic attitudes, and grades.”
About United We Serve:
United We Serve, President Obama’s nationwide service initiative, is built on the belief that ordinary people can come together and achieve extraordinary things when given the proper tools. This initiative aims to both expand the impact of existing organizations by engaging new volunteers in their work and encourage volunteers to develop their own "do-it-yourself" projects.
If we want to realize change in our communities, we've got to be in it for the long haul, and it starts with each of us.
Serve.gov, the online home of United We Serve, is managed by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), the federal agency charged with promoting and fostering volunteering and national service programs like AmeriCorps for the nation.
March 20, 2015
President Obama Announces New “Call to Arts” Initiative as Part of his National Call To Service
AFI and SAG-AFTRA Answer the President’s Call to Service and Pledge to Work Toward One Million Hours of Mentorship in Support of the Next Generation of Storytellers
Washington, DC - Today President Obama will host the second-annual White House Student Film Festival where he will announce a new Call to Arts Initiative through the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), the federal agency tasked with leading United We Serve, to help inspire and mentor young artists around the country. The President will also announce that the American Film Institute (AFI) and Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) have answered his call and will work toward a goal of one million mentor hours over the next three years together with the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS).
The film festival showcases 15 students’ visions on the theme, “The Impact of Giving Back” and highlights the promise of mentorship in the arts and calls for the entertainment industry to build upon their mentoring programs and engagement nationwide. The fifteen student videos from around the country were chosen as “Official Selections” in collaboration with the American Film Institute who engage with Participant Media and their Teach Initiative to expand the festival this year.
In keeping with President Obama’s vision of giving every child the chance to reach their full potential, the Administration continues to expand opportunities for mentoring and to support the individuals who enable future leaders. The Administration is working with businesses to increase apprenticeship programs and connect groups traditionally underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and math fields with role models in STEM careers. First Lady Michelle Obama's Reach Higher initiative is encouraging campus groups and college students to connect with high schoolers and other near-peers who do not always see themselves completing higher education. The Council on Women and Girls and initiatives like My Brother’s Keeper were launched by the President to recognize our responsibility to reach every young person regardless of who they are or where they come from.
About the “Call to Arts”:
The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), the federal agency that leads the President’s United We Serve initiative, is joining forces with the American Film Institute (AFI) and AFTRA to help lead a three-year effort entitled Call to Arts aimed at inspiring young artists. AFI and SAG-AFTRA will enlist mentors to help young people grow as artists by sharing their passion and furthering their goals.
These groups share a goal of together dedicating more than a million mentorship hours during the next three years.
How this Partnership Works:
CNCS, working with organizations like MENTOR: The National Mentoring Project, will identify partner organizations that can link SAG-AFTRA members to local organizations where they will share their skills and experience to inspire young people to pursue careers in the arts. Serve.gov/CalltoArts, the website for the President’s Call to Service, will include resources and guidance for SAG-AFTRA members. This feature will be in addition to the existing mentoring resources open to all Americans. www.serve.gov/calltoarts
Mentoring:
President Obama believes that we all have unique talents that can open more doors of opportunity for our young people through mentoring. He is now calling on the artist community to join in and help nurture the creativity in the next generation. Research shows that mentoring works. Studies by MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership show:
Students who meet regularly with their mentors are 52% less likely than their peers to skip a day of school and 37% less likely to skip a class.
Youth who meet regularly with their mentors are 46% less likely than their peers to start using illegal drugs and 27% less likely to start drinking.
Seventy-six percent of at-risk young adults who had a mentor aspire to enroll in and graduate from college versus half of at-risk young adults who had no mentor. They are also more likely to be enrolled in college.
Mentoring reduces “depressive symptoms” and increases “social acceptance, academic attitudes, and grades.”
About United We Serve:
United We Serve, President Obama’s nationwide service initiative, is built on the belief that ordinary people can come together and achieve extraordinary things when given the proper tools. This initiative aims to both expand the impact of existing organizations by engaging new volunteers in their work and encourage volunteers to develop their own "do-it-yourself" projects.
If we want to realize change in our communities, we've got to be in it for the long haul, and it starts with each of us.
Serve.gov, the online home of United We Serve, is managed by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), the federal agency charged with promoting and fostering volunteering and national service programs like AmeriCorps for the nation.
