Remarks by the President at DSCC Dinner - NY, NY

Private Residence
New York, New York

7:10 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you, everybody.  Thank you.  (Applause.)  Well, first of all, to Blair and Cheryl and their kids, thank you so much for opening up this gorgeous home.  And to Gary, Josh and Jamie -- just the whole crew -- these folks have been with me dating back to when people couldn't pronounce my name.  (Laughter.)  So they are early investors and they’ve been with me through thick and thin, and I couldn't be more grateful for the incredible support and friendship that they’ve provided.

You’ve got two of the best senators in the country in this room in Jack Reed and Michael Bennet.  These are the folks you actually want in the Senate.  They’re serious; they work hard; they are work horses rather than show horses.  They are thoughtful.  They are constantly looking for ways to be bipartisan, but are rock-solid when it comes to Democratic principles.  And I'm proud to have served with them and they’re great friends.  So we're glad they’re there.

And Shaun Donovan is one of your own, used to hang out around here a little bit.  And Blair is right to acknowledge that in the aftermath of Sandy when we thought about who was somebody who we had confidence could drive a process to make sure that the federal, state and local coordination delivered for the people who had been affected, and that we could rebuild both on the New York side and the Jersey side as effectively as possible and as quickly as possible -- Shaun came to mind, and working with Jamie and others I think has done a terrific job.  So thank you for the great job that you’ve done. 

The country is, by most measures, doing much better than when I came into office.  And that's demonstrable.  We were losing 800,000 jobs a month.  Now we've created 9.2 million jobs; the unemployment rate has come drastically down.  Because of the recovery of the stock market and the housing market, trillions of dollars of wealth have been restored to the American people.  We produce more energy than ever before, and we've been able to accomplish that while doubling clean energy and reducing our carbon emissions faster than any other industrialized country. 

Our education system has seen significant improvement.  We've reduced the dropout rate -- actually, the Latino dropout rate has been cut in half since 2000; college attendance never been higher.  Our exports are up, our imports of oil are down, and the deficit has been cut by more than half.

So if you look at the numbers you’d say not only are we moving in the right direction but we've actually got better cards than most other countries around the world.  And yet, what we also know is, despite the momentum that Blair discussed, there’s still anxiety around the country -- partly because people still feel traumatized by what happened in 2007-2008.  They had a sense of how unstable their situations, how precarious their situations could be.  But partly because we've seen a two-decade to three-decade-long trend where increases in profitability, expansions of markets, increases in corporate profits, rises in the stock market don't translate into higher incomes and higher wages for the ordinary person -- at the same time that their costs for sending their kids to college have skyrocketed.  Their health care costs, up until -- shockingly -- the Affordable Care Act was passed, had been skyrocketing.  And so folks feel vulnerable.  And what they’re uncertain of is whether even with the improvement, the next generation is going to do as well or better than they did.

And that's the central issue of our time -- do we continue to build a middle class and generate ladders of opportunity so that anybody who works hard and is willing to take responsibility can succeed. 

And the steps we've tried to take in conjunction with the Senate over the last five years have advanced that goal.  Whether it was expanding Pell grants for disadvantaged kids, or making sure that people weren’t going bankrupt because they got sick, or putting people back to work rebuilding our infrastructure, everything we've done, everything we've pursued has had that in mind -- making sure if you work hard you can make it in this country.

And despite the progress we've made, there is so much left to do.  And the challenge we've got is very simple:  Washington doesn’t work.  It's not as if we've got no good ideas on policy. We've got tons of them.  I've got a drawer full of things that we know would create jobs, help our middle class, boost incomes, make us more competitive.  But we have a party on the other side that has been captured by an ideology that says no to everything because they cling to a rigid theory that the only way to grow the economy is for government to be dismantled and let the market sort things out, and folks at the top doing very well will somehow automatically trickle down to everybody else. 

And there might have been a time where that was an exaggeration.  But now it's not.  You can see it in their budgets.  You can see it in their opposition to hiking the minimum wage.  You can see it in their opposition to funding basic research.  You can see it in their position that the only way to cut the deficit is to cut things that the most vulnerable of our population depends on.  You can see it in their refusal to rebuild our infrastructure -- something that never used to be partisan. 

And the only reason we've been able to make some progress and gain some traction is because we've had a Senate in Democratic hands that has shown extraordinary unity -- which means that we've at least been able to get our agenda out there and have a debate about the minimum wage, and have a debate about increasing funding for basic research, and have a debate that says, no, climate change is real and it is both a challenge and an opportunity we can do something about.

Now, here’s the good news -- and I'll be happy to talk to you about the details of any one of these policies.  The good news is, on every issue that you and I care about the country is actually on our side.  Immigration reform -- a majority of the country agrees with us.  Raise the minimum wage -- a majority of the country agrees with us.  Investing in basic research -- check.  Rebuilding our infrastructure and putting our folks back to work -- agree with it.  Revamping our tax code that we're rewarding companies that are investing here in the United States -- they’re with us. 

There are very few issues, if any, in which the Republican position enjoys the majority public support.  But we've got one problem -- we have a congenital disease which is, during midterms our voters don't show up.  That's what it comes down to.  That and population distribution and gerrymandering. 

I was with de Blasio I guess two days before the election.  We're in Brooklyn; the streets are filled and everybody is waving.  And I go into buy some cheesecake -- some woman comes up and hugs me and kisses me and says, oh, my sister just got on the Affordable Care Act and we love you.  What can we do to support you?  And I said, move to North Dakota.  (Laughter.)  If I could just get about a million excess votes in Brooklyn -- (laughter)-- out to Nebraska, Wyoming, we’d be doing okay.  I don't need 80 percent of the vote here.  (Laughter.) 

So we've got some structural disadvantages, but we do not vote during midterms.  Our voters are younger; they’re more likely to be minority; unmarried women.  They’re folks who can get galvanized and excited during presidential elections, but we have a tougher time communicating with them during midterms.  And that's what we have to break.  We have to break that cycle.

