Home • Press Gaggle by Deputy Principal Press Secretary Josh Earnest and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan en route Mooresville, NC, 6/6/2013

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release

June 07, 2013

Statement by the President on Congressman Dingell

I want to congratulate Congressman John Dingell on becoming the longest-serving member of Congress in our country’s history. First elected in 1955 to the seat formerly held by his father, John Dingell Sr., John has always worked tirelessly for people of his beloved Michigan and for working families across America. He has helped pass some of the most important laws of the last half-century, from Medicare to the Civil Rights Act to the Clean Air Act to the Affordable Care Act, and he continues to fight for workers’ rights, access to affordable healthcare, and the preservation of our environment for future generations to enjoy. Michelle and I send our warmest wishes to John and his family, and I look forward to congratulating him in person at the White House next week.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release

June 07, 2013

Letter from the President to the Speaker of the House Regarding the Supplemental Proposal from the Judicial Branch for Fiscal Year 2013

TEXT OF A LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT
TO THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

June 7, 2013

Dear Mr. Speaker:

As a matter of comity, and consistent with 31 U.S.C. 1107, I am transmitting to the Congress, without modification, the enclosed supplemental proposal from the Judicial Branch for fiscal year 2013.

The details of this request are set forth in the enclosed letter from the Director of the Office of Management and Budget.

Sincerely,

BARACK OBAMA

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release

June 07, 2013

Remarks by the President at a DSCC Event

Private Residence
Portola Valley, California

7:56 P.M. PDT

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, everybody. (Applause.) Well, first of all, I want to thank Vinod and Neeru and the entire family -- and these beasts -- (laughter) -- for hosting us here today. These two could eat Bo in one gulp. (Laughter.) But it's wonderful to be here in this spectacular setting on such a beautiful day in Northern California, one of my favorite places.

There are a couple other people I want to acknowledge. First of all, we've got three of the finest senators in the country who are here with us today. The person who has the thankless but absolutely critical job of maintaining the Democratic majority in the Senate -- Michael Bennet from Colorado is here. (Applause.) We've got my fellow Midwesterner, who is doing wonderful work on a whole range of issues -- Amy Klobuchar from Minnesota. (Applause.) Where's Maria? There she is. And from the closest thing to being your neighbor, and somebody who obviously knows the extraordinary capacity, ingenuity and entrepreneurship because she's been in the field herself and does great work in the Senate every day -- Maria Cantwell. (Applause.)

We're going to have some time for questions, and hopefully some answers, in this great setting, so I'm going to be fairly brief. I was telling Vinod that this morning I was in North Carolina at Mooresville Middle School. And Mooresville Middle School ranks 110th out of 115 districts in North Carolina when it comes to spending per pupil. They now rank second in performance in North Carolina. And the reason is, is because they have this incredible superintendent who, several years ago, made what many considered a pretty radical decision -- he said, we're just going to eliminate textbooks. We’re going to use the money to buy a laptop for every student and we are going to completely redesign our curriculum and how we engage our young people, and we’re going to train our teachers so that we completely transform the learning experience in this middle school.

Actually, it starts in third grade and continues all the way through 12th, but I went to the middle school. And so I had a chance to go from station to station -- kids who were creating their own films and poetry based on a book that they had read in English class; kids who were designing their own business plans in math class, figuring out when they’d go from red to black; young people who were debating the merits of studying mythology, using research that had been done entirely online.

And what they’ve discovered is, is that the passion that young people now have for learning because of the -- since the ownership that they’ve got, because of the sense that instead of just sitting there passively with somebody at the front of the classroom, they are fully engaged in this constant creative exchange with each other and their teachers -- because of that, the school has transformed itself.

And so we were down there to announce our goal, which is that in five years, every school in America will be sufficiently equipped with broadband and wireless so that you’ve got 100 percent coverage -- or 99 percent coverage. This is something it turns out we can do without Congress. We’re going to meet this deadline, and it has the potential to be transformational in our education system, and save money in the process.

And I say that because not only am I in Silicon Valley, and around the world this is rightly viewed as the center of innovation, but also because so many of you who I’ve gotten to know over the years are yourselves innovators and entrepreneurs who have transformed the world because of the work that you’ve done.

The central question for America now is how do we engage the entire country in a conversation about using this incredible advantage we’ve got of openness and inquiry and discovery, how do we use that to make ourselves more competitive? And how do we make sure that every single person in America has access to the platforms and the frameworks that they need so that if they’re willing to work hard they can succeed as well, the way Vinod succeeded, the way Mark succeeded, the way Steve succeeded, the way all of us in this room -- so many of us who started with not too much -- have been able to live out that American Dream.

Now, the good news is, that after an extraordinary economic crisis, the economy has stabilized. We’re growing; housing is coming back, deficits are going down, auto industry has recovered, we’re creating jobs. And as I travel around the world, it turns out, actually, we’ve got probably the best cards out of any country. I know everybody worries about China -- I’m going to be meeting with the President of China on --

AUDIENCE MEMBER: Tomorrow.

THE PRESIDENT: -- tomorrow, on Friday. Tomorrow, right. (Laughter.) And the transformation that’s taking place in China is extraordinary. And never in the history of humanity have we seen so many people move out of poverty so rapidly, in part because of what’s happening in China and what’s happening in India. And yet, when you look at the challenges they face and you look at the challenges we face, I'll take our challenges any day of the week.

In order for us to meet those challenges, though, we’ve got to have a functioning government. This is not an argument that government can do it all. It’s an argument that government has a critical role to play in funding science and research, in creating the infrastructure -- not only the old infrastructure of roads and bridges and ports, but the new infrastructure of smartgrids and broadband. Government has a role in educating our kids, to make sure that they’ve got the skills they need to compete. Government has a role in creating a regulatory structure that ensures that we’re encouraging the development of clean energy, and that we’re protecting intellectual property.