Saturday, March 21, 2015
PRESIDENT OBAMA'S STATEMENT ON U.S. CITIZENS DETAINED, MISSING IN IRAN
FROM: THE WHITE HOUSE
March 20, 2015
Statement by the President on U.S. Citizens Detained or Missing in Iran
The spirit of family is deeply woven into all of the rich cultural traditions of the Nowruz holiday. It is a time for reuniting and rejoicing with loved ones and sharing hopes for the new year. Today, as families across the world gather to mark this holiday, we remember those American families who are enduring painful separations from their loved ones who are imprisoned or went missing in Iran.
Saeed Abedini of Boise, Idaho has spent two and a half years detained in Iran on charges related to his religious beliefs. He must be returned to his wife and two young children, who needlessly continue to grow up without their father.
Amir Hekmati of Flint, Michigan has been imprisoned in Iran on false espionage charges for over three and a half years. His family, including his father who is gravely ill, has borne the pain of Amir's absence for far too long.
Jason Rezaian of Marin County, California, an Iranian government credentialed reporter for the Washington Post, has been unjustly held in Iran for nearly eight months on vague charges. It is especially painful that on a holiday centered on ridding one’s self of the difficulties of the past year, Jason’s mother and family will continue to carry the heavy burden of concern regarding Jason’s health and well-being into the new year.
And finally, we recently marked yet another anniversary since Robert Levinson went missing on Kish Island. His family has now endured the hardship of his disappearance for over eight years.
At this time of renewal, compassion, and understanding, I reiterate my commitment to bringing our citizens home and call on the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to immediately release Saeed Abedini, Amir Hekmati and Jason Rezaian and to work cooperatively with us to find Robert Levinson so that they all can be safely reunited with their families as soon as possible.
In honor of the familial spirit so strongly enshrined within this holiday and for the Abedini, Hekmati, Rezaian, and Levinson families, I hope this new spring is filled with joyous moments for us all with all of our loved ones by our sides.
March 20, 2015
Statement by the President on U.S. Citizens Detained or Missing in Iran
The spirit of family is deeply woven into all of the rich cultural traditions of the Nowruz holiday. It is a time for reuniting and rejoicing with loved ones and sharing hopes for the new year. Today, as families across the world gather to mark this holiday, we remember those American families who are enduring painful separations from their loved ones who are imprisoned or went missing in Iran.
Saeed Abedini of Boise, Idaho has spent two and a half years detained in Iran on charges related to his religious beliefs. He must be returned to his wife and two young children, who needlessly continue to grow up without their father.
Amir Hekmati of Flint, Michigan has been imprisoned in Iran on false espionage charges for over three and a half years. His family, including his father who is gravely ill, has borne the pain of Amir's absence for far too long.
Jason Rezaian of Marin County, California, an Iranian government credentialed reporter for the Washington Post, has been unjustly held in Iran for nearly eight months on vague charges. It is especially painful that on a holiday centered on ridding one’s self of the difficulties of the past year, Jason’s mother and family will continue to carry the heavy burden of concern regarding Jason’s health and well-being into the new year.
And finally, we recently marked yet another anniversary since Robert Levinson went missing on Kish Island. His family has now endured the hardship of his disappearance for over eight years.
At this time of renewal, compassion, and understanding, I reiterate my commitment to bringing our citizens home and call on the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to immediately release Saeed Abedini, Amir Hekmati and Jason Rezaian and to work cooperatively with us to find Robert Levinson so that they all can be safely reunited with their families as soon as possible.
In honor of the familial spirit so strongly enshrined within this holiday and for the Abedini, Hekmati, Rezaian, and Levinson families, I hope this new spring is filled with joyous moments for us all with all of our loved ones by our sides.
Friday, March 20, 2015
ON ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE, PRESIDENT OBAMA MAKES REMARKS
FROM: THE WHITE HOUSE
March 19, 2015
Remarks by the President on Energy and Climate Change
Department of Energy
Washington, D.C.
11:28 A.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Well, It is wonderful to be here at the Department of Energy with some of our outstanding private sector partners. Secretary Ernie Moniz is in Geneva doing some important work on behalf of our national security, but I want to thank him and his team at the Department of Energy, as well as our folks over at EPA. And Administrator Gina McCarthy is here, as well as Christy Goldfuss at the Council on Environmental Quality.
