May 06, 2011 | 7:58 | Public Domain
This week, the President announced the death of Osama bin Laden, visited New York City to honor the victims of 9/11 and their families, made sure the federal government was doing its part in the states devastated by storms and much more.
May 05, 2011 | 10:03 | Public Domain
President Obama welcomes guests to the White House for a reception to celebrate Cinco de Mayo.
6:21 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Gracias, gracias. (Applause.)
AUDIENCE: USA! USA! USA!
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Gracias. Buenas noches. (Applause.) Bienvenidos. Welcome to the Cinco de Mayo at the White House. (Applause.)
Nothing ruins a good fiesta like a long speech from a politician. (Laughter.) So I'm going to keep it short.
MRS. OBAMA: Keep it short. (Laughter.)
THE PRESIDENT: Keep it short. I just want to acknowledge a few proud Latinos and friends of Latinos who are here with us tonight: A great friend to me and to the United States, Ambassador Arturo Sarukhan is here, from Mexico, with his lovely wife Verónica. (Applause.) Interior Secretary Ken Salazar is in the house. (Applause.) Labor Secretary Hilda Solis is here. (Applause.) Several members of Congress have made the trek tonight. And everybody please join me in wishing a feliz cumpleaños to the chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Charlie Gonzalez. (Applause.) Happy birthday, Charlie. (Applause.)
We are also joined by Hispanic Americans serving at every level of my administration, some who’ve contributed to a new website that we launched this week: whitehouse.gov/Hispanic. (Applause.) So check out the website. And welcome to all of you who are serving on the commission to explore the creation of a new National Museum of the American Latino. (Applause.) Today they presented me with their final report to Congress, and I’m grateful for their hard work and hopefully we will see that museum become a reality. So we're very grateful to them.
Finally, I want to thank my -- my band, the United States Marine Band. (Applause.) And we are looking forward to hearing Javier Cortés spin some of his records, and he has done great work so I know that he’s going to keep this party lively this evening.
But this is really a day for commemorating our shared heritage. Our shared heritage -- Mexicans and Americans. It’s a day for remembering that America is a richer, stronger, more vibrant place thanks to the contributions of Mexican Americans to the life of this nation –- contributions in commerce, culture, in language and literature, in faith, and obviously in food. (Laughter.)
I asked Michelle the other day, I said, what’s your favorite food -- because we were sitting around with the girls. She said, oh, Mexican food. That's -- (applause.) You do not want to be between Michelle and a tamale. (Laughter.) That is true. That's true. But she’s moving, though, so she can afford to have as many tamales as she wants. (Laughter and applause.)
It is also a day for honoring the service of the many Mexican Americans who serve proudly in our country’s uniform, and we are grateful to them. (Applause.)
And it’s a day we commit ourselves to advancing the aspirations of all Latinos, and reaffirm the ideals that we share as Americans. That means improving the education that we provide to our children; strengthening the social safety net that we build for our seniors and the poor and the sick; living up to our values as a nation of immigrants that built this country into the economic powerhouse that it is and the beacon of hope that it is around the world. (Applause.)
I’ve talked to you in recent weeks about this immigration issue. I strongly believe that we’ve got to fix this broken system so that it meets the needs of our 21st century economy and our security needs. I want to work with Republicans and Democrats to protect our borders, to enforce our laws and also to address the status of millions of undocumented workers. I want to sign the DREAM Act into law. (Applause.) This is not going to be easy. It’s going to require bipartisan support. I’m going to need your help. We’ve got to keep doing the hard work of changing minds and changing hearts and changing votes, one at a time. But all of you are going to be out there, and you're going to have to help make this happen.
Let me just -- let me just wrap up by saying this. Last week I had the honor of traveling down to Florida and delivering the commencement address at Miami Dade College. And Dr. Eduardo Padrón is here. (Applause.) There he is over there. And I want to brag on him a little bit because he’s actually a graduate of the school.
