PRESIDENT'S WEEKLY ADDRESS ON MARCH 29, 2014

FROM:  THE WHITE HOUSE 

Weekly Address: Raise The Minimum Wage – It’s The Right Thing To Do For Hardworking Americans

WASHINGTON, DC— In this week’s address, Vice President Biden discusses the importance of raising the federal minimum wage. It’s good for workers, it’s good for business, and it would help close the gender pay gap, as women make up more than half of the workers who stand to benefit from a raise. And as the Vice President highlights, Congress should boost the federal minimum wage because it is what a majority of the American people want.

The audio of the address and video of the address will be available online atwww.whitehouse.gov at 6:00 a.m. ET, Saturday, March 29, 2014.

Remarks of Vice President Joe Biden
Weekly Address
The White House
March 29, 2014

Ladies and gentlemen, I’m Joe Biden. I’m filling in for President Obama, who is abroad.

I want to talk to you today about the minimum wage and the overwhelming need to raise the minimum wage. There’s no reason in the world why an American working 40 hours a week has to live in poverty. But right now a worker earning the federal minimum wage makes about $14,500 a year.  And you all know that's incredibly hard for an individual to live on, let alone raise a family on.

But if we raise the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour, that same worker will be making $20,200 a year—and with existing tax credits would earn enough to bring that family or a family of four out of poverty. But there’s a lot of good reasons why raising the minimum wage makes sense.

Not only would it put more hard-earned money into the pockets of 28 million Americans, moving millions of them out of poverty, it’s also good for business. And let me tell you why.

There’s clear data that shows fair wages generate loyalty of workers to their employers, which has the benefit of increasing productivity and leading to less turn over. It’s really good for the economy as a whole because raising the minimum wage would generate an additional $19 billion in additional income for people who need it the most.

The big difference between giving a raise in the minimum wage instead of a tax break to the very wealthy is the minimum wage worker will go out and spend every penny of it because they're living on the edge. They’ll spend it in the local economy.  They need it to pay their electric bill, put gas in their automobile, to buy fundamental necessities. And this generates economic growth in their communities.

And I’m not the only one who recognizes these benefits.  Companies big and small recognize it as well. I was recently in Atlanta, Georgia, and met the owner of a small advertising company, a guy named Darien. He independently raised the wages of his workers to $10.10 an hour.  But large companies, as well, Costco and the Gap—they're choosing to pay their employees higher starting wages.

A growing list of governors are also raising wages in their states – the minimum wage. They join the President who raised the minimum wage for employees of federal contractors like the folks serving our troops meals on our bases.  They're all doing this for a simple reason. Raising the minimum wage will help hardworking people rise out of poverty. 

It’s good for business. It’s helpful to the overall economy. And there’s one more important benefit. Right now women make up more than half of the workers who would benefit from increasing the minimum wage.  Folks, a low minimum wage is one of the reasons why women in America make only 77 cents on a dollar that every man makes. But by raising the minimum wage, we can close that gap by 5 percent. And it matters. It matters to a lot of hardworking families, particularly moms raising families on the minimum wage.

And one more thing, folks—it’s what the American people want to do. Three out of four Americans support raising the minimum wage. They know this is the right and fair thing to do, and the good thing to do for the economy.  So it’s time for Congress to get behind the minimum wage bill offered by Tom Harkin of Iowa and Congressman George Miller of California—the proposal that would raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $10.10 an hour.

So ask your representatives who oppose raising the federal minimum wage—why do they oppose it? How can we look at the men and women providing basic services to us all, like cleaning our offices, caring for our children, serving in our restaurants and so many other areas—how can we say they don't deserve enough pay to take them out of poverty?

The President and I think they deserve it. And we think a lot of you do too. So, folks, it’s time to act. It’s time to give America a raise.

Thanks for listening and have a great weekend. God bless you all and may God protect our troops.

PRESIDENT OBAMA'S WEEKLY ADDRESS FOR NOVEMBER 16, 2013

FROM:  THE WHITE HOUSE

Weekly Address: Taking Control of America’s Energy Future

WASHINGTON, DC—In his weekly address, President Obama discussed progress in American energy and highlighted that we are now producing more oil at home than we buy from other countries for the first time in nearly two decades.  We reached this milestone in part not only because we’re producing more energy, but because we’re wasting less energy, and as a result, we are also reducing our carbon emissions while growing the economy.

The audio of the address and video of the address will be available online at www.whitehouse.gov at 6:00 a.m. ET, November 16, 2013.