This has been a team effort to make sure that we are doing everything we can to boost the energy efficiency of the American economy. And since we’ve said it’s important, we thought it was important for us to lead by example here at the federal government. As you know, I just took a tour of the solar-powered roof upstairs. And those panels are not just for show -- they produce power that the government doesn’t then have to buy off the grid. And more and more businesses and more and more homeowners are following suit not because it’s simply good for the environment, but because it’s good for their bottom lines.
Thanks in part to the investments that we’ve made over the past six years, the United States is rapidly becoming a leader in solar energy. Last year was the biggest year for solar power in our history. And, in fact, the solar industry is adding jobs 10 times faster than the economy as a whole.
So we’re proving that it is possible to grow our economy robustly while at the same time doing the right thing for our environment and tackling climate change in a serious way.
Over the past six years, we’ve done more than ever to to combat climate change. Last year, the federal government used less energy than at any time in the past four decades. And in a historic joint announcement that many of you saw, China committed to limiting their emissions for the first time.
So today, America once again is going to be leading by example. This morning, I signed an executive order that will do two things. First, we’re going to cut the federal government’s greenhouse gas emissions 40 percent from the 2008 levels within the next 10 years. Second, we’re going to increase the share of electricity that the federal government uses from renewable sources to 30 percent within the next 10 years. These are ambitious goals, but we know that they’re achievable goals.
And I want to thank the executives of some of our leading companies in the country who are here, because they’re stepping up and making similar commitments. Folks from IBM to GE, Northrop Grumman -- some of our biggest Fortune 100 companies are setting their own ambitious goals. And, cumulatively, what this is doing is allowing us across the economy to not only hit some key targets that are going to be required in order for us to reduce climate change, but they’re also saving money, helping their bottom line, and they’re giving a boost to the industry as a whole -- because as we get economies of scale, and demand for solar and wind and other renewable energies grows, obviously that can help drive down the overall price, make it that much for efficient, and we start getting a virtuous cycle that is good for the economy and creates jobs here in America.
So we very much want to thank our private sector partners. You guys have done an outstanding job. And because of the prominence of many of the companies here, and the fact that they’ve got a whole bunch of suppliers up and down the chain, what you do with respect to energy efficiency is going to have a ripple effect throughout the economy. And we’re very pleased with that.
So thank you very much. Thank you, guys.
Q -- Iran?
THE PRESIDENT: I’m sorry, we’re talking about energy, and it’s a great story, so hopefully you’ll focus on it. Thank you, guys.
END
11:33 A.M. EDT
March 19, 2015
Remarks by the President on Energy and Climate Change
Department of Energy
Washington, D.C.
11:28 A.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Well, It is wonderful to be here at the Department of Energy with some of our outstanding private sector partners. Secretary Ernie Moniz is in Geneva doing some important work on behalf of our national security, but I want to thank him and his team at the Department of Energy, as well as our folks over at EPA. And Administrator Gina McCarthy is here, as well as Christy Goldfuss at the Council on Environmental Quality.
This has been a team effort to make sure that we are doing everything we can to boost the energy efficiency of the American economy. And since we’ve said it’s important, we thought it was important for us to lead by example here at the federal government. As you know, I just took a tour of the solar-powered roof upstairs. And those panels are not just for show -- they produce power that the government doesn’t then have to buy off the grid. And more and more businesses and more and more homeowners are following suit not because it’s simply good for the environment, but because it’s good for their bottom lines.
Thanks in part to the investments that we’ve made over the past six years, the United States is rapidly becoming a leader in solar energy. Last year was the biggest year for solar power in our history. And, in fact, the solar industry is adding jobs 10 times faster than the economy as a whole.
So we’re proving that it is possible to grow our economy robustly while at the same time doing the right thing for our environment and tackling climate change in a serious way.
Over the past six years, we’ve done more than ever to to combat climate change. Last year, the federal government used less energy than at any time in the past four decades. And in a historic joint announcement that many of you saw, China committed to limiting their emissions for the first time.
So today, America once again is going to be leading by example. This morning, I signed an executive order that will do two things. First, we’re going to cut the federal government’s greenhouse gas emissions 40 percent from the 2008 levels within the next 10 years. Second, we’re going to increase the share of electricity that the federal government uses from renewable sources to 30 percent within the next 10 years. These are ambitious goals, but we know that they’re achievable goals.
