Remarks by the President at Campaign Event at The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH

The Ohio State University
Columbus, Ohio

5:08 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, Buckeyes!  (Applause.)  O-H!

AUDIENCE:  I-O!

THE PRESIDENT:  O-H!

AUDIENCE:  I-O!

THE PRESIDENT:  O-H!

AUDIENCE:  I-Q!

THE PRESIDENT:  Well, can everybody please give Sonia a big round of applause for that great introduction?  (Applause.)  And it is good to see my friend and one of the finest United States senators we've got today -- your Senator, Sherrod Brown, is in the house.  (Applause.)  Your Mayor, Michael Coleman, is here.  (Applause.)  Your next congresswoman, Joyce Beatty, is here.  (Applause.)

will.i.am is in the house.  (Applause.)  A man who sometimes looks like he’s been to outer space.  (Laughter.)  I am so grateful -- he has been such a great friend for a long time.  And we also have a man who has actually been to outer space -- John Glenn in the house!  (Applause.)

Now, before I begin, Buckeyes, I've got a question for you  -- are you registered to vote?

AUDIENCE:  Yes!

THE PRESIDENT:  Because if you’re not, today is the last day you can register.  Now, I know it’s easy to procrastinate in college.  I procrastinated a lot.  But we’ve made it easy.  You go to Vote.BarackObama.com to register yourself.  And you’ve got until 9:00 p.m. tonight.  No extensions.  No excuses.  I know you guys are up at 9:00 p.m.  (Laughter.)  As you get older you start thinking about sleeping around 9:00 p.m., but you guys are just getting started. 

If you are registered, you can vote right now, today.  Just go to Vote.BarackObama.com to find out where.  All right?  (Applause.)  All right?

AUDIENCE:  All right!

THE PRESIDENT:  All right.  Now, even better, grab your friends, grab everybody in your dorm, grab your fraternity or sorority -- (applause) -- join will.i.am right after this event because he's heading to an early vote location where you can register and vote in the same place right now.  (Applause.)   There are buses around the corner that can get you there and back.  So don’t wait.  Do not delay.  Go vote today.  What do you think?  (Applause.)

All right, Buckeyes, we need you.  (Applause.)  We need you fired up --

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  I love you!

THE PRESIDENT:  I love you back, but I need you voting.  (Applause.)  I need you fired up.  I need you ready to go to vote.  Because we’ve got some work to do.  We’ve got an election to win.  Everything that we fought for in 2008 is on the line in 2012.  And I need your help to finish what we started.   

Four years ago, I told you I’d end the war in Iraq -- and we did.  (Applause.)  I said I’d end the war in Afghanistan -- and we are.  (Applause.)  I said we’d refocus on the people who actually attacked us on 9/11 -- and today, Osama bin Laden is dead.  (Applause.)  

Four years ago, I promised to cut taxes for middle class families -- and we have, by $3,600.  (Applause.)  I promised to cut taxes for small business owners -- and we have, 18 times.  We got back every dime we used to rescue the banks, and we also passed a law to end taxpayer-funded Wall Street bailouts permanently.  (Applause.) 

We passed health care reform -- also known as Obamacare, because I do care -- (applause) -- I don't want insurance company jerking you around anymore.  (Applause.)  I don't want somebody without health care when they've got a preexisting condition. 

We repealed "don't ask, don't tell" as I promised we would. (Applause.)  Today no outstanding soldier or Marine or Coast Guardsman, sailor, airman -- none of them can be kicked out of the military because of who they are or who they love.  (Applause.)

And when you think about, Ohio, when Governor Romney said that we should just let the auto industry go bankrupt, we said no, we're not going to take your advice. 

AUDIENCE:  Booo --

THE PRESIDENT:  Don't boo -- vote.  (Applause.)

And we reinvented a dying auto industry that supports 1 in 8 Ohio jobs and has come roaring back to the top of the world.  (Applause.)  

Four years after the worst economic crisis of our lifetimes, our businesses have created more than 5 million new jobs.  This past Friday, we found out that the unemployment rate had fallen from a high of 10 percent down to 7.8 percent -- the lowest level since I took office.  (Applause.)  Manufacturing is coming back to America.  Home values are back on the rise. 

Now, we’re not there yet.  We've still got too many Americans who are looking for work and too many families who can’t pay the bills.  There are too many homes that are still underwater and there are too many young people who are burdened by too much debt after they graduate. 

But if there’s one thing I know, Ohio, it’s this -- we have come too far to turn back now.  The American people have worked too hard.  And the last thing we can afford to do right now is to go back to the very same policies that got us into this mess in the first place.  I cannot allow that to happen.  I will not allow it to happen.  That's why I’m running for a second term as President of the United States.  (Applause.)

AUDIENCE:  Four more years!  Four more years!

THE PRESIDENT:  Over the last four years, I've seen a lot of folks hurting.  I've seen a lot of struggle.  And I am not going to make -- I'm not going to have us go back to another round of top-down economics.  But that’s what my opponent is offering.  The centerpiece of Governor Romney’s economic plan is a new $5 trillion tax cut that favors the wealthiest Americans.  He has been pitching that plan for an entire year, stood up onstage in one of his primary debates, proudly promised that his tax cuts would include the "top 1 percent."

But most of the economists who’ve actually crunched the numbers said that paying for Governor Romney’s tax plan either means blowing up the deficit or raising taxes on middle-class families -- one or the other, pick your poison. 

Then, last week, Mitt Romney actually said, "There’s no economist who can say Mitt Romney’s tax plan adds $5 trillion if I say I will not add to the deficit with my tax plan."  So he said if he says it's not true, then it's not true.  (Laughter.)  Okay. 

So if it's true that it's not going to add to the deficit, that leaves only one option -- and that’s asking middle-class families to foot the bill by getting rid of the deductions they rely on for owning a home or raising their kids or sending them to college.

And as it turns out, most folks don’t like that idea, either.  So just last week when we were onstage together, Governor Romney decided that instead of changing his plan, he’d just pretend it didn't exist.  (Laughter.)  What $5 trillion tax cut?  I don’t know anything about a $5 trillion tax cut.  Pay no attention to that tax cut under the carpet, behind the curtain.  (Laughter.)  

When he’s asked how he’ll cut the deficit, he says he can make the math work by eliminating local public funding for PBS. 