I told Michelle in 2012 this was my last campaign.  She said, hallelujah!  And then I had to go back to her about six months ago and say, actually, honey, let me amend that.  (Laughter.)  We've got one more campaign.  Because if we are going to realize the potential that we have right now, then we've got to perform better during these midterm elections.  I have to have partners in Congress.  I have to have partners in Congress.

If you care about climate change, I've got to have partners in Congress.  I can do some things administratively; we can do more if we've got folks who are serious in Congress.  I can do some things administratively on immigration, but I can't make sure that all the incredible talent that is a huge strength for us compared to our competitors over the next two decades -- the fact that young people from around the world want to come here and succeed here and strive here -- I can't deliver on that without Congress ultimately acting. 

I was up at the Tappan Zee Bridge.  I can cut permitting times by more than half to get projects up and running.  But if we're going to be serious about dealing with all the bridges and all the roads and airports and ports and broadband lines and smart grid that would put us in a competitive position and put people back to work right now and cut our unemployment -- I can't do that unless I've got a Congress that is serious.

So the stakes here are big.  And I want people to feel the same sense of urgency about this as they do about a presidential election.  Because ultimately, the elections have never been about me; they’ve been about what can we do together.  And I cannot do it unless I've got partners like Jack and Michael along with me.

So my main message is one of hope.  We've got all the ingredients to make this the American Century, just like the last one.  To achieve it, though, we've got to make sure our political system works better.  And, yes, there are all kinds of reforms that we need to do, from campaign finance to how a filibuster works, to going after Republicans hard when their main political agenda when it comes to -- or main election strategy is preventing people from voting -- we've got to push back on all that stuff.  But ultimately, there are enough voters out there to deliver if we can turn them out. 

And that's what the DSCC is all about.  That's their priority.  That's my priority.  And I hope it becomes yours as well.  Thanks.  (Applause.)

END
7:23 P.M. EDT

Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jay Carney, 5/14/14

James S. Brady Press Briefing Room

See below for a follow up to a question (marked with an asterisk) posed in the briefing.

*Higher education has never been more important, and it should be affordable for everyone who is willing to work for it, not a luxury for the few. We appreciate the efforts of Democrats on the Hill to make college more affordable and agree that Americans who are working hard to pay back their student loans should be able to refinance at lower rates.

11:52 A.M. EDT

MR. CARNEY:  Good morning, everyone.  Thanks for being here. Or maybe that explains the empty seats.  This might be early for some journalists. 

Q    Well, well.  (Laughter.) 

MR. CARNEY:  I didn’t mean it that way, but the adjustment I had to make from my previous life -- this doesn’t apply to those of you who do morning TV, which I know is brutal -- is that I definitely had to reorient my daily clock.

Before I get started, I wanted to say a couple of things.  First of all, there's a very important birthday today, and that is Connie Lawn is celebrating.  And Connie has been doing this for a long time, and doing it well.  And on behalf of myself and the press office, we have some cupcakes for Connie. 

Q    Thank you so much.  (Applause.) 

MR. CARNEY:  I’d also like to mention, if I might, another milestone that’s being reached later this week, and that is the retirement of Barbara Walters.  I was emailing with a colleague of hers who told me that she has interviewed every President and First Lady since Richard Nixon, been on television for more than five decades, and claims she’s retiring on Friday.  I don’t believe it.  I expect we’ll be getting an interview request within weeks.  But given that, at least officially, Barbara Walters is retiring and she’s an institution, I’d like to offer her the congratulations of everyone here at the White House, including President Obama and the First Lady.

One more item, on a much more somber note -- it’s a statement from me that you’ll be receiving in your inboxes about the Turkish mining collapse. 

Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Turkey today in the wake of a coal mine explosion in Soma in which some 200 have been killed and hundreds more remain trapped.  On behalf of the American people, we extend our heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims, and our best wishes for the safe exit of the remaining miners.  Turkey is a close and longstanding friend and ally of the United States.  We are ready to assist the Turkish government if necessary, and we will continue to stand together in this time of tragedy.

Now I’m ready for your questions.  Nedra.

Q    Jay, on that point, there are some protests there -- people are really angry at the government.  And I wonder if part of the assistance that the United States wants to provide is better mine safety.  Have you talked to them about that over there?

MR. CARNEY:  I am not aware of conversations of that nature at this point, given how recent the tragedy was and the fact that there are still miners that are trapped.  The State Department may have more on the kinds of conversations and the kinds of assistance that we might be offering -- the kinds of conversations we might be having and the assistance we might be offering.  But at this point, I don’t have anything more.

Q    And in Ukraine, the government is holding talks as part of the OSCE process.  They don’t include the separatists.  Should they be included in this to make some progress?

MR. CARNEY:  Well, we commend the Ukrainian government on their efforts to hold roundtables, beginning today, on constitutional reform and national unity facilitated by the OSCE -- including with Ukrainians from the eastern and southern regions.  And we call on Russia to support this effort.

Now, we understand, certainly, the unwillingness of the Ukrainian government to have participants in these roundtables who literally have blood on their hands.  But those who represent the regions where there are issues that merit serious dialogue around constitutional reform and levels of autonomy for different regions as it relates to the center are certainly part of this effort, and we commend it.

Q    On another domestic issue -- does the White House support Private Chelsea Manning’s request to be transferred to a civilian prison so that she can live as a woman?

MR. CARNEY:  That’s not a conversation I think that takes place here.  I have not heard anyone discuss that here.

Yes.

Q    Jay, thanks.  Tensions are rising in the Southeast Asia region over China’s construction of a drilling rig in the South China Sea area.  That’s something that the President sought to address in his trip.  Is there anything the United States can do to diffuse tensions there?

MR. CARNEY:  Well, we’ve made our views clear, most recently and publicly in the various instances during the President’s trip to Asia where he was asked about these tensions and addressed these matters.  And our view has always been that these are disputes that need to be resolved through dialogue, not through intimidation.  And we are not party to the specific disputes, but we again urge dialogue in their resolution, and that would apply in this case.

Q    On a domestic issue -- the President tomorrow is visiting the ceremonial opening of the memorial museum for September 11th.  This is obviously a deep wound in the American psyche, a relatively recent event.  What, without asking you to talk about exactly what he’s going to say tomorrow, what does the President hope to achieve or communicate to the American people with this visit?