This is a school with more than 170,000 students who come from 181 different countries, speak 94 different languages. The graduates were so excited, they were so proud. They spent a good portion of the ceremony dancing and doing the wave. (Laughter.) I mean, you know, there were Cubanos there. There were Haitians. There were -- there were Puerto Ricanos. (Applause.) I mean everybody was there. (Laughter and applause.) Everybody was there -- and everybody could dance. (Laughter.)
And they were excited not just to finally get their exams out of the way, but because they finally knew what it was to achieve a dream. Many of them were the first in their families ever to graduate from college, and they overcame obstacles and defeated their own doubts to finish. And a lot of their parents, they're crying, and they could only dream of such a day as was happening there.
And by the way, Miami Dade is rated one of the top community colleges in the nation. And as the ceremony -- the formal ceremony finally began, the dancing quieted down a little bit. The students in the campus ROTC took turns marching the flags of the countries where -- of origin for each of the graduating students. So you had 181 countries. And the students would stand up and cheer after -- when the Haitian flag went by, or the Colombian flag went by. You name it, right, everybody was getting up and cheering.
Some flags received a lot of cheers. (Laughter.) Mexico, Guatemala. (Applause.) And then there were -- then there was like the Ukrainian flag. (Laughter.) And the Canadian flag, Estonia -- there were just a couple -- (laughter.) But, I mean, they were proud, but it was just not as many people. (Laughter.)
But there was one flag that every single student and spectator cheered loudly and proudly for -- and that was when the American flag came through. (Applause.) The American flag. (Applause.) So it was a wonderful reminder -- we all come from different backgrounds, we have different beliefs, we have sometimes petty and sometimes not-so-petty political differences. But we all share a set of ideals. We all have a common future. We’re the heirs to mothers and fathers and grandparents, great grandparents, who struggled and sacrificed to forge and realize the American Dream.
And that fills us with the collective responsibility to leave an even bigger and bolder, more generous, more compassionate nation for our children. That's what drives me each day. That's what inspires Michelle. I know that's what drives many of you.
So I am thrilled to have you here today where we celebrate your incredible heritage, but we also celebrate the incredible heritage of this great country of ours. (Applause.)
God bless you. Feliz Cinco de Mayo. Muchas gracias. Thank you. (Applause.)
END 6:32 P.M. EDT
May 05, 2011 | 3:33 | Public Domain
The President speaks to firefighters at the Midtown Firehouse in New York City before he attends a wreath-laying ceremony at the site of the World Trade Center.
11:29 A.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Well, listen, the main reason I came here is because I heard the food is pretty good. (Laughter.)
But to the Commissioner, to Mayor Giuliani -- who obviously performed heroic acts almost 10 years ago -- but most of all, to all of you, I wanted to just come up here to thank you.
This is a symbolic site of the extraordinary sacrifice that was made on that terrible day almost 10 years ago. Obviously we can't bring back your friends that were lost, and I know that each and every one of you not only grieve for them, but have also over the last 10 years dealt with their family, their children, trying to give them comfort, trying to give them support.
What happened on Sunday, because of the courage of our military and the outstanding work of our intelligence, sent a message around the world, but also sent a message here back home that when we say we will never forget, we mean what we say; that our commitment to making sure that justice is done is something that transcended politics, transcended party; it didn’t matter which administration was in, it didn’t matter who was in charge, we were going to make sure that the perpetrators of that horrible act -- that they received justice.
So it’s some comfort, I hope, to all of you to know that when those guys took those extraordinary risks going into Pakistan, that they were doing it in part because of the sacrifices that were made in the States. They were doing it in the name of your brothers that were lost.
And finally, let me just say that, although 9/11 obviously was a high water mark of courage for the New York Fire Department and a symbol of the sacrifice, you guys are making sacrifices every single day. It doesn’t get as much notoriety, it doesn’t get as much attention, but every time you run into a burning building, every time that you are saving lives, you're making a difference. And that's part of what makes this city great and that's part of what makes this country great.
So I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart and on behalf of the American people for the sacrifices that you make every single day. And I just want to let you know that you're always going to have a President and an administration who’s got your back the way you’ve got the backs of the people of New York over these last many years.
So God bless you. God bless the United States of America.