Government has a role in all these things. And if we’re able to get that part of it right, nobody can stop us. Because the innovation that’s taking place in places like Silicon Valley, they’ll move it, but we’ve got to make sure that what happens here is happening in a small town in Ohio, and in rural parts of North Carolina; that we’re not creating two societies -- one that’s hyper-competitive and innovative and extraordinarily prosperous, and then another half in which folks are struggling just barely to get by and are having a tough time competing -- but rather a situation in which all of us have a chance of success.

That’s what we’re fighting for. And from my perspective that’s what it means to be a Democrat. And I think that I speak for Maria and Amy and Mike as well -- that’s what leads us to believe in this democratic ideal.

So in order for us to accomplish that we're going to need to have a Democratic Senate. In order for us to accomplish that I'd also like a Democratic House. Not because Democrats have a monopoly on wisdom, and not because I'm more interested in politics than governance -- because I've run my last election. I just want to get stuff done. And I'm going to be spending the next three and a half years, every day, reaching out to Republicans and seeing where we can agree.

Michael Bennet is doing some great work on immigration reform. I think we have a great chance of getting that done this year. We recently announced the need to pull together a bipartisan effort around dealing with patent trolls -- something that everybody here is deeply interested in. We have a chance of getting that done.

But on too much of the big stuff, what we see coming out of the other party is an interest in winning elections or in obstruction, not enough interest in solving problems. And too often what we see is the notion that compromise is a dirty word. And sometimes we see just the denial of science around climate change, for example. And in that environment, it's going to be hard for us to make progress on things that all of us here care so deeply about.

So I'll just leave you with this thought. For all the frustrations of Washington, though, I've never been more optimistic about this country -- because of those kids I saw in Mooresville, because of the businesses that I see popping up every single day here in Silicon Valley. We've got what it takes to make sure the 21st century is the American Century just like the 20th, and that impact ripples around the world.

But I'm going to need your help to make it happen. Michael, Amy, Maria -- we're all going to need your help to make that happen. And if you're willing to engage and be involved and stay committed as deeply as you were in 2008 and 2012, then I think we'll be successful.

Thank you very much, everybody. (Applause.) Thank you.

END
8:07 P.M. PDT

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release

June 07, 2013

Remarks by the President at a DSCC Event

Private Residence
Palo Alto, California

6:39 P.M. PDT

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, everybody! (Applause.) It is good to be back in California, especially when the weather is this good. (Laughter.) And obviously I want to, first of all, thank Mike and Marci and their two beautiful daughters, and mom and uncles and aunt -- (laughter) -- and everybody who helped to participate.

And I also want to just acknowledge somebody who I think is one of the finest public servants we’ve got in Washington and was somebody who worked in the private sector, then took on an incredible job of running the public schools in Denver, helped to turn them around, is now representing the great state of Colorado and is a great friend -- Michael Bennet. So give Michael a big round of applause. (Applause.)

Somebody was asking where I was earlier today and asking whether I got to sleep in between, and the answer is no, because, unfortunately, Air Force One is pretty loaded up. You can make phone calls, you can read emails, you can look at computers, so you don’t rest on plane trips.

But earlier this morning, I had a chance to visit a school in Mooresville, North Carolina, and the reason we were there is because they’ve undergone this amazing transformation. Several years ago, their superintendant made a decision that he was just going to get rid of textbooks. They were hugely expensive. Oftentimes, they were on a seven-year cycle so that kids were looking and there was still a map of the Soviet Union in there in their social studies class. (Laughter.) And he made this radical decision that he was going to replace every textbook with a laptop for every student in the school, starting in third grade. And as a consequence of not just the technology, but training teachers to think entirely differently about curriculum and teaching, what they’ve done is, despite the fact that they -- out of 115 districts, I think it is -- they are 110th in spending per district, they now rank number two in performance.

The kids are unbelievably enthusiastic. And they showed me a whole range of things. One group of math students had started a business on their laptops -- and this was for math class -- and they were calculating their profits and their break-even point and when they go from red to black. It was an M&Ms machine -- not surprisingly. (Laughter.)

Another group of kids were dissecting the inaugural address that had been done in my first -- or the inaugural poem that had been delivered at my first inauguration by Elizabeth Alexander, but they were able to do it on the screen, make notes on the screen that were automatically transmitted onto all the laptops of the school. And you could see these kids just excited about learning and wanting to keep learning well after the school day was done.

And so what we announced was our initiative that we’re going to make sure, in five years, every school across America has the highest-speed, most state-of-the-art connections so that every classroom is wired and every student can take advantage of these technologies. And one of the great things about it is in order to do this, we don't need a vote from Congress. (Applause.) Which means that we actually, I think, will be able to get it done on time. (Laughter.)

But I tell this story because all around the country, in places like Austin, and in North Carolina, and here, obviously, in California, there are incredible things going on. And we’ve now gone through some of the toughest years economically that this country has ever gone through, and yet, after the worst recession since the Great Depression, we’re now seeing the economy slowly regain steam -- not just the stock market, which has been hitting record highs, but housing is beginning to bounce back. We’ve now seen growth for three and a half years straight; jobs being created just about every month, and the auto industry come roaring back, the financial system stabilizing.

The truth of the matter is, is that because of the grit and determination of the American people, we’ve got all the cards we need in order to make sure that the 21st century is the American Century, just like the 20th. The only thing that’s holding us back is our capacity to work together around a common-sense set of solutions. Whether it’s in education, whether it’s on clean energy, whether it’s on spurring more technology and entrepreneurship that obviously this part of the country represents and has captured the imagination of the entire world, whether we’re talking about how we deal with our infrastructure, how we make sure that our fiscal policies are in line so that we’re not passing on debt to the next generation but we’re also making sure that we meet our commitments to current generations when it comes to things like Social Security and Medicare -- on all of these issues, there is a range of common-sense solutions available to us right now. And if we implement them, then we’re going to leave an America behind for our kids that -- and our grandkids -- that is stronger, more prosperous, more unified, more tolerant than ever before.

And so the reason I’m here today is to deliver the good news that we’ve got what we need in order to succeed. Now, I’ve got to leaven that with a little bad news. The bad news is that too often, Washington is getting in our way of this progress. And the reason it’s getting in our way is not because, as some suggest, government has no role to play in this process -- government has always had a role to play.

