THE WASHINGTON REVIEW & COMMENTARY: Weekly News From The White House

Statement by the President Praising the Bipartisan Immigration Reform Framework
 
In June, I met with members of both parties, and assigned Secretary Napolitano to work with them and key constituencies around the country to craft a comprehensive approach that will finally fix our broken immigration system. I am pleased to see that Senators Schumer and Graham have produced a promising, bipartisan framework which can and should be the basis for moving forward.  It thoughtfully addresses the need to shore up our borders, and demands accountability from both workers who are here illegally and employers who game the system.
 
My Administration will be consulting further with the Senators on the details of their proposal, but a critical next step will be to translate their framework into a legislative proposal, and for Congress to act at the earliest possible opportunity.
 
I congratulate Senators Schumer and Graham for their leadership, and pledge to do everything in my power to forge a bipartisan consensus this year on this important issue so we can continue to move forward on comprehensive immigration reform.

REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
BEFORE SIGNING THE HIRE ACT
 
Rose Garden
 
11:20 A.M. EDT
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  Good morning, everybody.  Please have a seat.
 
     Well, on this beautiful morning, we are here to mark the passage of a welcome piece of legislation for our fellow Americans who are seeking work in this difficult economy.  But first, let me say a few words about the latest development in the debate over health insurance reform.  I don’t know if you guys have been hearing, but there’s been a big debate going on here. 
 
This morning, a new analysis from the Congressional Budget Office concludes that the reform we seek would bring $1.3 trillion in deficit reduction over the next two decades.  (Applause.)  That makes this legislation the most significant effort to reduce deficits since the Balanced Budget Act in the 1990s.  (Applause.)  And this is — this is but one virtue of a reform that will bring new accountability to the insurance industry and greater economic security to all Americans.  So I urge every member of Congress to consider this as they prepare for their important vote this weekend. 
 
And I want to welcome all the members of Congress who are here, those who are on stage — Madam Speaker, Majority Leader Reid — as well as some of my Cabinet members who are here.
 
In a few moments, I’ll sign what’s called the HIRE Act — a jobs bill that will encourage businesses to hire and help put Americans back to work.  And I’d like to say a few words about what this jobs bill will mean for workers, for businesses, and for America’s economic recovery.
 
There are a number of ways to look at an economic recovery.  Through the eyes of an economist, you look at the different stages of recovery.  You look at whether an economy has begun to grow; at whether businesses have begun to hire temporary workers or increase the hours of existing workers.  You look at whether businesses, small and large, have begun to hire full-time employees again.
 
That’s how economists measure a recovery — and by those measures, we are beginning to move in the right direction.  But through the eyes of most Americans, recovery is about something more fundamental:  Do I have a decent job?  Can I provide for my family?  Do I feel a sense of financial security?
 
The great recession that we’ve just gone through took a terrible toll on the middle class and on our economy as a whole.  For every one of the over 8 million people who lost their jobs in recent years, there’s a story of struggle — of a family that’s forced to choose between paying their electricity bill or the car insurance or the daughter’s college tuition; of weddings and vacations and retirements that have been postponed.
 
So here’s the good news:  A consensus is forming that, partly because of the necessary — and often unpopular — measures we took over the past year, our economy is now growing again and we may soon be adding jobs instead of losing them.  The jobs bill I’m signing today is intended to help accelerate that process.
 
I’m signing it mindful that, as I’ve said before, the solution to our economic problems will not come from government alone.  Government can’t create all the jobs we need or can it repair all the damage that’s been done by this recession.
 
But what we can do is promote a strong, dynamic private sector — the true engine of job creation in our economy.  We can help to provide an impetus for America’s businesses to start hiring again.  We can nurture the conditions that allow companies to succeed and to grow.
 
And that’s exactly what this jobs bill will help us do.  Now, make no mistake:  While this jobs bill is absolutely necessary, it’s by no means enough.  There’s a lot more that we’re going to need to do to spur hiring in the private sector and bring about full economic recovery — from helping creditworthy small businesses to get loans that they need to expand, to offering incentives to make homes and businesses more energy efficient, to investing in infrastructure so we can put Americans to work doing the work that America needs done.
 
Nevertheless, this jobs bill will make a difference in several important ways.  First, we will forgive payroll taxes for businesses that hire someone who’s been out of work at least two months.  That’s a tax benefit that will apply to unemployed workers hired between last month and the end of this year.  So this tax cut says to employers:  If you hire a worker who’s unemployed, you won’t have to pay payroll taxes on that worker for the rest of the year.  And businesses that move quickly to hire today will get a bigger tax credit than businesses that wait until later this year.
 
This tax cut will be particularly helpful to small business owners.  Many of them are on the fence right now about whether to bring in that extra worker or two, or whether they should hire anyone at all.  And this jobs bill should help make their decision that much easier.  And by the way, I’d like to note that part of what health insurance reform would do is to provide tax credits for over 4 million small businesses so they don’t have to choose between hiring workers and offering coverage.
 
The second thing this bill does is to encourage small businesses to grow and to hire by permitting them to write off investments they make in equipment this year.  These kinds of expenses typically take years to depreciate, but under this law, businesses will be able to invest up to $250,000, let’s say, in a piece of factory equipment, and write it off right away.  Put simply, we’ll give businesses an incentive to invest in their own future — and to do it today.
 
Third, we’ll reform municipal bonds to encourage job creation by expanding investment in schools and clean energy projects.  Say a town wants to put people to work rebuilding a crumbling elementary school or putting up wind turbines.  With this law, we’ll make it easier for them to raise the money they need to do what they want to do by using a model that we’ve called Build America Bonds — one of the most successful programs in the Recovery Act.  We’ll give Americans a better chance to invest in the future of their communities and of the country. 
 
And finally, this jobs bill will maintain crucial investments in our roads and our bridges as we head into the spring and summer months, when construction jobs are picking up.
 
I want to commend all the members of Congress, and their leadership is what made this bill possible.  Many of them are here today.  I’m also gratified that over a dozen Republicans agreed that the need for this jobs bill was urgent, and that they were willing to break out of the partisan morass to help us take this forward step for the American people.  I hope this is a prelude to further cooperation in the days and months to come, as we continue to work on digging our way out of the recession and rebuilding our economy in a way that works for all Americans and not just some Americans.
 
After all, the jobs bill I’m signing today — and our broader efforts to achieve a recovery — aren’t about politics.  They’re not about Democrat versus Republican.  This isn’t a game that we’re playing here.  They’re about the people in this country who are out of work and looking for a job; they’re about all the Americans — of every race and region and age — who’ve shared their stories with me over the last year.
 
The single mother who’s told me she’s filled out hundreds of job applications and been on dozens of interviews, but still hasn’t found a job.  The father whose son told me he started working when he was a teenager, and recently found himself out of a job for the very first time in his life.  The children who write to me — they’re worried about their moms and their dads, worried about what the future holds for their families.
 
That’s who I’m thinking about every morning when I enter into the Oval Office.  That’s who I’m signing this bill for.  And that’s who I’m going to continue to fight for so long as I am President of the United States.
 
So with that, let me sign this bill and let’s get to work.  (Applause.)
 
(The bill is signed.)

Statement from the Press Secretary on the “Trademark Technical and Conforming Amendment Act of 2010″
 
 
ON WEDNESDAY, MARCH 17, 2010, THE PRESIDENT SIGNED INTO LAW:
 
S. 2968, the “Trademark Technical and Conforming Amendment Act of 2010”, which amends trademark law to extend the grace period from 3 months to 6 months for international registrants filing “affidavits of use” to extend trademark registration and to allow international registrants.

NOMINATIONS SENT TO THE SENATE:
 
Leonard Philip Stark, of Delaware, to be United States District Judge for the District of Delaware, vice Kent A. Jordan, elevated.
 
Amy Totenberg, of Georgia, to be United States District Judge for the Northern District of Georgia, vice Jack T. Camp, Jr., retired.

REMARKS BY PRESIDENT OBAMA
AND THE TAOISEACH OF IRELAND BRIAN COWEN
 
Oval Office
 
 
11:26 A.M. EDT
 
 
     PRESIDENT OBAMA:  Good morning, everybody.  First of all, I just want to congratulate this sound person right here for having the green earmuffs.  (Laughter.)  Now, I haven’t seen that before.  Happy St. Patrick’s Day, everybody. 
 
Before I talk a little bit about the strong and enduring bond between the American and Irish people, I just want to thank Congress for passing this morning the HIRE Act.  It is the first of what I hope will be a series of jobs packages that help to continue to put people back to work all across America. 
 
This bill will provide tax cuts to small businesses that are willing to begin hiring right now, putting people back to work.  It’s also going to provide significant tax breaks to businesses for investing in their business, and so, hopefully, at a time when we’re starting to see an upswing in the economic growth, that will help sustain it.  And the bill also will continue to improve our ability to finance infrastructure projects all across the country.
 
I also want to say to the Republicans who voted for this bill that I appreciate their willingness to work with Democrats in a bipartisan fashion to get America moving again.  And as I said, I hope that on a series of future steps that we take to help small businesses get financing, to help improve our infrastructure around the country, to put people back to work, that we’re going to see more progress on that front.
 
I want to thank the Taoiseach for coming here today.  Last year we had the opportunity to get to know each other and had a wonderful time during St. Patrick’s Day.  Thirty-six million Americans claim Irish ancestry -– I’m sure more do on St. Patrick’s Day.  And it’s a testament I think to how close our two countries are that America has been shaped culturally, politically, economically by the incredible contributions of Irish Americans.  Those bonds endure.  And in our meeting we reaffirmed how important it is for us to continue a strong partnership across a whole host of issues.
 
I thanked the Taoiseach for the assistance that they’ve provided on critical international issues.  We use the facilities in Ireland for transit for our military troops to Afghanistan.  The Irish police are providing training in Afghanistan.  As the Taoiseach indicated, the Irish government punches above its weight on a whole host of critical issues.  We’re going to be working together to enhance food security around the world.  Even in these difficult times it’s important for us to make sure that we’re tackling big issues like world hunger.
 