And with that, I'm going to try some of that food. All right? Appreciate you. Thank you. (Applause.)
END
11:33 A.M. EDT
May 05, 2011 | 4:03 | Public Domain
The President speaks to police officers at the First Precinct Police Station in New York City before he attends a wreath-laying ceremony at the site of the World Trade Center.
New York, New York
12:38 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Well, listen, everybody, the -- I'm not here to make a long speech. I am here basically to shake your hands and just to say how proud I am of all of you.
Obviously we had an important day on Sunday. The reason, what is important, was because it sent a signal around the world that we have never forgotten the extraordinary sacrifices that were made on September 11th. We've never forgotten the tragedy. We've never forgotten the loss of life. We've never forgotten the courage that was shown by the NYPD, by the firefighters, by the first responders.
My understanding is all of you were there that day. And I know you’ll never forget. I know it’s hard to fill the hole that occurred as a consequence of you losing folks who you had worked with for so long. But what, hopefully, this weekend does is it says we keep them in our hearts; we haven't forgotten; we said what we -- we did what we said we were going to do; and that Americans, even in the midst of tragedy, will come together, across the years, across politics, across party, across administrations, to make sure that justice is done.
And so since that time I know a lot of you have probably comforted loved ones of those who were lost. A lot of you have probably looked after kids who grew up without a parent. And a lot of you continue to do extraordinary -- extraordinarily courageous acts without a lot of fanfare. What we did on Sunday was directly connected to what you do every single day. And I know I speak for the military teams, the intelligence teams that helped get bin Laden in saying that we know the sacrifices and courage that you show as well, and that you are part of the team that helped us achieve our goal, but also help us keep our citizens safe each and every day.
So I couldn't be prouder of all of you. I couldn't be more grateful to you. And I hope that you know that the country will continue to stand behind you going forward, because there are still going to be threats out there and you're still going to be called on to take courageous actions and to remain vigilant, and you're going to have an entire country behind you when you do it.
All right? God bless you. (Applause.)
I very much appreciate the fact that Mayor Giuliani is here, because obviously we remember his leadership and courage on that day as well. And it’s a testimony that we may have our differences, politically, in ordinary times, but when it comes to keeping this country safe, we are, first and foremost, Americans.
Thank you, Mr. Mayor.
MAYOR GIULIANI: Thank you very much.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, sir. Appreciate you.
All right, thank you. (Applause.)
END
12:42 P.M. EDT
The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
6:21 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Gracias, gracias. (Applause.)
AUDIENCE: USA! USA! USA!
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Gracias. Buenas noches. (Applause.) Bienvenidos. Welcome to the Cinco de Mayo at the White House. (Applause.)
Nothing ruins a good fiesta like a long speech from a politician. (Laughter.) So I'm going to keep it short.
MRS. OBAMA: Keep it short. (Laughter.)
THE PRESIDENT: Keep it short. I just want to acknowledge a few proud Latinos and friends of Latinos who are here with us tonight: A great friend to me and to the United States, Ambassador Arturo Sarukhan is here, from Mexico, with his lovely wife Verónica. (Applause.) Interior Secretary Ken Salazar is in the house. (Applause.) Labor Secretary Hilda Solis is here. (Applause.) Several members of Congress have made the trek tonight. And everybody please join me in wishing a feliz cumpleaños to the chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Charlie Gonzalez. (Applause.) Happy birthday, Charlie. (Applause.)
We are also joined by Hispanic Americans serving at every level of my administration, some who’ve contributed to a new website that we launched this week: whitehouse.gov/Hispanic. (Applause.) So check out the website. And welcome to all of you who are serving on the commission to explore the creation of a new National Museum of the American Latino. (Applause.) Today they presented me with their final report to Congress, and I’m grateful for their hard work and hopefully we will see that museum become a reality. So we're very grateful to them.
Finally, I want to thank my -- my band, the United States Marine Band. (Applause.) And we are looking forward to hearing Javier Cortés spin some of his records, and he has done great work so I know that he’s going to keep this party lively this evening.
