The series will combine a photo that offers a glimpse into the Vice Presidency with an audio recording of the Vice President narrating the moment and its significance. He will tell the story behind the story – of where he was when the photo was snapped, why it matters to him, and how the experience fits into the broader narrative of this Administration. From meetings at the White House to travels around the country, the Vice President will share his perspective in candid, behind-the-scenes snapshots.

In other words, he’ll explain what it’s like “Being Biden.”

Check out the first installment at whitehouse.gov/beingbiden. The series will be available at whitehouse.gov/beingbiden, and will also be shared through the @VP Twitter account. To recieve an email update when new stories are posted, sign up here.

Check out "Being Biden."

We have a government of the people, by the people, and for the people, and the wisdom, energy, and creativity of the American public is the nation’s greatest asset. Sunshine Week seeks to encourage public participation in government, and the U.S. has worked hard to expand opportunities for civic engagement. As one example of this, We the People gives the Obama Administration a way to connect with the public on the issues that matter most to them. 

We the People allows anyone to create or sign a petition asking the Administration to take action on an issue. If the petition gets enough signatures, the Administration issues an official response.

Since its creation, 7.2 million people have logged more than 11.6 million signatures on more than 178,000 petitions on issues ranging from education to immigration to tax policy.

Beyond the sheer volume of participation, We the People has demonstrated that the Administration is responsive to the questions and concerns of the public — even if they are not necessarily the issues that the Administration talks about every day.

In many cases, petitions posted on We the People have helped spur discussions of important policy issues at the White House and across the Administration, and serve as a catalyst for change. We’ve also used the platform to announce new directions in policy or to continue a dialogue with people who have an interest in this issue.

To give just one example, on March 3, 2013, the White House responded to a petition that argued that individuals ought to have a right to unlock their cell phones. This was not an issue on which the White House had previously taken a policy position. But after more than 114,000 people spoke out using We the People, officials across government who work on telecommunications, technology, and copyright issues sat down, discussed the policy implications, and decided that the petitioners were exactly right: Consumers needed a strong statement of support from the White House. We are ready to work with to work with Congress, the wireless and mobile phone industries, and other Federal agencies to reach a solution—whether legislative or otherwise.

Even when we’re not able to provide a response that produces a policy change, individuals who use We the People find the process useful and constructive. Last year, we started surveying people who received a response from the Administration. Even when petitioners disagree with our response, they appreciate the opportunity to petition the White House and hear what we have to say:

• 86% would create or sign another petition on We the People
• 66% said the Administration’s response was helpful to hear; and
• 50% said they learned something new as a result of our response.

What comes next? In August 2012, we announced a new step in the evolution of We the People. We made the platform open source so that any government in the world -- from sovereign nations to small towns across America -- could take our code and put it to their own use. Now, we're continuing that movement toward openness by working to develop an Application Programming Interface (API).

We'll roll out the API in two stages. First, we'll introduce a Read API that allows individuals to request data from We the People, that they can in turn use to build programs and applications. Second, we'll launch a Write API that allows individuals to collect and submit signatures from their own platforms without directly sending users to We the People.

The beautiful part about this process is that we’ll be able to open up the platform and allow others to create things with it. We just hosted our first Hackathon—where a group of engineers, programmers, data scientists, and web developers took a first stab at using the information the Read API makes available. At the end of the day, they had working prototypes of numerous projects—including an embeddable map that shows the geographic support for any single petition, a time-lapse visualization of zip codes where petitions are being signed, an embeddable thermometer that shows progress toward crossing the signature threshold for any given petition, and a range of data analysis.

In the spirit of Sunshine Week and open government, it’s all part of our effort to make the platform more responsive and useable for the American public.

To learn more about We the People, join me for a Yahoo! New Chat today at 12:30 PM ET. 

In addition to some things that have been really popular for past "SOTU" Addresses, we've got some exciting new features to introduce. Here's the rundown:

When the President addresses the nation, the White House will provide something you can't find anywhere else: an enhanced version of the speech that offers charts, facts and other info as the President speaks (check out last year's here). You can watch live on WhiteHouse.gov/SOTU, through the White House mobile apps for iPhone, Android and iPad, and also on the official White House presences on YouTube, Google+, Hulu, Facebook, and Ustream. And if you'd like, you can embed the stream on your own site.

The President's speech is just the beginning; the White House is thrilled to introduce a new tool called Citizen Response that lets you highlight a passage from the State of the Union Address, tell the President how you're connected to that issue and then share that specific part with your friends.

Citizen Response isn't the only thing that will launch when the President finishes speaking. As soon as the speech ends, we'll kick off a discussion about what President Obama said and answer your questions. More than 2,000 people from around the country applied for their chance to join this special #WHSocial in person, and 100 White House followers on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+ representing more than 20 states and from as far as California and Texas have been invited to watch the speech live from the White House and participate in a panel discussion. The panel will be broadcast immediately after the speech on WhiteHouse.gov/SOTU, and you can ask your questions using #WHChat or posting to our Google+ page. 

There's a lot happening on Tuesday, but it's only the beginning.

On Thursday, President Obama will join the latest in a series of "Fireside Hangouts" – a 21st century take on FDR’s famous radio addresses – to talk about his State of the Union Address. During a completely virtual conversation hosted by Google, the President will answer questions from Americans across the country about the issues and policies laid out in the speech. Anyone can submit a question for the President and vote on your favorites on the White House YouTube channel. Then, be sure to watch the hangout live on Thursday, February 14th at 4:30 p.m. ET on WhiteHouse.gov, the White House Google+ page, and YouTube.com/whitehouse.

And throughout the week, Administration officials will take questions on key issue areas addressed in the President's speech during an "Open for Questions" marathon. Check out the full schedule:

Tuesday, February 12th:

• 9:00 p.m. ET: President Obama addresses the nation
• 10:30 p.m. ET: "Open for Questions" panel

Immediately following the President's speech, join us for a special “Open for Questions” panel with senior staff, live from the White House. If you have a question about the speech, ask it on Twitter with the hashtag #WHChat or on the White House facebook or Google+ pages.

Wednesday, February 13th:

• 2:30 p.m. ET: Jobs and the economy with Jason Furman, Deputy Director of the National Economic Council
• 3:15 p.m. ET: Education with Arne Duncan, Secretary of Education
• 4:00 p.m. ET: Energy and the environment with Heather Zichal, Deputy Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change

Thursday, February 14th:

• 4:50 p.m. ET: "Fireside Hangout" with President Obama

Friday, February 15th:

• 3:00 p.m. ET: Reducing gun violence with Bruce Reed, Chief of Staff to Vice President Biden
• 4:00 p.m. ET: Immigration reform with Cecilia Munoz, Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council

When we first raised the threshold — from 5,000 to 25,000 — we called it "a good problem to have." Turns out that "good problem" is only getting better, so we're making another adjustment to ensure we’re able to continue to give the most popular ideas the time they deserve.

Starting today, as we move into a second term, petitions must receive 100,000 signatures in 30 days in order to receive an official response from the Obama Administration. This new threshold applies only to petitions created from this point forward and is not retroactively applied to ones that already exist.

In the last two months of 2012, use of We the People more than doubled. In just that time roughly 2.4 million new users joined the system, 73,000 petitions were created and 4.9 million signatures were registered.

As we’ve seen overall use skyrocket, more petitions are crossing the threshold — and doing so much more quickly.

In the first 10 months of 2012, it took an average of 18 days for a new petition to cross the 25,000-signature threshold. In the last two months of the year, that average time was cut in half to just 9 days, and most petitions that crossed the threshold collected 25,000 signatures within five days of their creation. More than 60 percent of the petitions to cross threshold in all of 2012 did so in the last two months of the year.

