The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
March 20, 2014

Remarks by the President on the Minimum Wage

Valencia College
Orlando, Florida

3:00 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, Valencia!  (Applause.)  Well, thank you so much.  It is great to be back in Orlando.  (Applause.)   I’m glad some of you came to work while a lot of folks are pretending to work and watching -- (laughter) -- the tournament. I know there must be some Gators fans around here.  (Applause.)  They are an outstanding team.  I put out my Men’s bracket -- I've got them going to the Final Four. 

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  They’re going to win!

THE PRESIDENT:  And they could win the whole thing -- in which case, I won't win the billion dollars.  (Laughter.)  You can only pick one winner.  There are 63 colleges mad at me.  (Laughter.)  I understand there are some neighbors up the road in Gainesville who are not happy with me.  (Laughter.)  There will be even more tomorrow when I release my Women’s bracket -- because you can't please everybody. 

But we’ve got some terrific elected officials here.  I just want to, in particular, thank the Mayor of Orlando, Buddy Dyer, who’s been a great friend.  Give him a big round of applause.  (Applause.)  And I want to thank the president of Valencia College, Sandy -- (applause) -- where’s Sandy?  Sandy Shugart -- there he is.  We've got the president of the West Campus who I just had an amazing conversation with -- Falecia Williams.  Where’s Falecia?  Right there.  (Applause.)  I want to thank everybody here at Valencia for having me. 

A few years ago, I announced a new competition called the Aspen Prize to recognize exceptional community colleges, and, lo and behold -- (laughter) -- your school, Valencia -- (applause) -- was the very first school in the entire country to win this prize.  (Applause.)  So between the students’ hard work, the outstanding faculty, the administrators who are making sure everybody has what they need to succeed, Valencia graduates are leaving here ready for a career; ready to continue their education; ready to pursue their dreams, wherever they may lead.

And so this college represents what’s best in America -- the idea that here in this country, if you work hard, you can get ahead.  And restoring that opportunity for every American, that's been our driving focus as a country.  That’s driven everything I’ve done since I came into office. 

And today, we’re at a moment when, after the worst economic crisis of our lifetimes, after just some devastating losses that people had -- their homes, or their retirement accounts, or their jobs -- now we've see businesses creating 8.7 million new jobs over the past four years.  American manufacturers are adding jobs for the first time since the 1990s.  In American energy, we’re producing more oil here at home than we buy from other countries for the first time in two decades.  We're generating more renewable energy.  The housing market is rebounding, including here in Florida.  Our high school graduation rate is the highest on record.  (Applause.)  Absolutely.  More young people are earning college degrees than ever before.  (Applause.)

So even as we are digging ourselves out of the economic hole that we were in back in 2008, we've also worked to lay a new foundation for America’s future growth.  Here’s the problem, though -- there are a bunch of good things happening, the economy is starting to grow, but some of the trends that have really battered middle-class families and people who are working hard to get into the middle class for decades -- those have not yet gotten better.  Folks at the top are doing better than ever, but over the past four years, average wages have barely budged.  So you’ve got too many Americans who are working harder than ever just to keep up.  

And it’s our job to reverse these trends.  We've got to build an economy that works for everybody, not just for a few.  We’ve got to restore opportunity for all people -- the basic idea that no matter where you started, no matter what you look like, if you work hard you can get ahead.  America has got to be a place where if you’re responsible and you apply yourself you can make it.

So what we focused on is an opportunity agenda that has four parts.  Part one is more good jobs that pay good wages, whether it’s in manufacturing, in energy, in innovation and technology, in the service industries.  And one of the things we’ve done in Orlando is focus on growing tourism.  Buddy knows this.  Two years ago, I came here to announce an executive order to track more foreign tourists to the United States and last year spending by foreign tourists was up almost 10 percent.  That is a huge boost to Florida.  We’ve got to keep on taking those kinds of steps.

Part two of our opportunity agenda -- we’ve got to train more Americans with the skills that they need to fill the jobs that are actually out there not just today but also tomorrow. 

Part three you know something about -- we’ve got to make sure every young person has access to a world-class education, from high-quality preschool for every four-year-old to an affordable college education for all you striving young people. 

And part four is making sure that our economy rewards the hard work of every American with wages that you can live on, savings you can retire on, health care that’s there when you need it. 

And in pursuit of this opportunity agenda, I’m going to work with Congress wherever I can.  But Congress doesn’t always -- (laughter) -- move the way we’d like, and so we’re calling this a Year of Action.  Wherever I see a chance to go ahead and expand opportunity for more Americans, I’m going to take it.  I’m not going to wait for Congress.  We’ve just got to go ahead and get it done.  (Applause.)

I’ll give you a couple of examples.  In the past few weeks I’ve used my executive authority to require federal contractors to pay their employees a fair wage of at least $10.10 an hour to make sure that folks, if they’re working full-time, aren’t living in poverty.  I’ve signed another executive order to make sure that they’re actually paid the overtime that they’ve earned, because everybody who works hard deserves that chance to get ahead.  And if you work more, you should get paid a little more.

As part of making sure our economy rewards the hard work of every American, I’m also coming here today to make sure that our economy rewards the hard work of women.  (Applause.)  Now, I just want to be clear -- I just want to be clear.  I’ve got nothing against you men.  (Laughter.)  We’re working hard to make sure that you’re doing the right thing, too, and that you’re getting opportunity as well.  But I’ve got a personal stake in seeing women get ahead. 

First of all, women make up 80 percent of my household -- (laughter) -- if you count my mother-in-law.  And I always count my mother-in-law.  (Laughter.)  But I also personally know the challenges that women face in our economy, and there are some particular challenges that women face.  I grew up the son of a single mom who struggled to put herself through school and make ends meet, and raise my sister and me the right way.  And she couldn’t have done it if it weren’t for my grandparents.  And the most important breadwinner in my family was my grandmother, who worked her way up from being a secretary to being a vice president of a bank -- never got a college degree -- but then hit a glass ceiling at that local bank where she worked.  So she’d train men to eventually be her boss, even though she knew a lot more than they did.

When Michelle and I had our girls, we gave everything we had to try to balance raising a family and chasing careers.  But I’ll be honest with you, it was harder for her than it was for me.  Because when she was with the girls, she’d feel guilty about, am I doing everything I need to be doing on the job; when she was at work, she’d feel bad about, are the girls missing me -- and I know Barack is messing up somehow.  (Laughter.)  So she’s calling to check.

And so today, obviously we’re lucky and Michelle and I usually get to have dinner with the girls every night and they’re doing great.  And the highlight of every day for me is sitting with them at the dinner table.  And I want to make sure my daughters are getting the same chances as men.  I don’t want them paid less for doing the same job as some guy is doing.  When they have children, I want to make sure that they’re not having to quit their jobs, or in some other fashion be hampered because we don’t have the kinds of policies in this country that support them.

My point is -- and I’m saying now to the men -- we’ve all got a stake in this.  Women make up about half of our workforce. Over half of Valencia students, 56 percent, are women.  In fact, for more than two decades, women have earned over half of the higher education degrees awarded in this country.  So that means soon, for the first time, America’s highly educated workforce will be made up of more women than men. 

But the thing is our economy hasn’t caught up to that reality yet.  So we’ve got too many women who work hard to support themselves and their families, including the 20 percent of women enrolled in college who are trying to raise kids while earning a degree, and they’re facing unfair choices or outdated workplace policies that are holding them back.  That has to change -- because it holds all of us back.

When women make less than men, that hurts their families, including their partners, their husbands, their kids.  They’ve got less to get by on.  It hurts businesses because now their customers have less to spend.  When a job doesn’t offer adequate family leave to care for a new baby or an ailing parent that burdens men and children.  When any of our citizens can’t fulfill their potential for any reason that doesn’t have to do with their talent or their character or their work ethic, well, that’s holding us back.  We do better when everybody participates, when everybody’s talents are put to use, everybody has a fair shot. 

And I had a wonderful conversation before I came out here with Carolyn and we had a group of other women, including Dr. Williams, and you should just have heard these stories.  I mean, I don’t know if Dr. Williams has shared her story, but her mom was blind and raised her, a single mom.  And she had to go to school and get a job, and when her child was born prematurely, her blind mother comes down to provide child care because that’s the only way she could manage it. 

You had another woman describing what it’s like when you’ve got twins, preemie babies, and she’s having to quit her job because there’s no child care available, and how she needed WIC and other programs to support her even though she had a loving husband who was helping out.

So this is a family agenda.  But it starts with making sure that every woman is getting a fair shot.  It’s time for a woman’s economic agenda that grows our economy for everybody.  Now, that begins with making sure women receive equal pay for equal work.  This is a really simple principle.  This should not be confusing. (Laughter and applause.)  It’s not that complicated. 