But this is really a day for commemorating our shared heritage. Our shared heritage -- Mexicans and Americans. It’s a day for remembering that America is a richer, stronger, more vibrant place thanks to the contributions of Mexican Americans to the life of this nation –- contributions in commerce, culture, in language and literature, in faith, and obviously in food. (Laughter.)
I asked Michelle the other day, I said, what’s your favorite food -- because we were sitting around with the girls. She said, oh, Mexican food. That's -- (applause.) You do not want to be between Michelle and a tamale. (Laughter.) That is true. That's true. But she’s moving, though, so she can afford to have as many tamales as she wants. (Laughter and applause.)
It is also a day for honoring the service of the many Mexican Americans who serve proudly in our country’s uniform, and we are grateful to them. (Applause.)
And it’s a day we commit ourselves to advancing the aspirations of all Latinos, and reaffirm the ideals that we share as Americans. That means improving the education that we provide to our children; strengthening the social safety net that we build for our seniors and the poor and the sick; living up to our values as a nation of immigrants that built this country into the economic powerhouse that it is and the beacon of hope that it is around the world. (Applause.)
I’ve talked to you in recent weeks about this immigration issue. I strongly believe that we’ve got to fix this broken system so that it meets the needs of our 21st century economy and our security needs. I want to work with Republicans and Democrats to protect our borders, to enforce our laws and also to address the status of millions of undocumented workers. I want to sign the DREAM Act into law. (Applause.) This is not going to be easy. It’s going to require bipartisan support. I’m going to need your help. We’ve got to keep doing the hard work of changing minds and changing hearts and changing votes, one at a time. But all of you are going to be out there, and you're going to have to help make this happen.
Let me just -- let me just wrap up by saying this. Last week I had the honor of traveling down to Florida and delivering the commencement address at Miami Dade College. And Dr. Eduardo Padrón is here. (Applause.) There he is over there. And I want to brag on him a little bit because he’s actually a graduate of the school.
This is a school with more than 170,000 students who come from 181 different countries, speak 94 different languages. The graduates were so excited, they were so proud. They spent a good portion of the ceremony dancing and doing the wave. (Laughter.) I mean, you know, there were Cubanos there. There were Haitians. There were -- there were Puerto Ricanos. (Applause.) I mean everybody was there. (Laughter and applause.) Everybody was there -- and everybody could dance. (Laughter.)
And they were excited not just to finally get their exams out of the way, but because they finally knew what it was to achieve a dream. Many of them were the first in their families ever to graduate from college, and they overcame obstacles and defeated their own doubts to finish. And a lot of their parents, they're crying, and they could only dream of such a day as was happening there.
And by the way, Miami Dade is rated one of the top community colleges in the nation. And as the ceremony -- the formal ceremony finally began, the dancing quieted down a little bit. The students in the campus ROTC took turns marching the flags of the countries where -- of origin for each of the graduating students. So you had 181 countries. And the students would stand up and cheer after -- when the Haitian flag went by, or the Colombian flag went by. You name it, right, everybody was getting up and cheering.
Some flags received a lot of cheers. (Laughter.) Mexico, Guatemala. (Applause.) And then there were -- then there was like the Ukrainian flag. (Laughter.) And the Canadian flag, Estonia -- there were just a couple -- (laughter.) But, I mean, they were proud, but it was just not as many people. (Laughter.)
But there was one flag that every single student and spectator cheered loudly and proudly for -- and that was when the American flag came through. (Applause.) The American flag. (Applause.) So it was a wonderful reminder -- we all come from different backgrounds, we have different beliefs, we have sometimes petty and sometimes not-so-petty political differences. But we all share a set of ideals. We all have a common future. We’re the heirs to mothers and fathers and grandparents, great grandparents, who struggled and sacrificed to forge and realize the American Dream.
And that fills us with the collective responsibility to leave an even bigger and bolder, more generous, more compassionate nation for our children. That's what drives me each day. That's what inspires Michelle. I know that's what drives many of you.
So I am thrilled to have you here today where we celebrate your incredible heritage, but we also celebrate the incredible heritage of this great country of ours. (Applause.)
God bless you. Feliz Cinco de Mayo. Muchas gracias. Thank you. (Applause.)