It's wonderful to see so many people using We the People to add their voices to important policy debates here in Washington and bring attention to issues that might not get the attention they deserve. This increasing adoption strengthens our resolve to build new features, including an API that would allow other popular online petition platforms to integrate with our official one. To that end we’ve released the source code to We the People and would love to connect with any enterprising engineers who want to help out.

Here’s a quick overview:

We're always working to make WhiteHouse.gov easier to use and provide clearer paths to key information. Over the past eighteen months, we’ve launched a new White House blog, updated the Briefing Room and Issues sections of the site, and expanded Inside the White House, an inside look at the history of this great building. We’ve also rolled out a new version of our mobile site, rebuilt the White House iPhone app, and released new applications for Android and iPad.

This upgrade is the latest step in that process.

What makes it better?

Most visitors aren't just stopping by; they're looking for specific information about the President and his policies. With these changes, we're applying the lessons we’ve learned from our earlier updates and making sure that the homepage is a gateway to our most timely and important content. It puts tools to search the site front and center and makes the page easier to navigate. We've also made it easier to catch live events broadcast on WhiteHouse.gov/live and highlighted the many White House social media accounts.

We believe that these changes will help to make visiting WhiteHouse.gov a better experience. Take a look around let us know what you think: drop a line via our contact form or tweet @WHWeb on Twitter.

Following last year’s contribution for Blog Action Day (that addressed the devastating crises in the Horn of Africa), we have returned to focus on a more domestic issue and reflect on moments over the past year when everyday Americans joined together to demonstrate the “power of we.”

The White House is constantly looking to expand public engagement and public involvement, making government both accessible and responsive to the needs of its citizens. Three examples stand out among many others.

#40dollars

In December of 2011, and again in February of 2012, the American people took to the Internet to tell Washington in no uncertain terms that letting the payroll tax cut expire was not acceptable. If Congress let the payroll tax cut expire, a typical family of four earning $50,000 a year would see about $40 less in each paycheck. For many middle class families struggling to recover from the worst recession since the Great Depression, losing $40 a week would have meant a lot. Tens of thousands of Americans spoke out to share their simple but powerful stories about what losing $40 per paycheck would mean for them and their families.

Thanks to their voices, middle-class Americans scored a major victory when Congress took action and President Obama was able to sign this extension into law.

When I first heard the topic for Blog Action Day, I immediately thought of a video called “Why Your Voice Matters” that features some of the people who believed that their voice could make a difference and had the courage to speak out:

Or check out a slideshow featuring 50 Americans across 50 states who, through the Power of We, helped ensure that taxes didn’t go up on 160 million of their fellow citizens.

#DontDoubleMyRate

Interest rates on Federal subsidized Stafford loans were set to go up on July 1^st, 2012, a change that would have saddled more than 7 million students with an average of $1,000 each in additional debt President Obama challenged students to speak up and take to their campuses and the internet saying “Don’t Double my Rate:”

But I’m asking everyone else who’s watching or following online -- call your member of Congress. Email them. Write on their Facebook page. Tweet them -- we’ve got a hashtag. Here’s the hashtag for you to tweet them:  #dontdoublemyrate. All right?  I’m going to repeat that -- the hashtag is #dontdoublemyrate.  Your voice matters. Stand up. Be heard. Be counted. Tell them now is not the time to double the interest rate on your student loans. 

Thousands of student accepted his challenge, calling on elected officials and taking to Facebook and Twitter with the hashtag #DontDoubleMyRate, and they made their message heard and Congress acted, passing a bill to stop rates from going up. 

We the People

In September 2011, the White House launched a new online tool last year called We the People to offer a simple and public way to petition the Obama Administration to take action a range of issues. If a petition gathers 25,000 signatures, policy officials review it and provide an official response. If Americans harness the “Power of We,” the White House will respond. In just one short year, the White House has received more than three million signatures from the public on over fifty thousand petitions.

Throughout American history, the right to petition government has always been an integral part in our ability to interact with and change government. Today, the right to petition continues to illustrate “the Power of We,” and how the collective public can influence change in our government. We the People empowers the American people to participate in the traditional petition process our Founding Fathers sought to protect through a 21^st century medium.

We take petitions seriously. Petitions posted on We the People have a real impact on policy-making. The popularity of two petitions concerning online piracy (a.k.a. SOPA & PIPA) crystallized the Administration’s position on the issue, which was first detailed in a response on We the People. In response to a petition demanding stronger oversight of commercial breeders who sell puppies online, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced they were developing a proposed rule that would cover internet breeders under the Animal Welfare Act. Once the rule was open for public comment, petition signers were invited to weigh in.

Whether you want to lend your voice to a petition or start your own, check out We the People. Every petition and signature keeps the “Power of We” strong in our government.

Last year, the White House launched a new tool called We the People, offering a powerful and simple way to petition the Obama Administration to take action on a range of issues. If a petition gathers enough signatures, policy officials review it and publish an official response.

From the beginning, We the People's popularity exceeded our expectations. Over 600,000 signatures were received in the first 11 days and within two weeks, 81 petitions had reached the initial signature threshold of 5,000 signatures within 30 days. Raising the threshold to 25,0000 signatures within 30 days allowed us to balance our resources and focus on providing quality response and follow-up engagement.  However, since October 3, 2011, we've still had an additional 30 petitions cross the new threshold. View a map of petition signatures by location.

Many times, petitions posted on We the People have a real impact on policy-making. For example, the popularity of two petitions concerning online piracy (a.k.a. SOPA & PIPA) crystallized the Administration’s position on the issue, which was first detailed in a response on We the People. In response to a petition demanding stronger oversight of commercial breeders who sell puppies online, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced they were developing a proposed rule that would cover internet breeders under the Animal Welfare Act. Once the rule was open for public comment, petition signers were invited to comment.

Check out a couple key facts and figures about the We the People platform below.

Ready to create or sign a petition now? Get started at WhiteHouse.gov/WeThePeople.

View the fullpage version of this infographic.

We the People petition signatures by location:

Have ideas on how we can improve We the People? Submit your feedback here or let us know on Twitter @WHWeb.

Since We the People went live, thousands of petitions have gathered millions of signatures from people across the country. As those petitions have come in, the White House has posted responses about an open internet & SOPA/PIPA, puppy mills, reducing student load debt, working to fix our broken immigration system, reaffirming the President's opposition to the Defense of Marriage Act, and more.  

When President Obama talked about We the People at the Open Government Partnership last year, he promised to, "share that technology so any government in the world can enable its citizens to do the same." Now anybody, from other countries to the smallest organizations to civic hackers can take this code and put to their own use.

One of the most exciting prospects of open sourcing We the People is getting feedback, ideas and code contributions from the public. There is so much that can be done to improve this system, and we only benefit by being able to more easily collaborate with designers and engineers around the country - and the world. Here are a few favorites from the roadmap in the README doc:

*API Development*

The current platform requires users visit the site directly in order to create or sign a petitions via the We the People website. We would like to develop an API that would allow users to sign a petition via a third party website, but with some level of verification that confirms a valid email address to potentially receive a response. 

Developing an API would greatly expand the appeal of this tool, allowing other organizations to control the user experience and flow for petitions within their own environment while still registering verified signatures against a We the People threshold.

*Improved Social Media Integration*

The current platform allows basic sharing of petitions, responses and other content on the site via social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. In the future, we would like reduce the friction of signing a petition by making it possible to sign a petition in the context of a social network (e.g. by “liking” an object on facebook). 