AUDIENCE:  Booo --

THE PRESIDENT:  Now, by the way, this is not new.  This is what he's been saying every time he's asked the question -- well, we can cut out PBS.  So for all you moms and kids out there, don’t worry -- somebody is finally getting tough on Big Bird.  (Laughter.)  Who knew that he was driving our deficit?  (Laughter.)  So we're going -- he's decided we're going after Big Bird and Elmo is making a run for the border and Oscar is hiding out in a trash can.  (Laughter.)  And Governor Romney wants to let Wall Street run wild again, but he’s going to bring down the hammer on Sesame Street.  (Laughter.)   

Look, that is not leadership -- that's salesmanship.  We can't afford it.  We can't afford to double down on top-down economics.  We can’t afford another round of tax cuts for the wealthy.  We can’t afford to roll back regulations on Wall Street banks or on insurance companies.  We can’t afford to gut our investments in education or clean energy or research or technology.  (Applause.)  That is not a jobs plan.  That is not a plan to grow the economy.  That is not change.  That is a relapse. 

We have been there.  We have tried that.  We are not going back.  We are moving forward.  And that's why I'm running for a second term as President of the United States.  (Applause.)  

AUDIENCE:  Four more years!  Four more years!

THE PRESIDENT:  Look, we've got a different view about how you create jobs and prosperity in America.  A strong economy doesn’t trickle down from the top.  It grows from a thriving middle class and folks who are working hard to get into the middle class. 

I believe it’s time our tax code stopped rewarding companies that ship jobs overseas.  Let's reward small businesses and manufacturers who are making products right here in Ohio, products stamped with three proud words:  "Made In America."  That’s the choice in this election.  (Applause.)

I believe we can create more jobs by controlling more of our own energy.  And after 30 years of inaction, we raised fuel standards so that by the middle of the next decade, your cars and trucks will go twice as far on a gallon of gas.  (Applause.)  And today, the United States of America is less dependent on foreign oil than at any time in two decades.

So now it’s time to move forward.  My plan would cut our oil imports in half, and invest in the clean energy that’s creating thousands of jobs all across Ohio and America right now -- not just oil and natural gas, but solar and wind and clean coal technology and fuel-efficient batteries and fuel-efficient cars. (Applause.)

And I’m not going to let oil companies continue to collect another $4 billion in taxpayer-funded corporate welfare every single year.  I’m not going to let China win the race for clean energy technology.  I want to see that technology developed by students and scientists here in Columbus, by workers and farmers all across Ohio, by patriots here in the United States of America.  (Applause.)  

And my plan will continue to reduce the carbon pollution that is heating our planet, because climate change is not a hoax. More draught and floods and wildfires are not a joke.  They’re a threat to your future.  And we’ve got to make sure that we meet the moment.  That’s why I’m running.

I believe that we should have the best education system in the world, bar none.  (Applause.)  I would not be here if it were not for the education I was able to receive.  I didn’t come from wealth or fame, but I got a great education because that’s what this country does.  It was the gateway of opportunity for Michelle.  It’s the gateway of opportunity for so many of you.

And now you’ve got a choice.  We can gut education to pay for Governor Romney’s tax cuts -- that’s exactly what his running mate, Paul Ryan, proposes.

AUDIENCE:  Booo --

THE PRESIDENT:  Don’t boo -- vote.  (Laughter.) 

Or we can do what I’ve proposed -- recruit 100,000 new math and science teachers.  (Applause.)  Focus on early childhood education.  Provide job training for 2 million workers at our community colleges.  Cut the growth of tuition costs in half so that you guys are not loaded up with debt when you graduate.  That is something we can do.  (Applause.)

And by the way, I don’t just talk the talk on this; I walk the walk.  We took $60 billion that was going to banks and lenders under the student loan program, and we said let’s cut out the middleman, let’s give the money directly to students.  And as a consequence, millions of young people all across the country are getting better deals on Pell grants.  We're able to keep our student loan rates low.  We have focused on this, and you need to focus on this in this next election because this is part of the choice that you’re going to face.  (Applause.)

And we can meet these goals together.  You can choose a better future for America.  I want to use the money we’re saving from ending the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and I want to use that to pay down our deficit, but also to put people back to work rebuilding our roads and our bridges and our schools all across America.  (Applause.)

And Governor Romney said it was "tragic" to end the war in Iraq.  I disagree.  I think bringing our troops home to their families was the right thing to do.  (Applause.)  If he’d gotten his way, those troops would still be there.  In a speech yesterday, he doubled down on that belief.  He said ending that war was a mistake.  After nine years of war, more than $1 trillion in spending, extraordinary sacrifices by our men and women in uniform and their families, he said we should still have troops on the ground in Iraq.

Ohio, you can’t turn a page on the failed policies of the past if you’re promising to repeat them.  We cannot afford to go back to a foreign policy that gets us into wars with no plan to end them.  We’re moving forward, not going back.  (Applause.)

And every brave American who wears the uniform of this country should know as long as I’m your Commander-in-Chief, we will sustain the strongest military the world has ever known.  (Applause.)  And when our troops take off the uniform, we will serve them as well as they’ve served us because nobody who fights for this country should have to fight for a job or a roof over their heads when they come home.  (Applause.)

And finally, I’ll cut the deficit by $4 trillion over the next 10 years.  I’ve already worked with the Republicans and Democrats to cut a trillion dollars in spending, and I’m ready to do more.  But we can’t just cut our way to prosperity.  We’re not going to get this done unless we also ask the wealthiest households to pay higher taxes on their incomes over $250,000.  And that rate is the one that was in place when Bill Clinton was President -- our economy created 23 million new jobs, the biggest surplus in history, a whole lot of millionaires to boot.

Governor Romney said it’s fair that he pays a lower tax rate than a teacher or autoworker who makes $50,000.  He is wrong.  I refuse to ask middle-class families to give up their deductions for owning a home or raising their kids just to pay for another millionaire’s tax cut.  (Applause.) 

I refuse to pay for that tax cut by asking you, students, to pay more for college, or kicking kids out of Head Start programs, or eliminating health care for millions of Americans who are poor or disabled or elderly.  And that’s the choice that we face in this election.  That’s what the election comes down to.

Over and over, we’ve been told by Governor Romney and Congressman Ryan and their allies in Congress that since government can’t do everything, it should do almost nothing.  If you can’t afford health insurance, hope you don’t get sick.  If a company releases pollution into the air that your kids breathe, that’s just the price of progress.  If you can’t afford to start a business or go to college, just borrow money from your parents.