MR. CARNEY:  Well, I think you spoke to it in your question. 9/11 is an event that I think every American who’s old enough to remember the day remembers with searing clarity.  And we lost a lot of Americans on that day, that horrible day.  We also saw extraordinary feats of heroism and selflessness on that day.  And we as a nation, and New York as a city, demonstrated a capacity for resilience and unity that I think made everyone proud here and was noticed around the world -- including by those who sought and seek to do Americans harm. 

So I think the President and First Lady look forward to this event, are especially mindful in their positions, but also as citizens, about the need to remember and the power of memory in a nation’s history, as well as the need to properly grieve and rebuild and move forward. 

Q    And if I could just get back to a much more mundane matter, Democrats in Congress are introducing legislation making a push for refinancing student loans at lower rates.  Has the White House expressed support for this measure?  Can you tell us where you stand on that?

MR. CARNEY:  I don’t have a position at this point on that to provide to you.  I’ll have to take the question, and we’ll get back to you on it.*

Jim.

Q    Jay, getting back to the 9/11 Memorial Museum and its ceremonial opening tomorrow morning -- Mayor de Blasio in New York City has called for federal funding of that museum, saying that there is no federal funding for that museum at this point; that it exists and it’s going to operate basically through the admission fees that people pay to visit that site.  Is that something that the White House would consider?

MR. CARNEY:  I haven’t heard discussion of that request or that observation by the mayor.  I think tomorrow the President and the First Lady will be focused on the opening of the museum and all that it means to the people of New York, the people of the country.  So I just don’t have a view of the White House to express on that point.

Q    And jumping to the Nigerian girls, Senator McCain, as I’m sure you saw, is making a call for special forces to be used -- U.S. special forces to be used to rescue those girls.  What’s the White House take on that today?  Is that something that might be examined as we get closer to finding them?

MR. CARNEY:  Well, I think -- two points.  First, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.  We are actively advising, including through military personnel, the Nigerian government as it seeks to find, to locate and to rescue these girls.  Finding them is the first step.  Our military personnel at the embassy, and any additional military personnel we may deploy, will be in Nigeria in an advisory capacity.  And at this point, we’ve not actively considering the deployment of U.S. forces to participate in a combined rescue mission. 

And again, I think it’s important to be mindful of where we are in this process and not get ahead of ourselves.  We’re engaged at many levels now as part of this group that’s been stood up at the embassy with personnel from the embassy as well as from AFRICOM and elsewhere, including military, state and FBI, to assist the government in the effort underway to find the kidnapped girls.  That effort includes manned fixed-wing reconnaissance flights.  It also includes now unmanned reconnaissance -- unmanned, unarmed reconnaissance flights in the effort to find them.

And I would note that even the narrowly drawn area where there is the greatest suspicion that the girls might be is an area that is something along the size of West Virginia, the state of West Virginia.  So this is a pretty vast expanse of territory.

Q    And it could get complicated if they’ve been broken apart and split up.

MR. CARNEY:  Well, there’s no question -- we don’t have intelligence to share about the location of the girls or whether they’re all together.  But the time is of the essence, as we’ve been saying.  That’s why we were so eager to assist the Nigerian government in this effort that the Nigerian government, of course, is leading. 

But it’s important to note to step back and understand the challenges that this search effort is facing.

Q    And I know it’s difficult to respond to tweets and news that’s just broken in the last several minutes and so forth and so on, but just before you came out, Bill Clinton, at an event this morning, said that -- he said several things, but one thing he said about the Affordable Care Act is that perhaps a “long-term repair process” would be needed over the coming years; that Democrats shouldn’t run away from it, they should talk about it, not be afraid to talk about it, but that they should also say a long-term repair process is needed.  What do you make of that?

MR. CARNEY:  I didn’t see that particular tweet, but I think what former President Clinton is reflecting is a view held here at the White House and among Democrats -- and among the majority of the American people -- which is that we need to move forward with implementation of the Affordable Care Act and improve it where improvements are necessary; that there is no program of this scope in American history that has not required adjustments along the way.  And we have, as you know, instituted adjustments and fixes when necessary in this early stage of implementation, and that is absolutely the right approach to take.

Unfortunately, we have seen in the now more than 50 efforts by Republicans on Capitol Hill to repeal, in essence, the Affordable Care Act, an interest in re-litigating those battles against the will of the majority of the American people instead of focusing on how we can make even better a system that allows for access to private insurance for millions and millions of Americans who need it -- private, quality, affordable health insurance.  So that’s certainly a perspective that we share. 

Yes, Mary.

Q    Getting back to Jim’s question about funding for the 9/11 Memorial Museum -- many of the victims’ families have objected to the entrance fee, which I believe is $24.  Does the President believe those objections are justified?  Should families be required to --

MR. CARNEY:  I just haven’t spoken to him about that, and I don’t have any eyes into the debate, if you will, about the funding for the museum.  Right now, I think the President and the First Lady look forward to the opening of it and what it means for the city and the American people. 

I’m not saying that those questions and debates and concerns aren’t valid, but at this point the President and First Lady will be focused on the memorial itself -- not the memorial, but the museum itself and the events that it will provide an opportunity for so many people to recall because of the significance of that moment and its aftermath to our history and to so many people around the world. 

Major.

Q    On the veterans question -- it seems to be really gaining a lot of momentum on the Hill; questions are being raised not just about Phoenix.  On our broadcast last night, Wyatt Andrews talked about a secret wait list in Chicago where it would mask the wait lists for those seeking care.  Both Republican and Democratic senators in Missouri are now asking the same questions of St. Louis.  You said before that Veterans Secretary Shinseki has the President’s confidence.  Two questions:  Why does he retain the President’s confidence?  And does the confidence stem from an analysis the President has made that the VA bureaucracy is simply too impenetrable for any secretary to get his or her arms around and that these problems are embedded, and Shinseki needs to stay on the job to fix them?

MR. CARNEY:  Secretary Shinseki is a West Point graduate, decorated retired military officer who has worked diligently as VA Secretary to better serve our veterans, both now and in the future.  He would be the first to tell you that there is more work to do. 