Remarks of President Barack Obama
Weekly Address
The White House
November 16, 2013

Hi, everybody.  On Thursday, I visited a steel plant in Cleveland, Ohio to talk about what we’re doing to rebuild our economy on a new foundation for stronger, more durable economic growth. 

One area where we’ve made great progress is American energy.  After years of talk about reducing our dependence on foreign oil, we are actually poised to control our own energy future. 

Shortly after I took office, we invested in new American technologies to reverse our dependence on foreign oil and double our wind and solar power.  And today, we generate more renewable energy than ever – with tens of thousands of good, American jobs to show for it.  We produce more natural gas than anyone – and nearly everyone’s energy bill is lower because of it.  And just this week, we learned that for the first time in nearly two decades, the United States of America now produces more of our own oil here at home than we buy from other countries. 

That’s a big deal.  That’s a tremendous step towards American energy independence. 

But this is important, too: we reached this milestone in part not only because we’re producing more energy, but because we’re wasting less energy.  We set new fuel standards for our cars and trucks so that they’ll go twice as far on a gallon of gas by the middle of the next decade.  That’s going to save an average driver more than $8,000 at the pump over the life of a new car.  We also launched initiatives to put people to work upgrading our homes, businesses, and factories so that they waste less energy.  That’s going to save our businesses money on their energy bills – that's money they can use to hire more workers.

Here’s another thing.  Between more clean energy, and less wasted energy, our emissions of dangerous carbon pollution are actually falling.  That’s good news for anyone who cares about the world we leave to our kids. 

And while our carbon emissions have been dropping, our economy has been growing.  Our businesses have created 7.8 million new jobs in the past 44 months.  It proves that the old argument that we can’t strengthen the economy and be good stewards of our planet at the same time is a false choice.  We can do both.  And we have to do both.

More good jobs.  Cheaper and cleaner sources of energy.  A secure energy future.  Thanks to the grit and resilience of American businesses and the American people, that’s where we’re heading.  And as long as I’m President, that’s where we’re going to keep heading – to leave our children a stronger economy, and a safer planet. 

Thanks, and have a great weekend.

PRESIDENT OBAMA'S EXPLAINS WHY MILITARY ACTION SHOULD BE TAKEN AGAINST SYRIA

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 
President Explains Syria Decision in Weekly Address
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Sept. 7, 2013 - President Barack Obama today used his weekly address to explain his decisions to take military action against Bashar Assad's regime in Syria for using chemical weapons against its own people and to seek congressional approval for that action.

More than 1,000 innocent people – including hundreds of children – were murdered Aug. 21 in the worst chemical weapons attack of the 21st century, the president said, and the United States has presented a powerful case to the world that the Syrian government was responsible.

"This was not only a direct attack on human dignity; it is a serious threat to our national security," Obama said. "There's a reason governments representing 98 percent of the world's people have agreed to ban the use of chemical weapons. Not only because they cause death and destruction in the most indiscriminate and inhumane way possible – but because they can also fall into the hands of terrorist groups who wish to do us harm."

Last weekend, he said, he announced that as commander in chief he had decided the United States should take military action against the Syrian regime. "This is not a decision I made lightly," the president added. "Deciding to use military force is the most solemn decision we can make as a nation."

Obama also explained why he sought authorization from Congress for military action.

"As the leader of the world's oldest constitutional democracy, I also know that our country will be stronger if we act together, and our actions will be more effective," he said. "That's why I asked members of Congress to debate this issue and vote on authorizing the use of force."

The president emphasized that the pending military action is not an open-ended intervention. "This would not be another Iraq or Afghanistan," he said. "There would be no American boots on the ground. Any action we take would be limited, both in time and scope – designed to deter the Syrian government from gassing its own people again and degrade its ability to do so."

Obama acknowledged that the American people are weary after a decade of war. "That's why we're not putting our troops in the middle of somebody else's war," he said.

"But we are the United States of America," he added. "We cannot turn a blind eye to images like the ones we've seen out of Syria. Failing to respond to this outrageous attack would increase the risk that chemical weapons could be used again [and] that they would fall into the hands of terrorists who might use them against us, and it would send a horrible signal to other nations that there would be no consequences for their use of these weapons -- all of which would pose a serious threat to our national security.

"That's why we can't ignore chemical weapons attacks like this one – even if they happen halfway around the world," he continued. "And that's why I call on members of Congress from both parties to come together and stand up for the kind of world we want to live in -- the kind of world we want to leave our children and future generations."