You know what, that's not who we are.  That's not what this country is about.  Here in America, we believe that we’re all in this together.  We understand that America is not about what can be done for us -- it’s about what can be done by us, together, as one nation and as one people.  (Applause.)

And that's what we understood in 2008.  That was an amazing experience for me, obviously, that election.  But I said then and I still believe now that wasn’t about me; it was about you.

You’re the reason a mother in Cincinnati doesn't have to worry about an insurance company denying her son coverage just because he got sick.  You made that happen.  You’re the reason a factory worker who lost his job in Toledo or Lordstown is back on the assembly line building the best cars in the world.   You did that.  (Applause.)

You’re the reason a young man in Columbus whose mother worked three jobs to raise him can afford to go to The Ohio State University.  That happened because of you.  (Applause.)

You’re the reason a young immigrant who grew up here, and went to school here, and pledged allegiance to our flag will no longer be deported from the only country she’s ever called home  --(applause) -- why soldiers won’t be kicked out of the military because of who they are or who they love.  (Applause.)  Why thousands of families have finally been able to say to loved ones who served us so bravely:  "Welcome home."  (Applause.)

You did that.  And so if you buy into the cynicism that says change isn’t possible, that the best we can do is more tax cuts for folks at the top and the rest of folks have to figure it out, if you give up on the idea that your voice can make a difference, then other voices fill the void -- the lobbyists and the special interests, the people who write the $10 million checks to try to buy this election, or those who are trying to make it harder for people to vote, the Washington politicians who want to tell women what they're doing when it comes to health care choices when women are perfectly capable of making those choices themselves.  (Applause.) 

That's what’s at stake.  And only you can make sure that we move forward.  Only you have that power to move us forward.  We’ve always said that change -- real change -- takes time, more than one year, more than one term, even more than one President. It takes more than one party.

It can't happen if you’re somebody who writes off half the nation before you even took office.  (Applause.)  And in -- you know, it’s interesting, in 2008, 47 percent of the country didn't vote for me.  But on the night of the election, I said to those Americans, I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices. I need your help.  I’ll be your President, too. 

And, Columbus, I don't know how many folks will be around voting for me this time, but I can tell you I will be there no matter what.  (Applause.)  I’ll be fighting for you no matter what -- because I’m not fighting to create Democratic jobs or Republican jobs, I’m fighting to create American jobs.  (Applause.)  I’m not fighting to improve schools in red states or blue state, I’m fighting to improve schools it the United States. (Applause.)

The values that we are fighting for don't belong to one party or one group.  They're not black or white, or Hispanic or Asian or Native America, or gay or straight, or disabled and not disabled -- they are American values.  They belong to all of us.  (Applause.)

And I am absolutely positive that we are not as divided as our politics suggest.  I still believe we’ve got more in common than our pundits tell us.  I still believe in you.  And I’m asking you to keep believing in me.  (Applause.)

Ohio, I’m asking you for your vote.  And if you’re willing to stand with me and work with me, knock on some doors and make some phone calls for me, we’ll win Franklin County again.  We’ll win Ohio again.  We’ll win this election again.  We’ll finish what we started, and we’ll remind the world why the United States of America is the greatest nation on Earth.  (Applause.)

Thank you, Ohio.  Let’s go vote.  Let’s go win this election!   (Applause.)

END
5:30 P.M. EDT

Executive Order from the President regarding Authorizing the Implementation of Certain Sanctions Set Forth in the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012 and Additional Sanctions with respect to Iran

EXECUTIVE ORDER

- - - - - - -

AUTHORIZING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF CERTAIN SANCTIONS SET FORTH IN THE IRAN THREAT REDUCTION AND SYRIA HUMAN RIGHTS ACT OF 2012 AND ADDITIONAL SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO IRAN

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (IEEPA), the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-172) (50 U.S.C. 1701 note), as amended (ISA), the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-195) (22 U.S.C. 8501 et seq.), as amended (CISADA), the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012 (Public Law 112-158) (ITRSHRA), section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, as amended (8 U.S.C. 1182(f)), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code, and in order to take additional steps with respect to the national emergency declared in Executive Order 12957 of March 15, 1995,

I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, hereby order:

Section 1. (a) When the President, or the Secretary of State or the Secretary of the Treasury pursuant to authority delegated by the President and in accordance with the terms of such delegation, has determined that sanctions shall be imposed on a person pursuant to ISA, CISADA, or ITRSHRA and has, in accordance with those authorities, selected one or more of the sanctions set forth in section 6 of ISA to impose on that person, the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, shall take the following actions with respect to the sanctions selected and maintained by the President, the Secretary of State, or the Secretary of the Treasury:

(i) with respect to section 6(a)(3) of ISA, prohibit any United States financial institution from making loans or providing credits to the sanctioned person consistent with that section;

(ii) with respect to section 6(a)(6) of ISA, prohibit any transactions in foreign exchange that are subject to the jurisdiction of the United States and in which the sanctioned person has any interest;

(iii) with respect to section 6(a)(7) of ISA, prohibit any transfers of credit or payments between financial institutions or by, through, or to any financial institution, to the extent that such transfers or payments are subject to the jurisdiction of the United States and involve any interest of the sanctioned person;

(iv) with respect to section 6(a)(8) of ISA, block all property and interests in property that are in the United States, that come within the United States, or that are or come within the possession or control of any United States person, including any foreign branch, of the sanctioned person, and provide that such property and interests in property may not be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise dealt in;

(v) with respect to section 6(a)(9) of ISA, prohibit any United States person from investing in or purchasing significant amounts of equity or debt instruments of a sanctioned person;

(vi) with respect to section 6(a)(11) of ISA, impose on the principal executive officer or officers, or persons performing similar functions and with similar authorities, of a sanctioned person the sanctions described in sections 6(a)(3), 6(a)(6), (6)(a)(7), 6(a)(8), 6(a)(9), or 6(a)(12) of ISA, as selected by the President, Secretary of State, or Secretary of the Treasury, as appropriate; or

(vii) with respect to section 6(a)(12) of ISA, restrict or prohibit imports of goods, technology, or services, directly or indirectly, into the United States from the sanctioned person.

(b) The prohibitions in subsection (a) of this section apply except to the extent provided by statutes, or in regulations, orders, directives, or licenses that may be issued pursuant to this order, and notwithstanding any contract entered into or any license or permit granted prior to the date of this order.