And I want to thank the executives of some of our leading companies in the country who are here, because they’re stepping up and making similar commitments. Folks from IBM to GE, Northrop Grumman -- some of our biggest Fortune 100 companies are setting their own ambitious goals. And, cumulatively, what this is doing is allowing us across the economy to not only hit some key targets that are going to be required in order for us to reduce climate change, but they’re also saving money, helping their bottom line, and they’re giving a boost to the industry as a whole -- because as we get economies of scale, and demand for solar and wind and other renewable energies grows, obviously that can help drive down the overall price, make it that much for efficient, and we start getting a virtuous cycle that is good for the economy and creates jobs here in America.
So we very much want to thank our private sector partners. You guys have done an outstanding job. And because of the prominence of many of the companies here, and the fact that they’ve got a whole bunch of suppliers up and down the chain, what you do with respect to energy efficiency is going to have a ripple effect throughout the economy. And we’re very pleased with that.
So thank you very much. Thank you, guys.
Q -- Iran?
THE PRESIDENT: I’m sorry, we’re talking about energy, and it’s a great story, so hopefully you’ll focus on it. Thank you, guys.
END
11:33 A.M. EDT
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
PRESIDENT OBAMA'S REMARKS REGARDING THE COUNCIL OF THE GREAT CITY SCHOOLS MEETING
FROM: THE WHITE HOUSE
March 16, 2015
Remarks by the President After Meeting with the Council of the Great City Schools
Roosevelt Room
11:51 A.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: I want to thank the Council of the Great City Schools. This is an organization that represents the superintendents, the board members and educators from some of the largest school districts in the country. And we just had a terrific conversation about some of the extraordinary progress that’s being made at the local levels.
The good news is that we are seeing, as a consequence of some of the reforms that we’ve initiated and partnered with at the state and local levels, we’re seeing improved reading scores, improved math scores, improved graduation rates. We’re seeing improvement in some of the previously lowest-performing schools.
And this organization I think has taken on the challenge and has been able to begin a process of turning school districts around and making sure that young people are getting the kind of education that they need to be able to compete in the 21st century. That’s the good news.
The challenge that we face is that this is a monumental task and it requires resources. And I’m very proud of what we’ve been able to do in terms of helping schools to initiate improvements in how they train teachers, in how they engage kids in the classroom, in how they start moving education around math and science and technology; how they reach populations that are particularly difficult to reach; how they’re bringing new technology into the classroom. But all that is dependent on a budget and approach at the federal level that says we care about all kids and not just some.
Now, the Republican House and Senate are about to put forward their budget. My hope is that their budget reflects the priorities of educating every child. But I can tell you that if the budget maintains sequester-level funding, then we would actually be spending less on pre-K to 12th grade in America’s schools in terms of federal support than we were back in 2000. And that’s adjusting for inflation. The notion that we would be going backwards instead of forwards in how we’re devoting resources to educating our kids makes absolutely no sense.
In addition, we’ve got a major debate obviously taking place about the reauthorization of the major education act that shapes federal policy towards our schools. There is, I think, some useful conversations taking place between the chairman of relevant committee, Lamar Alexander, and Patty Murray. But there’s some core principles that all the leaders here believe in: Making sure that we continue to provide resources to the poorest school districts and not creating a situation where we can suddenly shift dollars from wealthy districts -- or from poorer districts to wealthy districts, or alternatively, that education aid suddenly can start going to sport stadiums or tax cuts at the state level. That's something that these school districts feel very strongly about
Making sure that we continue to focus on low-performing schools and that they are getting additional resources. Making sure that we are continuing to assess in a smart way, on an annual basis, how young people are performing, and that we're disaggregating so that we can see in various subgroups how young people are performing, to make sure they’re on track. That's something that people here care very much about.
Making sure that we've got high standards and high expectations for all our kids, and making sure that we are providing the resources to teachers and principals to meet those high standards. That's going to be important.
Making sure that we are investing in special education and English learning for large portions of our student population that may need extra help. That's going to be critically important.
So the set of principles that are reflected in my budget and I hope will be reflected in the Republican budget -- but if it is not, then we're going to have to have a major debate. We are making too much progress now in terms of graduation rates, improved reading scores, improved math scores, increasing standards, increasing access to the resources the kids need for us to be going backwards now. And this is something worth fighting for.
So I am very grateful for all the folks here for the work they’re doing. I hope that people get familiar with some of the stories of progress that have been made. If you look at what’s happened in the D.C. public schools, or you look at the efforts that are being made in places like Fresno, which it’s a poor city in a poor school district, but despite that is seeing real strides; if you look at what’s going on in Cleveland where I'll be visiting tomorrow [Wednesday] -- these are school districts that, despite enormous challenges, have made real progress.