I congratulated the Taoiseach and his government for the extraordinary work that they engaged in, working with Gordon Brown and the British government, as well as Secretary Hillary Clinton, in reaffirming the progress that’s been made in Northern Ireland and to get a ratification of continued devolution.  It’s a sign of his leadership, and we want to be as supportive as possible in advancing the Northern Ireland peace process.
 
We also discussed the economy.  And on both sides of the Atlantic we are seeing stabilization of the economy, but obviously we want more than just stabilization.  There are a lot of people out there that are still hurting, still out of work.  And so we will continue to coordinate in international fora as well as bilaterally to see how we can spur investment and private sector growth on both sides of the Atlantic.
 
So I just wanted to say how grateful we are for the friendship and the partnership between the United States government and the Irish government.  We wish you and everybody who is here a happy St. Patrick’s Day, and are looking forward to the reception that we’ll have in the White House later this evening.
 
TAOISEACH COWEN:  Thank you very much, Mr. President.  And we are — I and my delegation — delighted to be able to join you here at the White House this morning on this wonderful St. Patrick’s Day morning.  And I think the sun shining outside and the light coming in I think typifies the excellent relationship that Ireland enjoys with the United States not only now, but as you say, over many generations.  And that contribution to America by Ireland is a continuing one, one that we have to find and give modern expression to all the time.
 
And certainly the level of cooperation and common cause we enjoy together in terms of the issues of today in the economy and how we can ensure that our economies recover as quickly as possible is something that’s very important to both our countries.  And certainly in Ireland’s context the resurgent  U.S. economy will be a strong indicator of our return to prosperity.  And we very much commend the very decisive steps that you have taken in terms of the economic issues and the banking issues, which have been so successful.
 
I think we are seeking to replicate ourselves in our own context as a recapitalization of our banking system and making sure that we have a banking system fit for purpose that will assist recovery and grow jobs again in the future, and provide investment and credit, working credit for businesses that are hard pressed in the very difficult trading environment.
 
In that context I’ve been delighted to head a delegation here to the United States and having visited Chicago, the West Coast, Silicon Valley and now Washington, D.C. over the last couple of days; 70 small- and medium-sized enterprises have been over with us, doing trade with American companies.  I’m glad to say that the two-way relationship in terms of investment is continuing.  Over 34 billion euros have been invested by Irish companies in the United States, employing 85,000 people directly.
 
And that, if you like, mirrors the very significant U.S. investment that’s taking place in Ireland, employing directly of the order of 90,000 people.  So that important two-way mutual benefit to this trade is very, very important, one I know that you’re equally cognizant about in terms of finding jobs for your people as we seek to provide jobs for ours.
 
On Northern Ireland, we are deeply grateful for the continuing and deep commitment shown by the Obama administration, by the President, himself, and by Secretary of State Clinton in recent months.  We’ve been very grateful for that continuing interest which has influenced an outcome that has been so positive.  As I said to the President, for a place that has been known for its disagreements, a 98-17 vote was a very good vote to get.  I’m sure he’s looking forward to a good outcome in what he’s doing during the course of this week.
 
We decided to come on a quiet week — we knew there wasn’t much going on.  (Laughter.)  But in that context, it reinforces the fact that we are so, so grateful that the President gives so much of his time — both himself as President, his administration, and, indeed, the people on the Hill from both parties are very welcoming of us.  And we deeply appreciate that, as both a recognition of the contribution of Ireland thus far to America, but also the continuing important relationship we enjoy.
 
So on all these fronts, again, it’s a great pleasure to meet with the leader of the free world.  We are deeply grateful for his sense of mission not only in terms of how America is progressing, but America’s position in the world.  And we will always be supportive of the very progressive stands and positions that President Obama has taken — not only in terms of the economic issues, but on development issues.  We will have a co-chairing by Secretary Clinton and Micheál Martin, our foreign minister, at the U.N. Conference on Hunger and Food Security.  And these are another indication of the values we share and our ability to cooperate and provide leadership positions is one that we’ve very grateful and privileged to enjoy with you.
 
PRESIDENT OBAMA:  Thank you. 
 
Thank you, everybody.
 
Q    — that Representative Kucinich will vote for the health care bill –
 
PRESIDENT OBAMA:  That’s a good sign.
 
Q    What did you tell him?
 
PRESIDENT OBAMA:  I told him thank you.
 
Q    Will you be going to Ireland, Mr. President?
 
PRESIDENT OBAMA:  I would love to be going to Ireland.

REMARKS BY THE FIRST LADY
AT
NEWSWEEK Q&A EVENT
 
Newseum
Washington, D.C.
 
12:39 P.M. EDT
 
Q    Thank you so much.  Thank you, Ms. Weymouth, for your hospitality, and thank you all for coming.  This is our cover subject.  We tried to make the picture a little bigger.
 
MRS. OBAMA:  I know, right.  (Laughter.)
 
Q    But I will say Newsweek has been publishing for 77 years, and I believe this is the first time within six weeks or so we’ve had both a husband and a wife write the cover story.  So — (laughter) — I know you’ll –  
 
MRS. OBAMA:  So whose was better, though?  (Laughter.)  That’s ultimately how spouses operate, right? (Laughter.)
 
Q    That’s a very good point, that’s a very good point.  So with all this “first” stuff and living in the White House, forget it.  It’s the Newsweek –
 
     MRS. OBAMA:  This is the one.
 
     Q    It’s the Newsweek cover.
 
     MRS. OBAMA:  I agree.
 
     Q    Why this issue?  Why childhood obesity, of all the things you could have picked?
 
     MRS. OBAMA:  Well, first of all I think it’s absolutely relevant right now.  The statistics are clear, you know.  We’re seeing rates of childhood obesity go up like never before.  And I think the country is also at a point where we’re ready.  And I think that’s one of the reasons why the “Let’s Move” initiative has been so well received by so many industries and parents and teachers, is because I think we know there’s a problem, and we’re going to have to come together to solve it.
 
     Now, personally, the issue for me is a personal one.  I’ve spoken about this often, how in my busy lifestyle, before coming into the White House, I was living like most busy mothers — a husband traveled a lot, I had a full-time job, I bought for convenience and cost.  And I saw some changes — or my pediatrician saw some changes in my children’s diet that caused him to say, “Hold on.”  And I think I was like most mothers — I thought I was doing absolutely everything that I was supposed to be doing.  And to me my kids looked fine.  They were perfectly — hey, you know, they’re my kids, they’re gorgeous.
 
     But I made some changes.  And they were very simple changes in our lifestyle, but it made significant differences — made a significant difference in how the kids felt, how we felt as a family. 
 
And I started thinking, well, if I didn’t know these things — and I’m educated, have resources, I have the support that I need — what are other families doing?  How are other mothers, people who live in communities that don’t have grocery stores — how are they making these decisions?  How are we teaching kids how to eat?  What’s happened to our habits? 
 
So even before coming to the White House, this issue moved me in a way that made me think we need to explore this a little bit more.
 
     And then we planted this beautiful garden, 1,100 square feet of pure joy.  And that gave us an opportunity in a very sort of non-confrontational way to begin exploring the questions of how do kids respond to nutritious food and vegetables if they’re part of the process of growing and getting involved.  That’s one of the reasons why getting the kids in the D.C. area involved in the work was critical.  And their response really sent us the message that we might be ready to begin this conversation in a more comprehensive way.
 
     So, you know, the time is right.  It’s also important in my husband’s administration, which is something that I try to do with the issues that I take on.  I mean, I say this a lot:  I am here to support the President of the United States, and health care is one of the most important issues that this country is facing.  We are spending $147 billion on obesity-related conditions that are preventable.  And if we can make ourselves healthier, that’s going to go a long way to helping find some solutions to this problem.  And these issues intersect in a very important and compelling way.
 
     Q    How did we get here?  What is the history of this?
 
     MRS. OBAMA:  Well, you know, I don’t think there’s any one path to how we got there.  I know I have my theories.  I think lifestyles have changed significantly.  I reminisce with people about what it was like for me growing up on the South Side of Chicago in a simple working-class community.  You went to the school around the corner from your house because all the schools were solid enough that you just went to the school in your neighborhood.  So you walked to school, number one.
 
     And there was recess and gym.  I was talking to one of my staff members just about how lunchtime, it was an hour. And my mother was one of the mothers that didn’t work, so me and all my friends, we’d come back to our house, we’d watch soap operas, we’d eat lunch.  (Laughter.)  We’d complain about our teachers.
 
     Q    Which ones?
 
     MRS. OBAMA:  “All My Children,” I have to say.  (Laughter.)   That was a big one.
 
     Q    We just made news, ma’am.  (Laughter.)
 
     MRS. OBAMA:  But that was a lunchtime treat, and it was a way — you know, I thought — so we ate, we had time to eat our food, have a conversation with our parents, and then go back to school, catch that last minute of play.  So it was a lot of activity. 
 
     We didn’t — we had seven channels, not 107.  Internet, video games were not a part of the culture.  You had to go outside to play.  So I think kids were naturally more active than they are today.  And now kids are going to schools where they have to take a bus, a car ride.  Some neighborhoods are not safe.  And no matter what you say, in some neighborhoods you can’t tell parents, “Just let your kids go out and play,” because it isn’t safe.  Some kids don’t even have friends in their own neighborhood because they live in different communities.
 
     So things have changed, and we are a busier culture.  Parents — two parents working in the household, so you’re coming home, you’re tired.  We all do it, right?  You know you shouldn’t go to that drive-thru, but you’re just tired, and you know they’ll eat the food without complaining.
 
     We’re also a culture and a society right now that snacks a lot more.  Just some of the statistics I talked about in my speech yesterday was that the average snack amount when I was growing up was one snack a day, if you were lucky.  And now it’s averaging two to three.  They say the average school-age kid is getting six snacks a day.  So we’re taking 200 more calories than we were 40 years ago, 30 years ago just from snacks alone.
 
     So I think some of that convenience, you know, makes it very easy.  You pick up a little bag of chips, you throw it in, the kids are hungry, they’re grabbing this, they’re grabbing that, and before you know it, they’ve snacked their way through the day.
 
So I think those are just some of the things.  But there are many, many, many — physical education, the level of activity.  All of that is I think a part of it.
 
     Q    What’s an analogous public health campaign that you think has been successful that could be a kind of model for this? 
 
     MRS. OBAMA:  Oh, that’s a –
 
     Q    Is it smoking?  Is it seat belts?
 
