The Final State of the Union
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Summary:
From the First Lady's commencement address, to the President's trip to Oregon to discuss how the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) will impact both large and small businesses, the President and First Lady had a productive week. See more in our Week in Review.
This week, the President traveled to Nike headquarters, welcomed entrepreneurs to the White House, sat down for a discussion on poverty in America, and took important steps to eliminate any ambiguity around the reforms that the Affordable Care Act calls for. The First Lady also had a busy week, which included delivering a powerful commencement address at Tuskegee University--the only university in America to be designated as a National Historic Site.
Find out more about the past week in our latest weekly wrap-up.
“We’ve Got to Learn the Right Lessons”
Last Friday, the President dropped by Nike headquarters in Oregon to talk about the impact his trade deal -- the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) -- will have on American businesses, large and small. Manufacturing and exports help drive the success of our businesses and the financial security of our workers. Companies that export their goods and services pay their employees up to 18 percent more, and are more able to expand and hire.
In fact, Nike announced that the President's trade deal, if secured, could lead to the creation of up to 10,000 advanced manufacturing and engineering jobs -- and up to 40,000 indirect supply chain and services jobs -- here in the U.S. over the next decade.
Watch the President’s remarks at Nike, and learn more about his trade deal.
The First Lady’s Powerful Commencement Remarks
On Saturday, First Lady Michelle Obama delivered the commencement address to the Class of 2015 at Tuskegee University -- a historically black university in Tuskegee, Alabama. The First Lady encouraged the current class of graduates to not be intimidated by the legacy of their predecessors, or the expectations of others -- and to remain strong in the face of those that "will make assumptions about who they think you are based on their limited notion of the world."
“Act with both your mind and your heart.” —The First Lady to the @TuskegeeUniv Class of 2015: https://t.co/D7aVJaX06b
— The First Lady (@FLOTUS) May 13, 2015
If you missed the remarks, watch the First Lady's full commencement address here.
Start the Spark
On Monday, the President welcomed emerging entrepreneurs from across the country and around the world to the White House to honor their achievements in their fields of business. He also announced new commitments in support of the Spark Global Entrepreneurship Initiative -- a bold goal of generating $1 billion in new investment for emerging entrepreneurs worldwide by 2017.
3 Thoughts the President Shared on Poverty
On Tuesday, President Obama traveled to Georgetown University to sit down with Harvard professor Robert Putnam and American Enterprise Institute president Arthur Brooks to share his views on poverty in America. The President also outlined what we can do to ensure every American -- no matter who they are, where they come from, or where they live -- has access to the opportunities they deserve.
President Obama on the need to make common investments that expand opportunity for our kids. #PovertySummit http://t.co/OJc8DsAuC1
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 12, 2015
If you missed the discussion, here are three important things that the President said.
The New Contraception Guidance
This week, the Obama administration took important steps to eliminate any ambiguity around the reforms that the Affordable Care Act calls for. Under the law, most insurers must now cover at least one form of birth control with no out-of-pocket expenses in each identified category.
Millions of women are now guaranteed free preventive care thanks to the Affordable Care Act → http://t.co/D6H0NrKfiJ pic.twitter.com/fV591qDKJd
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 14, 2015
For more of the week's highlights, watch the latest edition of West Wing Week:
And if you want to stay up-to-date on what's going on daily at the White House, sign up for our Daily Snapshot here.