*Mobile interface*

Whether through a mobile browser or standalone application, We the People should be accessible through mobile devices given the large and increasing portion of mobile traffic on the web.

But the bigger potential comes from the fact that the source code for the application has been released in a way that allows anybody to download a copy, make changes, and use it for their own projects. So we're just as excited to see where others take it.

If you're a Drupal developer and have an interest in using We the People or contributing to its development, check out the code and let us know. We'd also love to learn about how you're using the code for your own projects, so drop us a line @WHWeb on Twitter. Or hit me up directly @macon44.

In addition, this is our team's first big release of code (we've got a few things up here), and we're eager for feedback about how best to engage the open-source community generally. So suggestions on our overall approach are greatly appreciated as well.

Here's the scoop:

AmeriCorps is a national service opportunity that has helped more than 775,000 Americans serve more than 1 billion hours since 1994 (with more than 88,000 Americans serving this year alone). In FY 2011, AmeriCorps reached more than 3.5 million disadvantaged youth through tutoring, mentoring, and other services.

Tomorrow, the White House will welcome more than 150 AmeriCorps Alumni leaders from across the country. While the Alumni are here, they'll participate in a day-long briefing, and we'll honor 12 of them as Champions of Change, a program created to honor ordinary Americans doing great work in their communities.

But tomorrow isn't just for the AmeriCorps Alumni joining us here at the White House. It's also a chance to engage with everyone who can't make it to Washington. That's why we'll be holding a live Google+ Hangout moderated by myself and Corporation for National and Community Service CEO Wendy Spencer at 12:00 p.m. EDT. We're hoping you'll join the conversation.

Here's how to participate:

• Ask your questions on Twitter using the hashtag #WHHangout, or submit questions through WhiteHouse.gov here.
• Tomorrow at 12:00 p.m. EDT, watch on our Google+ page, or on WhiteHouse.gov/Live.
• During the Hangout, you can continue to ask questions and participate in the discussion using the #WHHangout and #WHAmeriCorps hashtags.

We'll also be live-streaming the remainder of the day on WhiteHouse.gov/Live, be sure to check it out.

His full remarks as prepared for delivery are below:

Good evening.

It is an honor for me to join such a distinguished group of speakers and guests this evening.  I’d also like to add my thanks to all of the board members, contributors, and staff who support the mission of the Holocaust Museum. And I know how much President Obama is looking forward to visiting the museum on Monday. 

My father was born in Poland, and his family left their small town at the end of World War I.

Many of his neighbors and relatives were not so lucky. And he made it here to America, a country where he did not need to live in fear. A country where even the son of an Eastern European immigrant could become Chief of Staff to the President of the United States. 

As a child, there were constant reminders of how lucky my family had been. I grew up in a neighborhood that was home to many Holocaust survivors, at a time when the Holocaust was something that just wasn’t talked about.  When peoples’ numbers showed on their arm, they would pull their sleeve down. 

It is amazing how much has changed.  Today, thanks in no small part to your work at the Holocaust Museum, the Holocaust is something we do talk about.  A child born in America today may never meet a Holocaust survivor, or even a veteran of World War II. But they will always know what happened, and be able to remember and honor those who lost their lives.

Because the Holocaust Museum is not only about commemorating the past. It is about shaping the future. You have always believed that, in the words of Elie Wiesel, “the memory of evil will serve as a shield against evil; that the memory of death will serve as a shield against death.” 

With that in mind, it is my great honor to join you for the presentation of the Second Elie Wiesel Award.  As you know, the first recipient was Elie Wiesel himself.  And I can think of no better second recipient than Aung San Suu Kyi. 

I say this not only because Daw Suu has lived an extraordinary and courageous life.  I say this because she could have so easily chosen a different path, one of comfort and convenience. She went to university in London.  Lived in countries around the world, including the United States and India.  She knew there were plenty of opportunities for her outside of Burma. 

And she knew the risks involved in her decision to advocate for democracy.

After all, her own father had been assassinated by political rivals, four decades earlier. But she stayed in Burma anyway.  For 15 of the first 21 years after she emerged as a leader of the pro-democracy movement, she was under house arrest – and even then, she had a choice. She was offered her freedom, in exchange for exile, and she refused. 

Many times, Daw Suu could have decided that she had done enough – that it was someone else’s turn to sacrifice. But she refused to give up. Instead, she continued to inspire the entire world with her faith in non-violent action, and her belief that freedom would ultimately prove greater than tyranny.

For decades, Aung San Suu Kyi’s story has given hope to those who had none, both in her country, and around the world. 

And today, even as we gather here, a new chapter in that story is being written. As President Obama put it last November, in Burma we are seeing “flickers of progress.” 

President Obama made that statement – and the historic decision to send Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to Burma – after becoming the first U.S. President to speak to Daw Suu. In that conversation, he wanted to hear firsthand from her, before moving forward with his decision. He was able to hear her views about democratic reform and reconciliation.

They were also able to talk a little about lighter topics – she even gave her best to Bo. And they both looked forward to the day when they could see each other in person. 

As President Obama and Secretary Clinton reached out to engage Burma and to encourage the Burmese government to begin the challenging journey to a democratic and prosperous future, they were reflecting a broader vision of America’s role – and our responsibility – in the world. 

The President described this vision in his Inaugural Address. 

He said, “To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history, but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to un-clench your fist.” 

In other words, as Americans, we recognize that the world’s democracies must stand up when democratic principles and human rights are denied.  But when governments such as Burma move in the direction of democratic reform, they will be met in a spirit of partnership and respect by the United States.  We will match their progress action for action—and offer encouragement and support as they continue down the long and difficult road that lies before them. 

Our commitment to that vision is unwavering. We know that the path toward democracy is never easy, and that significant challenges lie ahead, for Aung San Suu Kyi, for Burma, and for our entire world.  But tonight, we celebrate a woman whose dedication to shining a light on injustice and abuse has led to the beginnings of a transformation in her country, and we look toward the future with renewed confidence, and renewed hope. 

Thank you.

We the People is averaging nearly 20,000 new users and 31,000 new signatures every day. Our most active day for new users and signatures was the day of our launch, but we certainly haven’t slowed down: more petitions were created on October 26 than any other day since We the People has been active. Not surprisingly, we saw a spike when we started posting responses -- it was important to show people that we would follow through on our commitment to respond to petitions that meet the threshold.

Last week, we posted our first petition response to the site and since then have published six more. All of the responses are posted here, and more are coming soon.

At the risk of getting a little "meta," it's been interesting to see the response to our responses. There has been some frustration with the answers from those who disagree with Administration policy, and that's fair. But even more importantly, there has been subsequent debate about the merits of the Administration position based on the arguments laid out in the response. That's a big deal: while people may not agree with a position, it's crucial to understand its rationale. Take for example, this blog post about a recent response on patent reform.  If these petitions are fostering a debate that might not otherwise take place about the issues Americans care about, that’s a positive thing.

It's important to separate the substance of a response from the process that creates it. Every petition that reaches the threshold is put through a review process that begins with the policy experts who deal in the appropriate area. It's also important to be clear about expectations: reaching a signature threshold doesn't mean a petition's suggestion is automatically implemented. For example, many of the petitions are on matters that require Congress to act (take for example the recent response on the Defense of Marriage Act).

Additionally, after launch we received plenty of feedback from people about the technology and user experience behind We the People and we’ve been reading through it all in an effort to make the system even better. For example, even though the growth in users has been consistent, we've heard sporadic reports that some people had trouble logging in and creating accounts. Thanks to this feedback, we’ve made a few adjustments behind the scenes to improve this important part of the process.