I come from Illinois, the great Land of Lincoln. And in the midst of civil war, Abraham Lincoln starts the land-grant colleges, helps to create the Intercontinental Railroad System that links our country together, starts the National Institute of Science -- understanding that there are certain investments we can only make together; that although our economy is driven by entrepreneurship and risk-taking and the private sector -- the greatest engine of prosperity the world has ever known -- there are some things we do better together.

And people in this area understand that as well as anybody.
The incredible prosperity that is generated from Silicon Valley in part is because we collectively -- or at least our parents or our grandparents -- made investments in things like DARPA, and basic research and science, and helped to facilitate the framework that created the worldwide web and all the spinoffs that came out of that.

Oftentimes the private sector cannot or will not make those investments because they don't automatically show a profit right away, because they may be too expensive for any single enterprise to invest in. But that's what then provides us the platform to do the incredible things that we do.

So the reason that Washington is a problem is not because government generically is the problem; the reason Washington is a problem is right now it's broken. It's not working the way it needs to. And, look, historically -- I am a strong Democrat because I believe in the basic principle that everybody should have a chance. Everybody should have opportunity -- it doesn’t matter where they're born, what their last name is, what circumstances they started in, who they love. I want everybody to have a fair shot. But I'm the first one to admit Democrats don't have a monopoly on wisdom. I will say, though, right now
(laughter) -- when it comes to doing the things that need to get done, we're just not getting a lot of cooperation from the other side. We're just not getting a lot of cooperation from the other side.

And I remain hopeful, because I've run my last campaign, that over the next three years, we're going to see more of the bipartisan efforts that we're seeing in some areas. For example, Michael Bennet is doing a great job working with the so-called Gang of Eight to finally get immigration reform done so that we're a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants, and we are fixing a broken immigration system. So there are areas where we're starting to see glimmers of functionality in Washington.

But on too many area, we're not getting the kind of cooperation that we need -- not because the Democrats are particularly ideological or left-wing right now. The truth of the matter is Michael and I -- I know that there are a few Republicans here in the audience -- if you talk to us, it turns out we're pretty common-sense folks. We don't think government can do everything. We don't think that top-down solutions are the right way to go. We believe in the free market. We believe in a light touch when it comes to regulations. We don't want to tax all businesses out of business. But we do think that there's a role to play for government.

When it comes to, for example, making sure that every child in America has early childhood education so they're getting a healthy start and by the time they hit school they're prepared to learn -- that's an investment we can make.

When it comes to making sure a nation this wealthy provides affordable, accessible health care for every American -- that's something we can do. There's no other advanced nation on Earth where 10, 15 percent of the population doesn’t have health care -- none. Well, why should we be any different as the greatest nation on Earth? And government has a role to play to make that happen.

We have to make sure that we keep our edge when it comes to research and development. This so-called sequester that has stayed in place -- in part because of the stubbornness of the other side in negotiating a sensible budget framework -- is freezing up research precisely at a time when it's never been more important. And you got brilliant young people all across the country, including in this area, who may not have the capacity to go into their chosen fields because the research grants have dried up. We have a role to play.

When it comes to what I think will be one of the most important decisions that we make as a nation -- this generation makes -- the issue of climate change, we're not going to be able to make those changes solely through a bunch of individual decisions that are made. We're going to have to make some collective decisions about how much do we care about this when the science is irrefutable. And that means government is going to have a role to play in helping to organize clean energy research, and making sure that we're taking into account the pollution that we're sending into the air and that we're encouraging new ways of delivering energy and using it more efficiently. We're going to have a role to play.

And obviously our government is going to have a role to play internationally, whether it’s in making sure that we’re keeping the American people safe, or trying to make sure that we’re delivering prosperity and hope to the parts of the world where people, religious minorities, young girls still don’t have opportunity. Those are all things that we have to do together.

So here’s the bottom line. I have never been more optimistic about America than I am right now. People sometimes ask me this. They notice my gray hair and they say, boy -- (laughter) -- you’ve got a really hard job, and how do you put up with all the stuff that’s going on all the time, and everything that’s said about you, and this and that and the other? And I try to remind folks that in so many ways, this is the greatest time in human history. For all the tragedies that we witness, for all the terrible things that we read about, for all the millions of people here in America who are still locked out of opportunity and the struggles that middle-class families are going through every single day, all the people who are still unemployed, folks whose houses are still underwater, the fact of the matter is, is that we’re more inclusive, we’re more prosperous, we are less violent now than just about any time in human history. And that should give us hope.

And when we see these beautiful kids running around, I suspect they will further improve on our -- on this project. But we’ve got to get this right. And the only way I’m going to be able to do that is if I’ve got people in Congress who share my optimism and share a sense that there are practical solutions out there and that compromise is not a dirty word. That’s the kind of senator that Michael Bennet represents, and that’s what we’re going to need in the United States Senate. And I haven’t even started talking about things like judicial nominations, which obviously are contingent on us maintaining a strong Democratic majority in the United States Senate.

So I would just ask all of you, number one, to be optimistic. Number two, I’d ask you all to stay engaged. Number three, I’d ask you to really focus on what you can do in order to ensure that the very best people who care deeply about this country, but also have a practical bent -- how do we get those folks in the Senate, staying in the Senate, working cooperatively. Because ultimately, our government represents us, and if we neglect it, then it doesn’t work. And when we’re engaged it works.

You showed that in 2008 -- that’s how I got elected. You showed that in 2012 -- that’s how I got reelected. I need you to show that one more time to make sure that we have a Democratic Senate, and having a Democratic House wouldn’t be bad either. (Laughter.)

So thank you very much, everybody. God bless you. God bless America. (Applause.)

END
6:56 P.M. PDT

West Wing Week: 06/07/13 or “Cooler at Night"

June 06, 2013 | 06:11 | Public Domain

This week, the President urged Congress not to let student loan rates double and to confirm three judges for the federal appeals court in Washington, held bilateral meetings with the NATO Secretary-General and the President of Chile, kicked off a National Conference on Mental Health, honored the Super Bowl champions, and announced a major new initiative called ConnectED, while the Vice President wrapped up a weeklong trip to South America.