The stress on the system that two additional wars -- long wars -- caused is something that the Secretary and the President recognize very keenly, and that’s why the President has insisted on increased funding for the VA throughout his time in office, even as we deal with the need for maintaining tight budgets as a general matter.  It’s why we’ve enrolled at the VA under Secretary Shinseki’s leadership 2 million veterans in high-quality VA health care, reducing veterans’ homelessness by 24 percent, providing post-9/11 GI Bill educational benefits to more than 1 million students, and decreasing the disability claims backlog by 50 percent.

I know you were here the other day when the issue of the investigation in Phoenix and the lists for care were discussed within the context of the reduction in the disability claims backlog, and I wanted to make clear that these are two different issues, and it’s important to note that.  And the specific investigation that’s underway is one that we have to allow to take place before we understand fully what happened there and what action needs to be taken.  The Secretary has begun an investigation and made clear to the independent inspector general at VA that he would like to see a comprehensive review conducted of the situation in Phoenix.

Q    Jay, on that comprehensive review, you have a Republican, Jeff Miller, who chairs the Veterans’ Committee, wrote a letter to the President I believe late yesterday saying he wants a bipartisan outside commission to investigate this.  How can you trust that the VA IG and others can investigate this when it’s been going on we don’t know how long?  Like, isn’t it clear that as these allegations pile up that maybe an outside panel needs to review it?  Is that something the President will consider?

MR. CARNEY:  Well, let me say a couple of things.  Inspectors general are independent and are cited as such when -- should be cited as such because they are, and then sometimes they’re cited as such only when it is politically expedient for someone on Capitol Hill to do so.  But the fact is inspectors general are by their constitutional makeup independent from the agencies that they oversee.

Secondly, I would say, about the letter itself, the White House has received the chairman’s letter and we are reviewing it, but at this point we don’t have any assessment to make about his suggestion or recommendation.  But we are reviewing the letter.

Q    But he says he wrote a letter a year ago to the President, and he says he got, “disturbing silence from the White House,” and “one excuse after another from the VA.”  So what’s been done?

MR. CARNEY:  Well, I mean, I can cite you what’s been done, including the increases in spending for VA services that this President has insisted on, often not always with --

Q    So then why did 40 people in Phoenix die?

MR. CARNEY:  Well, Ed, as you know, that’s under investigation, and we will assess what happened there when the facts are fully known.  We take that situation and the allegations around it very seriously; the President does -- he’s made that clear himself, I’ve made it clear on his behalf, and certainly Secretary Shinseki has made it clear on his behalf and on the behalf of the VA.

So the fact of the matter is we are working aggressively to better serve our veterans, provide them more care, and to take care of them not just when it comes to their health needs but also through the GI -- Post-9/11 GI Educational Bill that has provided opportunities to returning vets from Iraq and Afghanistan through the efforts like Joining Forces that the First Lady and Dr. Biden have helped head up to make sure that the private sector is focused on the extraordinary talent pool that our veterans represent and that they are looking to veterans when they’re looking to fill positions.  And this is a comprehensive effort to make sure that those who have sacrificed so much for all of us get the assistance and the service and the respect that they deserve.

Q    Jay, you’re sort of talking around -- I mean, the central issue is the services veterans are receiving for care they’re seeking, and what we’re driving at is increased evidence that it’s not happening -- secret wait lists, the bonuses paid so people get things when the services aren’t being rendered.  I know you would acknowledge --

MR. CARNEY:  Major, I’m not going to quibble with you about allegations about one office and an allegation now about another. I would urge you to note how many Veterans’ Affairs offices there are around the country and simply state that what is required in circumstances like this is a clear-eyed, focused investigation and review, the likes of which are underway now. 

And, again, we will look at the chairman’s letter and review it.  I think we all share a concern, extreme concern when it comes to making sure that our veterans are getting the care they deserve.  And when they’re not, and certainly when there’s -- if there’s inappropriate conduct involved in preventing them from getting care, the President and the Secretary will be the first to insist that action be taken.

Q    In general, though, Democratic Senator Jon Tester today said on MSNBC that he thinks VA -- the VA Department is doing a “pretty darn good job.”  Do you think overall they’re doing a “pretty darn good job?”

MR. CARNEY:  Well, Ed, I’ll deliver the sound bite you’re looking for -- I think the VA has, under Secretary Shinseki, aggressively focused on the need to provide better care to our veterans, aggressively attacked the disability claims backlog that exists and was expanded before it came down by 50 percent because of the decision to make sure that those who had claims related to exposure to Agent Orange and those who had claims related to post-traumatic stress disorder were prejudged as likely to receive disability because of those claims.  And that was the right thing to do.  It also put added stress on the system and created an additional backlog, which the VA under Secretary Shinseki has been aggressively addressing.

Q    One last topic.  Can you address this report by the Center for Immigration Studies that claims that more than 36,000 illegal aliens who were criminals and were being processed for deportation were released by the administration?  This report is claiming some of them were violent offenders; 200 of them had homicide convictions, close to 500 had sexual assault convictions. 

MR. CARNEY:  I haven’t seen the study or heard of it, Ed, so I’ll take the question.  I think that our record on making sure that enforcement is focused on those who have committed crimes, felonies, is one that we’ve discussed quite a lot as it relates to deportations.  But in terms of that specific document or study, I haven’t seen it so I don’t have a reaction.

Yes.

Q    Jay, I want to go back to Jim’s question about sending special forces to Nigeria.  You said that the administration is not actively considering sending special forces.  Does that mean that that option is off the table completely?

MR. CARNEY:  What I said is that we shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves.  We are involved right now with the Nigerian government, advising the Nigerian government as they seek to find the girls so that they can be secured and returned to their families.  So I would say at this point we’re not actively considering the deployment of U.S. military personnel in a combined rescue attempt.  We would have to know where the girls are as a simple proposition before we could discuss rescue attempts. 

At this point, we’re not considering, as I mentioned earlier, the deployment of U.S. military personnel.  The military personnel who are involved in this effort are involved in an advisory capacity.