It's important for us to continue collaborating with people using the tool to improve the experience and fine tune any rough spots we encounter. Prior to launching the We the People, all we had were projections to estimate how the system would react and grow in a live environment. We now have a good understanding of what works well and where we need to improve. Even before our launch day, we began compiling a list of improvements, new functionality and system tweaks. A large number of these were generated by our own team, but the most valuable ones have come from the end user: you.

In the past we've encouraged people to use the #WHWeb hashtag for feedback about the technology powering the White House's online program. Today we're taking that one step further by launching @WHWeb. This dedicated account will offer us a way to announce technology news (like modules being open-sourced, etc.) and build a valuable constituency of followers interested in improving WhiteHouse.gov's technology platform. So if you have technical questions, comments or feedback about We the People or WhiteHouse.gov technology in general, please tweet them @WHweb. If you are having issues creating a WhiteHouse.gov account, tweet us and we can help troubleshoot your issue. This will be another way for you to participate and collaborate with us as we grow We the People and other technology projects on WhiteHouse.gov.

If you aren't on Twitter but have an idea, our tech feedback form is an alternative way to reach the tech team.

Have more questions or want to learn more about We the People? We have some older blog posts that explain how it works here and here. Don't forget to take a look at the FAQ's for We the People as well as our privacy policy with information about the WhiteHouse.gov accounts needed to participate.

Today, one of President Obama's top education advisors, Roberto Rodriguez, issued the first response to a petition created through We the People. Here are the first few lines:

Thank you for taking the time to participate in the "We the People" petition process. We launched this online tool as a way of hearing directly from you, and are pleased that you have responded by presenting this idea.

We agree that reducing the burden of student loans is an effective way to stimulate the economy and save taxpayer dollars. That's why we're excited to announce a new policy that speaks to the concerns expressed in this petition.

In the little more than a month since the White House launched We the People, 755,000 people used the platform to create or sign more than 12,400 petitions that have gathered over 1.2 million total signatures (some people sign multiple petitions). Here are the numbers in more detail:

From the beginning, we’ve said that if a petition gathers enough online signatures it will be reviewed by policy experts at the White House who will issue an official response, and 77 petitions have reached that mark so far. We’ve had such a strong response to We the People that earlier this month the signatures threshold was raised from 5,000 to 25,000 signatures to ensure that we’re able to offer timely and meaningful response to petitions in the long term.

Each week, we’ve been meeting with policy officials here at the White House to review all the petitions that have crossed this threshold and ensure that your petitions are getting in front of the right policy experts throughout the Administration. Over the next few days, we’ll be posting even more responses. So be sure to visit the response section of We the People for the latest.

One of the President's Senior Advisers, David Plouffe, sent an email (join the White House email list here) about policies, including these student loan measures, being taken to create jobs and grow the economy because we can't wait for Congress to act. In the message he said:

These policies aren't a substitute for the American Jobs Act, but they will make a difference. And we don't intend to stop there.

The best ideas for growing this economy won't come from Washington – they'll come from Americans like you.

That's why We the People was launched in the first place: to bring the voices of Americans around the country into our government. We're thrilled to see so many Americans already using We the People to engage members of the Obama Administration in a constructive dialogue on an enormous scale.  With every new response we post, our hope is that We the People will continue to gain steam, not for the sizzle of being a "web tool" but for the meaningfulness of the engagement and substance of the responses.

And if you're just hearing about We The People for the first time, here's an overview video we created before it launched:

One last update: In addition to the petitions coming through We the People, the tech team has also benefited from feedback about the system itself. Over the past few weeks we’ve used this input to improve We the People's user experience – particularly when it comes to creating an account and verifying your email address for the first time. If you have more feedback, about We the People or anything related to our online program, let us know using the feedback links on every WhiteHouse.gov page or via Twitter using the hashtag #WHWeb.

To stay updated on the latest petition responses and other news about We the People we've launched @WeThePeople. We will also regularly feature responses in the White House's Daily Snapshot.

Wow.

Planning for the new We the People platform, we were confident the system would ultimately get a lot of use, but we expected it would take a little longer to get out into the ether and pick up speed.

Let's just say our estimates were ... ahem ... a wee bit on the low side!  In one week, more than 7,800 petitions have been created, more than 600,000 signatures have been logged and more than 375,000 people have created an account to participate in this platform.  It's by far the biggest online engagement event ever for the White House - and we're just getting started.

That's what you call a good problem to have.  Here's one thing we're doing to address it:

The massive participation on We the People means that in the first week over 30 petitions reached 5,000 signatures, the initial threshold to generate an official response from the White House. At our first internal review meeting Friday, two things were clear: (a) everyone is thrilled about this new challenge and excited to process the first batch, but (b) this many petitions challenges our ability to offer timely and meaningful responses to petitions in the long term.  

So starting now, the threshold a petition has to reach in order to generate an official response is 25,000 signatures in 30 days. This change only affects petitions created from this point forward, and will not be applied to petitions of any signature count already in the system.

This may not be the last time we change the thresholds, both in terms of signatures and amount of time. And we're also evaluating a number of other ways to improve the system, many based on ideas we've received from you. Since we launched We the People we’ve been reading your feedback submitted via the feedback form on the We the People platform and through the Twitter hashtag #WHWeb.

Here are a few answers to questions and issues we’ve seen over the last few days:

I created a petition, but I can’t find it in the open petitions view on the We the People platform.

Once you’ve created a new petition, it isn't searchable on the site until it reaches 150 signatures.   After you create a petition, you’ll be given the unique URL that you can use to share with others. It is then up to you and other early signers to build initial support. Once a petition has 150 signatures, it will be viewable via the Open Petitions section of We the People.

I’m having trouble viewing the site on my mobile phone and iPad, is there a mobile app for We the People?

Right now, we don’t have a mobile app for the We the People platform, but it’s something we’ll consider for future development.

I’ve already created an account, but now I’m having trouble signing in using my user name and password.

We’ve heard from a number of people who’ve had difficulty signing into the site after they’ve created they have created their accounts and we've taken some steps to address this.  If you still run into problems, please let us know using the feedback form.  Remember, including the name of the operating system and web browser that you’re using helps us out a lot.

I received the email to verify my email address, but I can’t click on the link in the email.

If you can’t click on the link to verify your email address, try cutting and pasting the full URL (including the “http://” part) into your browser.  If that still doesn’t work, let us know.

The blue bar at the bottom of the screens says I’m logged in, but I’m having trouble signing a petition.

This is another common issue we’ve heard from folks using We the People and we’ve been working to resolve this issue over the last few days.  If you’re still seeing this problem, try signing out of the system and then signing back in.  If that doesn’t work, let us know using the feedback form.

Head over now to get started.   