     MRS. OBAMA:  Well, you know, I think seat belts is one of those.  And I actually was talking to Mike Huckabee about this, because he actually made the analogy that this is one of those issues where culturally folks have to be ready to make the shift, you know.  You cannot mandate, legislate seat belt wearing.  You could, but does it really work?  The same thing is true for how we eat and how we live.  You can’t tell people what to do in their own homes, and nor should you.  But there comes a point when we start seeing enough statistics, we sort of get aware of the problems in our own homes, and we start — we get emotionally ready to make some of those changes.
 
     So we’re at a point now where I think the society is ready for more information.  Parents are looking for the answers.  They know that something is off, and they just now want to figure out, well, what do I need to know?  What am I doing wrong?
 
     Had a conversation with a girlfriend at dinner last night, and we were talking about, “Well, is apple juice okay?  And what about chocolate milk?”  I mean, and this is an educated woman who is confused about what beverage is actually going to be okay, outside of water, which we know is fine.  But parents, societies, schools, we’re now ready to figure that out so that we can make good choices. 
 
     We all care about our kids — that goes without saying, and that’s why this is not a “blame game” kind of issue.  People are just trying to figure out how to survive, how to make sure their kids are happy and healthy.  And sometimes we just don’t get the information that we need.  And seat belt laws are a similar — one of those similar challenges, that once we were ready, we were ready to take in the information and make the changes.
 
     Q    It has worked.  How much — you’ve talked about the cultural shift — how much of this is regulatory?  What is government’s role in these issues, which I suspect is both a federal and a state, even local question too?
 
     MRS. OBAMA:  Right, right, right.  Well, as I said, there is no expert that will tell you that having government tell people what to do is going to make a difference in this issue.  So the role of government is not to mandate.  And I think the roles are different.  I think at the federal level, at this level, we can highlight and inform.  There are things that we can do at this level, with the FDA, for example, working with food manufacturers to have better front-of-package labeling, things like that.  We can finance and leverage money to try to get more groceries into underserved communities.  We can make sure that we pass legislation that gets us a strong Nutrition Authorization Act so that we get better food in our schools and that there are guidelines that the private sector and schools can follow.
 
     But I think the real work happens on the ground.  It’s our governors, our mayors, our schools, our communities.  And that’s one of the reasons why I’ve been traveling so much, is that a lot of the answers are already out there, even in states like Mississippi who struggle more with this issue than most.  I did some visits with the governor and his wife, terrific folks.  They care about this issue; they know it’s a problem.  And they’re doing some great work to really ramp up physical education in the schools.  You’ve got teachers who are redesigning play spaces and they’re getting kids hula-hooping and jumping rope and they’re making teachers do more work and having them think about their diets.  They’ve created requirements where teachers have to eat lunch with the kids, and they’ve seen vegetable and fruit consumption go up because — not just with the kids but with the teachers as well.  (Laughter.)
 
     So you can go into many states and see some wonderful examples of things that work in those communities, because there isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer.  What works in Mississippi may not work in Arizona, may not work in Connecticut.  So we really need to look to the governors and mayors who know their communities, who understand their issues, their challenges, and that we work from there, and that we highlight those things that work — like in Pennsylvania.  They’ve done an amazing job to deal with the issue of food deserts that I’ve talked about; you know, the 23.5 million Americans that live in communities without access to a supermarket.  And there were neighborhoods like that when I was growing up. 
 
     There’s one community in Philadelphia — we went to visit a grocery store — that community hadn’t had a grocery store in a decade.  So you think about — you know, that’s a child’s life, right?  Ten years of a child’s life where their mother couldn’t walk down the street and buy some fruit and a head of broccoli. 
 
     So they’ve structured a financing initiative that leverages government dollars with private sector dollars, and they’ve been able to incentivize getting grocery stores into underserved communities, not just in urban areas but in some of the more rural areas in the state.
 
     So we need to — we can highlight those successes and hopefully give other states an example of what they might try, what might work.
 
     Q    On Tuesday, you spoke to the Grocery Manufacturers Association.  They sell not only in those supermarkets, those grocery stores, they sell vegetables and fruit; I hear that there’s also some sugary stuff around — (laughter.)
 
     MRS. OBAMA:  A few things, a few things.
 
     Q    My five-year-old has briefed me on this.
 
     MRS. OBAMA:  Yes, yes.  (Laughter.)
 
     Q    And my question is, one logical extension, if the epidemic is as significant and widespread as it seems to be, what would you think about a warning label on Twinkies or Froot Loops that says –
 
     MRS. OBAMA:  “Warning.”
 
     Q    — “This is known to cause obesity in the absence of other kinds of eating and exercise”?
 
     MRS. OBAMA:  You know, that strikes me as extreme, because a Twinkie is not a cigarette, you know.  And what — what parents need is just information about what’s in the Twinkie and how much of this can we eat.  It’s not that we can’t have a Twinkie.  And our kids would be pretty upset.  And I am not supporting that.  (Laughter.)  So all the kids out there — right? 
 
     Q    It’s called triangulation, ma’am.  (Laughter.)
 
MRS. OBAMA:  I’m all in favor of good snacks.  We grew up with snacks and chips.  We did.  But we have to exercise more, parents have to understand what’s in the Twinkie; again, how does it fit into the overall diet.  So we don’t need a warning, we need information.  And we need information that’s easy to understand.  That’s something that I said yesterday in the speech.  You read labels now and it’s like the small print and it’s all “oleosutomay” — or I don’t — the chemicals, you can’t even pronounce them, and the portion sizes compared to one, and you’ve got a small one and a big one.  And then, before you know it, you don’t know what to buy and how much to give to your kids and in what amounts.  That’s the kind of information that families need.
 
And I think that the Grocery Store Manufacturers who are — they have been magnificent.  And I know that there are those who say, well, are they going to really make changes?  Look, the people who run those companies are parents and grandparents, too.  They care about their kids.  They’re trying to figure out how to meet the demand and how to give information.
 
And we know that they’re going to sit down — you know, we know they’re going to sit down and help us figure this stuff out.  You know, what are the facts that parents need to know; how do we structure it in a way that they can understand; and how do they meet the demands that we are now going to make — because it’s really up to us, as the parents and the consumers, to change the demand. 
 
They will make what we tell them we want to buy.  And if we want healthier foods for our kids, and that’s what we’re purchasing, our power will shift their market.  We don’t need much more than our own demands to change, and we need to work with our kids to also get them to change their eating habits as well.
 
So it’s going to require all of us to do their parts, and then we don’t need the warning labels.  We just need common sense and good information.
 
Q    Twinkies are safe in the Obama administration.  (Laughter.)
 
MRS. OBAMA:  Yes, we are — (laughter) — yes, I think I’m — I feel good going on record.  (Laughter.)
 
Q    Okay.  We don’t have to pass a special rule.  (Laughter.)
 
MRS. OBAMA:  No.
 
Q    Where do you stand on a beverage tax for sugary beverages?
 
MRS. OBAMA:  You know, the “Let’s Move” initiative doesn’t — we’re not — doesn’t involve a tax.  But there are communities that believe that taxing sodas and other things works for them.  And again, because, you know, we believe that those ideas and those approaches need to come from the bottom up, there are going to be cities and states and towns who believe that that’s what they need in their communities.  And, again, there is no one-size-fits-all answer.  And I think that’s where mayors, governors, citizens, schools, you know, working in your own states and communities — to figure out really what’s going to work and what’s going to move the bar on this issue.
 
Q    What’s your sense of posting calorie counts?  It happens in New York — actually, where I live, and it’s very depressing, actually.  (Laughter.)  The mayor of New York has made it very hard to go to Dunkin’ Donuts.  (Laughter.)  But it works.  Is that something else that should be a weapon in the arsenal?
 
MRS. OBAMA:  I think the more information we can give to consumers, families, parents, the better.  There are examples outside of New York — in Somerville, Massachusetts, the mayor there has been working with some of the local restaurant owners to get them to change their menus so that there are healthier options and customers have more information about what’s in stuff.  I think that’s a good thing. 
 
But also in Somerville they’re going beyond just what we eat and they’re also thinking more creatively about how in every aspect of what they do to run that city, they’re thinking about the health and well-being of kids.  So that comes down to how many parks they have; and what their roads look like; and if they’re building a new street, making sure there’s a sidewalk and a place for kids to ride their bikes.  I mean, again, this isn’t just about what we eat, this is about how we live.
 
In some of the towns in Mississippi they have to think creatively about where they don’t have places to play — you know, maybe you take an old field and turn it into a soccer field and let the city pay a dollar for it.  And you find ways, creative ways, to make sure there are spaces for families to live in a healthy way.
 
Those are the kind of ideas that we want to promote.  Those are the kind of things that are working.  We just need to do more of it and we need to do it faster.
 
Q    There’s also, both in rural areas and in urban areas, there’s an economic issue, which is — you mentioned convenience, but often the fast food can be even less expensive sometimes than getting healthy food.
 
MRS. OBAMA:  Absolutely.
 
Q    Can you talk about that disparity and what we can do about it?
 
MRS. OBAMA:  That disparity is very real.  I mean — no, I talked about it with the grocery manufacturers as well.  It’s not just making healthy food, but it’s making healthy food that’s affordable.  And that’s a challenge, as well, but we have to recognize that we need to move in that direction.  There are — you know, we can’t look families in the face and say, “You fix this problem,” but then you can’t afford the food that they need to fix the problem; they don’t have access to it.  We have to figure this out.
 
The school lunch program is a major — is going to be a major player in the whole resource issue because many kids are getting the majority of their meals at school.  So that’s one of those areas where we have some control over as a society because, you know, we’re going to feed these kids for two out of three or four of their meals, depending upon how many they have.  So we need to make sure that we pass legislation that makes sense, that sets clear basic nutritional guidelines, not just in the school lunch lines, but in the vending machines and a la carte lines; that we have the resources to help schools bring their standards up.
 
Things like — in Mississippi, what Governor Barbour did with some of his stimulus money was to remove fryers and put in ovens.  I mean, it’s just something as simple — the school nutritionist will tell you, we want to do better, but all we have is a fryer, which means when you have a fryer then you have to fry stuff.  (Laughter.)  So we need to make sure that the schools have the resources they need to make the changes to get healthier food into the schools.
 