Q    Understood.  Senator McCain’s argument, just to flesh it out a little bit more, is that they should be in place so that once the girls are found -- whenever that should happen -- once their location is determined, those forces are at the ready.  Is there some validity to that argument, or do you --

MR. CARNEY:  I haven’t seen the specific comments.  I mean, I’m aware that he talked about sending Special Forces personnel.  I would say that, in terms of readiness of personnel, that’s a question better addressed to the Department of Defense. 

Right now, we’re working with the Nigerian government on their efforts to find the girls, and if there’s a discussion about having found them, how to retrieve them, we’ll get to that discussion.  But I’m not going to get ahead of the process right now that’s taking place in Nigeria.  And I would point out, as I did earlier but I’ll emphasize it again, we’re talking in the narrowest terms about a search area that’s roughly the size of the state of West Virginia -- and that’s the narrow search area.  Some estimates have placed the possible location of the girls in an even more vast expanse of territory.  So this is not an easy piece of business that we’re talking about, and we’re focused right now in our assistance to the Nigerian government as they seek those girls.

Q    I wanted to ask -- I guess there’s a new report today that France has in fact decided to move forward with selling warships to Russia.  Secretary Hagel got a question about that just today; I know you were asked about it earlier.  Can you update us?  Can you confirm those reports?  And has the U.S. spoken to France about that?

MR. CARNEY:  We have, as I think I said yesterday, conveyed our concerns, but I have not seen information to suggest that they’ve made an announcement -- the French have made an announcement about a formal decision.  So we’ve conveyed our concerns and will -- I’ll take the question or I’m sure we’ll get the question if there’s further development on it.

April.

Q    Jay, I want to follow up on Kristen and about another subject.  I want to get in the weeds a little bit about Nigeria. Is there an issue with the Nigerian government when it comes to the Nigerian girls?  Because we’ve understood in the past that when African countries have issues and the United States or other countries come in, they like to say this is an African problem and you can assist.  Is that some of the issue right here?

MR. CARNEY:  I guess, April, what I would say is that, as would be the case in any country in a situation like this, Nigeria and the Nigerian government is leading the effort to search for these girls.  And we are offering assistance -- specific, tangible assistance in personnel and materiel -- as part of our effort to advise them in that effort and assist them in that effort.  And that is entirely appropriate.  And I think it’s important to note that that includes the personnel I think I listed the other day as well as the assets that I talked about just in answer to Jim’s question -- fixed-wing aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles -- part of the reconnaissance surveillance effort to search for the girls.  And that’s what we’re focused on right now.  We have personnel who are experienced in hostage negotiations, who are experienced in law enforcement aspects around matters like this, kidnappings, as well as in the reconnaissance effort.  And we’re not the only country, obviously, assisting the Nigerians in this effort.

We noted early on as we started discussing this terrible situation in this briefing room that there isn’t time to waste here, and it is now more than 25 or 26 days I believe since the girls were kidnapped.  And it’s certainly incumbent upon the Nigerian government, as well as those nations like the United States that are assisting the Nigerian government, to work overtime in the search for them.

Q    It is clear when you have the United States and other countries who have -- who are much more equipped, better equipped with intelligence and security matters than Nigeria, why wouldn’t there be more of a presence from the world body than Nigeria -- Nigeria might take a backseat more so.  Why is this still the case?  Nigeria is leading this when the United States has more of a professional point of view when it comes to -- or a more engaged point of view when it comes to terrorism and al Qaeda and things of that nature than Nigeria has had.  Why not let other world bodies come in and say, Nigeria, let us take care of this, sit back, we have more expertise in this?  I mean, this has prolonged for this long because they’re doing it by themselves pretty much.

MR. CARNEY:  Well, I guess I’d say a couple of things.  Nigeria is a sovereign nation.  The girls were abducted in Nigeria.  They are Nigerian.  And it’s entirely appropriate that Nigeria would lead the effort to find them. 

What you talk about in terms of the unique capacities that the United States can bring to bear is absolutely true, and that’s why the assistance that we’re offering is of the nature that in many cases only the United States can offer or of the kind that the United States has the most experience or the best insight or the best equipment.  And we’re actively engaged in deploying those resources on behalf of this search.

I also think -- and I think I was hoping to send that message when I was describing the scope of the search -- that it’s probably not the case that the United States or any other country with sophisticated means would have an easy time finding girls who had been kidnapped, individuals who had been kidnapped in an area as large as West Virginia or perhaps even larger.  This is a big challenge no matter how you come at it.  And that’s why it is involving so many nations and the assistance that they’re providing to the Nigerians.

Q    And then lastly, on Brown v. Board, the anniversary is Saturday.  Eric Holder will be speaking at Morgan State University on the actual anniversary.  Could you talk to us about the significance of Brown v. Board, as this administration has been marking many of the civil rights landmark anniversaries?

MR. CARNEY:  Well, sure.  I don’t have any announcements to make in terms of how the anniversary is being marked here at the White House, but I can certainly tell everyone here what they already know, which is this was a landmark decision that went at one of the core issues around civil rights and access to education for African Americans, and it’s one of the most important decisions that the Supreme Court ever issued.  So it’s obviously an important anniversary.

Q    Can I follow up on that, Jay?

MR. CARNEY:  Sure.

Q    What does the President think about what many see as de facto segregation that continues on many levels in many school districts?

MR. CARNEY:  The President has addressed I think these issues in general, and I would point you to the variety of times he has spoken about the importance of education for every American child.  I haven’t had a specific conversation with him about those issues.

Q    I mean in relation to this anniversary.

MR. CARNEY:  I would point you to what the President has discussed on these matters in the past. 

I want to go to Connie Lawn, birthday girl.

Q    Thank you.  Getting older every day.  (Laughter.)  Thank you, Jay.

MR. CARNEY:  You’re not alone.

Q    It has been an honor to work with you all these years.

MR. CARNEY:  Thank you.

Q    Susan Rice said the other night at the Israeli 66th birthday that the peace talks are at a pause.  How long will the pause last?  And what do you expect out of the visit by Shimon Peres?