Sec. 2. (a) All property and interests in property that are in the United States, that hereafter come within the United States, or that are or hereafter come within the possession or control of any United States person, including any foreign branch, of the following persons are blocked and may not be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise dealt in: any person determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with or at the recommendation of the Secretary of State:

(i) to have knowingly, on or after August 10, 2012, transferred, or facilitated the transfer of, goods or technologies to Iran, any entity organized under the laws of Iran or otherwise subject to the jurisdiction of the Government of Iran, or any national of Iran, for use in or with respect to Iran, that are likely to be used by the Government of Iran or any of its agencies or instrumentalities, or by any other person on behalf of the Government of Iran or any of such agencies or instrumentalities, to commit serious human rights abuses against the people of Iran;

(ii) to have knowingly, on or after August 10, 2012, provided services, including services relating to hardware, software, or specialized information or professional consulting, engineering, or support services, with respect to goods or technologies that have been transferred to Iran and that are likely to be used by the Government of Iran or any of its agencies or instrumentalities, or by any other person on behalf of the Government of Iran or any of such agencies or instrumentalities, to commit serious human rights abuses against the people of Iran;

(iii) to have materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, the activities described in subsection (a)(i) or (a)(ii) of this section or any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this section; or

(iv) to be owned or controlled by, or to have acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this section.

(b) The prohibitions in subsection (a) of this section apply except to the extent provided by statutes, or in regulations, orders, directives, or licenses that may be issued pursuant to this order, and notwithstanding any contract entered into or any license or permit granted prior to the date of this order.

Sec. 3. (a) All property and interests in property that are in the United States, that hereafter come within the United States, or that are or hereafter come within the possession or control of any United States person, including any foreign branch, of the following persons are blocked and may not be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise dealt in: any person determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with or at the recommendation of the Secretary of State:

(i) to have engaged in censorship or other activities with respect to Iran on or after June 12, 2009, that prohibit, limit, or penalize the exercise of freedom of expression or assembly by citizens of Iran, or that limit access to print or broadcast media, including the facilitation or support of intentional frequency manipulation by the Government of Iran or an entity owned or controlled by the Government of Iran that would jam or restrict an international signal;

(ii) to have materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, the activities described in subsection (a)(i) of this section or any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this section; or

(iii) to be owned or controlled by, or to have acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this section.

(b) The prohibitions in subsection (a) of this section apply except to the extent provided by statutes, or in regulations, orders, directives, or licenses that may be issued pursuant to this order, and notwithstanding any contract entered into or any license or permit granted prior to the date of this order.

Sec. 4. (a) No entity owned or controlled by a United States person and established or maintained outside the United States may knowingly engage in any transaction, directly or indirectly, with the Government of Iran or any person subject to the jurisdiction of the Government of Iran, if that transaction would be prohibited by Executive Order 12957, Executive Order 12959 of May 6, 1995, Executive Order 13059 of August 19, 1997, Executive Order 13599 of February 5, 2012, section 5 of Executive Order 13622 of July 30, 2012, or section 12 of this order, or any regulation issued pursuant to the foregoing, if the transaction were engaged in by a United States person or in the United States.

(b) Penalties assessed for violations of the prohibition in subsection (a) of this section, and any related violations of section 12 of this order, may be assessed against the United States person that owns or controls the entity that engaged in the prohibited transaction.

(c) Penalties for violations of the prohibition in subsection (a) of this section shall not apply if the United States person that owns or controls the entity divests or terminates its business with the entity not later than February 6, 2013.

(d) The prohibitions in subsection (a) of this section apply except to the extent provided by statutes, or in regulations, orders, directives, or licenses that may be issued pursuant to this order, and notwithstanding any contract entered into or any license or permit granted prior to the date of this order.

Sec. 5. The Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Commerce, and the United States Trade Representative, and with the President of the Export-Import Bank of the United States, the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and other agencies and officials as appropriate, is hereby authorized to impose on a person any of the sanctions described in section 6 or 7 of this order upon determining that the person:

(a) knowingly, between July 1, 2010, and August 10, 2012, sold, leased, or provided to Iran goods, services, technology, information, or support with a fair market value of $1,000,000 or more, or with an aggregate fair market value of $5,000,000 or more during a 12-month period, and that could directly and significantly facilitate the maintenance or expansion of Iran's domestic production of refined petroleum products, including any direct and significant assistance with respect to the construction, modernization, or repair of petroleum refineries;

(b) knowingly, between July 1, 2010, and August 10, 2012, sold or provided to Iran refined petroleum products with a fair market value of $1,000,000 or more, or with an aggregate fair market value of $5,000,000 or more during a 12-month period;

(c) knowingly, between July 1, 2010, and August 10, 2012, sold, leased, or provided to Iran goods, services, technology, information, or support with a fair market value of $1,000,000 or more, or with an aggregate fair market value of $5,000,000 or more during a 12-month period, and that could directly and significantly contribute to the enhancement of Iran's ability to import refined petroleum products;

(d) is a successor entity to a person determined by the Secretary of State in accordance with this section to meet the criteria in subsection (a), (b), or (c) of this section;

(e) owns or controls a person determined by the Secretary of State in accordance with this section to meet the criteria in subsection (a), (b), or (c) of this section, and had knowledge that the person engaged in the activities referred to in that subsection; or

(f) is owned or controlled by, or under common ownership or control with, a person determined by the Secretary of State in accordance with this section to meet the criteria in subsection (a), (b), or (c) of this section, and knowingly participated in the activities referred to in that subsection.

Sec. 6. (a) When the Secretary of State, in accordance with the terms of section 5 of this order, has determined that a person meets any of the criteria described in section 5 and has selected any of the sanctions set forth below to impose on that person, the heads of relevant agencies, in consultation with the Secretary of State, shall take the following actions where necessary to implement the sanctions imposed by the Secretary of State:

(i) the Board of Directors of the Export-Import Bank shall deny approval of the issuance of any guarantee, insurance, extension of credit, or participation in an extension of credit in connection with the export of any goods or services to the sanctioned person;

(ii) agencies shall not issue any specific license or grant any other specific permission or authority under any statute that requires the prior review and approval of the United States Government as a condition for the export or reexport of goods or technology to the sanctioned person;

(iii) with respect to a sanctioned person that is a financial institution:

(1) the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York shall take such actions as they deem appropriate, including denying designation, or terminating the continuation of any prior designation of, the sanctioned person as a primary dealer in United States Government debt instruments; or

(2) agencies shall prevent the sanctioned person from serving as an agent of the United States Government or serving as a repository for United States Government funds; or

(iv) agencies shall not procure, or enter into a contract for the procurement of, any goods or services from the sanctioned person.