Download mp4 (245MB)

West Wing Week: 06/07/13 or “Cooler at Night"

Adam Garber

June 07, 2013
12:00 AM EDT

Related Topics: Inside the White House, North Carolina

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President Obama Speaks on Technology in Schools

June 06, 2013 | 18:30 | Public Domain

President Obama delivers remarks at Mooresville Middle School in Mooresville, North Carolina. The school’s cutting edge curriculum that maximizes the benefits of technology and digital learning.

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Read the Transcript

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release

June 06, 2013

Remarks by the President at Mooresville Middle School -- Mooresville, NC

Mooresville, North Carolina

3:03 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: (Applause.) Hello, Mooresville! (Applause.) Hello, Mooresville. It is good to be back in North Carolina. (Applause.) Now, first of all, I want to thank my staff for being smart enough to schedule a visit right before school lets out. (Laughter.) Because that means everybody is in a good mood. (Laughter.) However, Principal Tulbert told me that if I wanted to visit, I had to follow school rules. And since we just recited the Pledge of Allegiance, let me say that, “It’s always a great day to be a Red Imp.” (Applause.) I gather some of you are going to be Blue Devils next year. (Applause.) Being an Imp is okay, but I guess being a Devil -- (laughter.)

I want to thank Maureen for the wonderful introduction, but more importantly, for the great work that she and all the staff at this school are doing. I could not be more impressed with the teachers and the administrators. So give it up for them. Students, clap for your teachers. (Applause.) You may not realize how lucky you are to have great, dedicated teachers, but as a parent, I realize how important that is. And so we can’t thank them enough.

I want to make sure everybody knows that we’ve got one of the finest Secretaries of Education we’ve ever had in Arne Duncan, who’s here. (Applause.) Your Mayor, Miles Atkins, is in the house. (Applause.) And Superintendent Edwards is here, who’s doing such great work. So give him a big round of applause. (Applause.) So I want to thank you for inviting me here today. I know it’s a little warm in here, as it always is in a school gym. But I was spending a lot of time talking to the students, and they were showing me such incredible work that I got kind of carried away.

I’ve come here to Mooresville to announce an important step that we’re taking to grow our economy and to reignite the engine that powers our economy -- and that’s a rising and thriving middle class where everybody has opportunity.

Over the past four and a half years, we have been fighting back from the worst recession since the Great Depression, which cost millions of Americans their jobs and their homes and the sense of security that they’ve worked so hard to build. And North Carolina got hit worse than a lot of states.

But thanks to the grit and the determination of the American people, folks are starting to come back. Our businesses have created nearly 7 million new jobs over the past 38 months; 530 [thousand] of those jobs are new manufacturing jobs that help us sell goods made in America all around the world. We’re producing more of our own energy. We’re consuming less energy from other countries. The housing market and the stock markets are rebounding. Our deficit is shrinking. People’s retirement savings are growing. The American auto industry has come roaring back.

So we’re getting traction. The gears to the economy are turning. We’re starting to make progress. But we’ve got to build on that progress. Because while the economy is growing, there’s still a lot of families out there who feel like they’re working harder and harder but can’t get ahead. And the middle class has to be prospering -- not just folks at the very top. That’s got to be our focus: a growing economy -- (applause) -- we’ve got to have a growing economy that creates good, middle-class jobs. That’s got to be the North Star that guides all of our efforts.

Now, what that means -- I said this in my State of the Union address -- every day, we've got to ask ourselves three questions as a nation. Number one, how do we make America a magnet for good jobs? Number two, how do we make sure our workers, our people, have the skills and education they need to do those jobs? And then, number three, how do we make sure that those jobs pay well so that hard work leads to a decent living?

But the reason I'm here today is because you are helping to answer that second question: How do we make sure Americans have the chance to earn the best skills and education possible? That's why I came to Mooresville. Because at a moment when the rest of the world is trying to out-educate us, we've got to make sure that our young people -- all you guys -- have every tool that you need to go as far as your talents and your dreams and your ambitions and your hard work will take you. (Applause.)

So that’s the spirit that's reflected in the motto of your school district -- “every child, every day.” It’s that fundamental belief that no matter who you are, no matter what you look like, no matter where you come from, every child can learn. Every child can succeed. Every child, every day, deserves that chance. We've got an obligation to give every young person that chance. (Applause.)

And that means making sure we've got the best teachers and giving those teachers support and paying them what they deserve. (Applause.) Yes. All the teachers say, amen.

AUDIENCE: Amen!

THE PRESIDENT: It requires parents who are more active and involved. Parents, school is not a passive thing where you just dump off your kids, they come back and somehow automatically they learn. You've got to be involved in the education process. It requires smarter schools that are safer places to learn. And in an age when the world’s information is a just click away, it demands that we bring our schools and libraries into the 21st century. We can't be stuck in the 19th century when we're living in a 21st century economy.

And that’s why, today, we're going to take a new step to make sure that virtually every child in America’s classrooms has access to the fastest Internet and the most cutting-edge learning tools. And that step will better prepare our children for the jobs and challenges of the future and it will provide them a surer path into the middle class. And, as a consequence, it will mean a stronger, more secure economy for all of us.

Specifically, today, I am directing the Federal Communications Commission, which is the FCC, to begin a process that will connect 99 percent of America’s students to high-speed broadband Internet within five years. Within five years we're going to get it done. (Applause.)

Now, those of you here at Mooresville understand why this is important, but I'm speaking to a larger audience, so I want to explain why this is important. Today, the average American school has about the same bandwidth as the average American home, even though obviously there are 200 times as many people at school as there are at home. Only around 20 percent of our students have access to true high-speed Internet in their classroom. By comparison, South Korea has 100 percent of its kids with high-speed Internet. We've got 20 percent; South Korea 100 percent. In countries where -- in a country where we expect free Wi-Fi with our coffee, why shouldn’t we have it in our schools? Right? (Applause.) Why wouldn’t we have it available for our children’s education?