MR. CARNEY:  The first question, obviously, is one that depends on the willingness of both sides to come back to the negotiating table, if you will, and focus on the differences between them, because in the end, the best possible solution here is a peace agreement in which the Palestinians have a sovereign state and Israel is a Jewish democratic state that has security. And I think that that has always been the bedrock principle that has driven this administration’s focus and previous administration focus -- the previous administration’s focus when approaching the very difficult issue of Middle East peace.

So there’s that.  What was the second question?

Q    Shimon Peres.

MR. CARNEY:  Well, I don’t have any scheduling announcements to make.  Obviously, President Peres is a remarkable figure in Israel’s history and a friend to the United States, and any encounter with him is one that this President would welcome.

Jen.

Q    Thanks, Jay.  I wanted to ask you about Michael Boggs, Obama’s judicial nominee.  He’s gotten a lot of attacks from progressive groups and some Democratic lawmakers over his votes on gay rights, and abortion, and a vote to keep the confederate insignia on the Georgia state flag.  I just wanted to see if -- does the President support Senate Democrats voting their conscience on this nominee?

MR. CARNEY:  I think the President supports voting your conscience as a general matter.  What I would say is that the President believes that Judge Boggs is qualified for the federal bench.  The criticisms of him are not based on his 10-year track record as a state trial and appellate court judge.  That’s one point I would make.

The second point I would make is a reiteration of what I said yesterday, which -- it’s important when you cover this issue that you inform your readers, in your case, or your viewers and listeners in other cases, of the context of how these nominations come about. 

The President, as a former senator, agrees that home-state senators should be consulted in the judicial nomination process. But problems arise when senators abuse the blue-slip system, either by vetoing nominees and potential candidates without explanation or by refusing to engage in our efforts at consultation in a timely manner.  This abuse is a significant constraint on the President’s selection of potential nominees and on his ability to quickly nominate individuals to fill long-term vacancies. 

In the case of Georgia, this nominee, supported by the Republican senators of Georgia -- we’ve been trying to fill these judicial vacancies in that state for more than three years, but two of the President’s nominees were blocked for nearly 11 months, and returned at the end of 2011.

So the choice is clear in a circumstance like this -- and this is what I mean about the context around how a nomination like this is made.  Do we work with Republican senators to find a compromise, or do we leave the seats vacant?  What is the better option?  And I’m sure there are arguments on both sides, but you’re talking about seats that are vacant in four cases where you have judicial emergencies because of the vacancies.  And we believe it would be grossly irresponsible for the President to leave those seats vacant.

As I mentioned before, Judge Boggs was recommended to the President by Senators Isakson and Chambliss as part of a compromise to fill six judicial vacancies in Georgia.  The two senators have now also agreed to support the President’s nomination of Leslie Abrams to fill a seventh vacancy.  So again, the context is important.  Seven nominees, of them five are women; one who would be the first female district judge on her court and two who would be the first African American female lifetime-appointed judges ever in Georgia.

So again, based on his tenure trial record and appellate -- and state trial and appellate court judge record, the President believes that Judge Boggs is qualified and should be confirmed.  But it is important to note, as you inform your readers about the debate on this nomination, the full context for how these decisions are made and the essential compromise that is at the heart of this nomination.

Q    Right, and so the White House did make a compromise; it’s a deal between the White House and the two Republican senators.  The White House kept up its end of the deal.  It supported this package; the two Republican senators turned in their blue slips.  So the deal that was created there is done, so now it’s --

MR. CARNEY:  And we think he ought to be confirmed.

Q    -- in the hands of Senate Democrats.  And do you --

MR. CARNEY:  Well, I think it’s in the hands of the United States Senate. 

Q    Which is run by Democrats.  So do you -- does the President support Democrats voting against Michael Boggs if they believe that he’s not the right candidate --

MR. CARNEY:  Well, the President would disagree with an assessment by anyone that reaches the conclusion that Judge Boggs is not qualified for this post.  The President believes he is, or he would not have nominated him.  But the President of course believes that each senator should vote as he or she sees fit.  He believes that all of the nominees he sends up are qualified, and that includes Judge Boggs.

Yes.

Q    Just back on Ukraine briefly.  Does the United States agree with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov that the deteriorating situation in Ukraine has now brought it to the brink of civil war?

MR. CARNEY:  Well, Foreign Minister Lavrov said that in the context of saying that elections should not go forward, which is a convenient position to take when you’ve actively exacerbated and stoked tensions and instability within Ukraine clearly in an effort to undermine those free and fair elections.

But I would note that not only does the United States disagree with his view, but the OSCE has said that Ukraine’s preparations for a free and fair presidential election are on track, and they are consistent with preparations in other countries where recent elections have gone forward and been successful despite violence.

So it is not just our view, it is the view of the OSCE that would be monitoring -- sending in monitors for these elections -- for this election on May 25, that that election would be free and fair and should go forward.  That has been the focus of our attention.  That has been the focus of the attentions of our European partners and our G7 partners.  It’s essential that the Ukrainian people be allowed the opportunity to vote in a free and fair election for their next President, and we look forward to them being able to do it.  And Russia ought to support that process instead of taking steps to undermine it.

Yes, last one -- sorry.

Q    Thank you.  Quick question on Turkey mine explosion.  I know you already issued a statement, but I’m wondering whether the President will call either President Gül or Prime Minister Erdoğan later on today.

MR. CARNEY:  I don’t have any calls to preview for you.  As I noted at the top, our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims and with those who are still trapped.  And our condolences go out to the Turkish people and the Turkish government during this difficult time.

Yes.

Q    Thank you, Jay.  The government of Pakistan has asked two Indian journalists based in Islamabad -- there are only two Indian journalists they allow to report from Islamabad -- to leave the country in one week’s time.  What do you make out of it? 

MR. CARNEY:  Well, I’m not familiar with the specifics, and I don’t know all of the details.  As a general principle, we support the ability of journalists to freely report on countries around the world, every country, and that would include Pakistan, and that would include Indian journalists in Pakistan or Pakistani journalists in India.  So that would be our general view, but I don’t know the specifics of the case.