Today, more women are their family’s main breadwinner than ever before.  But on average, women are still earning just 77 cents on every dollar that a man does.  Women with college degrees may earn hundreds of thousands of dollars less over the course of her career than a man at the same educational level.  And that’s wrong.  This isn’t 1958, it’s 2014.  That’s why the first bill I signed into law was called the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act -- (applause) -- and it made sure that it was easier for women to sue if they weren’t being paid the same as men. 

And in the coming weeks, Congress will have a chance to go even further by voting yes or no on what’s called the Paycheck Fairness Act.  Right now, a majority of the senators support that bill but so far Republicans have blocked it.  We’ve got to get them to change their minds and join us in this century -- (laughter) -- because a woman deserves equal pay for equal work. It’s pretty straightforward.  (Applause.)

And Congress should not stop there.  A woman deserves workplace policies that protect her right to have a baby without losing her job.  It's pretty clear that if men were having babies -- (laughter) -- we’d have different policies.  I mean, we know that, that’s for certain.  A woman deserves to take a day off to care for a sick child or a parent without running into hardship. (Applause.)

So Congress needs to act so that Americans join every other advanced nation on Earth by offering paid leave to folks who work hard every day.  It’s time to do away with some of these workplace policies that belong in a “Mad Men” episode.  (Laughter.)  We’ve got to make sure that every woman has the opportunities that she deserves -- because when women succeed, America succeeds.  I truly believe that.  (Applause.) 

On the ride over here we were talking about some of the best practices of companies that are highly successful.  It turns out that if you give families -- you give your workers some flexibility so that if they’ve got a sick child or a sick parent they can have a little time off, those employees are more productive, the companies do better, you have less turnover.  So it’s good business practice.  It’s the right thing to do.

At a time when women hold the majority of low-wage jobs, Congress is going to get a chance to vote yes or no on whether millions of women who work hard all day deserve a raise.  There’s a bill before Congress that would raise the federal minimum wage to $10.10 an hour.  That would lift wages for nearly 28 million Americans across the country.  And, again, it would be good for business.  Because what happens is more customers have more money to spend.  It will grow the economy for everybody.  It’s time for Congress to join the rest of the country.  It’s time for -- we’re calling it the $10.10 campaign.  Give America a raise.  And that, in particular, will help the disproportionate number of women who are in lower wage jobs.

And on each of these issues, members of Congress will have to choose between helping women and families get ahead or holding them back.  Part of our challenge is fewer than 20 seats in Congress are held by women.  I think we’re all clear that Congress would get more done if you kind of evened that out a little bit.  (Applause.)  I’m pretty confident about that.

But in the meantime, we’re going to keep making the case as to why these policies are the right ones for working families and for businesses.  So over the next few months, my administration is going to host a series of roundtable discussions like the one I had in different parts of the country just to hear stories about issues like workplace flexibility and opening up new leadership opportunities for women.  And it’s all going to lead up to the first-ever White House summit on Working Families that we’re going to be holding this summer.  And maybe some of you will participate, because we want to hear your stories.  (Applause.)

Let me close by mentioning one last policy that’s benefitting millions of women right now, and that is the Affordable Care Act.  (Applause.)  I know there’s a lot of politics around it.  I know there are a lot of TV ads around that don’t always accurately reflect what’s going on.  But right now, despite the fact that the website was really bad for the first month -- (laughter) -- it’s now fixed -- more than 5 million Americans have signed up for plans at healthcare.gov.  More than 5 million.  (Applause.)  More than 3 million young people have gained coverage because this law lets you stay on your parents’ plan until you turn 26.  So I’ll bet there are some young people right now who have health insurance in this auditorium because of the law.  (Applause.) 

And thanks to this law, no American -- zero -- can ever again be denied health insurance because of a preexisting condition.  (Applause.)  Not to mention no woman can ever again be charged more for just being a woman.  (Applause.) 

Now, this is something that people don’t realize.  Before we passed Obamacare, it was routine for insurance companies to charge women significantly more than men for health insurance.  It’s just like the drycleaners.  (Laughter.)  You send in a blouse, I send in a shirt -- they charge you twice as much.  (Laughter.)  But the same thing was happening in health insurance.  And so we’ve banned that policy for everybody, not just folks who were getting health insurance on the exchange.  But if you were getting health insurance on the job, they can’t discriminate against women in that same fashion.  Not to mention tens of millions of women have gained access to free preventive care like mammograms and contraceptive care.  The point is no woman should have to put off the potentially lifesaving care she needs just because money is tight.

And in the roundtable I just had there were at least three or four folks in that roundtable, the majority of the women I just talked to had an instance in their lives where either because of a sick child or a premature baby or an ailing parent, they would be bankrupt had they not had health insurance.  Broke. So when you hear folks talking about Obamacare and I’m not using it because I’ve got health insurance or I’m healthy, well, yes, you don’t need health insurance until you need health insurance. (Laughter.)  It seems like a drag until you actually confront what life does to all of us at some point.  Some unexpected thing happens and you want to make sure that you’ve got that support.

Now, none of that has stopped Republicans in Congress from spending the last few years not focused on legislation to create jobs, or raise wages, or help more young people afford college.  They’ve taken 50 votes to try to repeal or undermine this law -- 50.  You know what they say -- the 50th time is the charm.  (Laughter.)  Fifty times.  And it’s not just to try to improve the law or here’s a particular problem.  No, we just want to scrap it so that millions of people who now have health insurance, we want them to go back to not having health insurance. 

Well, that’s not going to happen.  They can keep wasting their time repealing -- trying to repeal the ACA; we’re going to keep working to make this law work better because every person and every woman deserves to control her own health care choices  -- not her boss, not her insurer, surely not Congress. 

So there’s an important deadline coming up, by the way.  This is now the last call for 2014.  If you’ve been thinking about buying one of the new plans on healthcare.gov -- and a large proportion of people, the majority, in fact, may be able to buy health insurance for as little as $100 or less a month -- less than your cable or your cell phone bill.  I saw everybody had a cell phone.  (Laughter.)  But the deadline to get covered this year is March 31st, which is just 11 days away.  So if you are uninsured, check out your new choices at healthcare.gov.  Many of you will be able to get covered for $100 a month or less. If you’re already covered, then help get a friend covered, because that’s part of what America is about -- taking responsibility for working to achieve our own dreams; also coming together to help our fellow citizens pursue and secure their own dreams as well.

There are just such amazing stories of the women that I talked with before I came out here.  Every one of them, at some point, had made a major sacrifice on behalf of their families.  One woman had a severely autistic son; took 12 years off to raise her three kids, including this son, before now going back to school and being able to teach once again.  Just like my mom. Just like my grandma.  I didn’t fully appreciate at the time the sacrifice they were making.  I was talking about how I used to complain to my mom when she was going to school and working, why are we eating the same thing every night?  (Laughter.)  Because she was doing so much, and then coming home and still taking the time to make sure that I had a decent meal. 

That’s what built this country -- those kinds of sacrifices. And we’ve got to make sure that we as a country are helping people who are so courageous and so brave and working so hard -- all those moms and grandmas and young women like Carolyn who are trying to start their own businesses. 

We’ve come a long way together over these past five years, but we’ve got to do more to restore opportunity for everybody. Whether you’re a man or a woman; whether you are black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, with or without a disability, all of us have something to offer.  All of us have a place in this American story.  And as long as I have the privilege of being President, I’m going to keep working to make sure every single one of us have a chance to succeed.  (Applause.)  Or as you say here at Valencia, “We Say You Can.” 

Thank you, everybody.  God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.

END
3:26 P.M. EDT

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
March 20, 2014

Press Gaggle by Press Secretary Jay Carney en route Orlando, FL, 3/20/2014

Aboard Air Force One
En Route Orlando, Florida

12:54 P.M. EDT

MR. CARNEY:  I have with me, as you can see, Betsey Stevenson, a member of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers.  You may recall she briefed with me recently, and by popular demand she’s back today to discuss the events, the roundtable the President is doing today, and the fact that it is the beginning of a series of events.

So I’m going to ask Betsey to speak to you first.  If you could direct questions on those subjects to her at the top, and then we’ll get to other subjects right after that.

MS. STEVENSON:  Great, thank you.  So, as you know, last week the President announced the date of the Working Families Summit, June 23rd.  And as Jay mentioned, today kicks off the first of a series of events and gatherings leading into that.  He’ll be at Valencia College talking with a number of women with various experiences about their experiences in the labor force and their experiences in getting the skills they need to succeed in the labor force.