(b) The prohibitions in subsections (a)(i)–(a)(iv) of this section apply except to the extent provided by statutes, or in regulations, orders, directives, or licenses that may be issued pursuant to this order, and notwithstanding any contract entered into or any license or permit granted prior to the date of this order.

Sec. 7. (a) When the Secretary of State, in accordance with the terms of section 5 of this order, has determined that a person meets any of the criteria described in section 5 and has selected any of the sanctions set forth below to impose on that person, the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, shall take the following actions where necessary to implement the sanctions imposed by the Secretary of State:

(i) prohibit any United States financial institution from making loans or providing credits to the sanctioned person totaling more than $10,000,000 in any 12-month period, unless such person is engaged in activities to relieve human suffering and the loans or credits are provided for such activities;

(ii) prohibit any transactions in foreign exchange that are subject to the jurisdiction of the United States and in which the sanctioned person has any interest;

(iii) prohibit any transfers of credit or payments between financial institutions or by, through, or to any financial institution, to the extent that such transfers or payments are subject to the jurisdiction of the United States and involve any interest of the sanctioned person;

(iv) block all property and interests in property that are in the United States, that come within the United States, or that are or come within the possession or control of any United States person, including any foreign branch, of the sanctioned person, and provide that such property and interests in property may not be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise dealt in; or

(v) restrict or prohibit imports of goods, technology, or services, directly or indirectly, into the United States from the sanctioned person.

(b) The prohibitions in subsections (a)(i)–(a)(v) of this section apply except to the extent provided by statutes, or in regulations, orders, directives, or licenses that may be issued pursuant to this order, and notwithstanding any contract entered into or any license or permit granted prior to the date of this order.

Sec. 8. I hereby determine that, to the extent that section 203(b)(2) of IEEPA (50 U.S.C. 1702(b)(2)) may apply, the making of donations of the types of articles specified in such section by, to, or for the benefit of any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order would seriously impair my ability to deal with the national emergency declared in Executive Order 12957, and I hereby prohibit such donations as provided by subsections 1(a)(iv), 2(a), 3(a), and 7(a)(iv) of this order.

Sec. 9. The prohibitions in subsections 1(a)(iv), 2(a), 3(a), and 7(a)(iv) of this order include but are not limited to:

(a) the making of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order; and

(b) the receipt of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services from any such person.

Sec. 10. I hereby find that the unrestricted immigrant and nonimmigrant entry into the United States of aliens who meet one or more of the criteria in subsections 2(a) and 3(a) of this order would be detrimental to the interests of the United States, and I hereby suspend the entry into the United States, as immigrants or nonimmigrants, of such persons. Such persons shall be treated as persons covered by section 1 of Proclamation 8693 of July 24, 2011 (Suspension of Entry of Aliens Subject to United Nations Security Council Travel Bans and International Emergency Economic Powers Act Sanctions).

Sec. 11. The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, is hereby authorized to take such actions, including the promulgation of rules and regulations, and to employ all powers granted to the President by IEEPA and sections 6(a)(6), 6(a)(7), 6(a)(8), 6(a)(9), 6(a)(11), and 6(a)(12) of ISA, and to employ all powers granted to the United States Government by section 6(a)(3) of ISA, as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this order. The Secretary of the Treasury may redelegate any of these functions to other officers and agencies of the United States Government consistent with applicable law.

Sec. 12. (a) Any transaction that evades or avoids, has the purpose of evading or avoiding, causes a violation of, or attempts to violate any of the prohibitions set forth in this order or in Executive Order 12957, Executive Order 12959, Executive Order 13059, or Executive Order 13599 is prohibited.

(b) Any conspiracy formed to violate any of the prohibitions set forth in this order or in Executive Order 12957, Executive Order 12959, Executive Order 13059, or Executive Order 13599 is prohibited.

Sec. 13. For the purposes of this order:

(a) the term "entity" means a partnership, association, trust, joint venture, corporation, group, subgroup, or other organization;

(b) the term "Government of Iran" includes the Government of Iran, any political subdivision, agency, or instrumentality thereof, including the Central Bank of Iran, and any person owned or controlled by, or acting for or on behalf of, the Government of Iran;

(c) the term "Iran" means the Government of Iran and the territory of Iran and any other territory or marine area, including the exclusive economic zone and continental shelf, over which the Government of Iran claims sovereignty, sovereign rights, or jurisdiction, provided that the Government of Iran exercises partial or total de facto control over the area or derives a benefit from economic activity in the area pursuant to international arrangements;

(d) the terms "knowledge" and "knowingly," with respect to conduct, a circumstance, or a result, mean that a person has actual knowledge, or should have known, of the conduct, the circumstance, or the result;

(e) the term "person" means an individual or entity;

(f) the term "sanctioned person" means a person that the President, or the Secretary of State or the Secretary of the Treasury pursuant to authority delegated by the President and in accordance with the terms of such delegation, has determined is a person on whom sanctions shall be imposed pursuant to IEEPA, ISA, CISADA, or ITRSHRA, and on whom the President, the Secretary of State, or the Secretary of the Treasury has imposed any of the sanctions in section 6 of ISA;

(g) for the purposes of section 4 of this order, the term "subject to the jurisdiction of the Government of Iran" means a person organized under the laws of Iran or any jurisdiction within Iran, ordinarily resident in Iran, or in Iran, or owned or controlled by any of the foregoing;

(h) the term "United States financial institution" means a financial institution (including its foreign branches) organized under the laws of the United States or any jurisdiction within the United States or located in the United States; and

(i) the term "United States person" means any United States citizen, permanent resident alien, entity organized under the laws of the United States or any jurisdiction within the United States (including foreign branches), or any person in the United States.

Sec. 14. For those persons whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order who might have a constitutional presence in the United States, I find that because of the ability to transfer funds or other assets instantaneously, prior notice to such persons of measures to be taken pursuant to this order would render those measures ineffectual. I therefore determine that for these measures to be effective in addressing the national emergency declared in Executive Order 12957, there need be no prior notice of an action taken pursuant to subsections 1(a)(iv), 2(a), 3(a), and 7(a)(iv) of this order.