Q    Do you have anything on the freedom of press inside Pakistan?  Last month a senior Pakistani journalist was shot at, and last year a New York Times journalist was expelled from the country. 

MR. CARNEY:  There are heroic reports prepared by international bodies that monitor the circumstances confronting journalists around the world, and it is often worth noting that in a country like the United States where we rightly debate issues related to freedom of the press that there are places around the world where the attempts to squelch that freedom too often include homicide, murder of journalists, and other steps that are taken to silence free and independent journalists and prevent them from reporting on the facts around the world.  And that is something that we take very seriously here in this country, and sometimes take for granted, and we shouldn’t. 

Thanks very much.

END
12:35 P.M. EDT

Remarks by the President on Building a 21st Century Infrastructure

Washington Irving Boat Club
Tarrytown, New York

3:37 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, New York!  (Applause.)  It turned out to be a beautiful day.  Well, it’s wonderful to be here with all of you.  Take a seat, take a seat.  Relax. 

First of all, I want to thank Governor Cuomo for that great introduction and the great job he’s doing.  I want to thank Mayor Fixell for having me in Tarrytown.  (Applause.)  Where’s the Mayor?  Where’d he go?  There he is, right there.  This is a gorgeous part of the world and I am lucky to be here, and I’m going to be coming back soon; in two weeks, I’ve got the honor of delivering the commencement at West Point just a little bit further up. 

But today, I’m here, along with our Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx -- (applause) -- to talk about one of the best ways to create new jobs and spur our economy, and that is to rebuild America’s infrastructure.

It’s been about five and a half years since the financial crisis that rocked Wall Street and then ultimately spread to Main Street.  Thanks to the grit, the determination of the American people, we’ve been steadily fighting our way back.  In just four years, our businesses have now created 9.2 million new jobs.  Auto industry that was flatlining is now booming.  A manufacturing sector that had lost a third of its jobs back in the ‘90s is adding jobs for the first time.  Troops that were fighting two wars, they’re either home or coming home.  Rather than creating jobs in other countries, more and more companies are recognizing it makes good business sense to locate right here in the United States of America with outstanding American workers.  (Applause.)

So we’ve made progress, but here’s the thing:  We could be doing a lot more.  We could make the decision easier for businesses to locate here in the United States, here in New York state, if we do a better job rebuilding our roads, rebuilding our bridges, upgrading our ports, unclogging commute times.  The alternative is to do nothing and watch businesses go to places that have outstanding infrastructure.

And behind me is the old Tappan Zee Bridge, the longest bridge in New York and one of the busiest bridges around.  As any commuter will tell you, it is crowded.  (Laughter.)  It carries a lot more traffic than when it was built back in 1955.  At times, you can see the river through the cracks in the pavement.  Now, I’m not an engineer, but I figure that’s not good.  (Laughter.)

But right now, thanks to the efforts of Governor Cuomo, thanks to your outstanding congressional delegation led by Nita Lowey and including Eliot Engel, and Sean Patrick Maloney, and Jerry Nadler, all of whom are here today -- stand up, congressional delegation.  We’re proud of you.  (Applause.)  Thanks to their outstanding efforts, workers are building a replacement -- the first new bridge in New York in 50 years.  It’s called The “New” New York Bridge -- which is fine as a name, but for your next bridge you should come up with something a little more fresh.  (Laughter.) 

Now, here’s the thing -- this never happens -- you are building this bridge ahead of schedule.  Three years ago, after Republicans in Congress refused to pass multiple bills that would have put construction workers back to work, I took action on my own to fast-track the permitting process for major projects like this one.  Normally, it would have taken three to five years to permit this bridge; we did it in a year and a half -- in a year and a half.  (Applause.)  That meant we were creating thousands of jobs faster while doing right by workers and tending to the environment.  And the Vice President is in Cleveland today at another project that we fast-tracked -- a rapid-transit station that will make life easier for a lot of residents there. 

So today, we’re releasing a new plan to apply the same strategy to other major projects all across America.  We’re announcing 11 more projects to accelerate, to get moving faster -- from Boston’s South Station, to Pensacola Bay Bridge, to new light-rail projects north and south of Seattle.  We’re cutting bureaucratic red tape that stalls good projects from breaking ground.  We’re launching a new national permitting center to implement these reforms.  We are aiming to put every major infrastructure project on a public dashboard so everybody can go online; track our progress; hold us accountable; make sure things are coming in on time, on budget; make sure your taxpayer money is being used well, but also make sure that we’re putting folks back to work rebuilding America.  That’s our goal.  (Applause.) 

Now, all these steps we can do without Congress.  And all these steps mean more good jobs -- because nobody was hurt worse than construction workers by the financial crisis.  The housing market plummeted, and a lot of guys in hard hats and a lot of gals in hard hats, suddenly they were off the job.  And that’s why the Recovery Act back in 2009, 2010 included the most important public works jobs program since the New Deal, jumpstarting more than 15,000 construction projects around the country.

Over the past five years, American workers have repaired or replaced more than 20,000 bridges, improved more than 350,000 miles of American roads.  Four years ago, when we were just starting to clear away the damage from the financial crisis, the unemployment rate for construction workers stood at 20 percent -- in fact, it was over 20 percent.  Today, we’ve cut it by more than half. 

But we can do better.  We can build better -- and we have to.  We’ve got ports that aren’t ready for the next generation of cargo ships.  We’ve got more than 100,000 bridges that are old enough to qualify for Medicare.  (Laughter.)  We’ve got leaky pipes that lose billions of gallons of drinking water every single day, even as we’ve got a severe drought in much of the West.  Nearly half our people don’t have access to transit at all.  And I don’t have to tell you what some of our airports look like. 

Building a world-class transportation system is one of the reasons America became an economic superpower in the first place.  But over the past 50 years, as a share of our economy, our investment in transportation has shrunk by 50 percent.  Think about that.  Our investment in transportation has been cut by half. 