Following this, there will be a series of regional events around the country in New York, Boston, San Francisco, Denver, and another one that I’m forgetting.  But the -- New York?  That’s the one I forgot?  (Laughter.) 

The goal of these events is to make sure that we’re hearing from real people along with hearing from businesses, from state and local governments, from members of Congress, for us to try to figure out what are the policies and changes that we need to make to better address the needs of working families in the labor force. 

The labor force, as I said in last week’s briefing, has been changing and changing quite rapidly.  We are moving to a world in which soon women will be the majority of the highly skilled workers.  They’re now graduating at rates much higher than men, and they’ve been doing so now for two decades.

And as women continue to gain skills, continue to participate in the labor force, and continue to earn a large and increasing share of household earnings, making sure that the labor force is making the best use of their talents is important not just for women and for families, but to make sure that the U.S. stays as competitive as possible in the 21st century.

So why don’t I turn to questions.

Q    Just a couple questions.  Is the President planning to do any of these other regional events, or just this first one?

MS. STEVENSON:  The President will be doing this first one, and then other members of the administration will be doing the other events.  I believe Valerie Jarrett is going to be in New York.  I’m going to be in Boston.  I know Secretary Perez is going to be in San Francisco, and I think a few of the other ones.  And we’re also going to be involving members of Congress in these events.  So, for instance, I know that the event in Boston will have members of Congress there.

Q    If women are increasingly getting higher education degrees and occupying the workplace -- better jobs in the workplace, what is the government’s role in speeding that process or improving that process?

MS. STEVENSON:  Improving which -- the process --

Q    Why should the government become involved in effecting that?

MS. STEVENSON:  Well, I don’t think the government should become involved in, say, changing the degree to which women -- the government should be involved in making sure that we’re able to make the best use of America’s talent, whoever is holding that talent, and making sure that there aren’t artificial or unnecessary constraints that prevent that talent from reaching its potential.

The point of this summit is to figure out what’s the role  -- what government can and should do; what businesses can and should do; what individuals can and should do; and what state and local governments can and should do in order to make sure that we’re making the best use of our talent, and not having people make decisions that perhaps reflect artificial barriers.

And to give you an example -- academics -- notably, Claudia Goldin, has pointed out that a lot of women today choose professions not based on necessarily where their talents are best suited, but where they might have more flexibility in balancing work and family.  Obviously, to the extent that we can, it would be better to remove some of those barriers so that women could go where their talents were going to be most successful, rather than making choices based on the constraints they face of balancing work and family.

Q    Why Florida for the first event?  How much did politics play into the location of the first one?

MS. STEVENSON:  I don’t pick locations, so I can't answer that.  I think what we know about Valencia College -- so I can certainly tell you what is so great about Valencia College.  So, first of all, the President announced in 2010 the Aspen Prize for community college that demonstrates excellence, and Valencia College was the first community college to win that price.  They won it in 2011.

This is a community college that’s been extremely successful in educating both men and women, helping them transition successfully into jobs or, actually, into higher education.  They do a really good job of educating older students and students with children.  So this is a location that certainly demonstrates I think many of the multiple challenges that women face.  So it demonstrates -- one thing people don’t appreciate is more than a fifth of female college students have children.  So when we’re talking about balancing family and work, a lot of times they’re balancing the need to get skills in order to support their family at the same time they actually have that family. 

And I think a lot of the students at Valencia College are dealing with exactly that challenge.  Many of the workers within the community deal with some of the challenges that everyday women face, and I think we’re able to get a good snapshot at some of the challenges that women face through the people invited to participate in this roundtable.

The only other thing is just the BLS released the annual report on veterans data today; it came out at 10 a.m.  And it showed that we’ve continued to make progress in bringing down the unemployment rate of veterans.  As you know, we can look at the unemployment rate of veterans every month, but this annual report allows us to dig deeper into looking at veterans who’ve recently served in Iraq and Afghanistan, and understand who is doing a good job of transitioning back to the civilian workforce.  And the top line of this was that where it shows that for Gulf War II veterans or more recent veterans, we have now brought the unemployment rate down from its peak of 12.1 in 2011 to 9 percent in 2013.  So we’ve continued to make progress.

MR. CARNEY:  I know you all heard -- or I hope you heard, because you were on the plane -- did you hear the President’s statement?  Were you able to hear it?

Q    We got notes from that.

MR. CARNEY:  You got notes from it.  Okay, well, as you know, the President this morning, prior to leaving the White House, announced new sanctions under the existing executive orders designating additional individuals in the Russian government as well as individuals not in government office but who have substantial assets and substantial influence over and with government officials. 

He also announced that he has signed a new executive order that creates the authorities for sanctions in sectors of the Russian economy.  For details about that, I would refer you to the Treasury Department, which I know has put out paper on it.  But that was essentially the announcement he made.  And he also reiterated that taking these actions has been necessitated by choices the Russian government has made. 

Pursuing sanctions, especially those that would come potentially with the authorities created in the executive order, is not our preferred choice, because in addition to the damage those sanctions might inflict on the Russian economy, there could be an impact on the global economy. 

But what Russia has done has flagrantly violated international law as well as the agreements that Russia has with the sovereign state of Ukraine.  And Russia still has the opportunity to de-escalate and take steps to engage in a dialogue with the Ukrainian government in order to address the concerns the Russian government says it has in a manner consistent with international law and in a manner that does not violate the sovereignty of Ukraine. 

Any questions?

Q    Yes, we didn’t see if there was a list put out of names.  Are these more members of Putin’s inner circle that have been added?

MR. CARNEY:  Again, there are additional government officials, as well as influential individuals who are not in government.  I don’t have the list, unfortunately.

Q    Was the list put out?

MR. CARNEY:  Yes.

Q    And was the bank named as well?

MR. CARNEY:  Yes.

Q    Are these sanctions that the President told Putin in his phone call would be imposed were he not to take certain actions?

MR. CARNEY:  I don’t have a more detailed readout of that phone call.  Obviously, President Putin and other Russian government officials should not be surprised that these actions are being taken both by us and by our allies.  We’ve made clear all along that the intervention in Crimea, the violation of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, the escalation intentions have all been at odds with international law and with the interest of stability in the region.  So those are the consequences if Russia chose not to de-escalate and if Russia chose to continue down the path that it's on. 

So I don't have a specific exchange in a conversation to relate to you except that you can be sure that Russian government officials understand that these are the kinds of actions that their choices have made it necessary to take.

Q    So the President didn’t make any other calls today on the plane at all since making this announcement?

MR. CARNEY:  Any other calls?  I have no calls to read out. 

Q    Senator Reid sent a letter supporting Senator Feinstein’s concerns with regard to CIA spying on the committee; called it a breach and unacceptable.  In light of adding his voice to those concerns, does the President feel the need to take any action to rein in the CIA or to address this difference between -- obviously the Senator has been a strong supporter of the CIA.

MR. CARNEY:  The disputes around the protocols established in 2009 for the provision of documents to the committee are being reviewed by an independent inspector general as well as the Department of Justice.  So I think that's appropriate, and I'm not going to comment on what are ongoing reviews.  So I have nothing new to add to that discussion.

Q    Does the President think that General Sinclair received an appropriate sentence?

MR. CARNEY:  I’m not going to comment on an individual case like that.  You understand from what the President has said in the past how seriously he views the issue of sexual assault in general, and in particular in the military.  And you’ve seen the actions that we've taken and the actions the Department of Defense has undertaken.  But I'm not going to comment on an individual case.

Q    Why are we on this plane today?

MR. CARNEY:  I have the specific guidance here somewhere, but the larger plane required maintenance and so we're on this plane.

Q    And speaking of planes, the FBI obviously is involved in the search and investigation in Malaysia.  Is there anything to read into their involvement that there is indication of criminal action?

MR. CARNEY:  We are assisting in a variety of ways.  We, the United States are providing assistance through the FAA and the NTSB, and through the FBI.  We are receiving excellent cooperation from the Malaysian government, which has the lead obviously in both the search and in the investigation. 

We have no new information or conclusions to provide about what happened to the plane.  We're obviously assisting in the search in the Indian Ocean in the areas that the Prime Minister outlined over the weekend.  And in case you were going to ask me about the reports of the debris, I just have no updates on that except that we're participating in the search as a general matter.

Q    Is there a reason that the President is not appearing with Governor Crist today?  Clearly, Governor Crist has been a big, outspoken supporter of the President and his health care plan, and I know you all said you want to help out with the gubernatorial, the races in the midterm.

MR. CARNEY:  You’d have to ask Governor Crist.  I don't have the answer to that question.

Q    Thank you.