Here are some of the specific discussion topics:

1.  Improving content to make it more readable, engaging, and useful
2. Improving how services and transactions are delivered
3. Providing universal access to government content online, regardless of device or technology
4. Optimizing the way the public is able to search for federal content, via federal websites and commercial search engines
5. Ensuring content on federal websites is integrated with social media and other third-party websites
6. Improving how federal websites protect privacy and security
7. Reaching global audiences and people with limited English proficiency access federal websites

To help facilitate the conversation, a number of people from outside of government have agreed to serve as "catalysts" for the discussion and engage others on their comments to flesh out the best ideas.  Here's what a few of them have to say about the project:

”Okay, the deal is that Fed workers are seriously interested in better customer service, etc, via their web ops. I've worked with these folks for years, they're the real deal, and are really listening.” –Craig Newmark, Founder & customer service rep craigslist.org and craigconnects.org

"Of course, diversity improves all things, especially ideas. Those of us who work on Internet-related things all practice differently. We all do things in ways that we have found better for one reason or another. That’s what they want to learn. Upload your wisdom so that we can all learn.” –Ed Mullen, Principal Edward Mullen Studio; Founder MixTrail

“Come one – come all!  This is your chance to help the U.S. government figure out how to serve better, online.  I told you a few weeks ago about the ground-breaking .Gov Reform initiative the White House and the General Services Administration have underway.  In a nutshell, they’re taking a hard look at U.S. government websites and looking for ways to make them easier to use and more efficient and effective.  And here’s the thing:  they want you to be part of this discussion!”—Candi Harrison, Former Co-Chair, Federal Web Managers Council

“The .gov Reform Task Force is hip to the wisdom of crowds.  Its leaders have invited citizen Catalysts – including Annetta Cheek, Craig Newmark, Steve Krug, Vanessa Fox, Lee Vann, Ed Mullen, Candi Harrison and others – to “spur and deepen the discussion.” In other words, they want all of us to encourage peers from specific communities of online practice to contribute to open, honest dialogue.  Discussions will lead to improvements in the usefulness of web sites and web based services of US Federal government agencies.   The Task Force really wants to hear from citizens – ALL citizens, including those with disabilities – about what we need and what we want from dot gov domains.”–Sharron Rush, Co-founder and Executive Director of Knowbility

“We know there is a goldmine of good ideas from this community, so we hope — and expect — that you’ll actively participate in the discussion and share your expertise and knowledge.  We want to hear what’s working well, what can be improved, innovative ways to rethink the federal web, and specific examples you have from your industry or organization.” –Center for Plain Language

 So join the discussion today and change the way our government does business online. 

Since the White House announced We the People, a new way for the public to petition the Obama Administration on a range of issues, we've been putting the final pieces in place, kicking the tires and getting ready for launch. We're excited, but it’s a little nerve-wracking, nonetheless. Why?

We're not quite sure what to expect.

We hope to see petitions with a broad range of viewpoints that challenge the Administration – on issues core to President Obama’s priority of creating jobs and restoring the American economy, as well as other topics we haven't publicly addressed in a while (and, yes, some that already have been).

Even with all the preparation and thought that's been put into it, we're going to learn a lot more from how the public uses We the People in the first few weeks. What we learn will almost certainly help us improve the platform’s content and functionality, and we may also find that we will need to raise the threshold for responses.

Even though we haven’t launched yet, we’re already seeing a number of questions and comments that are worth addressing (thanks in particular to Tim Bonnemann for gathering some). And as a reminder, we’re always keeping an eye on #WHWeb for feedback about the White House’s online program.  Here are some of those questions and our responses:

Q: Will a petition's number of signatures be public?
A: Yes, as will the number needed to reach the response threshold and the time remaining.

Q: Joe Newman (a spokesman for the Project On Government Oversight): “Encouraging citizens’ participation is never a bad thing, [b]ut part of me is very skeptical that they’ll be able to handle the number of petitions that come in and give it any sort of thorough review.”
A: This is a good point. Since we cannot respond individually to every We the People petition received, we use a threshold to set a clear expectation about what will get a response.  Depending on how many petitions reach this threshold, we may raise or lower it to ensure that we can meaningfully process and respond to all petitions that reach the threshold. If this threshold is changed, it will not be applied retroactively to petitions that have already been created.

Q: Do the We the People thresholds apply to petitions created on other sites or offline?
A: Not right now. The first version of We the People is very simple and based on direct participation via WhiteHouse.gov.  Integrating with existing advocacy platforms is something that we think will be valuable and we're excited to collaborate with other organizations and institutions to extend this system, think about possible API's and introduce some standards into constituent communications generally. While this may seem nerdy, we think it can have a major impact on the way that the public communicates with elected officials. In the meantime, petitions submitted on other sites and offline will continue to receive the same consideration they did before We the People started.

Q: Will this information, such as people's email addresses be shared with other organizations, such as President Obama's re-election campaign or the DNC?
A: No, absolutely not. Information collected through We the People is not shared with any outside organizations, including political parties or campaigns. This includes the email addresses you submit to create a log-in.  You can learn more by reading our privacy policy .

Q: According to the announcement, petitions can call for action by the federal government “on a range of issues”. That seems to imply that issues outside of this range may be off-limits. What, if any, guidelines will the White House provide to ensure participants know upfront which issues they can or cannot address via this tool?  And Patrice McDermott (director of Open The Government) asks: “The other test is that range of issues [...] Is it going to be only issues that are only of political benefit to the White House, or — who designs that, and how’s it going to be limited, and will it change over time?”
A: We the People was designed to be a way for people to petition us about actions that fall within the scope of the federal government.  To keep the conversation focused, people will be presented with a broad range of issues that fall within this scope. We are also open to suggestions for additional topics. So please give us your feedback.

Additionally, it is important to note that while topics are defined, viewpoints are not. Setting up We the People in a way that only yielded petitions that praised the Administration or shared our opinions would neither be productive or interesting. So there are no restrictions on the point of view advanced by a petition-in fact, we expect to receive more petitions that disagree with government policies than we do petitions that support them.

Q: What are the ground rules that will govern the petition process? For example, will certain kinds of offensive or abusive behavior or language be deemed unacceptable?  How will these ground rules be enforced? For example, does the White House reserve the right to moderate or delete content, ban users etc.?
A: We're not interested in a tool to engage with only people who agree with us - and we're pretty sure you aren't either. The goal is to foster broad-based, civil and constructive discourse on the White House website about important policy issues facing our nation. To advance that purpose, there will be a few viewpoint-neutral rules of the road. Petitions that fall outside these rules will be removed from the system.

One important point is that we aren't going to pre-moderate the site. There will also be rules on how the system is used, such as one account per person.  If someone creates a bunch of accounts to run up fake signatures, that petition can be removed and the accounts cancelled.  All the specifics of these rules of the road will be explained in the Terms of Participation and Moderation Policy for We the People

Q: What will happen to petitions that fail to reach the required minimum number of votes within the 30-day period?
A: Petitions that do not meet the signature threshold within the allotted time frame (initially 5,000 signatures in 30 days) will be removed from the site.

Q: Once a petition has been fully processed (reviewed and answered), how will participants be notified?
A: Easy – we’ll send an email to the person who submitted the petition and everyone who signed it.  The response will also be posted to WhiteHouse.gov for anyone else to see. 

Q: How does the White House plan to measure the quality and effectiveness of this process? For example, will there be feedback mechanisms that allow participants to indicate whether they are satisfied with the responses?
A: Feedback from the public will be a critical part of making We the People a success. Every We the People page features a link for feedback about the platform itself, and we will be carefully reviewing this to figure out what's not clear to people and where we can improve both the system and the process.

We know there are more questions out there. One common theme we’re hearing is distrust about how seriously the petitions will be reviewed and considered. That's an understandable skepticism and one that is best addressed with action, so we invite everyone to judge for themselves once we're up and running.

Which leads us to another popular question: When will We the People launch?
Soon! Be the first to know.

Something exciting is coming to WhiteHouse.gov. It's called We the People and it will significantly change how the public -- you! -- engage with the White House online.

Our Constitution guarantees your right to petition our government.  Now, with We the People, we're offering a new way to submit an online petition on a range of issues -- and get an official response.

We're announcing We the People before it's live to give folks time to think about what petitions they want to create, and how they are going to build the support to get a response. 

When will it be live? Soon.  If you want to be the first to know when the system is available, sign up for an email alert.

Here's a video we put together to explain what it is and how it works:

Here are the basics:

Individuals will be able to create or sign a petition that calls for action by the federal government on a range of issues.  If a petition gathers enough support (i.e., signatures) it will be reviewed by a standing group of White House staff, routed to any other appropriate offices and generate an official, on-the-record response.