So the good news is, here in Mooresville, you’ve committed yourself to this cause. Starting in the third grade, as all of you know because you've lived through it, every student in the district gets a laptop and high-speed, wireless Internet in the classroom.

And I just saw the ways that it’s changing how you learn. You don’t just write papers and take tests. You're working together on videos and presentations and movies and poetry. Your high school Spanish class might Skype with students in Barcelona or Buenos Aires. One student proudly said, “We’re able to work on more projects and homework outside of class.” Now that’s not normally something teenagers brag about. (Laughter.) But that's exactly the attitude that’s going to help you succeed and help your country succeed.

And as I was learning in talking to some of the teachers here, it's helping the teachers, too. Because if a student is falling behind, a teacher is seeing it in real time.

Did somebody fall down? One thing you guys got to do, by the way -- bend your knees a little bit when you're standing. If you stand up straight -- I'm just giving you a tip so you don't faint -- (laughter) -- which happens all the time, and it's really embarrassing. (Laughter.) But if you already did, you should sit down.

But it gives teachers the ability to see in real time what students need help, who is falling behind, and then offer extra help. If you’ve already mastered a lesson, you can move on to the next one. So as one teacher said, “The thing I’m most proud of is not the technology, it’s the relationships I can build with the students that I teach.”

Now, here at this school, this has only been going on for a few years. But so far, the results have been remarkable. Graduation rates are up. Last year, out of 115 school districts in North Carolina, you ranked in the bottom 10 in the amount of money you spend per student, but you ranked number two in student achievement. Number two. (Applause.) So you're spending less money getting better outcomes. And around the country, educators have started to take notice. So many people want to see this school for themselves that there's a waiting list for tours all the way into 2014.

But here's the thing: As special as what you've done is, I don’t want this success to be restricted to one school or one school district. There is no reason why we can’t replicate the success you've found here. And imagine what that will mean for our country.

Imagine a young girl growing up on a farm in a rural area who can now take an AP biology or AP physics class, even if her school is too small to offer it. Imagine a young boy with a chronic illness that means he can't go to school, but now he can join his classmates via Skype or FaceTime and fully participate in what's going on.

Imagine educators spending fewer hours teaching to a test, more time helping kids learn in new and innovative ways. Imagine more businesses starting here and hiring here in this area, in North Carolina, because they know for a fact that we’ve committed ourselves to equipping all of our kids with better skills and education than any place else on Earth. That’s what we need. (Applause.)

So over the next five years, we’re going to partner with private companies to put people to work laying fiber optic cables to our schools and setting up wireless connections in our schools with speeds 10 to 100 times faster than what most schools have today. We’re going to work with states to give teachers who want to use these technologies in the classroom the professional development that they need, because I was talking to Ms. Tulbert and she said, for all the teachers here, it took some adaptation to get used to these new technologies.

Once all these classrooms are wired for superfast Internet, that means a big new market for private innovation -- America’s companies who created the computers and smartphones and tablets that we all use --

AUDIENCE MEMBER: (Inaudible.)

THE PRESIDENT: It's okay. This happens. They'll be all right. Just give them a little space. That’s why we've got the medics here. They'll be okay.

Oh, teachers give me some tips here. I've lost their attention. (Laughter.) All right, everybody. Right over here.

So what we're going to be able to do is to get companies to compete to create affordable digital devices designed specifically to these new connected classrooms. I want to see a tablet that’s the same price as a textbook. (Applause.) I want to see more apps that can be instantly updated with academic content the day it’s available, so you don’t have old, outdated textbooks with student names still in them from years ago. These are the tools that our children deserve.

And there’s no reason we can’t do all this. If you think about the history of America, we united a continent by rail. We stretched a network of highways from sea to shining sea. We brought light to dark and remote areas. We connected the world through the Internet, through our imagination. All these projects created jobs. All these projects grew our economy. They also unified the country and they are unifying the world. And this project we're talking about today can do the same thing. I am determined to see it through on behalf of our kids. (Applause.)

And for those of you who follow politics in Washington, here's the best news -- none of this requires an act of Congress. (Applause.) We can and we will get started right away. Yes, we can. (Applause.) Look, there are all kinds of things I do need Congress to do, and I want to work with them everywhere I can. But where we've got an opportunity to just go ahead and do something that’s going to help our young people, help our teachers, help our education system, help this economy, help our middle class, help to create jobs, we've just got to go ahead and do it. (Applause.) This is something we have to do for the sake of our kids and our future.

But there are other things that I'm going to be working with Congress to do that will improve our education system on behalf of our kids and our future. Because if we can bring our kids and our schools into the digital age, you can't tell me we can’t start improving our early-childhood education system and making high-quality preschool available to every child in America. (Applause.)

You can’t tell me that we can’t find the wherewithal to hire even more good teachers in science and math and technology and engineering.

You can't tell me that we can’t rethink and redesign our high schools, or partner with colleges and businesses to put our young people on the path of jobs -- not just today's jobs, but tomorrow's jobs.

We can make sure that middle-class families aren't priced out of a college education. We can make sure that interest rates on federal student loans don't double for students and parents at the end of this month. (Applause.) I want to work with Democrats and Republicans to keep those rates low.

How many students here expect to go to college? I expect all of them to raise their hand. (Applause.) So we've got to make sure that college is affordable for every young person, and that's going to require some help from Congress.

But we have to give every child, every day, the shot at success that they deserve. Every day. (Applause.) FDR once said, “We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future.” And as long as I’m President, I’m going to keep fighting with everything I’ve got to build a better future for our young people and to give them a chance to build their own future. That’s how we’re going to strengthen our middle class. That's how we'll secure America’s future for generations to come. That’s what I’m going to fight for as President of the United States. That's why I'm so proud of all of you here at Mooresville.

Congratulations, everybody. Have a great summer. God bless you. God bless America.