END
1:09 P.M. EDT

President Obama Updates the American People on the Situation in Ukraine

Megan Slack
Megan Slack
March 20, 2014
06:15 PM EDT

Watch on YouTube

Today, President Obama updated the American people on the situation in Ukraine and the steps the United States is taking in response.

Over the last several days, we’ve continued to be deeply concerned by events in Ukraine. We've seen an illegal referendum in Crimea; an illegitimate move by the Russians to annex Crimea; and dangerous risks of escalation, including threats to Ukrainian personnel in Crimea and threats to southern and eastern Ukraine as well. These are all choices that the Russian government has made -- choices that have been rejected by the international community, as well as the government of Ukraine. And because of these choices, the United States is today moving, as we said we would, to impose additional costs on Russia.

Based on the executive order that I signed in response to Russia’s initial intervention in Ukraine, we’re imposing sanctions on more senior officials of the Russian government. In addition, we are today sanctioning a number of other individuals with substantial resources and influence who provide material support to the Russian leadership, as well as a bank that provides material support to these individuals.

Related Topics: Europe and Eurasia, Foreign Policy

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
March 20, 2014

Executive Order -- Establishing an Emergency Board To Investigate Disputes Between the Long Island Rail Road Company And Certain Of Its Employees Represented By Certain Labor Organizations

Disputes exist between the Long Island Rail Road Company and certain of its employees represented by certain labor organizations. The labor organizations involved in these disputes are designated on the attached list, which is made part of this order.

The disputes heretofore have not been adjusted under the provisions of the Railway Labor Act, as amended, 45 U.S.C. 151-188 (RLA).

A first emergency board to investigate and report on the disputes was established on November 22, 2013, by Executive Order 13654 of November 21, 2013. The emergency board terminated upon issuance of its report. Subsequently, its recommendations were not accepted by the parties.

A party empowered by the RLA has requested that the President establish a second emergency board pursuant to section 9A of the RLA (45 U.S.C. 159a).

Section 9A(e) of the RLA provides that the President, upon such request, shall appoint a second emergency board to investigate and report on the disputes.

NOW, THEREFORE, by the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, including section 9A of the RLA, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1. Establishment of Emergency Board (Board). There is established, effective 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on March 22, 2014, a Board of three members to be appointed by the President to investigate and report on these disputes. No member shall be pecuniarily or otherwise interested in any organization of railroad employees or any carrier. The Board shall perform its functions subject to the availability of funds.

Sec. 2. Report. Within 30 days after the creation of the Board, the parties to the disputes shall submit to the Board final offers for settlement of the disputes. Within 30 days after the submission of final offers for settlement of the disputes, the Board shall submit a report to the President setting forth its selection of the most reasonable offer.

Sec. 3. Maintaining Conditions. As provided by section 9A(h) of the RLA, from the time a request to establish a second emergency board is made until 60 days after the Board submits its report to the President, no change in the conditions out of which the disputes arose shall be made by the parties to the controversy, except by agreement of the parties.

Sec. 4. Records Maintenance. The records and files of the Board are records of the Office of the President and upon the Board's termination shall be maintained in the physical custody of the National Mediation Board.

Sec. 5. Expiration. The Board shall terminate upon the submission of the report provided for in section 2 of this order.

BARACK OBAMA

 THE WHITE HOUSE,
March 20, 2014

President Obama Speaks on Expanding Economic Opportunity for Women

March 20, 2014 | 24:53 | Public Domain

President Obama discusses his plan to expand economic opportunity for women and working families, including raising the minimum wage and expanding access to higher education for women, and ensure that when women enter the workforce they have access to the skills they need to succeed and earn a fair and equal wage.

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The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
March 20, 2014

President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, President Barack Obama announced his intent to appoint the following individuals to key Administration posts:

  • Patrick D. Cannon – Member, Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Access Board
  • Howard A. Rosenblum – Member, Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Access Board
  • Deborah A. Ryan – Member, Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Access Board
  • Gary Blumenthal – Member, National Council on Disability
  • Ari Ne’eman – Member, National Council on Disability
  • Clyde E. Terry – Member, National Council on Disability

President Obama said, “I am grateful that these impressive individuals have chosen to dedicate their talents to serving the American people at this important time for our country.  I look forward to working with them in the months and years ahead.”

President Obama announced his intent to appoint the following individuals to key Administration posts:

Patrick D. Cannon, Appointee for Member, Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Access Board
Patrick D. Cannon was State Director of the Michigan Commission for the Blind, a position he held from 1997 to 2012.  He was also President of the National Council of State Agencies for the Blind, and previously served as Director of the Michigan Commission on Disability Concerns for 10 years.  He has served as Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors of the Capital Area Transportation Authority in Lansing, Michigan since 1991.  In 1995, he was appointed to the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Access Board, where he served two terms as a public member and as the Board’s Chairperson from 1997 to 1998.  Previously, Mr. Cannon was a member of the National Rehabilitation Association, the Council of State Administrators in Vocational Rehabilitation, and the Executive Board of the President’s Committee on the Employment of People With Disabilities.

Howard A. Rosenblum, Appointee for Member, Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Access Board
Howard A. Rosenblum is CEO at the National Association of the Deaf, a position he has held since 2011.  Previously, he was an attorney at Equip for Equality, the designated Protection & Advocacy entity in Illinois from 2002 to 2011.  He was an attorney at the firm of Monahan and Cohen in Chicago from 1992 to 2002, and a Civil Rights Enforcement Advocate at Access Living of Metropolitan Chicago from 1992 to 1993.  Mr. Rosenblum is the co-founder and former Chairperson of the Midwest Center on Law.  He was a participant on the Disability Policy Committee of Obama for America in 2008.  Mr. Rosenblum received a B.S. from the University of Arizona and a J.D. from IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law.

Deborah A. Ryan, Appointee for Member, Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Access Board
Deborah A. Ryan is the founder and Director of Deborah A. Ryan & Associates, a consulting firm specializing in ensuring compliance with state and federal accessibility requirements.  Previously, she was Executive Director of the Massachusetts Architectural Access Board from 1987 to 2002.  Ms. Ryan was first appointed to the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Access Board in 2011, and she previously served on its Public Rights of Way Access Advisory Committee.  She is also a member of the Boston Society of Architects Access Committee.  Ms. Ryan received a B.A. from the University of Massachusetts and a J.D. from Suffolk University Law School.

Gary Blumenthal, Appointee for Member, National Council on Disability
Gary Blumenthal is President and CEO of the Association of Developmental Disabilities Providers of Massachusetts, a position he has held since 2010.  Previously, he served as the organization’s Executive Director from 2007 to 2010.  He was Executive Director of the Alta California Regional Center from 2005 to 2006 and Wichita Regional Director of the Kansas State Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services from 2003 to 2005.  Mr. Blumenthal was CEO of the Florida State Protection and Advocacy Programs for People with Developmental Disabilities from 1998 to 2003.  He served as Director of the President’s Committee on Mental Retardation from 1993 to 1998, and as a member of the Kansas State House of Representatives from 1983 to 1993.  He was first appointed to the National Council on Disability in 2010.  Mr. Blumenthal received a B.S. from the University of Kansas at Lawrence and an M.A. from the University of Missouri at Kansas City.

Ari Ne’eman, Appointee for Member, National Council on Disability
Ari Ne’eman is the President of the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network, an organization he founded in 2006.  He was first appointed to the National Council on Disability in 2010.  He is a member of the Board of Directors of TASH.  He served as a Public Member of the Inter-Agency Autism Coordinating Committee from 2010 to 2012.  Mr. Ne’eman also served as Vice Chair of the New Jersey Adults with Autism Task Force from 2008 to 2009 and as a Public Member of the New Jersey Special Education Review Commission from 2006 to 2007.  In 2008, he received the Advocates in Disability award from the HSC Foundation.  Mr. Ne’eman received a B.A. from the University of Maryland-Baltimore County. 

Clyde E. Terry, Appointee for Member, National Council on Disability
Clyde E. Terry is CEO of Granite State Independent Living, where he has worked since 2002.  Previously, he worked at the New Hampshire Developmental Disabilities Council as Executive Director from 2001 to 2002 and as Director of Policy and Planning from 1994 to 2001.  In 1996, Mr. Terry was also an adjunct professor at the University of New Hampshire.  Earlier in his career, he was Hearing Officer/ADA Coordinator at the New Hampshire Division of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities’ Office of Client and Legal Services from 1988 to 1994.  He was first appointed to the National Council on Disability in 2011.  Mr. Terry has served on the boards of the National Task Force on Accessible Elections and the ADA Watch Advisory Council.  Mr. Terry received a B.S. from Emerson College and a J.D. from the University of New Hampshire School of Law.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
March 20, 2014

President Obama Announces a Presidential Emergency Board, Names Members

WASHINGTON – Today, President Barack Obama signed an Executive Order creating a second Presidential Emergency Board to help resolve an ongoing dispute between the Long Island Rail Road Company and some of its employees.