Sec. 15. Executive Order 13622 is hereby amended as follows:

(a) Subsection (1)(c)(ii) is amended by deleting the words "with respect to the country with primary jurisdiction over the foreign financial institution."

(b) Subsection (2)(b)(ii) is amended by deleting the words "with respect to the country with primary jurisdiction over the person."

(c) Subsection 1(d) is amended by inserting the words "agricultural commodities," after the words "sale of."

Sec. 16. The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, is hereby authorized to take such actions, including the promulgation of rules and regulations, and to employ all powers granted to the President by IEEPA, as may be necessary to carry out section 104A of CISADA (22 U.S.C. 8514). The Secretary of the Treasury may redelegate any of these functions to other officers and agencies of the United States Government consistent with applicable law.

Sec. 17. All agencies of the United States Government are hereby directed to take all appropriate measures within their authority to carry out the provisions of this order.

Sec. 18. This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

Sec. 19. The measures taken pursuant to this order are in response to actions of the Government of Iran occurring after the conclusion of the 1981 Algiers Accords, and are intended solely as a response to those later actions.

BARACK OBAMA

THE WHITE HOUSE,
October 9, 2012.

Press Gaggle by Press Secretary Jay Carney Aboard Air Force One en route Ohio

Aboard Air Force One
En Route Ohio

1:34 P.M. EDT

MR. CARNEY:  Good morning, everyone.  Welcome aboard Air Force One as we make our way to the great state of Ohio.  I have no announcements on the official side this morning.  I'll turn it over to Jen.

MS. PSAKI:  Just a very quick one.  As I think I've reminded all of you, today is the voter registration deadline in Ohio.  We're going to Ohio State today to remind the students, the faculty, the community that today is the day to register and they can also early vote today.  And you’ll hear the President say that in his remarks as well.

Q    Jen, can you give us some perspective with a month out about the state of play in Ohio, how the campaign sees it, its importance, and whether you have any metrics to show how it’s going?

MS. PSAKI:  So, Ohio is Obama Country.  We absolutely feel that.  We’ve built the campaign in the state around two premises: One is building the largest and best grassroots campaign across the state in history -- I have some metrics on that I’ll go into in a second -- and the second is laying out the stark choice for the people of the state.

On the metrics, we’ve opened -- we’re about to open our 120th office in the state.  We’ve been on the ground organizing for three and a half years, since the last campaign, with campaign staff building up over the course of time. 

This is an inherent ground game advantage because we’ve been building relationships.  We’ve been signing up grassroots leaders and organizing neighbor-to-neighbor programs.  And ultimately we know it’s more than what the ads are that are on the airwaves.  It’s more than the phone call that someone gets from the campaign staff to remind them to go and vote.  It’s hearing from your neighbor -- we’ll call her Esther -- that it’s important to go vote, what the stakes are, and that's always been a focus of our ground game.  We also have hundreds of volunteers in all four corners of the state.  Even areas where we didn't win and didn't win by large margins four years, we have offices and staff.  And we have knocked on hundreds of thousands of doors across the state.

The second piece is the choice, of course, that the voters in Ohio are facing.  And we feel when you lay that out for people, as we have been doing for months and months, that you’re looking at a choice between President Obama -- who saved the auto industry, accounting for one in eight jobs in the state of Ohio, who's been a fighter for manufacturing and creating more manufacturing jobs, who has made clear that he will fight for continued access to affordable health care for Ohioans and for middle-class tax cuts -- and Mitt Romney who has said, let’s let Detroit go bankrupt, let’s fight for tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires, let’s support tax benefits for companies that ship jobs overseas -- and that's a pretty clear choice, one we’ll continue to make over the next 28 days.

Q    Jen, on the Pew poll, aside from the overall on likely voters, one thing it said was that more people like Romney than they did in September and more people think he seems to have new ideas than they thought in September.  What kind of -- how do you -- what do you think of that?  Does this cause you any kind of concern?

MS. PSAKI:  Well, I’m not going to get into picking apart any individual poll.  I know we have -- we’ll have many, many -- many done by all of your news organizations over the next couple of days.  The one thing I will say is that we’ve always felt this race would be close.  That's not a new approach from our end.

Bear with me, I just have a few quotes.  "We think it’s going to be close to the end.  That’s why we have such an active schedule.  That’s why the President is out there campaigning."  Second quote:  "We’re going to run like we’re five points down, no matter what the polls say."  Third:  "We always thought this race was going to be close.  We still believe that."

Those are three things that I said -- September 1st, September 27th and October 7th.

Q    Did you just quote yourself?

MS. PSAKI:  I did.  I am the spokesperson for myself in addition to the President.  I just wanted to make the point that we’re always run this race like we’re five points down.  We know that there are going to be many ups and downs, some that you referenced, over the next couple of days.  We have blinders on.  We’re implementing our own game plan.  We’re focused on getting our supporters out, communicating the choice, and we’ll sleep on November 7th, not October 7th.

Q    There was a Michigan poll yesterday that has the President’s lead significantly narrowed there.  Is it the campaign’s sense that the battlegrounds are -- are the battlegrounds expanding at this point rather than narrowing, and are there any strategic decisions being made to reflect that?

MS. PSAKI:  Well, we feel that the race and the states in play have been entirely consistent.  They were a couple of weeks ago; they still are today.  I’ve also seen reports that the Romney team is moving some staff out of Pennsylvania, and I’m sure you’re asking them about that. 

This is a race that is being competed every day -- about seven to nine states.  That’s where we’re up on the air.  That’s where our focus is.  And so I don’t have any changes or updates on the strategy beyond that.

Q    Is the vice presidential debate important at all in terms of helping voters to decide which ticket they should vote for?  And can you talk to us a little bit about how President Obama and the Vice President have been talking in the last couple of days, and how they’re trying to coordinate, what they want to accomplish with the VP debate?

MS. PSAKI:  Well, any opportunity you have to lay out the choice the American people are facing to a large audience is a good opportunity.  The vice presidential debate is certainly one of them.  We know that the Vice President and Paul Ryan certainly come to the table later this week with experience arguing their own positions -- their positions, the positions of the different tickets, and we expect they’ll do that later this week. 

The question here is which Paul Ryan is going to come to the debate later this week.  Is it going to be the Paul Ryan who has been misleading about everything from his marathon time to details and specifics he included in his convention speech?  Or is it going to be the Paul Ryan who has eagerly embraced voucherizing Medicare and tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires?