How many signatures? Initially petitions that gather more than 5,000 signatures in 30 days will be reviewed and answered.

There's another aspect to this meant to emphasize the grassroots, word of mouth organizing that thrives on the internet.  At first, a petition's unique URL will only be known to its creator and will not show up anywhere else on WhiteHouse.gov.  It's up to that person to share it in their network to gather an initial amount of signatures -- initially 150 -- before it is searchable on WhiteHouse.gov. 

As we move forward, your feedback about We the People will be invaluable, and there are a few ways you can share it.  Numerous pages on WhiteHouse.gov, including the We the People section, feature a feedback form.  In addition, you can use the twitter hashtag #WHWeb to give the White House digital team advice and feedback.  I'll also try to answer questions when I have time today -- you can pose them to @macon44.

Finally, while We the People is a fresh approach to official, online petitions, the United States isn't the first to try it; for example, the United Kingdom offers e-petitions, and this work was very helpful as we developed our own.

• blocks the property of the Syrian government,
• bans U.S. persons from new investments in or exporting services to Syria, and 
• bans U.S. imports of, and other transactions or dealings in, Syrian-origin petroleum or petroleum products.  

Watch the President's remarks on public service here.

As I was driving down those little towns in my big bus we slowed down, and I'm standing in the front and I'm waving, I'm seeing little kids with American flags, and grandparents in their lawn chairs, and folks outside a machine shop, and passing churches and cemeteries and corner stores and farms -- I'm reminded about why I wanted to get into public service in the first place.  Sometimes there are days in Washington that will drive you crazy.  But getting out of Washington and meeting all of you, and seeing how hard you're working, how creative you are, how resourceful you are, how determined you are, that just makes me that much more determined to serve you as best I can as President of the United States.

President Barack Obama waves to people along the road in Decorah, Iowa, Aug. 15, 2011, during a three-day bus tour in the Midwest focusing on ways to grow the economy. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Watch the President's full remarks here.

Tonight, President Obama spoke in support of a bipartisan deal to reduce the nation's deficit and avoid default. It extends the debt limit to 2013, removing the cloud of uncertainty over our economy and ensuring that no one will be able to use the threat of default now or in only a few months for political gain. The bipartisan compromise assures that the United States meets its obligations – including monthly Social Security checks, veterans’ benefits, and the government contracts we’ve signed with thousands of businesses.

In order to receive the support from both parties -- as the President has consistently stressed -- the agreement has a few important elements:

President Barack Obama makes a statement in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House announcing a deal in the ongoing efforts to find a balanced approach to the debt limit and deficit reduction, July 31, 2011. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann)

The American people may have voted for divided government, but they didn’t vote for a dysfunctional government.  So I’m asking you all to make your voice heard.  If you want a balanced approach to reducing the deficit, let your member of Congress know.  If you believe we can solve this problem through compromise, send that message.

"Please continue to work and speak out for an end to the partisanship. Both sides in this bitter battle need to knock it off and work together. Revenue increases as well as intelligent entitlement reforms to cut waste and fraud are needed to deal with the debt and deficit issues."

 

"Mr. President I urge you to consider your place in history, and not merely the moment. You have an opportunity to create an effective, lasting legacy. One in which Americans may be proud. The true mark of some our greatest Presidents is this same issue which now confronts you.Compromise. Please recall that you are a Servant, and it is the will of the people that you compromise- and pass a fair bill regarding the debt of this country."

 

"I support smart increases in taxes, but the cuts you have outlined are insufficient. I don't see a plan from any party that begins to even cover the deficit let alone the debt. Any family knows you have to make more than you spend. I have to balance my budget every month, why doesn't the Federal Government?"

To explain the impact various policies have had over the past decade, shifting us from projected surpluses to actual deficits and, as a result, running up the national debt, the White House has developed a graphic for you to review and share:

As you can see, we've also included a quote from President Obama's speech last night that sums up the basic issues:

For the last decade, we’ve spent more money than we take in.  In the year 2000, the government had a budget surplus.  But instead of using it to pay off our debt, the money was spent on trillions of dollars in new tax cuts, while two wars and an expensive prescription drug program were simply added to our nation’s credit card.

As a result, the deficit was on track to top $1 trillion the year I took office.  To make matters worse, the recession meant that there was less money coming in, and it required us to spend even more -– on tax cuts for middle-class families to spur the economy; on unemployment insurance; on aid to states so we could prevent more teachers and firefighters and police officers from being laid off.  These emergency steps also added to the deficit.

Because neither party is blameless for the decisions that led to this problem, both parties have a responsibility to solve it. 

And it's worth noting that, among many others, the Pew Charitable Trusts and the New York Times have addressed this issue too.

As President Obama has said, we can’t win the future with a government of the past. How our government uses the internet to communicate and deliver services is an obvious and critical part of this modernization effort.

Today, there are nearly 2,000 top-level federal .gov domains (this means a top-level url, [WEBSITENAME].gov, that links to a distinct website). This includes WhiteHouse.gov, as well as others like USDA.gov, USASpending.gov, NOAA.gov and USA.gov. Under many of these domains are smaller sub-sites and microsites resulting in an estimated 24,000 websites of varying purpose, design, navigation, usability, and accessibility.

While many government websites each deliver value to the taxpayer through easy-to-use services and information, an overall online landscape of literally thousands of websites – each focusing on a specific topic or organization – can create confusion and inefficiency.

In addition to confusing the public, duplicate and unnecessary websites also waste money. And while the costs for some of these websites may be relatively small, as President Obama also said in the video, "No amount of waste is acceptable. Not when it's your money, not at a time when so many families are already cutting back."

So the federal government will do more with less, improving how it delivers information and services to the public by reducing the number of websites it maintains.  To help drive this change we've set a specific goal that over the next year, we’ll get rid of at least half of them.

As one of the first steps of the Campaign to Cut Waste and as part of an OMB memorandum to improve customer service, we’ve taken three concrete steps: 

1. Stop the bleeding. Starting right now, there is a freeze on all .gov URL’s. This means no one can get a new one without a written waiver from the federal CIO, Vivek Kundra. Facing this constraint, agencies will focus on their current infrastructure, adding content and functionality to existing websites.
2. Map out the current landscape. To understand what’s working, and what isn’t, agencies will need to report on every URL they maintain.  In addition, we’re enlisting the oversight of a powerful stakeholder: you. In the next 30 days, a list of all registered .gov domains will be published so that you can pore over them yourself and offer feedback.
3. Develop a government-wide policy for websites. While it’s pretty obvious that we don’t need thousands of websites, what we do need is a little trickier. Should there only be one federal website? Is a more practical solution a common set of templates and standards so that sites are better connected to one another and more consistent to the public? A task force will consult with experts from the public and private sector to develop a policy for government websites moving forward. If you’re interested in participating in this process, let us know.

Getting rid of unnecessary and duplicate websites is only part of the larger Campaign to Cut Waste that President Obama and Vice President Biden launched this morning (read the executive order here). As part of this campaign, a new Government Accountability and Transparency Board will bring together the nation’s top waste, fraud and abuse watchdogs to ensure the unprecedented level of transparency and accountability that we saw with the Recovery Act.  In addition, Cabinet members will report regularly on their progress in cutting waste and improving effectiveness.

And guess what? You can keep track of our progress moving forward at our brand new website: CampaignToCutWaste.gov.

Kidding!

The best place to keep up to date on this important effort – and much more – is right here on WhiteHouse.gov, in our 21st Century Government section.