END
3:22 P.M. EDT

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release

June 06, 2013

Statement by the Press Secretary on the House Passage of Congressman Steve King’s Amendment

As the Senate prepares to debate bipartisan commonsense immigration reform next week, House Republicans chose to spend today passing an extreme amendment to strip protections from “Dreamers.” These are productive members of society who were brought here as young children, grew up in our communities, and became American in every way but on paper. This amendment, sponsored by Representative Steve King, runs contrary to our most deeply-held values as Americans. It asks law enforcement to treat these Dreamers the same way as they would violent criminals. It’s wrong. It’s not who we are. And it will not become law.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release

June 06, 2013

Press Gaggle by Deputy Principal Press Secretary Josh Earnest and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan en route Mooresville, NC, 6/6/2013

Aboard Air Force One
En Route Mooresville, North Carolina

12:58 P.M. EDT

MR. EARNEST: So to get it started this afternoon, Secretary Duncan is here to talk to you a little bit about the announcement that the President is going to make at Mooresville Middle School today. I know there have been some reports on this already, but the Secretary here can talk a little bit more about the details and the benefits of this program.

And then, if you have some questions for him about that program, he’ll answer them and then we’ll get on to some of the other things that might be on your mind today.

SECRETARY ARNE: Thanks. Thrilled that the President is going to Mooresville today. This is a huge deal for education for years to come. And Mooresville is a fascinating school district. I know this may not be exact, but out of like 117 districts in North Carolina, I think they’re the 100th in terms of funding. So this is not a well-funded district.

They made the courageous choice in about 2007 to stop buying textbooks, and they used all the money that they put in for textbooks to put in to technology. So they have sort of paved the way on this move from print to digital. And it’s been amazing to see not just increase in test scores, but significant increases in high school graduate rates.

I fundamentally think technology is a game changer. It can empower students to be engaged in their own learning in really important ways. Young people should have access to AP classes, to foreign language classes, to online tutoring. It’s a fantastic way to help teachers do their job better and engage them in really important ways. Teachers can collaborate across the country with their peers. They can individualize instruction in ways that just hasn’t been able to happen historically.

This sounds like common sense. It should be a no-brainer. It just doesn’t happen in this country. And if we can invest to create access to high-speed broadband, we open up a new world of educational opportunity.

So the President has challenged us and the FCC to look at what we’re doing. The FCC has had the e-rate program for about 16, 17 years. It’s done some great things. But I think there’s some real efficiencies there. If this takes a temporary slight increase in fees for the short term to get this done, we think it’s the best investment we can make.

The final thing I’ll say is not just about improving education; this to me is really about economic competitiveness. This is the norm in countries like South Korea; this has already happened. And as a country, I keep asking the question educationally -- are we going to be a leader or are we going to be a laggard? And I want to keep good jobs in this country and a globally competitive economy with a knowledge workforce, jobs to go to where the most educated folks are.

And I think the President is really challenging us and helping to create an opportunity where the United States could lead the world in terms of making sure students have access to a high-quality education regardless of where they live or their zip code or their own socio-economic status.

So a really big deal. Mooresville gives you I think a glimpse of what should be the norm, but it’s just simply not the case today.

Q Mr. Secretary, did you bring this idea to the President’s attention?

SECRETARY DUNCAN: Yes, we’ve talked about it. The superintendent in Mooresville is a good friend. He has done a remarkable job. He came in a while back and briefed our entire team on this. I spend more and more of my time looking at what our counterparts are doing across the globe, because, again, we're not competing for jobs in a town or a county or state. We're competing for jobs internationally.

So I look at what other countries are doing. And they're moving faster; they're investing more; they're innovating more. South Korea, who has made this commitment, is already ahead of us educationally and we're trying to catch them. And when I see examples of what works and what's possible, I think one of the things we can really do is shine a spotlight on best practices and try and take them to scale.

So this is an example -- and the superintendent will be the first to say that their improvement is not -- it doesn’t begin to have everything to do with technology. Technology is an important lever and an important strategy. But engaging students in their own learning, empowering teachers in very different ways, working with parents -- there's no magic answer, but this is a significant part of what's possible. And to have a real demonstrative site -- this is not a community that has an abundance of wealth. It’s really, I think, a powerful example of what should be the norm, of what should be the norm across the nation.

Q You mentioned the temporary surcharge to pay for it. Is there a dollar figure on what it would cost?

SECRETARY DUNCAN: The FCC has to look at this. I think it's really important the FCC looks at existing resources in the e-rate program. And, again, over the past 16, 17 years there's been some really important progress. Every school -- virtually every school in the nation now has access to the Internet. But the stat that’s sort of stunning is that the average school has less bandwidth than the average home. Just sort of think about what that means -- if you think about how many more kids are in the school and if you want them to all have access at the same time to online learning, to video streams and those kinds of things.

We're just simply -- we're not in the game. And I think we're putting our students at a competitive disadvantage. We're doing our teachers a disservice. Some people ask if technology is going to somehow replace teachers. That's never going to happen. The answer is always great teachers empowered with great tools, with technology. And as you survey teachers, less than 20 percent think they have what they need today. Our teachers, we’re asking so much of them. This work is so hard and so important. We owe it to them to give them the tools they need to be successful.

Q So is there a price tag on how much it would cost to wire up all the schools?

SECRETARY DUNCAN: Well, again, I think it’s really important that the FCC do that analysis, figure out what we could do with existing resources. If there's a need on a temporary basis for some additional resources, we need to look at that. But I really look forward to the FCC's leadership and expertise in that area. And we just want to be a good partner, but they're going to do the hard work. They're going to do the heavy lifting.

Q And none of this requires any congressional approval?

SECRETARY DUNCAN: Which is the fantastic part of this. (Laughter.) We can get this done. And our kids can't wait and our teachers can't wait. We're trying to get better faster educationally in tough economic times. We want to partner with Congress in everything we do. And, as you know, we try to work in an absolutely bipartisan, nonpartisan way in everything we're doing. But we have to educate our way to a better economy. And the path to the middle class goes right through our nation's public schools.

And we're either going to see children in South Korea and India and China and Singapore have competitive advantages, or not. And I just think that's not fair to our kids. Our children are as smart, as talented, as committed, as entrepreneurial as children anywhere in the globe. We just have to give them a chance to compete on a level playing field. And today, quite frankly, we're not doing that.