Of course it’s an important opportunity to lay out the choice.  We’ll all be watching.  The President will be watching. And we’ll see which Paul Ryan comes to the debate.

Q    How are they coordinating?  Have they been talking by phone or in person about this?  Is the President’s campaign staff working right now with Vice President Biden on debate prep?  And can you talk to us about who's involved in prepping the Vice President?

MS. PSAKI:  Well, the President and the Vice President always have -- they speak regularly.  We’re not going to read out the specifics of those conversations.  Obviously they speak about a range of topics, and their focus is on governing.  There are a number of people who are involved in both of their preps, and that was always the plan -- including David Axelrod, who was always planning to be a part of the Vice President’s debate -- debate prep -- and the President’s debate prep.  So he’s there with him in Delaware.  But, other than that, I don’t have any further details to read out to you about his debate prep.

MR. CARNEY:  Let me just, if I could, about the Vice President, because I, as you know, worked for him for two years. There is a -- there really is -- it really is the case that the Vice President is an exceptional spokesman for the principles that are the foundation of the President’s policies when it comes to his economic agenda and the need to build our economy from the middle out. 

The Vice President has throughout his career spoken passionately about middle-class families and the need for government to take action to ensure that the middle class is strengthened, that middle-class security is enhanced.  And when the Vice President stands on any stage and talks about auto workers in Ohio and Michigan who have a job because the President decided to, against a lot of advice, save the American automobile industry, and that family has enough income now to make sure their kids are taken care of, and maybe an elderly parent who's living at home is taken care of because the President made that decision, they're able to have older children on their insurance policy because of the decisions and the policies the President put forward -- they know that the President is pushing hard for an extension of tax cuts for middle-class families because he believes that's essential to our economic growth.  They know that he believes that we need to have a balanced approach to our budget and deficit reduction to ensure that we're continuing to invest in education.

The Vice President speaks passionately about these issues because they reflect where he comes from and what he believes and what his values are.  And I expect anytime he stands before the American people to talk about the President's record on these issues he'll do so in a forceful and compelling way.

Q    Over the weekend in California, the President gave every indication that he had by now completely absorbed all the feedback he got on the debate.  How is he converting this into approaching -- preparing and approaching the next debate in terms of is there more time being built into his schedule?  Has it changed the way the method of approaching this?  Can you give us any sense of how, going -- looking ahead to the next debate, he's assimilated the lessons of the first?

MS. PSAKI:  Well, the President will spend some time in advance of the debate preparing with his team, as he did last time.  I think one of the big take-aways -- or the biggest take-away perhaps from the first debate is what kind of a debater Mitt Romney is and what he will -- and the shaky relationship Mitt Romney has with the facts.  And that certainly is something that the President will take into account as he's looking ahead to the next debate.  Beyond that, tune in next week.

Q    Jen, back to the Vice President debate for a second. How is the preparation against Paul Ryan different from Sarah Palin four years ago?  And has the strategy changed in the wake of the last debate in terms of the tone the Vice President is going to take against Paul Ryan?  Are we going to see a more aggressive Vice President Biden than originally expected?

MS. PSAKI:  Look, the Vice President's number-one priority going into the debate is communicating the choice to the American people.  He'll have the opportunity, of course, to talk about the contrast he has with Paul Ryan -- Mitt Ryan -- Paul Ryan.  I know it's a tongue-twister.  And as I mentioned earlier, I think the question is which Paul Ryan comes to the debate later this week.

We're not going to delve into specifics on strategy or what lines the Vice President may go into.  As Jay mentioned, there's no more passionate advocate for the administration's approach to the last four years to the challenges the middle class is facing. And we expect he'll make the case for sending the President and himself back for another four years.

Q    I feel a little odd saying this, but I have two questions about Big Bird.  (Laughter.)  The first is that as you know, Sesame Street has asked for the ad to be pulled on the grounds that it's not a political organization and doesn't want to be drawn into this kind of debate.  Will the campaign honor it and pull down that ad?

MS. PSAKI:  We have received that request.  We're reviewing it.  I will say it doesn't change the fact that there's only one candidate in this race who is going to continue to fight for Big Bird and Elmo, and he is riding on this plane. 

And the larger point -- I don't know if this gets to the second question you were going to ask here -- is aside from our love for Big Bird and Elmo, as is evidenced by the last few days, the point that we're making here is that when Mitt Romney was given the opportunity to lay out how he would address the deficit when he said, I will take a serious approach to it, his first offering was to cut funding for Big Bird.  And that is absurd and hard to take seriously his specific plan. 

So if we go back to the larger point here, that's what it is.  If we have an update on the first question you asked during the flight, I will certainly come back and let you all know.

Q    That largely answers my second question.  But I guess one element is that, thinking back to the last campaign of '08 and this time, too, the President has bemoaned at times the focus on trivial things.  And even though you made the point about cutting the deficit, a lot of people will read about it, hear about this ad -- we're a month away from the election and we're talking about Big Bird.  Is this the kind of focus that the campaign should have?

MS. PSAKI:  Well, you've been out with the President the last few days, all of you have been.  And 99 percent of his remarks are about his plans for fighting for the middle class, his plans for making sure that young people have the opportunity to go to college, to have access to affordable health care.  You heard him last night and you'll hear him again today lay out the difference between his view on Iraq and the right steps we took in drawing down troops there, and Mitt Romney's doubling down on maybe we should have left troops -- a few troops in Iraq -- not a few -- several thousand troops in Iraq, instead of what the President's approach was. 

This election is about serious issues.  That's what the President talks about every day.  That's what his focus is on every day.  We understand that when your policy plan is a vapid collection of dusting off the Bush playbook on economic policies that would lead us to the same crisis we just have been going through, and embracing the extreme, out-of-the-mainstream foreign policy positions that have also caused us problems as the Romney/Ryan team has, that you don't have a lot to talk about and you're going to attack us on Big Bird.  But we're going to go back and you'll hear the President today continue to lay out the choice and continue to talk about all the substantive policy issues that we think people are making their decisions about. 

Q    Where is the ad running?  It's my understanding it's not in any of the swing states or really on the cable news channels, only on a couple of comedy --

MS. PSAKI:  It's running on national cable.  And we fully expect that people in swing states will see that, since people in swing states do get national cable.

Q    Why not the normal swing state rotation as with other ads?