But we also have to make sure that every single child that is eligible for free and reduced lunch actually gets it, that we reduce the paperwork to make sure that — if you look at some of the paperwork that families get to sign up, and then they have to re-sign up and then they have to fill it out.  You know, you look at that, you’re busy and, you know, you just brush it under the rug, you don’t complete it.  We have to make those processes and procedures easier.  And I think we can go a long way to helping underserved families with the school lunch program.
 
Q    How does obesity affect classroom learning?
 
MRS. OBAMA:  I think, you know, this week it opened this up, right, to the audience.  I mean, we know — in our own kids, in our own lives — how kids respond when they have a good meal, they’ve eaten the right things.  We know what happens to kids when they are hyped up on sugar and they’re operating on too much sugar and not enough substance.  We see it in our own lives. 
 
So you just imagine if you send a kid to school with a sugary breakfast and a sugary drink, and they have to learn for a few hours and they stop maybe for 10 minutes for lunch — maybe — and they haven’t had a chance to run and run off that energy.  And then they start dropping because they’re coming down from all that sugar.  And they don’t even know it.  They don’t even know why they feel lethargic, why they get sleepy at about eleven o’clock during the day — just like we all do when we don’t eat right.  I mean, we all experience it.
 
So it definitely affects how kids feel throughout the day, which is something that we have to remember.  This issue is not about looks and appearance.  This is about how our kids feel and how they feel about themselves, because how you feel inside affects the way you approach the day; even the way you tackle the challenge.  If you feel like, you know, you’re full and you’ve eaten some fruit and you’ve gotten some grains, that affects the way you think.
 
So this isn’t an image issue.  This is truly an overall health issue.  And kids, in addition to needing to eat well, have to run.  They have to run around during the day.  They have to get the energy out, you know?  I mean, you’ve got kids.  You imagine trying to teach your child sitting still for hours –
 
Q    Oh, in our house (inaudible) the time.  (Laughter.)
 
MRS. OBAMA:  Right.  All right, okay, Jon.  (Laughter.)
 
Q    We read “Newsweek” aloud.  (Laughter.)  They love the Obama collection.
 
MRS. OBAMA:  Oh, good.  It’s very good.  (Laughter.)
 
Q    No, you’re right, absolutely.  But why isn’t — I mean, we’re lucky in that our kids — where our kids go to school, they run around.  That’s not true in a lot of places.  Physical education is often the first thing to go.  Recess has been cut back.  From a policy perspective, is that simply a financial issue?  Is it because the standards, classroom standards have been set at a point where they can’t afford a single moment of classroom time?  What’s your analysis of the end of recess?
 
     MRS. OBAMA:  I think that educators, administrators, parents would say it’s all of it.  Some of it feels like a resource issue.  And some of it is when you’re testing so much and you’re meeting requirements, you feel like the first thing that goes — if your money is tied to a test score and not to recess, you know, and whether your kids can run around, then the choice is already made for you, some administrators feel.
 
     But there are also examples where schools are figuring out how even in this current climate of testing and lack of resources, how to put that stuff back into the curriculum.  The Department of Agriculture has the U.S. Healthier School Challenge, which is an initiative that we’re promoting as part of the “Let’s Move” initiative.  We’re going to — we want to double the number of schools in this country that qualify as U.S. Healthier Schools.  There are currently about 600 of them around the country.  Our goal under “Let’s Move” is to double that, because these are schools that are the models for what we’d like to see happening with nutrition and physical education, because without any additional resources, they figured out how to restructure their curriculum, how to use nutrition education as part of math and science; they found ways to mandate and reincorporate recess and gym back into their classrooms.
 
     I mean, there are schools — wonderful, public schools — all over the country that are figuring how to restructure the day.  But what I’ve found when I’ve talked to principals, administrators who’ve made that choice, they have decided as a school community that exercise and nutrition isn’t an extra; that it is an essential part of what a good curriculum has to look like. 
 
So in one school that I visited in Virginia, they don’t allow teachers to take recess or gym away as a punishment because their feeling is that’s counter-productive.  So now you’ve got a problem, so you’ve taken away the one thing that may help the kid wind out of the problem.  So they’ve — you know, they’ve said you can’t take that away, because that’s part of the curriculum.  That’s like telling the kid, well, you didn’t do well in spelling, so you’re not going to be able to do math today.
 
     Q    In addition to the Twinkie thing, that might be a very good political move — (laughter) — pull them out of math. 
 
     MRS. OBAMA:  Right, right.  (Laughter.)  But I am not — now, I did not say that.  (Laughter.)
 
     Q    No, ma’am, just me.  (Laughter.)  It was me. 
 
     MRS. OBAMA:  That’s your idea. 
 
     Q    Yes, ma’am. 
 
     MRS. OBAMA:  But there are schools that are figuring out how to make this happen.  Our job is to give them the resources they need, hold them up, celebrate those successes and help other school districts figure out how do they do the same thing.  How have they managed in the current climate?  What’s the difference?  Why does one school manage to do it and another can’t?  Is it at the regional level?  Is it the superintendent support?  I mean, we could probably talk to educators in this room right now who are — just they know the answer to this, and they’re ready to jump on it.
 
     But there are schools that are doing it.  And we need to make sure that more are doing it.  This should be the standard of how our kids get an education in this country. 
 
     Q    Last question, ma’am.  How will you measure success, as you look at the lifetime of the administration, of your own ongoing work, presumably?
 
     MRS. OBAMA:  Well, the goal for “Let’s Move,” the whole goal of this initiative, is to end the problem of childhood obesity in a generation.  So this is a generational issue.  And our view is that we want kids born today to grow up at a healthy weight.  And it will take a generation to see how that’s going.
 
     But one of the things that the administration is doing now — the President signed an executive order creating the first ever Council on Childhood Obesity.  They are now reviewing every single program and policy, not just in the government but in the country, that focuses on education and nutrition.  And we need to figure out how to use the resources we have more smartly.
 
     But we’re going to get that report in May.  We’re looking forward to that.  And part of that — the interesting thing about that approach is that we’re saying we need real, measurable outcomes.  And the foundation that was set up as part of this initiative — and we’ve got some wonderful foundations who have been researching and investing in this issue for decades — RJW, Kellogg — I don’t want to begin to name all of them, because I’ll miss some — but they are going to be sort of the future arm of this, so that when I’m gone, when the President is gone and the next administration comes in, you’ve got an independent group that’s going to continue to look at these goals and help us figure out whether we’re reaching the goals, and keep our feet to the fire, because, again, this isn’t something that’s going to happen in this administration.
 
     This is — we are looking at this as a forever proposition, because fundamentally, as I said in my speech to the food manufacturers, we have to change the way we view food and health forever.  And we can start with kids, because they haven’t — their habits haven’t been ingrained.  We can shift the way they think, even the way they taste food.  We can do that.  Us, you know, grownups — (laughter) — not so much.  We’re a little stuck in our ways.
 
     But we can still guide our children.  I still think of my mother, who said — you know, she had no problem doing things that she told me I couldn’t do.  (Laughter.)  So even though we, as parents, haven’t conquered it and maybe we don’t — we’re not doing it, we can still help our kids get to a different place.  And it’s going to take time.  And it’s going to take patience.  And we’re going to need everyone involved.
 
     But I think about where we started a year ago with the planting of this little garden.  And now, we have this wonderful initiative that has the food industry coming together; and bipartisan support all over the country; parents feeling excited and support it; kids — (laughter) — you know, they’re coming.  (Laughter.)  We’ve got the professional sports community standing by. 
 
This is an issue that can unite the country.  And it can unite us with the rest of the world, because the truth is there isn’t a single head of state or spouse of a head of state who I have met who has not been fascinated by our garden and our conversations around nutrition, because so many other countries are beginning to see some of the effects as they develop.  They’re seeing their rates go up.
 
     So this is an issue for the world.  And we can truly be a leader, but we have to be patient.  And we also have to be clear that we need to work really hard and stretch.  So when we talk to the food industry, we say, you have to do more.  When we talk to ourselves as parents, we have to push ourselves.  We have to talk to Congress.  And we have to say, you have to push to ensure that we’re getting the kind of regulations and support so that our school meals are healthy.
 
     We all have to stretch on this one.  And if we do, I think we can — we will see a change in our kids that we can be proud of.
 
     Q    Well, thank you so much for your work, for your piece this week –
 
     MRS. OBAMA:  Thank you.  Thank you for investing in this conversation.
 
     Q    — and for this remarkable presentation.  Thank you very much.  (Applause.)

President Obama Nominates Judge Leonard Stark and Amy Totenberg to the United States District Court
 
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, President Obama nominated Judge Leonard Stark and Amy Totenberg to the United States District Court.  Judge Stark is a nominee for the District of Delaware and Totenberg is a nominee for the Northern District of Georgia.
 
“Leonard Stark and Amy Totenberg are distinguished candidates for the United States District Court,” President Obama said.  “They have both displayed an exceptional commitment to public service and they will be thoughtful and esteemed additions to the federal bench.  I am honored to nominate them today.”
 
Judge Leonard P. Stark: Nominee for the United States District Court for the District of Delaware
Judge Leonard P. Stark is a United States Magistrate Judge for the District of Delaware, a position he has held since 2007.  Previously, he was an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Delaware and an associate in the Delaware office of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP.  He began his legal career in Wilmington, Delaware, as a law clerk to the Honorable Walter K. Stapleton of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.  Judge Stark graduated from the University of Delaware in 1991 with three degrees: an M.A. in History, a B.S. in Economics, and a B.A. in Political Science.  In 1993, he received a doctorate degree in Politics from the University of Oxford, where he studied as a Rhodes Scholar.  He earned his J.D. from Yale Law School in 1996. 
 
Amy Totenberg: Nominee for the United States District Court, Northern District of Georgia
Since 2000, Amy Totenberg has been a sole practitioner and arbitrator based in Atlanta.  She serves as a special master in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland and as a court monitor in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.  From 1994 to 1998, Totenberg served as the first in-house general counsel for the Atlanta school system.  Before that, she focused on civil litigation, primarily as a sole practitioner.  She also served as a part-time Municipal Court Judge for the City of Atlanta from 1988 to 1993.  Totenberg received her J.D. in 1977 from Harvard Law School, and her A.B., magna cum laude, from Harvard-Radcliffe in 1974.