And what that means for our children and families, communities, and ultimately our country -- we have to do something better. This is a really big deal what the President is talking about today.

Thanks, guys.

MR. EARNEST: I know there's at least one story that all of you may be interested in: the reports overnight about a purported order from a FISA judge, as reported. So why don't I read a statement at the top just to give you a sense about where we are on this, and then I’m happy to answer your follow-up questions after that. So if you'll bear with me, we’ll do this.

It won’t surprise you to hear that I'm not in a position to discuss specific classified or operational issues. But what I can explain to you are our policies. The Patriot Act was signed into law in October of 2001, and included authority to compel production of business records and other tangible details with the approval of a FISA Court. This provision has subsequently been reauthorized over the course of two different administrations -- in 2006 and in 2011.

The Obama administration has made public that some orders issued by the FISA Court, under Section 215 of the Patriot Act, have been used to support important and highly sensitive intelligence collection operations on which members of Congress have been fully and repeatedly briefed. And I think you’ve heard a couple of members of Congress in both parties today acknowledge that fact.

The intelligence community is conducting court-authorized intelligence activities pursuant to a public statute with the knowledge and oversight of Congress and the intelligence community in both houses of Congress. There is also extensive oversight by the executive branch, including the Department of Justice and relevant agency counsels and inspectors general, as well as annual and semi-annual reports to Congress, as required by law.

There is a robust legal regime in place governing all activities conducted, pursuant to the Federal Intelligence Surveillance Act. That regime has been briefed to and approved by the court. And activities authorized under the act are subject to strict controls and procedures under oversight of the Department of Justice, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and the FISA Court, to ensure that they comply with the Constitution and the laws of the United States and appropriately protect privacy and civil liberties.

The order reprinted overnight does not allow the government to listen in on anyone's telephone calls. The information acquired does not include the content of any communications or the name of any subscriber. It relates exclusively to call details, such as a telephone number or the length of a telephone call.

The information of the sort described in the article has been a critical tool in protecting the nation from terror threats as it allows counterterrorism personnel to discover whether known or suspected terrorists have been in contact with other persons who may be engaged in terrorist activities, particularly people located inside the United States.

My final point here: The President welcomes a discussion of the tradeoffs between security and civil liberties. Many of you covered his speech at the National Defense University just a couple of weeks ago. In that speech, the President said, "…in the years to come, we will have to keep working hard to strike the appropriate balance between our need for security and preserving those freedoms that make us who we are. That means reviewing the authorities of law enforcement so we can intercept new types of communication, but also build in privacy protections to prevent abuse.”

Q Does the President worry about the potential of overreach by the NSA under the Patriot Act?

MR. EARNEST: The authorities that you're talking about were authorities that were in place before this President took office. But when this President did take office, he put in place a stronger regime of oversight that included, as I described before, important notifications to relevant committees in Congress, but also important notifications to every member of Congress.

There also is a requirement and important role to play for the judicial branch, including the FISA Court. There is also an independent role to be played within the executive branch. So there’s a role for general counsels and even inspectors general to provide oversight in terms of how information is collected, and subsequently, how that information is used. So there is a strict regime that’s in place that has been in place for some time and was strengthened under this President.

Now, the thing that I want to make clear is that the top priority of the President of the United States is the national security of the United States and protecting this homeland. And we need to make sure that we have the tools we need to confront the threat posed by terrorists, to disrupt plots that may exist, and to otherwise protect the homeland. The President is committed to that. That is his top priority.

But what we need to do is we need to balance that priority with the need to protect the civil liberties and constitutional rights of the American people. And that is the subject of a worthy debate -- that there are people who have a genuine interest in protecting the United States and protecting constitutional liberties -- constitutional rights and civil liberties that may disagree about how to strike this balance. We welcome that debate. The President has spent a lot of time thinking about this. I think that was evident in his speech and I think that's evident from the way these programs have been conducted.

But striking that balance and having a debate about how to strike that balance is something that the President and this administration welcomes.

Q A couple of members of Congress have suggested today that this was a renewal of an order to look at records -- or an order from the court has been in place actually for seven years. Do you believe that that's accurate?

MR. EARNEST: Well, I'm not in a position to talk about purported orders, even if they’re -- orders that are issued by FISA judges are classified, so I'm not in a position to talk about those. I'm also not in a position to talk about operational details.

But what I can tell you is that the authorities that are referenced by this purported order are something that have been in place for a number of years now, prior to this President taking office. And as I mentioned, when this President took office, one of the decisions that he made was putting in place an oversight regime involving all three branches of government to provide oversight over the exercise of those authorities.

Q But I thought that the act made these records available to the government when sought, when they were in relation to a particular investigation. Do you think that this relates to a specific investigation? Even if you can’t say what it is, can you say if it is a specific investigation?

MR. EARNEST: It is my understanding that -- I'm not in a position to talk about this because a lot of the information that we're talking about here is classified. All I can tell you is that these authorities have been in place for quite some time, prior to this President taking office. And these are authorities that, when acted upon, are regularly briefed to Congress, and when we act on these authorities, the judicial branch is involved in providing oversight.

But in terms of specific operational details, I just can't get into them.

Q But can I just ask this -- it’s an echo of Steve’s question -- but in what the President said in his speech at the National Defense University, the part that you cited at the beginning of this briefing, does he believe that the interpretation of the law has perhaps become more flexible than he is comfortable with? Is this something he’s reacted to since this news broke or since it was last under discussion in the White House, that he thinks perhaps the meaning of the interpretation of the law needs to be tightened somewhat?

MR. EARNEST: Well, it’s the view of the President that there is in place a very strict oversight regime that, again, involves all three branches of government. It includes a federal judge -- or judges. It includes very robust congressional oversight, and an important role to play for inspectors general. So even people who are independent within the executive branch have a role to play here, both in terms of how this information is collected and how this information is used.

And this strict regime reflects the President’s desire to strike the right balance between protecting our national security and protecting constitutional rights and civil liberties. So this is something that the President spends a lot of time thinking about, and when he came into office he made some changes to ensure that the proper level of oversight was incorporated.