And the idea that we go backwards on that progress, in some cases for ideological reasons, as opposed to because of what the evidence says, that's something that -- that's not the kind of legacy we want to leave for the next generation. And I'm going to continue to fight to make sure that this progress continues.
So I want to thank everybody who’s around this table and know that they’re going to have a strong partner in my administration.
All right? Thank you very much, everybody.
END
11:59 A.M. EDT
March 16, 2015
Remarks by the President After Meeting with the Council of the Great City Schools
Roosevelt Room
11:51 A.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: I want to thank the Council of the Great City Schools. This is an organization that represents the superintendents, the board members and educators from some of the largest school districts in the country. And we just had a terrific conversation about some of the extraordinary progress that’s being made at the local levels.
The good news is that we are seeing, as a consequence of some of the reforms that we’ve initiated and partnered with at the state and local levels, we’re seeing improved reading scores, improved math scores, improved graduation rates. We’re seeing improvement in some of the previously lowest-performing schools.
And this organization I think has taken on the challenge and has been able to begin a process of turning school districts around and making sure that young people are getting the kind of education that they need to be able to compete in the 21st century. That’s the good news.
The challenge that we face is that this is a monumental task and it requires resources. And I’m very proud of what we’ve been able to do in terms of helping schools to initiate improvements in how they train teachers, in how they engage kids in the classroom, in how they start moving education around math and science and technology; how they reach populations that are particularly difficult to reach; how they’re bringing new technology into the classroom. But all that is dependent on a budget and approach at the federal level that says we care about all kids and not just some.
Now, the Republican House and Senate are about to put forward their budget. My hope is that their budget reflects the priorities of educating every child. But I can tell you that if the budget maintains sequester-level funding, then we would actually be spending less on pre-K to 12th grade in America’s schools in terms of federal support than we were back in 2000. And that’s adjusting for inflation. The notion that we would be going backwards instead of forwards in how we’re devoting resources to educating our kids makes absolutely no sense.
In addition, we’ve got a major debate obviously taking place about the reauthorization of the major education act that shapes federal policy towards our schools. There is, I think, some useful conversations taking place between the chairman of relevant committee, Lamar Alexander, and Patty Murray. But there’s some core principles that all the leaders here believe in: Making sure that we continue to provide resources to the poorest school districts and not creating a situation where we can suddenly shift dollars from wealthy districts -- or from poorer districts to wealthy districts, or alternatively, that education aid suddenly can start going to sport stadiums or tax cuts at the state level. That's something that these school districts feel very strongly about
Making sure that we continue to focus on low-performing schools and that they are getting additional resources. Making sure that we are continuing to assess in a smart way, on an annual basis, how young people are performing, and that we're disaggregating so that we can see in various subgroups how young people are performing, to make sure they’re on track. That's something that people here care very much about.
Making sure that we've got high standards and high expectations for all our kids, and making sure that we are providing the resources to teachers and principals to meet those high standards. That's going to be important.
Making sure that we are investing in special education and English learning for large portions of our student population that may need extra help. That's going to be critically important.
So the set of principles that are reflected in my budget and I hope will be reflected in the Republican budget -- but if it is not, then we're going to have to have a major debate. We are making too much progress now in terms of graduation rates, improved reading scores, improved math scores, increasing standards, increasing access to the resources the kids need for us to be going backwards now. And this is something worth fighting for.
So I am very grateful for all the folks here for the work they’re doing. I hope that people get familiar with some of the stories of progress that have been made. If you look at what’s happened in the D.C. public schools, or you look at the efforts that are being made in places like Fresno, which it’s a poor city in a poor school district, but despite that is seeing real strides; if you look at what’s going on in Cleveland where I'll be visiting tomorrow [Wednesday] -- these are school districts that, despite enormous challenges, have made real progress.
And the idea that we go backwards on that progress, in some cases for ideological reasons, as opposed to because of what the evidence says, that's something that -- that's not the kind of legacy we want to leave for the next generation. And I'm going to continue to fight to make sure that this progress continues.
So I want to thank everybody who’s around this table and know that they’re going to have a strong partner in my administration.
All right? Thank you very much, everybody.