The Presidential Emergency Board will provide a structure that allows the two sides to attempt to resolve their disagreements.  In the 60 days following its establishment, the Presidential Emergency Board will obtain final offers for settlement of the dispute from each side, and then produce a report to the President that selects the offer that the Board finds to be the most reasonable.  The Board’s report is not binding, but the party whose offer is not selected would be prohibited by law from receiving certain benefits if a work stoppage subsequently occurs.

President Obama also announced that he intends to appoint the following members to Presidential Emergency Board No. 245:

  • Joshua M. Javits – Appointee for Chair, Presidential Emergency Board No. 245
  • Elizabeth C. Wesman – Appointee for Member, Presidential Emergency Board No. 245 
  • M. David Vaughn – Appointee for Member, Presidential Emergency Board No. 245 

President Obama said, “I appreciate that these dedicated individuals have agreed to devote their talent and years of experience working on labor-management disputes to help reach a swift and smooth resolution of this issue.”

Joshua M. Javits, Appointee for Chair, Presidential Emergency Board No. 245
Joshua M. Javits is a self-employed mediator and arbitrator for labor-management, pension, commercial, contract, and a variety of other disputes.  He served on Presidential Emergency Boards in 2007 and in 2009.  From 1993 to 2001, Mr. Javits was a Partner at Ford & Harrison LLP, where he also served as Executive Director of the Labor Relations Association of Passenger Railroads.  He was appointed as Chairman and Member of the National Mediation Board (NMB) from 1988 to 1993, where he was responsible for administering the Railway Labor Act governing labor relations in the airline and railroad industries.  Mr. Javits was a Labor-Management Arbitrator of record in more than 100 cases between 1985 and 1988 serving on numerous arbitration panels, including the AAA, Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, and NMB.  From 1983 to 1985, he was an attorney with Mulholland & Hickey, where he represented labor organizations.  He served with the National Labor Relations Board from 1978 to 1983 as a trial attorney engaged in enforcing federal labor laws.  From 1990 to 2002, Mr. Javits was an Adjunct Professor at the Georgetown University Law Center where he taught courses in labor arbitration, transportation labor law, and alternative dispute resolution in employment and labor law.  Mr. Javits received a B.A. from Yale College and a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center. 

Dr. Elizabeth C. Wesman, Appointee for Member, Presidential Emergency Board No. 245 
Dr. Elizabeth C. Wesman has been a full-time labor and employment arbitrator since 2000 and has practiced arbitration/mediation since 1981.  She has arbitrated disputes in a wide array of industries, including railroads, aerospace, police and fire departments, and public and private universities.  Dr. Wesman was previously Associate Professor of Strategy and Human Resources/Industrial Relations at Syracuse University from 1981 to 2000.  She was also an Adjunct Professor at the Rochester, New York, Extension Division of Cornell University from 1990 to 2000.  She was a lecturer in the Department of Human Resource Studies at the New York State School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University from 1980 to 1981 and before that, an Instructor in the Department of Economics at Le Moyne College from 1970 to 1975.  Dr. Wesman is on the arbitration rosters of the American Arbitration Association, the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, and the National Mediation Board and has been on a number of permanent panels, including the New York State/Public Employees Federation Panel, the Oregon Employment Relations Board, and the Washington State Public Employment Relations Commission.  She is currently serving as President of the National Association of Railroad Referees.  She received an A.B. from Smith College, an M.A. from Northwestern University, and a Ph.D. from the New York State School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University.

M. David Vaughn, Appointee for Member, Presidential Emergency Board No. 245 
M. David Vaughn has been a full-time neutral arbitrator and mediator specializing in labor and employment disputes since 1984.  He has served on three previous railroad industry Presidential Emergency Boards.  Mr. Vaughn has been handling railroad cases since 1984 and has issued hundreds of awards.  His current Public Law Board appointments include Burlington Northern and Santa Fe (BNSF) and United Transportation Union (UTU), CSX and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers – Teamsters (BLET), and BNSF and Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes - Teamsters (BMWET).  He holds numerous umpireships and panel appointments, including Railway Labor Act panels with United Continental and Air Line Pilots Association, USAir and Association of Flight Attendants, and UPSA and Teamsters.  From 1983 to 1999, he taught a number of subjects as an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University Law Center, including labor arbitration as well as railroad and airline industry labor law and relations. Before that, he was an attorney at Skadden Arps from 1981 to 1983, specializing in labor and employment law.  He served as General Counsel of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service from 1979 to 1981, having previously served as Associate General Counsel from 1977 to 1979.  He began his career as an attorney in private practice, specializing in labor and employment law.  Mr. Vaughn is a Member of the National Academy of Arbitrators and former Member of its Board of Governors, a Fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, and a founding Member and Past President of the National Association of Railroad Referees.  Mr. Vaughn received a B.A. from the University of Michigan and a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School.

President Obama Speaks on Ukraine

March 20, 2014 | 5:08 | Public Domain

President Obama provides an update on the situation in Ukraine and the steps that the United States is taking in response.

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Statement by the President on Ukraine

South Lawn

11:05 A.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT:  Good morning, everybody.  I wanted to provide an update on the situation in Ukraine and the steps that the United States is taking in response.

Over the last several days, we’ve continued to be deeply concerned by events in Ukraine.  We've seen an illegal referendum in Crimea; an illegitimate move by the Russians to annex Crimea; and dangerous risks of escalation, including threats to Ukrainian personnel in Crimea and threats to southern and eastern Ukraine as well.  These are all choices that the Russian government has made -- choices that have been rejected by the international community, as well as the government of Ukraine.  And because of these choices, the United States is today moving, as we said we would, to impose additional costs on Russia.

Based on the executive order that I signed in response to Russia’s initial intervention in Ukraine, we’re imposing sanctions on more senior officials of the Russian government.  In addition, we are today sanctioning a number of other individuals with substantial resources and influence who provide material support to the Russian leadership, as well as a bank that provides material support to these individuals.

Now, we’re taking these steps as part of our response to what Russia has already done in Crimea.  At the same time, the world is watching with grave concern as Russia has positioned its military in a way that could lead to further incursions into southern and eastern Ukraine.  For this reason, we’ve been working closely with our European partners to develop more severe actions that could be taken if Russia continues to escalate the situation.

As part of that process, I signed a new executive order today that gives us the authority to impose sanctions not just on individuals but on key sectors of the Russian economy.  This is not our preferred outcome.  These sanctions would not only have a significant impact on the Russian economy, but could also be disruptive to the global economy.  However, Russia must know that further escalation will only isolate it further from the international community.  The basic principles that govern relations between nations in Europe and around the world must be upheld in the 21st century.  That includes respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity -- the notion that nations do not simply redraw borders, or make decisions at the expense of their neighbors simply because they are larger or more powerful.

One of our other top priorities continues to be providing assistance to the government of Ukraine so it can stabilize its economy and meet the basic needs of the Ukrainian people.  As I travel to Europe next week to meet with the G7 and other European and Asian allies, I once again urge Congress to pass legislation that is necessary to provide this assistance -- and do it right away.  Expressions of support are not enough.  We need action.  I also hope that the IMF moves swiftly to provide a significant package of support for Ukrainians as they pursue reforms.

In Europe, I’ll also be reinforcing a message that Vice President Biden carried to Poland and the Baltic states this week:  America’s support for our NATO allies is unwavering.  We’re bound together by our profound Article 5 commitment to defend one another, and by a set of shared values that so many generations sacrificed for.  We’ve already increased our support for our Eastern European allies, and we will continue to strengthen NATO’s collective defense, and we will step up our cooperation with Europe on economic and energy issues as well.

Let me close by making a final point.  Diplomacy between the United States and Russia continues.  We’ve emphasized that Russia still has a different path available -- one that de-escalates the situation, and one that involves Russia pursuing a diplomatic solution with the government in Kyiv, with the support of the international community.  The Russian people need to know, and Mr. Putin needs to understand that the Ukrainians shouldn’t have to choose between the West and Russia.  We want the Ukrainian people to determine their own destiny, and to have good relations with the United States, with Russia, with Europe, with anyone that they choose.  And that can only happen if Russia also recognized the rights of all the Ukrainian people to determine their future as free individuals, and as a sovereign nation -- rights that people and nations around the world understand and support.

Thank you very much, everybody.