That said, it’s understandable that there are people that have a genuine interest in protecting our national security and who are committed to being thoughtful about protecting constitutional rights and civil liberties, and that the close examination of some of these complicated issues could cause people to arrive at differing opinions about how to implement -- about how the executive branch should exercise these authorities. The President welcomes that debate.

He’s thought about this a lot. He has his own ideas; he’s presented them. But he welcomes the debate and the different point of view from people who are informed and have the right perspective on this in terms of prioritizing our national security and who properly value the constitutional rights and civil liberties of the American people.

Q Just to clarify -- has every member of the House and Senate been briefed on this? Because some, it seems, have been a little caught off-guard.

MR. EARNEST: I want to read to you specifically from a letter that was sent by the Assistant Attorney General back in October of 2011 on this. And I’m not going to -- it looks long, but I’m only going to read you one line, which says, “In December of 2009 and in February of 2011, the Department of Justice and the intelligence community provided a document to the House and Senate Intelligence Committees to be made available to all members of the House and Senate, describing the classified uses of Section 215 in detail.” Section 215 is the part of the Patriot Act that explains the authorities that are granted to the executive branch related to some of this surveillance.

So I can get you a copy of this letter, if you don’t already have it, that details that. And I also think that Senator Chambliss today noted that every member of the Senate, as far as he knew, had been briefed on this.

Q Senator Collins said otherwise.

Q Right. Senator Collins and I think Senator Tester said otherwise as well. And how do you reassure the American public that this information won't be misused for political purposes or purposes beyond the scope of intelligence, given what's been going on with the IRS and other sort of scandals?

MR. EARNEST: Well, the reason that an oversight regime is in place -- a strong oversight regime is in place is to protect the constitutional rights, the privacy, and the civil liberties of the American public. So there are federal judges who are involved in making sure that this information is obtained and handled properly. Members of Congress are regularly briefed on this process. There are also independent members of the executive branch who are briefed on this process so that they can provide proper oversight.

But what I can tell you is that this is a -- that these decisions are made by national security professionals who have, as their priority, protecting our homeland and protecting the safety of American citizens. But there is a very strict oversight regime in place that includes all three branches to make sure that the constitutional rights and privacy of the American public are protected.

Q So just to be clear, the President is comfortable with the NSA domestic surveillance program as it stands today?

MR. EARNEST: The President believes that we have in place a very strong oversight regime that includes all three branches of government, and that that strong oversight is a key part of balancing the need to protect our national security and protect the constitutional rights and civil liberties of American citizens.

And at the same time, we understand that there might be people who have looked at these facts who have the right values in terms of they believe that our security is a priority, they believe that protecting constitutional rights is a priority. And they may arrive at a different opinion. And if they want to have a debate and a discussion about striking that right balance, we welcome that discussion.

Q Is he willing to change anything based on looking at these facts, as you say?
MR. EARNEST: Well, again, the strict oversight regime that’s in place is in place because the President put it there. But if there are people that have a different opinion about how to appropriately strike the balance between our national security and civil liberties, the President is welcome to have that conversation with individuals. But he is also more than willing to have a broader public debate about this.

The American people have a legitimate stake in the outcome of this discussion. So he welcomes, to the extent practicable, talking about some classified issues here. But to the extent practicable, he believes that there is a legitimate public debate that can be had about this as well.

Q Have other telecom companies besides Verizon been asked to turn over records?

MR. EARNEST: I’m not in a position to offer up any additional operational details about this.

Q Can we expect the President to come out and talk about this at some point? Or --

MR. EARNEST: I don’t anticipate that this will be part of the President's remarks today.

Q Not necessarily today, but at some point as people become more aware of what’s been going on.

MR. EARNEST: Well, I certainly wouldn’t rule it out. He incorporated a speech on this exact issue -- or he incorporated his thoughts on this exact issue in the speech that he gave a couple of weeks ago. So it certainly wouldn't be a surprise to me that he might bring this up again.

Q Will the government investigate this leak?

MR. EARNEST: Those are decisions that are made by the Department of Justice, by law enforcement personnel over there. So I'd refer that question to the Department of Justice.

Q DOJ has said that there’s been reports that they are investigating this leak. Does the President support that?

MR. EARNEST: I've seen those reports, but I can't comment on the veracity of those reports. So I'd refer you to the Department of Justice.

Q Can we just talk about just more about of what Lisa said, the general perception of this just being one more thing that the American people are seeing after a long line*? Has the President continued to push his message and his agenda when he’s just so distracted by yet another thing?

MR. EARNEST: Well, I’ll tell you that the President is not distracted. The President is focused on the core part of his domestic agenda, which is expanding economic opportunity for the middle class. That, after all, is why we're on this plane to North Carolina. The President is looking forward to the opportunity to talk about it, as Secretary Duncan just mentioned -- the difference that smart investments in technology can have in our education system.

And the reason that we're talking about that issue is because a high-quality education is so critical to expanding economic opportunity for the middle class. The President believes that if we're going to strengthen our economy, we need to have a strong and thriving and growing middle class. That’s what the President is focused on. And he's not at all distracted from that priority.

Q Can I ask one question not related to this -- about immigration? Last night, there was a stalemate in the House. What does the White House think about the lack of an agreement from the House when -- the Congressman leaving the talks from the Gang of Eight?

MR. EARNEST: I’ve seen some of those reports. I don’t have a lot of insight into the private negotiations that are going on in the House, but obviously there is some bipartisan progress that’s being made in the Senate. And we look forward to the compromise immigration proposal that’s been put forward coming to the Senate floor next week.

I would expect a pretty robust debate on a range of issues related to that piece of legislation. I know that there are many amendments that have already been considered in committee that will also be considered on the floor of the Senate.

This is a compromise proposal. Not everybody is going to get what they want, but at the end of the day we're optimistic that if we're going to have a common-sense immigration reform package that largely reflects the principles that the President has laid out, and that will also get bipartisan support. And that’s something we're encouraged by.

We're getting close. Is there any -- we're done? Okay. Thank you.

END
1:24 P.M. EDT