Immediately afterwards, the live-stream will switch to a follow-up Twitter chat with Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes, where anyone will be able to pose questions and reactions via Twitter.  

NPR's Andy Carvin (@acarvin) and Foreign Policy's Marc Lynch (@abuaardvark), two experts who bring both a deep understanding of foreign policy and extensive online networks, will facilitate a world-wide conversation that will include participants from the Middle East and North Africa.  As Andy explains:

Rather than come up with all the questions ourselves, we'd like to invite you to help us craft the questions. If you're on Twitter and want to submit a question, please post a tweet with your question and include the hashtag #MEspeech in the tweet. You can pose your question before or during the speech. We won't be able to get to every question, of course, so we encourage everyone to follow the #MEspeech hashtag and join the broader conversation about the speech on Twitter.

Folks at the White House (@whitehouse) will be keeping an eye on the #MESpeech hashtag as well, so be sure to use that to share thoughts before, during and after the speech.

Don't forget: Tune into WhiteHouse.gov/live tomorrow at 11:40am and stick around afterwards for your opportunity to continue the conversation about this important topic.

As I wrote then, technology continues to change how and where Americans get information and discuss important issues online. It’s also means that any organization, including the White House, must recognize that its website is only one part of an effective online platform.

Let’s take a look at the range of places you can now connect with the White House online:

Social Networks

• Facebook: There are several pages, including our official page for the White House, the First Lady’s Let's Move initiative for a healthier generation of kids, the First Lady and Dr. Biden’s Joining Forces initiative to support our service members and their families, the Race to the Top initiative to promote innovation, reform and excellence in America’s public schools, the Educate to Innovate campaign to improve America’s performance in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, and the White House Live application used with the many live streamed events by the White House.
• Twitter: The White House has many accounts to follow on Twitter, including @WhiteHouse, Press Secretary Jay Carney @PressSec, Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer @Pfeiffer44, White House photographer @PeteSouza, Spanish language content @LaCasaBlanca, healthy living advice @LetsMove, supporting our military families @JoiningForces, an automatic feed of White House Blog posts @blog44, and I’m @macon44.
• MySpace: The White House profile shares blog posts and photos.
• LinkedIn: The White House Group discusses important questions.
• Digg: The White House shares news, photos, and videos on this social news site.

Video & Multimedia

• YouTube: The White House channel, and the Let's Move channel make our videos available to a wide audience.
• Vimeo: The White House video channel syndicates our video content as well.
• Hulu: We post regular series of content such as President Obama's Weekly Address, and West Wing Week, as well as interesting and major pieces of content in the Speeches of President Obama, Inside the White House, Music and the Arts, and White House White Board channels.
• Flickr: The White House and Let's Move both post official and behind the scenes photos.
• iTunes: White House Podcasts allows you to automatically download the Weekly Address, Speeches and Events, West Wing Week, Music and the Arts events, Press Briefings, and more in either video or audio formats.
• UStream: The White House live streams are shared here.

Document Sharing

• Socrata: The White House shares data such as visitor logs.
• SlideShare: The White House posts documents such as the slides from the Enhanced State of the Union 2011.

One of the unique factors of working at the White House is the Presidential Records Act of 1978. It’s a law that basically means any record created in the course of official White House business must be preserved.  You can learn more about the PRA in this post from September 2009, as well as WhiteHouse.gov’s privacy policy.

The White House has consulted with the nonpartisan experts of the National Archives and Records Administration to ensure we correctly archive presidential records created through the use of these websites and social media services.

For example, on Twitter, all tweets by White House accounts and any replies to official White House tweets are automatically archived through an RSS feed that is converted into email and preserved by the White House email archiving system.  On our Facebook page, staff at the White House Office of Records management archive every wall post authored by the White House as well as a sampling of comments on the posts.  These are saved in an organized folder structure using a standard file naming protocol.

These are just a couple of examples of the steps we take to comply with the PRA and preserve material for the future.  We do not start using a new social network site until we have thought through how the PRA would apply to it and how we will archive any presidential records.  (Figuring all of this out was one of the reasons we waited until May of 2009 to launch the White House pages on Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace.)

We are always looking for new opportunities to engage the public online, so if you know of any online communities or social media tools we should consider, please let us know.

Remarks by the President on Osama Bin Laden
East Room

11:35 P.M. EDT

     THE PRESIDENT:  Good evening.  Tonight, I can report to the American people and to the world that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al Qaeda, and a terrorist who’s responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent men, women, and children.

It was nearly 10 years ago that a bright September day was darkened by the worst attack on the American people in our history.  The images of 9/11 are seared into our national memory -- hijacked planes cutting through a cloudless September sky; the Twin Towers collapsing to the ground; black smoke billowing up from the Pentagon; the wreckage of Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where the actions of heroic citizens saved even more heartbreak and destruction.

And yet we know that the worst images are those that were unseen to the world.  The empty seat at the dinner table.  Children who were forced to grow up without their mother or their father.  Parents who would never know the feeling of their child’s embrace.  Nearly 3,000 citizens taken from us, leaving a gaping hole in our hearts.

On September 11, 2001, in our time of grief, the American people came together.  We offered our neighbors a hand, and we offered the wounded our blood.  We reaffirmed our ties to each other, and our love of community and country.  On that day, no matter where we came from, what God we prayed to, or what race or ethnicity we were, we were united as one American family.

We were also united in our resolve to protect our nation and to bring those who committed this vicious attack to justice.  We quickly learned that the 9/11 attacks were carried out by al Qaeda -- an organization headed by Osama bin Laden, which had openly declared war on the United States and was committed to killing innocents in our country and around the globe.  And so we went to war against al Qaeda to protect our citizens, our friends, and our allies.

Over the last 10 years, thanks to the tireless and heroic work of our military and our counterterrorism professionals, we’ve made great strides in that effort.  We’ve disrupted terrorist attacks and strengthened our homeland defense.  In Afghanistan, we removed the Taliban government, which had given bin Laden and al Qaeda safe haven and support.  And around the globe, we worked with our friends and allies to capture or kill scores of al Qaeda terrorists, including several who were a part of the 9/11 plot.

Yet Osama bin Laden avoided capture and escaped across the Afghan border into Pakistan.  Meanwhile, al Qaeda continued to operate from along that border and operate through its affiliates across the world.

And so shortly after taking office, I directed Leon Panetta, the director of the CIA, to make the killing or capture of bin Laden the top priority of our war against al Qaeda, even as we continued our broader efforts to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat his network.

Then, last August, after years of painstaking work by our intelligence community, I was briefed on a possible lead to bin Laden.  It was far from certain, and it took many months to run this thread to ground.  I met repeatedly with my national security team as we developed more information about the possibility that we had located bin Laden hiding within a compound deep inside of Pakistan.  And finally, last week, I determined that we had enough intelligence to take action, and authorized an operation to get Osama bin Laden and bring him to justice.

Today, at my direction, the United States launched a targeted operation against that compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.  A small team of Americans carried out the operation with extraordinary courage and capability.  No Americans were harmed.  They took care to avoid civilian casualties.  After a firefight, they killed Osama bin Laden and took custody of his body.

For over two decades, bin Laden has been al Qaeda’s leader and symbol, and has continued to plot attacks against our country and our friends and allies.  The death of bin Laden marks the most significant achievement to date in our nation’s effort to defeat al Qaeda.

Yet his death does not mark the end of our effort.  There’s no doubt that al Qaeda will continue to pursue attacks against us.  We must –- and we will -- remain vigilant at home and abroad.