END  
11:11 A.M. EDT

Close Transcript

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
March 20, 2014

Background Briefing on Ukraine by Senior Administration Officials

Via Conference Call

11:17 A.M. EDT
 
MS. HAYDEN:  Good morning, everyone.  Thanks for joining the call and thanks for your flexibility.  Obviously you just heard from the President about further steps we're taking in regard to the situation in Ukraine.  I have senior administration officials here on background to talk to you in a little bit more depth about those measures.  Again, they are senior administration officials for this call and there is no embargo.
 
With that, I'll turn it over to our first senior administration official.
 
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Thanks, everybody, for getting on the call.  I'll just make a few opening comments and turn it over to my colleague who will speak in more detail about today’s sanctions.
 
First of all, just to summarize where we are today, as the President said, we are responding to the Russian intervention in Ukraine, which has included an illegal referendum in Crimea, an illegitimate annexation of Crimea, and dangerous risk of escalation.  And we have been deeply troubled by the positioning of Russian forces in such a way that threatens southern and eastern Ukraine.  We've also been deeply concerned over threats to Ukrainian personnel, in Crimea in particular, as well as the treatment of minority populations in Crimea.
 
The President, in addition to the steps that we've already taken, is taking additional action to impose costs for what has already happened in Crimea.  And today that includes using the authority of the executive order that he signed earlier this week to sanction 20 officials, which includes senior Russian government officials as well as cronies who hold significant resources and influence in the Russian system.  And this also includes the designation of a bank that holds a significant amount of resources that are associated with the Russian leadership. 
 
So these are costs that we are imposing for what Russia has done in Crimea, in Ukraine to date.  And we will continue to impose additional costs.  These sanctions under the executive order the President signed earlier in the week provides us the ability to continue building out our list, in coordination with Europe, of individuals and entities that we can sanction.  So nobody should believe that this is the end of what we are prepared to do under the executive order the President signed earlier in the week.  This is only the beginning.
 
In terms of what we are preparing for potential future consequences on the Russian government, today the President also signed an executive order that will allow us to impose sanctions on key sectors of the Russian economy.  As we watch the Russian threat to Ukraine, to include the threats to southern and eastern Ukraine, we believe it is very important to signal that if Russia further escalates this situation they will be met with severe consequences.  And we are imposing -- we are prepared to impose those consequences in coordination with our allies and partners as well.  And this powerful tool will allow us the ability to calibrate our pressure on the Russian government.
 
As the President said, this would have a significant impact on the Russian economy.  We would pursue it with care, given the fact that that could also impact the global economy.  But there should be no mistake that Russia is far more vulnerable and would be severely isolated were we to move forward with these sector sanctions in response to further Russian escalation.
 
Just a few other comments before I turn it over to my colleagues to talk about the sanctions.  We have been coordinating this closely with our European and Asian allies.  We welcome the steps that Europe and Japan have taken to date to impose sanctions.  Today the Europeans are meeting to further consider the steps that they may take.  We have been in very close contact with them.  They are well aware of the steps that we are taking today, and we have been speaking to them as they have developed their own sets of responses to the Russian actions.
 
Next week when the President travels to Europe, we expect that he will be able to meet with all of our key European allies. He will meet with the G7.  He will also see some of our Asian allies.  And on that trip, we will continue to discuss the costs that we can impose on the Russian government as necessary.  We will also discuss the support that we can provide to the Ukrainian government going forward.  We are also broadly supportive of the IMF moving quickly with a robust package to help support the Ukrainian economy, and we are also committed to working with our NATO allies to consider how to continue strengthening our collective defense.  The Vice President carried a very strong message with him to the Baltic states and Poland about our commitment to NATO’s collective defense, and we will continue those discussions next week as well.
 
And with that, I'll turn it over to my colleague.
 
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Thanks.  And good morning, everybody.  I think the press release announcing the sanctions should have gone out where we briefly describe what we're doing. So we are announcing today a broad set of designations, including a number of Russian government officials, including some senior Russian government officials, several influential Russians who are part of the Russian leadership’s inner circle, and a crony bank that handles the funds for senior Russian officials and other wealthy and influential individuals.  These designations are being done under the executive order that was signed just a few days ago and follows through on the President’s commitment to impose costs for Russia’s actions in Ukraine.
 
Let me briefly describe who is being designated and the consequences of these designations.  As I noted, there is a whole slew of Russian officials who are being designated.  Some are quite senior and important and influential members of the Russian executive and legislative branches.  Eight of these individuals were previously designated by the EU just a couple days ago, and so our designation list of Russian officials will conform to the EU list so we are acting in parallel with the EU.  We are also adding six additional Russian senior officials to our list.  Many of these were key actors in supporting the unlawful incursion into Ukraine, the bogus referendum that occurred over the weekend, and the illegitimate effort to annex Crimea.
 
Several of these individuals are also close confidantes of President Putin, part of his inner circle.  In particular, I'd call your attention to Andrei Fursenko, who is an aide to President Putin and has been with Putin since 1993; Vladimir Yakunin, who is the chairman of Russian Railways, the major state-owned enterprise, regularly consults with President Putin on a number of issues involving the railways and other issues; and Vladimir Kozhin, who is the head of Administration of the Russian Federation since 2000.  We go into more detail in the release on these individuals’ connections with senior leadership in the Russian Federation.
 
In addition to these three individuals, there are four others who are being designated for providing support to, receiving support from Russian government officials, and that is they’re being designated for being part of the leadership inner circle, colloquially known as the cronies. 
 
One is Gennady Timchenko, who is one of the founders of an entity called Gunvor, which is a large commodity trading company. We are designating the Rotenberg brothers -- Arkady Rotenberg and Boris Rotenberg -- who are enormously wealthy individuals.  They have received -- recently received about $7 billion in contracts as part of the Sochi Olympic Games, their personal wealth skyrocketing in the last two years as a result of those contracts that they received.  And the last is an individual named Yuri Kovalchuk, who is essentially the personal banker for many senior officials in the Russian Federation, including President Putin.
 
And then finally, we are designating, as I noted, a crony bank -- this is a bank that provides services to senior Russian government officials -- called Bank Rossiya.  It holds accounts that -- many of these individuals hold accounts at this bank, many individuals who have been designated.  It is controlled by Yuri Kovalchuk, one of the cronies that we are designating today. It’s the 17th largest bank in Russia; it has about $10 billion in assets and has numerous correspondent accounts, including U.S. dollar accounts with institutions here in the U.S. as well as correspondent accounts in Europe and elsewhere.
 
In terms of consequences, the individuals who are being designated will have any assets in the United States frozen, will be barred from doing any business in the U.S. or with any U.S. business, with any U.S. financial institution. 
 
We saw after the actions that we took on Monday some bluster from some of the individuals who we designated claiming that these sanctions on them would have no impact.  I would suggest that if any of these individuals, including the ones that we are doing today, have any interest in doing any business outside of Russia in rubles they’re going to find great difficulty in doing so.  They will be unable to access any U.S. financial services; they will find it difficult to transact in the dollar; and I suspect will find it very difficult to transact in Europe and elsewhere, as our partners around the world have demonstrated over time a willingness to also adhere to the sanctions that we are imposing.  So I think these individuals will find their ability to continue to act in the world economy in any fashion severely constrained.
 
With respect to Bank Rossiya, we expect that this will have a significant impact on its ability to operate.  It will be frozen out of the dollar.  All the correspondent accounts that it has with U.S. financial institutions will be terminated.  And we will work with our partners both in the government and in the private sector around the world to isolate Bank Rossiya and prevent it from operating to the greatest extent possible. 
 
Going forward, we have now three executive orders that are at our disposal to continue to impose costs for the conduct that senior official number one described:  The executive order from two weeks ago, which focuses on threats to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine -- obviously those threats continue and we have the ability to continue to designate under that authority.  The authority that was created earlier this week and that we’re acting under today, which allows us to designate Russian government officials, those in the inner circle of the Russian leadership, and entities in the arms and related material industry.  And then the new executive order that the President signed today, which provides the Secretary of the Treasury the authority to designate, in consultation with the Secretary of State, sectors of the Russian economy for additional sanctions.
 
Once those sectors are designated as the Secretary determines, we will then be able to impose sanctions on specific entities within those sectors.  This is a flexible tool that we can use in response to further provocations; for instance, action of the Russians to go into eastern Ukraine or western Ukraine, or other provocations as we deem appropriate.
 
With that, why don’t I conclude and turn it over to senior official number three.
 
    SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  I don’t think that we here on our side have anything to add.  I think we’d be delighted to support answers to questions.
 