You know what other countries are doing?  European countries now invest twice as much as we do.  China invests four times as much as we do in transportation.  One study recently found that over time, we’ve fallen to 19th place when it comes to the quality of our infrastructure -- 19th place.  I don’t know about you, but I don’t like America being 19th.  I don’t like America being second.  I want us to be first when it comes to infrastructure around the world, because businesses are going to come where there’s good infrastructure to move businesses, move people, move services.  (Applause.) 

We shouldn’t watch the top-rated airports and seaports or the fastest rail lines or fastest Internet networks get built somewhere else -- they need to be built right here in New York, right here in the United States.  First-class infrastructure attracts first-class jobs.  Business owners don’t want a crumbling road or a bridge because then they can’t move out their stuff, and their workers aren’t as productive because it’s harder for them to get to work.  They want to set up shop where there’s high-speed rail and high-speed broadband, high-tech schools, self-healing power grids, new ports, tunnels.  That allows them, when they make goods here in America, to move those goods out and sell them all around the world. 

Now, unfortunately, helping states and cities fund infrastructure is one of Congress’s chief responsibilities.  And you’ve got some outstanding members here, but let me just talk a little bit about Congress right now.  If they don’t act by the end of the summer, federal funding for transportation projects will run out -- will run out.  There will be no money.  The cupboard will be bare.  And all told, nearly 700,000 jobs would be at risk over the next year -- that’s like the population of Tampa and St. Louis combined. 

Right now, there are more than 100,000 active projects paving roads and rebuilding bridges, modernizing our transit systems.  States might have to choose which ones to put the brake on.  Some states are already starting to slow down work because they’re worried Congress won’t untangle the gridlock on time.  And that’s something you should remember every time you see a story about a construction project stopped, or machines idled, or workers laid off their jobs.

And that’s why, earlier this year, in addition to fast-tracking projects, working with Secretary Foxx, I put forward a plan to rebuild our transportation infrastructure in a more responsible way.  It would support millions of jobs across America.  It would give cities and states and private investors the certainty they need to plan ahead and invest.  And it wouldn’t add to our deficits because we’d pay for it in part by closing wasteful tax loopholes for companies that are shipping jobs overseas that are in the tax code right now and that we could clean out and help pay to put folks back to work rebuilding America.  (Applause.)

Now, so far, at least, Republicans who run this Congress seem to have a different priority.  Not only have they prevented so far efforts to make sure funding is still in place for what we’ve already got, but their proposal would actually cut job-creating grant programs that have funded high-priority transportation projects in all 50 states.  They’d cut them by about 80 percent.  And they can’t say it’s to save money, because at the very same time, they voted for trillions of dollars in new tax cuts, weighted towards folks at the very top. 

So think about that for a second.  Instead of putting more workers back on the job, they’d put those workers’ jobs at risk.  Instead of breaking ground on new projects that would improve the quality of life for millions of people, they voted to give a massive tax cut to households making more than $1 million a year.  Instead of making investments that grow our economy by growing the middle class, they’re still convinced that prosperity trickles down from the very top. 
If you want to tell them what you think about that, don’t worry, because usually they show up at ribbon-cuttings -- (laughter) -- for projects that they refused to fund.  

And here is the sad part:  Rebuilding America, that shouldn’t be a partisan issue.  My favorite President happens to have been a Republican -- a guy named Abraham Lincoln in my home state of Illinois.  And it was Lincoln who committed to a railroad connecting East to West, even while he was struggling mightily to hold together North and South.  It was a Republican, Dwight Eisenhower, who built the Interstate Highway System.  It was Ronald Reagan who said that rebuilding our infrastructure is “an investment in tomorrow that we must make today.”  Since when are the Republicans in Congress against Ronald Reagan?  (Laughter.)

But that’s part of the problem -- we’ve gotten so partisan, everything is becoming political.  They’re more interested in saying no because they’re worried that maybe they’d have to be at a bill signing with me than they are at actually doing the job that they know would be good for America.  It’s time for folks to stop running around saying what’s wrong with America; roll up your sleeves and let’s get to work and help America rebuild.  That’s what we should be doing.  (Applause.)

We don’t need a “can’t do” spirit; we need a “can do” spirit.  That’s what Governor Cuomo has, and it sounds like the state legislature was willing to work with him on this.  Well, we need Congress to work with us on these issues.  It doesn’t mean they’re going to agree with us on everything.  I guarantee you they will have more than enough to disagree with me about, but let’s not fight on something we all know makes sense.  After all, we’re the people who, in the depths of the Depression, lifted a great bridge in California, and laid a great dam down in the Southwest, and lifted up rural America.  We shrank a sprawling continent when we pounded in that final railroad spike, connected up this amazing country of ours; stretched a network of highways all across America from coast to coast.  And then we connected the world with our imaginations and the Internet.

A great nation does these things.  A great nation doesn’t say “no, we can’t,” it says “yes, we can.”  (Applause.) 

So the bottom line, Tarrytown, is America doesn’t stand still.  There is work to be done.  There are workers ready to do it, and some of them are here and they’re already on the job doing the work.  We’re proud of them.  (Applause.)  There are people all across this country that are ready and eager to move this country forward. 

So I’m going to keep on fighting alongside all of you to make sure that we’re doing everything we can to rebuild America -- not just rebuild one bridge, but I want us to rebuild every bridge.  I don’t want us to just rebuild one school, I want us to rebuild every school that needs help.  (Applause.)  I want us to most of all, most importantly, rebuild an economy where hard work is valued and responsibility is respected and rewarded, and where opportunity is available not just to some, but to every single hardworking American.  That’s what I’m fighting for, and I know that’s what you care about. 

Thank you very much, everybody.  Good job, workers.  I look forward to seeing this bridge.  Thank you very much.  God bless you.  God bless America.  Thank you.  (Applause.)

END
3:54 P.M. EDT

Statement by the Press Secretary on the Turkish Mining Collapse

Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Turkey today in the wake of a coal mine explosion in Soma, in which some 200 have been killed and hundreds more remain trapped.  On behalf of the American people, we extend our heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims and our best wishes for the safe exit of the remaining miners.  Turkey is a close and longstanding friend and ally of the United States.  We are ready to assist the Turkish government if necessary, and we will continue to stand together in this time of tragedy.