Statement from the President on the National Broadband Plan
 
America today is on the verge of a broadband-driven Internet era that will unleash innovation, create new jobs and industries, provide consumers with new powerful sources of information, enhance American safety and security, and connect communities in ways that strengthen our democracy.  Just as past generations of Americans met the great infrastructure challenges of the day, such as building the Transcontinental railroad and the Interstate highways, so too must we harness the potential of the Internet.  Expanding broadband across the nation will build a foundation of sustained economic growth and the widely shared prosperity we all seek.
I commend Chairman Julius Genachowski, the Commissioners, and the FCC staff for their hard work in developing the National Broadband Plan.  My Administration will build upon our efforts over the past year to make America’s nationwide broadband infrastructure the world’s most powerful platform for economic growth and prosperity, including improving access to mobile broadband, maximizing technology innovation, and supporting a nationwide, interoperable public safety wireless broadband network.

REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
AT THE FRIENDS OF IRELAND LUNCHEON
 
United States Capitol
 
1:10 P.M. EDT
 
 
THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  Please, everybody be seated.  To Speaker Pelosi; distinguished members of the House and Senate; Republican Leader Boehner; Majority Leader Steny Hoyer; my outstanding Vice President and his newest chief of staff  — (laughter) — to Prime Minister Cowen and the entire Irish delegation, as well as the extraordinary leaders from Ireland and Northern Ireland — it is my privilege to welcome all of  you for this wonderful St. Patrick’s Day tradition. 
 
And, Governor O’Malley, thank you for that outstanding rendition of our two national anthems.  (Applause.)  I had asked if Martin was going to do a rock-and-roll version.  (Laughter.)  Some of you know he’s got a rock band and is in much demand.   
 
This tradition, as most of you know, was begun by Tip O’Neill and Ronald Reagan, two men who agreed on their love of all things Irish — including a good scrum.  But they also knew how to set aside time just to enjoy one another’s company.  President Reagan himself said that the two men could be friends after six o’clock.  And I imagine they also made a midday exception for this luncheon every year.
 
Today is a day we speak with pride of being Irish-American — whether we actually are or not.  (Laughter.)  I am pleased to say that I can actually get away with it, and I’ve got the  Taoiseach here to vouch for me.  Prime Minister Cowen was born in County Offaly, and I can trace my ancestry on my mother’s side there as well.  I believe it was my great-great-great-great-great grandfather.  (Laughter.)  This is true.  (Laughter.)  He was a boot maker, if I’m not mistaken.
 
Someone actually discovered my Irish lineage when I was running for President, and my first thought was why didn’t anyone discover this when I was running for office in Chicago?  (Laughter.)  I would have gotten here sooner.  (Laughter.)  I used to put the apostrophe after the “O” but that did not work.  (Laughter.)   
 
So it is nice to have a little Irish blood today.  It is, after all, a day to celebrate and give thanks for the profound and enduring relationship between Ireland and America.  And it’s also a day to thank the Irish people for all that they’ve done for America. 
 
Few nations so small have had such an enormous impact on another.  They came to our shores in waves by choice as well as by necessity, building new lives even as they were building a new nation, enriching our heritage, enriching our culture in their own way.  And in so doing, alongside so many others who sought a better life in America, they forged a better future for all of us.
 
But the truth is they weren’t always welcomed.  There were times where the Irish were caricatured and stereotyped and cursed at and blamed for society’s ills.  So, naturally, it was a good fit for them to go into politics.  (Laughter.)  Made sense.  (Laughter.) 
 
When the fictional Mayor Skeffington of Edwin O’Connor’s “The Last Hurrah,” spoke of his life as an Irish-American, he said, “When I began, it was long ago, and the situation around here was a bit different.  I had no education to speak of, a good many roads were closed to our people — and politics seemed the easiest way out.”  (Laughter.)
 
Today, of course, we all feel the heavy absence of one of our greatest Irish-Americans; a man who loved this day so much; a man who I believe is still watching this body closely, particularly this week — and that is our beloved Ted Kennedy.  And I’m so grateful that Vicki and Patrick are here.  Thank you for your presence.  (Applause.)
 
I confess that one of my fondest memories of Teddy has been on my mind lately — it’s one that I shared before.  Just a few years ago, on St. Patrick’s Day, so it would probably be maybe five years ago, when I had just gotten to the Senate, Teddy cornered me on the Senate floor for my support on a piece of legislation.  And I told him, “You’ve got my vote, Teddy, but I got to tell you, this is not looking good.  I do not think this thing is going to fly.”  But it did, with votes to spare.  And so I grabbed Teddy, pulled him aside.  I said, “How did you pull that off?”  And he just patted me on the back and he said, “Luck of the Irish!”
 
And it’s nice when the luck of the Irish can bring to the Senate and to Congress such an extraordinary leader as Ted Kennedy.  I think it’s a little providence, as well as a little luck.  It’s also nice when the luck of the Irish can bring us all together, Republicans and Democrats.  That was one of Teddy’s talents.  Even as he waged epic and unyielding battles in this building, he, too, was a believer that we were all friends after six o’clock. 
 
And more importantly, he was a believer in building consensus, in forging compromise, in the idea that the only way that we can accomplish the work of the American people is to work together.  And one of the greatest testaments to his life and his work, I think, was that so many of his colleagues, past and present, Republican and Democrats, came forward to honor him in similar terms.
 
That work — the work of setting aside old differences and softening hardened positions, taking the tough steps to do what’s right in the long run over what’s easy in the moment — has also paid dividends in terms of the remarkable progress that we’ve seen in Northern Ireland, particularly in recent months.  And so I want to salute First Minister Peter Robinson and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness for their outstanding leadership, their continuing example.  (Applause.)  We are grateful for that.  Thank you.
 
It is such leadership that keeps me convinced that our best days — for this legislative body, for this nation, for Ireland, and for Northern Ireland, and for the friendship between our peoples — those best days are still ahead.
 
So, Taoiseach, I thank you and your lovely wife for coming.  To you and to the people of Ireland, America is grateful for our shared past, hopeful for our common future, and I assure you we will be a faithful partner in the work of progress and prosperity, and a just a lasting peace.
 
Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all of you.  And with that, please welcome the Prime Minister of Ireland, Brian Cowen.  (Applause.)

Statement from the President on Sunshine Week
 
As Sunshine Week begins, I want to applaud everyone who has worked to increase transparency in government and recommit my administration to be the most open and transparent ever, an effort that will strengthen our democracy and ensure the public’s trust in their government. We came to Washington to change the way business was done, and part of that was making ourselves accountable to the American people by opening up our government. We’ve put our White House visitor records on the Internet for the first time in history; opened up more government information than ever before on Data.gov, Recovery.gov and USAspending.gov; and issued an Executive Order fighting unnecessary secrecy, to name a few.
 
We are proud of these accomplishments, but our work is not done. We will continue to work toward an unmatched level of transparency, participation  and accountability across the entire Administration.

Statement from the President on Financial Reform
 
It has now been well over a year since the near collapse of the financial sector, and yet today the same failed system that brought on this crisis remains in place.  The financial crisis has resulted in more than 8 million American workers losing their jobs, trillions in household wealth being wiped out and hundreds of thousands of small businesses without the credit they need to grow.  We cannot wait any longer for real financial reform that brings accountability to the financial system and makes sure that the American taxpayer is never again asked to bail out the irresponsibility of our largest banks and financial institutions.
 
This proposal provides a strong foundation to build a safer financial system.  It creates a new consumer financial protection agency to set and enforce clear rules of the road and establishes stronger supervision for the largest financial firms under the Federal Reserve.  It brings transparency and oversight to derivatives and other financial markets that were central to the crisis and separates banking from proprietary trading and hedge funds. The proposal will also provide the government with essential tools to respond in a financial crisis, so that we can wind down and liquidate a large, interconnected failing financial firm.  It allows us to protect the economy and taxpayers so that we can end the belief that any firm is “Too Big to Fail”.
 
As the bill moves forward, I will take every opportunity to work with Chairman Dodd and his colleagues to strengthen the bill and will fight against efforts to weaken it.
 
American families deserve a strong, independent consumer financial protection agency that is accountable for setting and enforcing clear rules across the financial marketplace.  And I will not accept attempts to undermine the independence of the consumer protection agency, or to exclude from its purview banks, credit card companies or nonbank firms such as debt collectors, credit bureaus, payday lenders or auto dealers.
 
I will oppose any loopholes that could harm consumers or investors, or that allow institutions to avoid oversight that is important to financial stability.
 
We need to ensure the ultimate bill provides strong, clear authority for setting and enforcing rules, limiting excessive risk taking in the financial system, and winding down the largest financial firms when necessary in a way that does not cause a financial panic.  All derivatives must be regulated and shareholders should have a say not just on pay but also other compensation that rewards risk taking.  We will stand firm against any attempt by the financial sector to avoid their responsibilities: in any future crisis the big financial companies must pay, not taxpayers.

REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
ON HEALTH CARE REFORM
 
Walter F. Ehrnfelt Recreation and Senior Center
Strongsville, Ohio
 
 
1:00 P.M. EDT
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, Ohio!  (Applause.)  It is good to be here in the Buckeye State.  Congratulations on winning the Big Ten Championship.  (Laughter.)  I’m filling out my brackets now.  (Laughter.)  And it’s even better to be out of Washington for a little while.
 
     AUDIENCE:  O-H-I-O.
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  Yes, that kid Turner looks pretty good.  You guys are doing all right.
 
     It is wonderful to be here –
 
     AUDIENCE MEMBER:  I love you!
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  I love you back.  I do.  (Applause.)
 
     Couple of people I just want to make sure I give special mention to.  First of all, you already saw him, Governor Ted Strickland in the house.  (Applause.)  Ted is fighting every day to bring jobs and economic development to Ohio.
 
     So is your terrific United States Senator Sherrod Brown.  Love Sherrod Brown.  (Applause.)  Your own congressman, who is tireless on behalf of working people, Dennis Kucinich.  (Applause.)
 
     AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Vote yes!
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  Did you hear that, Dennis?  Go ahead, say that again.
 
     AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Vote yes!
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  A couple members of Congress are here:  U.S. Representative Betty Sutton.  (Applause.)  U.S. Representative Marcia Fudge.  (Applause.)  U.S. Representative Tim Ryan.  (Applause.)  U.S. Representative Charlie Wilson.  (Applause.)
 
     I want to thank Mayor Tom Perciak here in Strongsville.  Please, Mr. Mayor, you’re on.  (Applause.)  That’s a good bunch of folks we got here in Ohio, working hard.  Which is why I’m glad to be back — and let’s face it, it’s nice to be out of Washington once in a while.  (Laughter.)
 
I want to thank Connie — I want to thank Connie, who introduced me.  I want to thank her and her family for being here on behalf of her sister, Natoma.  I don’t know if everybody understood that Natoma is in the hospital right now, so Connie was filling in.  It’s not easy to share such a personal story, when your sister who you love so much is sick.  And so I appreciate Connie being willing to do so here today, and — (applause) — and I want everybody to understand that Connie and her sister are the reason that I’m here today.  (Applause.)
 
See, Connie felt it was important that her sister’s story be told.  But I want to just repeat what happened here.  Last month, I got a letter from Connie’s sister, Natoma.  She’s self-employed, she’s trying to make ends meet, and for years she’s done the responsible thing, just like most of you have.  She bought insurance — she didn’t have a big employer who provided her insurance, so she bought her health insurance through the individual market.
 
And it was important for her to have insurance because 16 years ago, she was diagnosed with a treatable form of cancer.  And even though she had been cancer-free for more than a decade, the insurance companies kept on jacking up her rates, year after year.  So she increased her out-of-pocket expenses.  She raised her deductible.  She did everything she could to maintain her health insurance that would be there just in case she got sick, because she figured, I didn’t want to be — she didn’t want to be in a position where, if she did get sick, somebody else would have to pick up the tab; that she’d have to go to the emergency room; that the cost would be shifted onto folks through their higher insurance premiums or hospitals charging higher rates.  So she tried to do the right thing.
 
And she upped her deductible last year to the minimum [sic], the highest possible deductible.  But despite that, Natoma’s insurance company raised her premiums by more than 25 percent.  And over the past year, she paid more than $6,000 in monthly premiums.
 
AUDIENCE:  Boo!
 
THE PRESIDENT:  She paid more than $4,000 in out-of-pocket medical costs, for co-pays and medical care and prescriptions.  So all together, this woman paid $10,000 — one year.  But because she never hit her deductible, her insurance company only spent $900 on her care.  So the insurance company is making — getting $10,000; paying out $900.  Now, what comes in the mail at the end of last year?
 
AUDIENCE MEMBER:  A bill!
 
AUDIENCE MEMBER:  A rate hike!
 
THE PRESIDENT:  It’s a letter telling Natoma that her premiums would go up again by more than 40 percent.
 
AUDIENCE:  Boo!
 
THE PRESIDENT:  So here’s what happens.  She just couldn’t afford it.  She didn’t have the money.  She realized that if she paid those health insurance premiums that had been jacked up by 40 percent, she couldn’t make her mortgage.  And despite her desire to keep her coverage, despite her fears that she would get sick and lose the home that her parents built — she finally surrendered, she finally gave up her health insurance.  She stopped paying it — she couldn’t make ends meet.
 
So January was her last month of being insured.  Like so many responsible Americans — folks who work hard every day, who try to do the right thing — she was forced to hang her fortunes on chance.  To take a chance, that’s all she could do.  She hoped against hope that she would stay healthy.  She feared terribly that she might not stay healthy.
 
That was the letter that I read to the insurance companies, including the person responsible for raising her rates.  Now, I understand Natoma was pretty surprised when she found out that I had read it to these CEOs.  But I thought it was important for them to understand the human dimensions of this problem.  Her rates have been hiked more than 40 percent.
 
And this was less than two weeks ago.  Unfortunately, Natoma’s worst fears were realized.  And just last week, she was working on a nearby farm, walking outside — apparently, chasing after a cow — (laughter) — when she collapsed.  And she was rushed to the hospital.  She was very sick.  She needed two blood transfusions.  Doctors performed a battery of tests.  And on Saturday, Natoma was diagnosed with leukemia.
 
Now, the reason Natoma is not here today is that she’s lying on a hospital bed, suddenly faced with this emergency — suddenly faced with the fight of her life.  She expects to face more than a month of aggressive chemotherapy.  She is racked with worry not only about her illness but about the costs of the tests and the treatment that she’s surely going to need to beat it.
 
So you want to know why I’m here, Ohio?  I’m here because of Natoma.  (Applause.)   I’m here because of the countless others who have been forced to face the most terrifying challenges in their lives with the added burden of medical bills they can’t pay.  I don’t think that’s right.  (Applause.)   Neither do you.  That’s why we need health insurance right now.  Health insurance reform right now.  (Applause.)
 
AUDIENCE:  Obama!  Obama!  Obama!  Obama!
 
THE PRESIDENT:  I’m here because of my own mother’s story.  She died of cancer, and in the last six months of her life, she was on the phone in her hospital room arguing with insurance companies instead of focusing on getting well and spending time with her family.
 
I’m here because of the millions who are denied coverage because of preexisting conditions or dropped from coverage when they get sick.  (Applause.)
 
I’m here because of the small businesses who are forced to choose between health care and hiring.  (Applause.)
 
I’m here because of the seniors unable to afford the prescriptions that they need.  (Applause.)
 
I’m here because of the folks seeing their premiums go up 20 and 30 and 40 and 50 and 60 percent in a year.  (Applause.)
 
Ohio, I am here because that is not the America I believe in and that’s not the America that you believe in.
 
     AUDIENCE MEMBER:  What’s your plan?
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  So when you hear people say “start over” –
 
     AUDIENCE:  No!!
 
THE PRESIDENT:  — I want you to think about Natoma.  When you hear people saying that this isn’t the “right time,” you think about what she’s going through.  When you hear people talk about, well, what does this mean for the Democrats?  What does this mean for the Republicans?  I don’t know how the polls are doing.  When you hear people more worried about the politics of it than what’s right and what’s wrong, I want you to think about Natoma and the millions of people all across this country who are looking for some help, and looking for some relief.  That’s why we need health insurance reform right now.  (Applause.)
 
     Part of what makes this issue difficult is most of us do have health insurance, we still do.  And so — and so we kind of feel like, well, I don’t know, it’s kind of working for me; I’m not worrying too much.  But what we have to understand is that what’s happened to Natoma, there but for the grace of God go any one of us.  (Applause.)  Anybody here, if you lost your job right now and after the COBRA ran out –
 
(Audience member faints.)
 
THE PRESIDENT:  It looks like we’ve got somebody who might’ve fainted down there, so if we’ve got a medic.  No, no, no.  Hold on.  I’m talking about there’s somebody who might’ve fainted right down here, so if we can get a medic just back here.  They’re probably okay.  Just give her or him some space.
 
     AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Hope you have insurance.  (Laughter.)
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  So let’s just think about — think about if you lost your job right now.  How many people here might have had a preexisting condition that would mean it’d be very hard to get health insurance on the individual market?  Think about if you wanted to change jobs.  Think about if you wanted to start your own business but you suddenly had to give up your health insurance on your job.  Think about what happens if a child of yours, heaven forbid, got diagnosed with something that made it hard for them to insure.
     For so many people, it may not be a problem right now but it’s going to be a problem later, at any point.  And even if you’ve got good health insurance, what’s happening to your premiums?  What’s happening to your co-payments?  What’s happening to your deductible?  They’re all going up.  That’s money straight out of your pocket.
So the bottom line is this:  The status quo on health care is simply unsustainable.  (Applause.)  We can’t have — we can’t have a system that works better for the insurance companies than it does for the American people.  (Applause.)
And we know what will happen if we fail to act.  We know that our government will be plunged deeper into debt.  We know that millions more people will lose their coverage.  We know that rising costs will saddle millions more families with unaffordable expenses.  And a lot of small businesses are just going to drop their coverage altogether.  That’s already what’s been happening.
A study came out just yesterday — this is a nonpartisan study — it’s found that without reform, premiums could more than double for individuals and families over the next decade.  Family policies could go to an average of $25,000 or more.  Can you afford that?
AUDIENCE:  No!
     THE PRESIDENT:  You think your employer can afford that?
     AUDIENCE:  No!
     THE PRESIDENT:  Your employer can’t sustain that.  So what’s going to happen is, they’re basically — more and more of them are just going to say, you know what?  You’re on your own on this.
We have debated this issue now for more than a year.  Every proposal has been put on the table.  Every argument has been made.  I know a lot of people view this as a partisan issue, but, look, the fact is both parties have a lot of areas where we agree — it’s just politics are getting in the way of actually getting it done.  (Applause.)
 
Somebody asked what’s our plan.  Let me describe exactly what we’re doing, because we’ve ended up with a proposal that incorporates the best ideas from Democrats and Republicans, even though Republicans don’t give us any credit.  (Laughter.)  That’s all right.
 
     You know, if you think about the debate around health care reform, there were some who wanted to scrap the system of private insurance and replace it with government-run care.  And, look, that works in a number of places, but I did not see that being practical to help right away for people who really need it.
 
And on the other end of the spectrum, and this is what a lot of the Republicans are saying right now, there are those who simply believe that the answer is to unleash the insurance industry, to deregulate them further, provide them less oversight and fewer rules.
 
AUDIENCE:  Boo!
 
THE PRESIDENT:  This is called the fox-guarding-the-henhouse approach to health insurance reform.  (Laughter.)  So what it would do is it would give insurance companies more leeway to raise premiums, more leeway to deny care.  It would segment the market further.  It would be good if you were rich and healthy.  You’d save money.  But if you’re an ordinary person, if you get older, if you get a little sicker, you’d be paying more.
 
Now, I don’t believe we should give the government or insurance companies more control over health care in America.  I believe it’s time to give you, the American people, more control over your own health insurance.  (Applause.)
 
And that’s what our proposal does.  Our proposal builds on the current system where most Americans get their health insurance from their employer.  So if you like your plan, you can keep your plan.  If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor.  I don’t want to interfere with people’s relationships between them and their doctors.
 