Q    I’m just wondering, in light of the President’s statement -- which one of you echoed about these troubling military movements that suggests there could be further incursions -- whether there’s any thought being given to ways the United States or NATO could actually help the Ukrainian military either with intelligence sharing or any other ways that we might back them up, so that if they face a potential confrontation they’re not doing it by themselves.  Thank you.
 
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Thanks, Mark.  Let me just say a couple of things, and I don’t know if my State colleague wants to add.
 
First of all, I think -- let me just reiterate that we are concerned by recent Russian military movements that could potentially pose a threat to southern and eastern Ukraine.  As we have said, we are obviously already deeply concerned by what’s happened in Crimea.  However, it would be a substantial escalation for Russia to move into southern and eastern Ukraine.
 
That is part of the context for the executive order that the President signed today.  That is meant to send a signal that, should Russia escalate -- for instance, by going into southern and eastern Ukraine -- that these key sectors of the Russian economy are in play for sanctions.  And we’ll be coordinating that with our European allies as well.  But I’d just note that that context that this EO is in is very much being signed today in part because of our concern over those Russian movements and our ability to be prepared to respond should there be an escalation.
 
In terms of support for the Ukrainian military and Ukrainian government, it is our view that, as the President said yesterday, further escalating the conflict through the introduction of U.S. military forces in the Ukraine is not something that anybody is suggesting.  What we have done is consult with the Ukrainians, number one, about how to help them meet immediate needs in terms of the economy, in terms of meeting the basic needs of their people.  And then also, they have been able to consult with NATO through the NATO-Ukraine Council, and we have been in touch with the Ukrainian military officials about how they are viewing the situation, how they are responding to Russian provocations.
 
We have also considered what types of support we could provide to the Ukrainians, and the Pentagon has been reviewing that on a regular basis and has indicated that there are certain types of non-lethal support, for instance, that we are providing. And that is something that we’ll continue to review going forward based on how the situation evolves.
 
But I don’t know if you want to add anything to that.
 
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  I don’t think I have anything to add to that at this moment.
 
Q    Hey, you’ve mentioned a couple of times key sectors of the Russian economy.  Could you be specific to what sectors you’re talking about?
 
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Sure.  They’re listed in the EO, but my colleague can provide that background.
 
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Yes, and these are illustrative lists of sectors that the Secretary of the Treasury could determine to include and then to designate entities in these sectors.  It’s the financial services sector, the energy sector, metals and mining, defense and related material, and the engineering sector.
 
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  To add to that -- to be clear, we are now looking and thinking about ways we could actually operationalize this executive order should we decide to do it in response to continued or escalated Russian aggression.  So we are looking at specific things we could do.  I don’t have to get into that now, but this is an active and ongoing process.
 
Q    Following up, first of all, on Mark’s question -- the Ukrainian government has asked for support, including ammunition and other -- I mean, non-lethal aid would be night vision goggles, but ammunition and some defensive weaponry.  Why isn’t that being considered by the Pentagon?  And given the hair-trigger amount of time that would be involved with the numbers of Russian troops on the border that we are hearing from the Pentagon, don’t you need to give that kind of help to the Ukrainians?
 
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Sure, Andrea.  First of all, let me say nobody wants the outcome here to be a full-bore military conflict between Russia and Ukraine.  And, in fact, the Ukrainian government themselves have been quite restrained in not giving into provocation and not having this go the way of bloodshed.
 
So, as a general matter, it’s our view that the best course here is to lay down strong costs through the sanctions to signal that there would be a significant escalatory response to any further Russian provocation, and to seek to deescalate the situation.  So we don’t want to take steps to add to a momentum of further militarizing the situation.
 
At the same time, though, I do want to be clear -- we will consider on an ongoing basis these requests from the Ukrainian military.  And that involves our consultations with them about how they’re viewing the situation.  That does involve specific types of support.  But I wouldn’t want to overstate the notion that there is a timeframe under which we are going to build up the Ukrainian military to engage in a conflict with Russia.  That’s just simply not the preferred outcome here.
 
And, frankly, if you look at where can we add value, where can the United States and our allies add value here, it is on signaling to Russia the significant political and economic isolation that would come with further escalation, and to shore up the Ukrainian economy so that they are stabilizing their economy, they are delivering for their people.  That, ultimately, is a place where we can add far more value than any near-term military assistance, even as we will be reviewing that on a regular basis going forward.
 
Q    You may have seen that Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told Interfax that if the U.S. took this move of adding additional designations, they would “raise the stakes” by changing their cooperation on the Iran nuclear talks.  So I’m wondering, are you preparing for an asymmetrical response by the Russians that could tie in the Iran diplomacy or Syria diplomacy? And is that a price you’re willing to pay in order to raise the costs for Russia regarding Crimea?  Thank you.
 
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  I’d just say a couple of things.  First of all, with respect to the Iran talks, we recently concluded the latest round of discussions in Vienna.  We saw no change in the posture of the P5-plus-1 and Iran in those talks related to the situation in Ukraine.  So, to date, things have continued apace in terms of how we’ve worked with Russia and the other members of the P5-plus-1.  That’s the first point I’d make. 
 
The second point I’d make is that Russia has no interest in nuclear proliferation or an escalation of the situation in the Persian Gulf.  And so, therefore, they’re invested in the diplomacy with Iran because it’s in their own interest; it’s not a favor to us.  Were they to amend their posture, they would only further be isolating themselves.  The P5-plus-1 is obviously a group that Russia has participated in for years and any reduction in cooperation would only further isolate Russia.
 
The last thing I’d say with respect to Iran is that the Iranian government is not in these negotiations to gain access to Russian sanctions relief.  The Iranian government needs access to the European economy and the global economy.  So they are incentivized to reach a deal with not only Russia but with the entire international community to include the United States and our European partners.  That’s why they’re at the table.  So we believe that that leverage is very much in place because of the coordination between the United States, Europe, and many other countries around the world, and Asia and other places.
 
Lastly, on chemical weapons, I’d just note that Russia is deeply invested in that project.  We recently, according to OPCW reports, reached the threshold of 50 percent of the Syrian chemical weapons being moved out of the country.  So that is proceeding apace.  And we’re confident that given Russia’s own interest in seeing these weapons destroyed, we will continue with that effort.
 
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  If I can just add one more on Iran.  We have never judged that Russia participates in the P5-plus-1 as a favor to us.  Just to remind that were Iran to develop a nuclear weapon, that weapon would be a whole lot closer to Russia than to many of us.
 
Q    This follows up obviously on questions that have already been asked but I wonder why, since your sanctions have been ex post facto in each case, have you considered at any point now having anticipatory sanctions -- in other words, having a deterrent of punishing in advance, or is that -- since the Russians don’t seem to have been deterred by what you’ve done after the fact?  And secondarily, just on the Iran question, I wish you would address just what the Russians said.  I mean, you said repeatedly, as you have many times in the past, why it doesn’t make sense for the Russians to not cooperate in the Iran negotiations, but the fact is that their Deputy Foreign Minister actually said this yesterday, so what is your sense of why he said it and does that change your assessment in any way?
 
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  I’ll take the second one first.  Well, he was at the talks and nothing was any different at the talks in Vienna.  So we will evaluate Russian actions.  We take note of their words, but we have not seen a change in the P5-plus-1.  Now, that may not stay the same.  They may act on the words of the Deputy Foreign Minister yesterday.  But all we can say is what we’ve seen to date, which is the P5-plus-1 is continuing a regular rhythm of political directors meetings and technical expert meetings.  And as I said, our position is not going to change vis-à-vis Iran, which is they are going to need to demonstrate through these negotiations that their program is peaceful to the satisfaction not just of Russia but the P5-plus-1 as a whole.  So we take note of his words but we’ll see how this situation develops going forward.

With respect to anticipatory sanctions, I think that’s a big part of what this executive order is today.  This is signaling that if there’s further escalation, for instance, military intervention in southern and eastern Ukraine that we are prepared to target entities in these very significant sectors of the Russian economy. 

So there’s always been both a responsive element and an anticipatory element to these EOs.  In part, it takes time to fill in designations so we provide the authority and then Treasury and State work together to identify targets for designation.  That’s what we’re going to continue to do.  Some of this, like I said, is imposing a cost for what’s happened in Crimea.  And we escalated those designations because of Russian actions through the week in terms of pursuing annexation.  But we also are laying down a marker with this EO to anticipate any potential Russian escalation.

I’d just say, too, that, look, sanctions in many respects take time to sink in and to have that impact.  You see some immediate market impacts and impacts on the ruble with respect to the Russian economy.  And going forward, I think Russia stands to lose a lot from economic isolation that would come with the sanctions we’ve imposed and the broader sanctions we’re contemplating.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Let me just underline one aspect of this, and that’s the sanctions authorities that have been put in place over the last two weeks, including today’s authority, are all capable of greater use.  They all have the authority for us to do additional designations.  And so there’s both a responsive element to what we’ve done in terms of imposing sanctions on individuals who are themselves responsible for in one way or another what’s already transpired, but I think it’s also pretty clear, and I think becoming increasingly clear, that we are using these authorities in a pretty aggressive and powerful fashion. 