END 6:32 P.M. EDT
The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
WASHINGTON- Today, President Obama Announced his intent to nominate Stephen Higginson to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
“Stephen Higginson is a distinguished candidate for the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit,” President Obama said. “Both his legal and academic credentials are impressive and his commitment to judicial integrity is unwavering. I am confident he will serve the American people with distinction.”
Stephen Higginson: Nominee for the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
Stephen Higginson was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He attended Harvard College, where he received his A.B., summa cum laude, in 1983. After graduating from Harvard, Higginson attended Cambridge University in England, where he was a Harvard Scholar, earning a Masters in Philosophy in 1984. He then attended Yale Law School and obtained his J.D. in 1987. While in law school, Higginson was Editor-in-Chief of the Yale Law Journal.
After graduating from Yale Law School, Higginson served as a law clerk to the Honorable Patricia M. Wald of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. The following year, from 1988 to 1989, Higginson served as a law clerk to the Honorable Byron R. White of the Supreme Court of the United States. He has been an Assistant United States Attorney since 1989, when he joined the Criminal Division in the District of Massachusetts. Since 1993, Higginson has served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Eastern District of Louisiana, where he became the chief of appeals in 1995. As chief of appeals, Higginson has personally handled or supervised all criminal and civil appeals in the District, editing or writing more than 100 appellate briefs, and presenting numerous oral arguments before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Higginson has received the Department of Justice’s awards for superior and outstanding performance as a federal prosecutor. From 1997 to 1998, he served a six-month detail with the Department of State, working as deputy director of special projects for the Presidential Rule of Law Initiative.
Since 2004, Higginson has worked part-time in the United States Attorney’s Office, continuing to supervise the appellate section. That same year, he joined the full-time faculty at Loyola University New Orleans College of Law, becoming an Associate Professor of Law. Higginson teaches subjects including constitutional law, evidence, and criminal law.
May 05, 2011 | 1:26 | Public Domain
President Obama welcomes a group of wounded warriors to the White House to kick off their fifth annual Soldier Ride. The ride is a cycling event that raises awareness for our nation's wounded warriors who battle the physical and psychological damages of war.
The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
The President today declared a major disaster exists in the State of Iowa and ordered Federal aid to supplement State and local recovery efforts in the area struck by severe storms, tornadoes, and straight-line winds during the period of April 9-10, 2011.
Federal funding is available to State and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and the repair or replacement of facilities damaged by the severe storms, tornadoes, and straight-line winds in the counties of Buena Vista, Cherokee, Ida, Monona, Pocahontas, and Sac.
Federal funding is also available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures statewide.
W. Craig Fugate, Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Department of Homeland Security, named Michael R. Scott as the Federal Coordinating Officer for Federal recovery operations in the affected area.
FEMA said additional designations may be made at a later date if requested by the State and warranted by the results of further damage assessments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: FEMA (202) 646-3272.
May 6th, 2011 is Military Spouse Appreciation Day. Visit JoiningForces.gov to find out how you can get involved and support military families in your community.
President Obama has proclaimed May 6, 2011, Military Spouse Appreciation Day. Earlier this year, the Obama Administration released a report to bring together resources from across Government to support and engage military families. Through the Joining Forces initiative, First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden are working to spark action from all sectors of society to address the unique challenges of military families. "On Military Spouse Appreciation Day, we have an opportunity to not only honor the husbands and wives of our service members, but also thank them by actively expressing our gratitude in both word and deed."
Here's the proclamation:
Military spouses serve as steady and supportive partners to the heroes in uniform who protect and defend our great Nation every day. Across America and around the world, military spouses serve our country in their own special way, helping families and friends through the stress of a deployment, caring for our wounded warriors, and supporting each other when a loved one has made the ultimate sacrifice.
Our service members and their families seldom ask for support or recognition. They carry out their duties to family and country with the quiet courage and strength that has always exemplified the American spirit. On Military Spouse Appreciation Day, we have an opportunity to not only honor the husbands and wives of our service members, but also thank them by actively expressing our gratitude in both word and deed.