Essentially, here’s what my proposal would change:  three things about the current health care system, but three important things.
 
Number one, it would end the worst practices of the insurance companies.  (Applause.)  All right?  This is like a patient’s bill of rights on steroids.  (Laughter.)  Within the first year of signing health care reform, thousands of uninsured Americans with preexisting conditions will be able to purchase health insurance for the first time in their lives or the first time since they got sick.  (Applause.)  This year, insurance companies will be banned forever from denying coverage to children with preexisting conditions.  So parents can have a little bit of security.  (Applause.)  This year, under this legislation, insurance companies will be banned from dropping your coverage when you get sick.  Those practices would end.  (Applause.)
 
With this reform package, all new insurance plans would be required to offer free preventive care to their customers starting this year — so free check-ups to catch preventable diseases on the front end.  That’s a smart thing to do.  (Applause.)  Starting this year, if you buy a new plan, there won’t be lifetime or restrictive annual limits on the amount of care you receive from your insurance companies, so you won’t be surprised by the fine print that says suddenly they’ve stopped paying and you now suddenly are $50,000 or $100,000 or $200,000 out of pocket.  That won’t — that will not happen if this becomes law this year.  (Applause.)
     I see — I see some young people in the audience.  (Applause.)  If you’re an uninsured young adult, you will be able to stay on your parents’ policy until you’re 26 years old under this law.  (Applause.)
     So number one — number one is insurance reform.  The second thing that this plan would change about the current system is this:  For the first time, uninsured individuals, small businesses, they’d have the same kind of choice of private health insurance that members of Congress get for themselves.  (Applause.)  Understand if this reform becomes law, members of Congress, they’ll be getting their insurance from the same place that the uninsured get theirs, because if it’s good enough for the American people, it’s good enough for the people who send us to Washington.  (Applause.)
     So basically what would happen is, we’d set up a pool of people; millions of people across the country would all buy into these pools that give them more negotiating power.  If you work for a big company, you’ve got a better insurance deal because you’ve got more bargaining power as a whole.  We want you to have all the bargaining power that the federal employees have, that big companies have, so you’ll be able to buy in or a small business will be able to buy into this pool.  And that will lower rates, it’s estimated, by up to 14 to 20 percent over what you’re currently getting.  That’s money out of pocket.
     And what my proposal says is if you still can’t afford the insurance in this new marketplace, then we’re going to offer you tax credits to do so.  And that will add up to the largest middle-class tax cut for health care in history.  That’s what we’re going to do.  (Applause.)
Now, when I was talking about this at that health care summit, some of you saw it — I sat there for about seven hours; I know you guys watched the whole thing.  (Laughter.)  But some of these folks said, well, we just — that’s a nice idea but we just can’t afford to do that.  Look, I want everybody to understand — the wealthiest among us can already buy the best insurance there is.  The least well among us, the poorest among us, they get their health care through Medicaid.  So it’s the middle class, it’s working people that are getting squeezed, and that’s who we have to help, and we can afford to do it.  (Applause.)
 
Now, it is true that providing these tax credits to middle class families and small businesses, that’s going to cost some money.  It’s going to cost about $100 billion per year.  But most of this comes from the nearly $2.5 trillion a year that Americans already spend on health care.  It’s just right now, a lot of that money is being spent badly.
 
So with this plan, we’re going to make sure the dollars we make — the dollars that we spend on health care are going to make insurance more affordable and more secure.  And we’re going to eliminate wasteful taxpayer subsidies that currently go to insurance company.  Insurance companies are making billions of dollars on subsidies from you, the taxpayer.  And if we take those subsidies away, we can use them to help folks like Natoma get health insurance so she doesn’t lose her house.  (Applause.)
 
And, yes, we will set a new fee on insurance companies because they stand to gain millions more customers who are buying insurance.  There’s nothing wrong with them giving something back.  But here’s the bottom line:  Our proposal is paid for — which, by the way, is more than can be said for our colleagues on the other side of the aisle when they passed that big prescription drug plan that cost about as much as my health care plan and they didn’t pay for any of it and it went straight to the deficit.  And now they’re up there on their high horse talking about, well, we don’t want to expand the deficit.  This plan doesn’t expand the deficit.  Their plan expanded the deficit.  That’s why we pay for what we do.  That’s the responsible thing to do.  (Applause.)
     Now, so let me talk about the third thing, which is my proposal would bring down the cost of health care for families, for businesses, and for the federal government.  So Americans buying comparable coverage to what they have today — I already said this — would see premiums fall by 14 to 20 percent — that’s not my numbers, that’s what the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says — for Americans who get their insurance through the workplace.  How many people are getting insurance through their jobs right now?  Raise your hands.  All right.  Well, a lot of those folks, your employer it’s estimated would see premiums fall by as much as 3,000 percent [sic], which means they could give you a raise.  (Applause.)
We have incorporated most of the serious ideas from across the political spectrum about how to contain the rising costs of health care.  We go after waste and abuse in the system, especially in Medicare.  Our cost-cutting measures would reduce most people’s premiums and bring down our deficit by up to a  trillion dollars over the next two decades.  Those aren’t my numbers.  Those are the numbers determined by the Congressional Budget Office.  They’re the referee.  That’s what they say, not what I say.
 
Now, the opponents of reform, they’ve tried to make a lot of different arguments to stop these changes.  You remember.  First, they said, well, there’s a government takeover of health care.  Well, that wasn’t true.  Well, that wasn’t true.  Then they said, well, what about death panels?  Well, that turned out — that didn’t turn out to be true.
 
You know, the most insidious argument they’re making is the idea that somehow this would hurt Medicare.  I know we’ve got some seniors here with us today — I couldn’t tell; you guys look great.  (Laughter.)  I wouldn’t have guessed.  But want to tell you directly:  This proposal adds almost a decade of solvency to Medicare.  (Applause.)  This proposal would close the gap in prescription drug coverage, called the doughnut hole — you know something about that — that sticks seniors with thousands of dollars in drug costs.  This proposal will over time help to reduce the costs of Medicare that you pay every month.  This proposal would make preventive care free so you don’t have to pay out-of-pocket for tests to keep you healthy.  (Applause.)
 
So yes, we’re going after the waste, the fraud, the abuse in Medicare.  We are eliminating some of the insurance subsidies that should be going to your care.  That’s because these dollars should be spent on care for seniors, not on the care and feeding of the insurance companies through sweetheart deals.  And every senior should know there is no cutting of your guaranteed Medicare benefits.  Period.  No “ifs,” “ands,” or “buts.”  (Applause.)  This proposal makes Medicare stronger, it makes the coverage better, and it makes the finances more secure.  And anybody who says otherwise is either misinformed — or they’re trying to misinform you.  Don’t let them hoodwink you.  They’re trying to hoodwink you.  (Laughter.)
 
So, look, Ohio, that’s the proposal.  And I believe Congress owes the American people a final up or down vote.  (Applause.)  We need an up or down vote.  It’s time to vote.  And now as we get closer to the vote, there is a lot of hand-wringing going on.  We hear a lot of people in Washington talking about politics, talking about what this means in November, talking about the poll numbers for Democrats and Republicans.
AUDIENCE MEMBER:  We need courage!
     THE PRESIDENT:  We need courage.  (Applause.)  Did you hear what somebody just said?  (Applause.)  That’s what we need.  That’s why I came here today.  We need courage.  (Applause.)
     We need courage.  You know, in the end, this debate is about far more than politics.  It comes down to what kind of country do we want to be.  It’s about the millions of lives that would be touched and, in some cases, saved, by making health insurance more secure and more affordable.  (Applause.)  It’s about a woman who’s lying in a hospital bed who just wants to be able to pay for the care she needs.  And the truth is, what’s at stake in this debate, it’s not just our ability to solve this problem; it’s about our ability to solve any problem.
 
     I was talking to Dennis Kucinich on the way over here about this.  I said, you know what?  It’s been such a long time since we made government on the side of ordinary working folks — (applause) — where we did something for them that relieved some of their struggles; that made folks who work hard every day and are doing the right thing and who are looking out for the families and contributing to their communities, that just gave them a little bit of a better chance to live out their American Dream.
The American people want to know if it’s still possible for Washington to look out for these interests, for their future.  So what they’re looking for is some courage.  They’re waiting for us to act.  They’re waiting for us to lead.  They don’t want us putting our finger out to the wind.  They don’t want us reading polls.  They want us to look and see what is the best thing for America, and then do what’s right.  (Applause.)  And as long as I hold this office, I intend to provide that leadership.  And I know these members of Congress are going to provide that leadership.  I don’t know about the politics, but I know what’s the right thing to do.  And so I’m calling on Congress to pass these reforms — and I’m going to sign them into law.  I want some courage.  I want us to do the right thing, Ohio.  And with your help, we’re going to make it happen.
 
God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.  (Applause.)

WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH, 2010

- – - – - – -

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

Countless women have steered the course of our history,

and their stories are ones of steadfast determination. From

reaching for the ballot box to breaking barriers on athletic

fields and battlefields, American women have stood resolute

in the face of adversity and overcome obstacles to realize

their full measure of success. Women’s History Month is an

opportunity for us to recognize the contributions women have

made to our Nation, and to honor those who blazed trails for

women’s empowerment and equality.

Women from all walks of life have improved their

communities and our Nation. Sylvia Mendez and her family

stood up for her right to an education and catalyzed the

desegregation of our schools. Starting as a caseworker in

city government, Dr. Dorothy Height has dedicated her life to

building a more just society. One of our young heroes, Caroline

Moore, contributed to advances in astronomy by discovering a

supernova at age 14.

When women like these reach their potential, our country as

a whole prospers. That is the duty of our Government — not to

guarantee success, but to ensure all Americans can achieve it.

My Administration is working to fulfill this promise with

initiatives like the White House Council on Women and Girls,

which promotes the importance of taking women and girls into

account in Federal policies and programs. This council is

committed to ensuring our Government does all it can to give

our daughters the chance to achieve their dreams.

As we move forward, we must correct persisting

inequalities. Women comprise over 50 percent of our population

but hold fewer than 17 percent of our congressional seats.