So I think the cronies who were designated today, I suspect that some of their brethren who have accounts at Bank Rossiya or otherwise run in those circles are now asking themselves whether they’re next.  So there’s an aspect to the designation process and to having these sanctions in place that also serves I think an important deterrent aspect going forward.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  I want to underscore that last point.  There may have been some in Russia who mistakenly believed that we would stop with the sanctions authorities announced on Monday.  Not true, as today’s announcement indicates.  Nor are we stopping now.  As my colleagues have indicated, these sanctions authorities we now have are very broad.  We are working actively to prepare additional sanctions under these authorities using their creative breadth to design sanctions that will hurt the entities with the smallest possible impact on us and our allies.  We are working at this.  We have some ideas, which we will be putting into effect.  Sanctions build over time.  They’re very powerful.  And people may think that they are a mere wrist slap; I can assure them that they are not.

Q    I’m sorry if this was already answered, I jumped on a little late.  When Obama goes to the summits in Europe next week, is there anything in particular that you’re hoping that the G7 can do jointly, whether it’s officially removing Russia from the G8, whether it’s announcing joint economic assistance for Ukraine?  Or do you see this more as kind of a country-by-country set of actions at this point?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Thanks, Julie.  Well, first of all, with the G7, we have been coordinating very closely with each of those countries and with the G7 as a whole.  With the G7 as a whole, we’ve suspended meetings with Russia going forward, and you’ve seen statements rejecting the legitimacy of the referendum in Crimea.  With each of those countries, we’ve coordinated sanctions, and I should add, in addition to Europe, both Japan and Canada have been very strong in imposing sanctions as well.

And then in terms of what to expect next week, I do think that the leaders will want to focus on what support we can provide and how we can coordinate the assistance for Ukraine.  And that’s both the assistance that G7 countries and other European partners can provide as well as our support for an IMF package as soon as possible.  So I think you’ll see a focus on the affirmative support for the Ukrainian government.

We can also continue to discuss how to coordinate punitive actions like sanctions.  The Europeans will be meeting on this today, making decisions.  We will have to calibrate our responses going forward as well.  And I’d also add the President will be in Brussels and he’ll have an opportunity to meet with the leaders of the EU there at the U.S.-EU summit as well as NATO.  So in addition to the G7, we’ll be meeting with those two very important political bodies in Brussels.

So, again, I think you’ll see us working on our different lines of effort -- support to the Ukrainian government, imposing costs on the Russian government as well.  And I’d just add, as we calibrate these sanctions going forward we want to be mindful of how to have an impact on Russia, but also how to mitigate impacts on Ukraine as well.  So we are taking that into consideration as we develop these various options.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  While we have this captive audience, can I throw out a few other things about what’s going on, on the ground in Ukraine?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Sure, go for it.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  So just to say we’re not only watching military pressure on Ukraine, we’re also watching political and economic pressure on Ukraine.  And, again, these sanctions have the potential to escalate based against all of those scenarios.  In particular, we’re deeply concerned today that the Russians have appeared to close the border to Ukrainian goods entering Russia, effectively having imposed a trade embargo.  This is unacceptable under their WTO obligations and many other things.  So we’re watching that.

We are also watching the human rights situation in Crimea itself.  The Russians say they intervened in order to protect human rights of ethnic Russians.  What we have seen since the intervention there a serious worsening of the human rights situation in Crimea.  We’ve had journalists and activists detained ever since, many beaten, some threatened at knife point and gun point, some strip searched, forced to stand outside in the cold for hours without proper clothing.  They’re reporting their valuables were stolen.

We’ve obviously seen pressure on the Crimean Tatar community, including around the time of the referendum and since, houses marked with special markings in sort of a biblical fashion.  And on Sunday, the body of a Crimean Tatar man was found in Bilogorsky region.  He was reportedly abducted during a demonstration on March 3rd and the body showed signs of torture.

Finally, we’re watching the pressure on the Ukrainian Navy in Crimea, with the Russians having set a deadline of tomorrow for them to vacate their bases and hand over their equipment.  Either they may join the Russian military or they can walk out of bases.  The Ukrainians have proposed a joint commission with international support to deal with the disposition of the Ukrainian Navy and its equipment.  This would be the civilized way to handle this and we are urging the Russians to avail themselves of a civilized path for dealing with this going forward.  We’ll see how they choose to handle it.

Finally, on monitors, we have been pushing both in the OSCE and in the U.N. to get more civil and human rights monitors out to flashpoints within Ukraine and particularly the cities where the Russians claim that their own ethnics and citizens are under pressure.  I would note that we’ve been working on a large OSCE mission for all parts of Ukraine but particularly for Donetsk and Kharkiv and those cities for some five days.  And after repeated compromises on the mandate by the Ukrainian government, the Russians have continued to block and stonewall, even though they claim to say that monitors would be one answer to their concerns.

Thank you very much.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Great.  Thanks, everybody, for joining the call.

END 
11:53 A.M. EDT

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
March 20, 2014

Statement by the President on Ukraine

South Lawn

11:05 A.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT:  Good morning, everybody.  I wanted to provide an update on the situation in Ukraine and the steps that the United States is taking in response.

Over the last several days, we’ve continued to be deeply concerned by events in Ukraine.  We've seen an illegal referendum in Crimea; an illegitimate move by the Russians to annex Crimea; and dangerous risks of escalation, including threats to Ukrainian personnel in Crimea and threats to southern and eastern Ukraine as well.  These are all choices that the Russian government has made -- choices that have been rejected by the international community, as well as the government of Ukraine.  And because of these choices, the United States is today moving, as we said we would, to impose additional costs on Russia.

Based on the executive order that I signed in response to Russia’s initial intervention in Ukraine, we’re imposing sanctions on more senior officials of the Russian government.  In addition, we are today sanctioning a number of other individuals with substantial resources and influence who provide material support to the Russian leadership, as well as a bank that provides material support to these individuals.

Now, we’re taking these steps as part of our response to what Russia has already done in Crimea.  At the same time, the world is watching with grave concern as Russia has positioned its military in a way that could lead to further incursions into southern and eastern Ukraine.  For this reason, we’ve been working closely with our European partners to develop more severe actions that could be taken if Russia continues to escalate the situation.

As part of that process, I signed a new executive order today that gives us the authority to impose sanctions not just on individuals but on key sectors of the Russian economy.  This is not our preferred outcome.  These sanctions would not only have a significant impact on the Russian economy, but could also be disruptive to the global economy.  However, Russia must know that further escalation will only isolate it further from the international community.  The basic principles that govern relations between nations in Europe and around the world must be upheld in the 21st century.  That includes respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity -- the notion that nations do not simply redraw borders, or make decisions at the expense of their neighbors simply because they are larger or more powerful.

One of our other top priorities continues to be providing assistance to the government of Ukraine so it can stabilize its economy and meet the basic needs of the Ukrainian people.  As I travel to Europe next week to meet with the G7 and other European and Asian allies, I once again urge Congress to pass legislation that is necessary to provide this assistance -- and do it right away.  Expressions of support are not enough.  We need action.  I also hope that the IMF moves swiftly to provide a significant package of support for Ukrainians as they pursue reforms.

In Europe, I’ll also be reinforcing a message that Vice President Biden carried to Poland and the Baltic states this week:  America’s support for our NATO allies is unwavering.  We’re bound together by our profound Article 5 commitment to defend one another, and by a set of shared values that so many generations sacrificed for.  We’ve already increased our support for our Eastern European allies, and we will continue to strengthen NATO’s collective defense, and we will step up our cooperation with Europe on economic and energy issues as well.

Let me close by making a final point.  Diplomacy between the United States and Russia continues.  We’ve emphasized that Russia still has a different path available -- one that de-escalates the situation, and one that involves Russia pursuing a diplomatic solution with the government in Kyiv, with the support of the international community.  The Russian people need to know, and Mr. Putin needs to understand that the Ukrainians shouldn’t have to choose between the West and Russia.  We want the Ukrainian people to determine their own destiny, and to have good relations with the United States, with Russia, with Europe, with anyone that they choose.  And that can only happen if Russia also recognized the rights of all the Ukrainian people to determine their future as free individuals, and as a sovereign nation -- rights that people and nations around the world understand and support.

Thank you very much, everybody.

END  
11:11 A.M. EDT