As we do, we must also reaffirm that the United States is not –- and never will be -– at war with Islam.  I’ve made clear, just as President Bush did shortly after 9/11, that our war is not against Islam.  Bin Laden was not a Muslim leader; he was a mass murderer of Muslims.  Indeed, al Qaeda has slaughtered scores of Muslims in many countries, including our own.  So his demise should be welcomed by all who believe in peace and human dignity.

Over the years, I’ve repeatedly made clear that we would take action within Pakistan if we knew where bin Laden was.  That is what we’ve done.  But it’s important to note that our counterterrorism cooperation with Pakistan helped lead us to bin Laden and the compound where he was hiding.  Indeed, bin Laden had declared war against Pakistan as well, and ordered attacks against the Pakistani people.

Tonight, I called President Zardari, and my team has also spoken with their Pakistani counterparts.  They agree that this is a good and historic day for both of our nations.  And going forward, it is essential that Pakistan continue to join us in the fight against al Qaeda and its affiliates.

The American people did not choose this fight.  It came to our shores, and started with the senseless slaughter of our citizens.  After nearly 10 years of service, struggle, and sacrifice, we know well the costs of war.  These efforts weigh on me every time I, as Commander-in-Chief, have to sign a letter to a family that has lost a loved one, or look into the eyes of a service member who’s been gravely wounded.

So Americans understand the costs of war.  Yet as a country, we will never tolerate our security being threatened, nor stand idly by when our people have been killed.  We will be relentless in defense of our citizens and our friends and allies.  We will be true to the values that make us who we are. And on nights like this one, we can say to those families who have lost loved ones to al Qaeda’s terror:  Justice has been done.

Tonight, we give thanks to the countless intelligence and counterterrorism professionals who’ve worked tirelessly to achieve this outcome.  The American people do not see their work, nor know their names.  But tonight, they feel the satisfaction of their work and the result of their pursuit of justice.

We give thanks for the men who carried out this operation, for they exemplify the professionalism, patriotism, and unparalleled courage of those who serve our country.  And they are part of a generation that has borne the heaviest share of the burden since that September day.

Finally, let me say to the families who lost loved ones on 9/11 that we have never forgotten your loss, nor wavered in our commitment to see that we do whatever it takes to prevent another attack on our shores.

And tonight, let us think back to the sense of unity that prevailed on 9/11.  I know that it has, at times, frayed.  Yet today’s achievement is a testament to the greatness of our country and the determination of the American people.

The cause of securing our country is not complete.  But tonight, we are once again reminded that America can do whatever we set our mind to.  That is the story of our history, whether it’s the pursuit of prosperity for our people, or the struggle for equality for all our citizens; our commitment to stand up for our values abroad, and our sacrifices to make the world a safer place.

Let us remember that we can do these things not just because of wealth or power, but because of who we are:  one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Thank you.  May God bless you.  And may God bless the United States of America.
        
                        END               11:44 P.M. EDT

Seated from left, James Clapper, Director of National Intelligence, National Security Advisor Tom Donilon, CIA Director Leon Panetta, Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Vice President Joe Biden listen as President Barack Obama makes a statement on Osama Bin Laden in the East Room of the White House May 1, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

In his Weekly Address, the President discusses the importance of the bipartisan budget agreement that represents both a significant investment in the United States' future - and the largest annual spending cut in our history.

Watch the President's Weekly Address here.

In case you missed it, President Obama also addressed the budget agreement in remarks delivered from the Blue Room of the White House late Friday evening.

A transcript of the Weekly Address is below:

Last night, after weeks of long and difficult negotiations over our national budget, leaders of both parties came together to avert a government shutdown, cut spending, and invest in our future.  

This is good news for the American people.  It means that small businesses can get the loans they need, our families can get the mortgages they applied for, folks can visit our national parks and museums, and hundreds of thousands of Americans will get their paychecks on time – including our brave men and women in uniform. 

This is an agreement to invest in our country’s future while making the largest annual spending cut in our history.   Like any compromise, this required everyone to give ground on issues that were important to them.  I certainly did.  Some of the cuts we agreed to will be painful – programs people rely on will be cut back; needed infrastructure projects will be delayed.  And I would not have made these cuts in better circumstances.  But we also prevented this important debate from being overtaken by politics and unrelated disagreements on social issues.  And beginning to live within our means is the only way to protect the investments that will help America compete for new jobs – investments in our kids’ education and student loans; in clean energy and life-saving medical research. 

Reducing spending while still investing in the future is just common sense.  That’s what families do in tough times.  They sacrifice where they can, even if it’s hard, to afford what’s really important. 

A few months ago, I was able to sign a tax cut for American families because both parties worked through their differences and found common ground.  Now, the same cooperation has made it possible for us to move forward with the biggest annual spending cut in history.  And it’s my sincere hope that we can continue to come together as we face the many difficult challenges that lie ahead – from creating jobs and growing our economy to educating our children and reducing our long-term deficits. 

That’s our responsibility. That’s what the American people expect us to do.  And it’s what the American people deserve.

A full transcript of the President's remarks are below.

REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT ON THE BUDGET

11:04 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT:  Good evening.  Behind me, through the window, you can see the Washington Monument, visited each year by hundreds of thousands from around the world.  The people who travel here come to learn about our history and to be inspired by the example of our democracy -- a place where citizens of different backgrounds and beliefs can still come together as one nation. 

Tomorrow, I’m pleased to announce that the Washington Monument, as well as the entire federal government, will be open for business.  And that's because today Americans of different beliefs came together again.

In the final hours before our government would have been forced to shut down, leaders in both parties reached an agreement that will allow our small businesses to get the loans they need, our families to get the mortgages they applied for, and hundreds of thousands of Americans to show up at work and take home their paychecks on time, including our brave men and women in uniform.

This agreement between Democrats and Republicans, on behalf of all Americans, is on a budget that invests in our future while making the largest annual spending cut in our history.  Like any worthwhile compromise, both sides had to make tough decisions and give ground on issues that were important to them.  And I certainly did that.

Some of the cuts we agreed to will be painful. Programs people rely on will be cut back.  Needed infrastructure projects will be delayed.  And I would not have made these cuts in better circumstances. 

But beginning to live within our means is the only way to protect those investments that will help America compete for new jobs -- investments in our kids’ education and student loans; in clean energy and life-saving medical research.  We protected the investments we need to win the future.

At the same time, we also made sure that at the end of the day, this was a debate about spending cuts, not social issues like women’s health and the protection of our air and water.  These are important issues that deserve discussion, just not during a debate about our budget.

I want to think Speaker Boehner and Senator Reid for their leadership and their dedication during this process.  A few months ago, I was able to sign a tax cut for American families because both parties worked through their differences and found common ground.  Now the same cooperation will make possible the biggest annual spending cut in history, and it’s my sincere hope that we can continue to come together as we face the many difficult challenges that lie ahead, from creating jobs and growing our economy to educating our children and reducing our deficit.  That's what the American people expect us to do.  That's why they sent us here. 

A few days ago, I received a letter from a mother in Longmont, Colorado.  Over the year, her son’s eighth grade class saved up money and worked on projects so that next week they could take a class trip to Washington, D.C.  They even have an appointment to lay a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. 

The mother wrote that for the last few days the kids in her son’s class had been worried and upset that they might have to cancel their trip because of a shutdown.  She asked those of us in Washington to get past our petty grievances and make things right.  And she said, “Remember, the future of this country is not for us.  It’s for our children.”

Today we acted on behalf of our children’s future.  And next week, when 50 eighth graders from Colorado arrive in our nation’s capital, I hope they get a chance to look up at the Washington Monument and feel the sense of pride and possibility that defines America -- a land of many that has always found a way to move forward as one.

Thank you.

• For information on how you can help directly, USAID has pulled together options for donating to support the response effort.
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