More than half our college students are female, yet when they

graduate, their male classmates still receive higher pay on

average for the same work. Women also hold disproportionately

fewer science and engineering jobs. That is why my

Administration launched our Educate to Innovate campaign, which

will inspire young people from all backgrounds to drive America

to the forefront of science, technology, engineering, and math.

By increasing women’s participation in these fields, we will

foster a new generation of innovators to follow in the footsteps

of the three American women selected as 2009 Nobel Laureates.

more

(OVER)

2

Our Nation’s commitment to women’s rights must not end

at our own borders, and my Administration is making global

women’s empowerment a core pillar of our foreign policy.

My Administration created the first Office for Global Women’s

Issues and appointed an Ambassador at Large to head it. We

are working with the United Nations and other international

institutions to support women’s equality and to curtail violence

against women and girls, especially in situations of war and

conflict. We are partnering internationally to improve women’s

welfare through targeted investments in agriculture, nutrition,

and health, as well as programs that empower women to contribute

to economic and social progress in their communities. And we

are following through on the commitments I made in Cairo to

promote access to education, improve literacy, and expand

employment opportunities for women and girls.

This month, let us carry forth the legacy of our mothers

and grandmothers. As we honor the women who have shaped our

Nation, we must remember that we are tasked with writing the

next chapter of women’s history. Only if we teach our daughters

that no obstacle is too great for them, that no ceiling can

block their ascent, will we inspire them to reach for their

highest aspirations and achieve true equality.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the

United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in

me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do

hereby proclaim March 2010 as Women’s History Month. I call

upon all our citizens to observe this month with appropriate

programs, ceremonies, and activities that honor the history,

accomplishments, and contributions of American women.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this

second day of March, in the year of our Lord two thousand ten,

and of the Independence of the United States of America the

two hundred and thirty-fourth.

BARACK OBAMA

# #

President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts
 
WASHINGTON – Today, President Barack Obama announced his intent to appoint the following individuals to the President’s Export Council:
 
·         W. James McNerney, Jr., Chair, President’s Export Council
·         Ursula M. Burns, Vice Chair, President’s Export Council
 
President Obama said, “Jim and Ursula are tremendously talented and experienced, and I am grateful that they have chosen to serve in these important roles as we work to strengthen our economy and create good jobs by boosting our exports. I look forward to working with them in the weeks and months ahead.”
 
President Obama announced his intent to appoint the following individuals to the President’s Export Council:
 
W. James McNerney, Jr., Appointee for Chair, President’s Export Council
W. James McNerney, Jr., is Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Boeing Company. Previously, he served as Chairman and CEO of 3M, President and CEO of GE Aircraft Engines and GE Lighting; President of GE Asia-Pacific; President and CEO of GE Electrical Distribution and Control; executive Vice President of GE Capital; and President of GE Information Services. Prior to GE, Mr. McNerney worked at Procter & Gamble and McKinsey & Co., Inc. Mr. McNerney is currently on the Board of Directors for Procter & Gamble and IBM, a member of The Field Museum Board of Trustees in Chicago, a trustee of Northwestern University, and a member of the Northwestern Memorial HealthCare Board. He also serves on The Business Roundtable, and is the former chair of The Business Council, the US-China Business Council, and the American Society of Corporate Executives. Mr. McNerney is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and an honorary fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society.  He earned his M.B.A. from Harvard University in 1975 and B.A. from Yale University in 1971.
 
Ursula M. Burns, Appointee for Vice Chair, President’s Export Council
Ursula M. Burns is the Chief Executive Officer of Xerox Corporation. She joined Xerox in 1980 as a mechanical engineer summer intern and later assumed roles in product development and planning. From 1992 through 2000, Ms. Burns led several business teams including the office color and fax business and office network printing business. In 2000, she was named senior vice president, Corporate Strategic Services, heading up manufacturing and supply chain operations. She then took on the broader role of leading Xerox’s global research as well as product development, marketing and delivery. In April 2007, Ms. Burns was named president of Xerox, expanding her leadership to also include the company’s IT organization, corporate strategy, human resources, corporate marketing and global accounts. At that time, she was also elected a member of the company’s Board of Directors. Ms. Burns was named chief executive officer in July 2009. She serves on a number of professional and community boards, including American Express Company and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She was also named to help lead the White House national program on STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) in November 2009. Ms. Burns earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from Polytechnic Institute of NYU and a Master of Science degree in mechanical engineering from Columbia University.

READOUT OF PRESIDENT OBAMA’S MEETING WITH THE CONGRESSIONAL HISPANIC CAUCUS
This evening President Obama met with members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) to discuss a variety of critical issues confronting Hispanics and all Americans, in particular the need to act now to pass health care reform. The President thanked the members for their hard work over the past year, and acknowledged the progress that has been made on the economy while also expressing his concern for long-term unemployment. The President also updated the Caucus members on his meetings earlier in the day with grassroots activists and Senators Schumer and Graham on immigration reform, and reiterated his strong commitment to fixing the broken immigration system.

The members of the CHC also acknowledged the progress that has been made over the past year, including on expanding health care for children through CHIP, on job creation and economic recovery, and highlighted the Hispanic community’s interest in immigration reform. After a thorough discussion of health care reform, the President and the CHC agreed to continue to work together to make health insurance more affordable and accessible, and to give the American people more control over their own health care.

The President was joined at the meeting by Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis, Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett, Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs Phil Schiliro, and White House Director of Intergovernmental Affairs Cecilia Muñoz.

WEEKLY ADDRESS: President Obama to Send Updated Elementary and Secondary Education Act Blueprint To Congress on Monday
 
WASHINGTON – In his weekly address, President Barack Obama announced that on Monday, his administration will send to Congress the blueprint for an updated Elementary and Secondary Education Act that will overhaul No Child Left Behind.  The plan will set the ambitious goal of ensuring that all students graduate from high school prepared for college and a career, and it will provide states, districts and schools with the flexibility and resources to reach that goal. 
 
The audio and video will be available online at www.whitehouse.gov at 6:00 am ET, Saturday, March 13, 2010.
 
Remarks of President Barack Obama
As Prepared for Delivery
Weekly Address
March 13, 2010
 
Lost in the news of the week was a headline that ought to be a source of concern for every American.  It said, “Many Nations Passing U.S. in Education.”   Now, debates in Washington tend to be consumed with the politics of the moment: who’s up in the daily polls; whose party stands to gain in November.  But what matters to you – what matters to our country – is not what happens in the next election, but what we do to lift up the next generation.  And the fact is, there are few issues that speak more directly to our long term success as a nation than issues concerning the education we provide to our children. 
 
Our prosperity in the 20th century was fueled by an education system that helped grow the middle class and unleash the talents of our people more fully and widely than at any time in our history.  We built schools and focused on the teaching of math and science.  We helped a generation of veterans go to college through the GI Bill.  We led the globe in producing college graduates, and in turn we led in producing ground-breaking technologies and scientific discoveries that lifted living standards and set us apart as the world’s engine of innovation. 
 
Of course, other nations recognize this, and are looking to gain an edge in the global marketplace by investing in better schools, supporting teachers, and committing to clear standards that will produce graduates with more skills.  Our competitors understand that the nation that out-educates us today will out-compete us tomorrow.  Yet, too often we have failed to make inroads in reforming and strengthening our public education system – the debate mired in worn arguments hurled across entrenched divides. 
 
As a result, over the last few decades, we’ve lost ground.  One assessment shows American fifteen year olds no longer even near the top in math and science when compared to their peers around the world.  As referenced in the news report I mentioned, we’ve now fallen behind most wealthy countries in our high school graduation rates.  And while we once led the world in the proportion of college graduates we produced, today we no longer do. 
 
Not only does that risk our leadership as a nation, it consigns millions of Americans to a lesser future.  For we know that the level of education a person attains is increasingly a prerequisite for success and a predictor of the income that person will earn throughout his or her life.  Beyond the economic statistics is a less tangible but no less painful reality: unless we take action – unless we step up – there are countless children who will never realize their full talent and potential. 
 
I don’t accept that future for them.  And I don’t accept that future for the United States of America.  That’s why we’re engaged in a historic effort to redeem and improve  our public  schools: to raise the expectations for our students and for ourselves, to recognize and reward excellence, to improve performance in troubled schools, and to give our kids and our country the best chance to succeed in a changing world.
 
Under the leadership of an outstanding Education Secretary, Arne Duncan, we launched a Race to the Top, through which states compete for funding by committing to reform and raising standards, by rewarding good teaching, by supporting the development of better assessments to measure results, and by emphasizing math and science to help prepare children for college and careers. 
 
And on Monday, my administration will send to Congress our blueprint for an updated Elementary and Secondary Education Act to overhaul No Child Left Behind.  What this plan recognizes is that while the federal government can play a leading role in encouraging the reforms and high standards we need, the impetus for that change will come from states, and from local schools and school districts.  So, yes, we set a high bar – but we also provide educators the flexibility to reach it. 
 
Under these guidelines, schools that achieve excellence or show real progress will be rewarded, and local districts will be encouraged to commit to change in schools that are clearly letting their students down.  For the majority of schools that fall in between – schools that do well but could do better – we will encourage continuous improvement to help keep our young people on track for a bright future: prepared for the jobs of the 21st century. And because the most important factor in a child’s success is the person standing at the front of the classroom, we will better prepare teachers, support teachers, and encourage teachers to stay in the field.  In short, we’ll treat the people who educate our sons and daughters like the professionals they are.
 
Through this plan we are setting an ambitious goal: all students should graduate from high school prepared for college and a career – no matter who you are or where you come from.  Achieving this goal will be difficult. It will take time.  And it will require the skills, talents, and dedication of many: principals, teachers, parents, students.  But this effort is essential for our children and for our country.  And while there will always be those cynics who claim it can’t be done, at our best, we know that America has always risen to the challenges that we’ve faced.  This challenge is no different. 
 
As a nation, we are engaged in many important endeavors: improving the economy, reforming the health care system, encouraging innovation in energy and other growth industries of the 21st century.  But our success in these efforts – and our success in the future as a people – will ultimately depend on what happens long before an entrepreneur opens his doors, or a nurse walks the rounds, or a scientist steps into her laboratory.  Our future is determined each and every day, when our children enter the classroom, ready to learn and brimming with promise. 
 
It’s that promise we must help them fulfill.  Thank you.