END
11:59 A.M. EDT
Thursday, March 12, 2015
READOUT: PRESIDENT OBAMA'S VIDEO CONFERENCE WITH PRESIDENT GHANI OF AFGHANISTAN
FROM: THE WHITE HOUSE
March 12, 2015
Readout of the President’s Video Conference with President Ashraf Ghani of Afghanistan
Today, the President spoke with President Ashraf Ghani of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan by video conference, along with Chief Executive Officer Dr. Abdullah Abdullah. The President encouraged accelerated Afghan progress towards forming an inclusive national unity government and expressed his expectation that their visit to Washington later this month will demonstrate our mutual commitment to a strengthened U.S.-Afghan strategic partnership. The leaders discussed the ongoing efforts of the Afghan National Security Forces to improve security in Afghanistan and the importance of countering extremist threats from groups like al-Qa`ida. The President commended President Ghani and Dr. Abdullah on their leadership in promoting an Afghan peace process to end the conflict in Afghanistan and their initiative to improve Afghanistan-Pakistan relations.
March 12, 2015
Readout of the President’s Video Conference with President Ashraf Ghani of Afghanistan
Today, the President spoke with President Ashraf Ghani of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan by video conference, along with Chief Executive Officer Dr. Abdullah Abdullah. The President encouraged accelerated Afghan progress towards forming an inclusive national unity government and expressed his expectation that their visit to Washington later this month will demonstrate our mutual commitment to a strengthened U.S.-Afghan strategic partnership. The leaders discussed the ongoing efforts of the Afghan National Security Forces to improve security in Afghanistan and the importance of countering extremist threats from groups like al-Qa`ida. The President commended President Ghani and Dr. Abdullah on their leadership in promoting an Afghan peace process to end the conflict in Afghanistan and their initiative to improve Afghanistan-Pakistan relations.
DEFENSE SECRETARY CARTER TESTIFIES ON PRESIDENT'S PROPOSED AUTHORIZATION TU USE FORCE AGAINST ISIL
FROM: U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
Carter: Proposed Authorization Gives Flexibility to Fight ISIL
By Cheryl Pellerin
DoD News, Defense Media Activity
WASHINGTON, March 11, 2015 – President Barack Obama’s proposed authorization to use military force against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant is flexible enough to allow for the full range of military scenarios, Defense Secretary Ash Carter told a Senate panel this morning.
Carter testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee alongside Secretary of State John F. Kerry and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey.
In reviewing the president’s proposed AUMF as secretary of defense, Carter said he asked himself two questions.
“First, does it provide the necessary authority and flexibility to wage our campaign, allowing for a full range of likely military scenarios?” Carter said.
Sending a Message
Second, he added, “will it send a message to the people I’m responsible for -- our brave men and women in uniform and civilian personnel who will wage this campaign -- that the country is behind them?”
Carter said he believes the AUMF accomplishes both, and urged Congress to pass the proposal.
The proposed AUMF takes into account the reality that ISIL as an organization is likely to evolve strategically, he said, morphing, rebranding and associating with other terrorist groups as it continues to threaten the United States and its allies.
The AUMF wisely does not include geographical restrictions, Carter said, “because ISIL already shows signs of metastasizing outside of Syria and Iraq.”
Military Flexibility
The proposed AUMF provides flexibility in military means to prevail against ISIL, with one exception, the secretary added.
“The proposed AUMF does not authorize long-term, large-scale offensive ground combat operations like those we conducted in Iraq and Afghanistan, because our strategy does not call for them,” he added. “Instead, local forces must provide the enduring presence needed for an enduring victory against ISIL.”
The proposed AUMF expires in three years, although no one knows if the campaign will be completed over that time, the secretary said, adding that he understands the reason for the proposed sunset provision.
“It derives from the important principle stemming from the Constitution that makes the grave matter of enacting an authorization for the use of military force a shared responsibility of the president and Congress,” Carter said.
A Chance to Assess Progress
The president’s proposed authorization gives the American people a chance to assess progress in three years’ time, he added, and gives the next president and the next Congress a chance, if they choose, to reauthorize the AUMF.
Carter said another key consideration for approving the AUMF is that it sends the right signals, most importantly to the troops, and also to partner nations.
“It will signal to our coalition partners and to our adversary that the United States government has come together to address a serious challenge,” he said.
Carter again urged Congress to pass the president’s AUMF because, he said, “it provides the necessary authority and flexibility to wage our current campaign. And because it will demonstrate to our men and women in uniform –- some of whom are in harm’s way right now –- that all of us stand unflinchingly behind them.”
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
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