MS. PSAKI:  I'm not going to go into the specifics of our strategy.  Obviously, we have a number of ads that are up in every different swing state.  They're different in some swings than others.  And this was just -- there's been a strong grassroots outcry over the attacks on Big Bird.  This is something that mothers across the country are alarmed about and we're tapping into that. 

And as I mentioned before, the larger point here is that this is about priorities and choices.  And when your first offering for your plans to bring down the deficit is a combination of a $5 trillion tax cut for millionaires and billionaires and cutting funding to Big Bird, it’s hard to take your plan seriously.

Q    Can I make a gentle segue to North Korea and ask the following question? 

MS. PSAKI:  Yes, you can.

Q    Oh, God, it’s so early still.  North Korea says that it has missiles that can reach the U.S.  Does the U.S. accept this conclusion, and if so, what steps, if any, is the U.S. taking to step up precautions or to respond?

MR. CARNEY:  Thanks, Margaret.  As you know, the United Nations Security Council passed two resolutions -- 1718 and 1874 -- that require North Korea to suspend all activities related to its ballistic missile programs.  Resolution 1718 also requires the DPRK to abandon its ballistic missile program in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner.

And as to your question about our assessments of their capabilities, I’m not going to get into intelligence matters or intelligence assessments.  I would note, however, that their most recent test of a ballistic missile was a notable failure.

Q    Also in the foreign policy area, Mexico has killed the leader of the Zetas, the drug gang, although his body apparently was snatched.  Do you or does the White House have a reaction to that?

MR. CARNEY:  I saw the reports.  I don't have a reaction to both the announced death of this particular drug leader or what happened to his body.  I will simply say that the United States has stood with Mexico in their efforts to combat narco-traffickers and to reduce the high levels of drug-related violence that the Mexican people have long endured.  But beyond that, I don't have a specific response.

Q    Jay, I had a foreign policy question follow-up from yesterday on Syria.  Governor Romney said in his speech that he would identify -- if elected, he would identify the opposition elements that share American values and then "ensure they attain the arms they need to defeat Assad’s tanks, helicopters and fighter jets."  Now, that's obviously a serious commitment and a huge undertaking to have that kind of military commitment.  What does the President think of that policy statement from Romney, that he would work with allies in some way to get that kind of armament to the rebels?

MR. CARNEY:  Well, I’d say a couple of things.  We have been all along working with elements of the opposition and identifying elements of the opposition that support a democratic transition in Syria, that support a future in Syria that is inclusive of all elements of Syrian society and a future government of Syria that is responsive to the aspirations of all the Syrian people. 

I’ve discussed that many times from the podium.  The President, the Secretary of State and others have discussed that. We provide substantial humanitarian assistance to the Syrian people.  We provide, with our partners and allies, significant, non-lethal assistance to those elements of the Syrian opposition that we believe are working for a democratic future in Syria.

We have also said that other nations who support the effort to see Syria have a brighter, post-Assad future are providing assistance in different ways.  We continue to believe that the United States -- it is not the right policy for the United States to supply arms or other forms of lethal assistance.  But other nations have obviously -- are obviously making assessments on their own.

I think, broadly speaking, this is another case where a critic of the President’s foreign policy is asserting a great difference in approach at a broad level, but not demonstrating any different approach in any specificity.  That’s true when it comes to Iran, when it comes to Syria, and in other areas.

Q    Well, he's outlining a difference, maybe not with great specificity, but outlining a difference in terms of arming the rebels -- some sort of international effort to do that, right?

MR. CARNEY:  Our position is that it is not the right approach for the United States to provide lethal assistance to the Syrian opposition.  That has been our policy and is our policy today.  If Governor Romney is suggesting that he wants to deepen -- engage in Syria militarily, he ought to say so and he ought to be clear about that. 

We are providing substantial assistance, non-lethal assistance to the opposition.  We’re working with the Friends of Syria and working with other allies and partners to isolate and pressure the Assad regime, to starve it of resources, and to hasten the day when Syria can build a future that does not include this tyrant, who has for the past year waged a brutal assault on his own people.

Q    Let me ask you a semi-technical question.  Does the White House have any comment on the House Intelligence Committee recommendation that U.S. government systems and contractors should exclude -- I don’t even know how to pronounce it -- Huawei or ZTE equipment or components?

MR. CARNEY:  I’m going to have to take that question. 

Q    Can I ask a follow-up to Bill’s question earlier?  The President talked last night about the fact that he’s been hearing from people reviewing his performance.  Would it be fair to say that he feels a new urgency with regard to his campaign, his performance in it?  And does he feel that he needs to step up his game?

MS. PSAKI:  Look, I think the President has been pretty clear that he's looked back at his debate performance and looked back at the debate performance of Mitt Romney, and he’ll take that into account moving forward.

At the same time, our focus and the President's focus has always been putting on blinders, implementing our ground game, implementing laying out for the American people the choice in this election.  And that’s exactly what he's doing every single day.  And if you look back to the morning after the debate, we had two -- I think what most people would say were two of the best events we've had in a couple of months -- in Denver, and then 30,000 people in Wisconsin. 

The President is often energized by people that he -- not just crowds like that, but people he meets on the ropeline, and people that he even sees at events like the past couple of days. And the truth is, most of those people are saying to him, we're with you; we want you to spend another four years; we're not worried about the reviews of the debate; we know that you're a better choice for us.  And that’s what he hears, and that keeps him energized looking ahead not just to the debate but to the next 28 days.

Q    Jen, one last one on Ohio.  You talked about the ground game at the start and obviously speaking to students on the day of the voter registration deadline.  Should we look for him to basically call for them to lead this debate and go register right then?  I mean, is he calling for like a mass action today?

MS. PSAKI:  Absolutely.  And when -- and everyone can encourage them to do the same, whoever they vote for.  That’s exactly why we're here today.  We're here because there are a couple more hours today for students to register.  We know they're just back at campus for a little over a month.  We know they have lots of different, competing interests.  But today is the final day they can register -- not only can they register but they can also early vote today.  And he'll be making a strong call for them to do just that before the registration offices close at 9:00 p.m. tonight in most places.

Q    There seemed to be a conscious decision not to mention Romney's tenure at Bain Capital in the last debate, which was a little peculiar given the commercials, and his stump speech is heavy on Bain.  Can we expect to not hear anything about Bain in the next debate as well?

MS. PSAKI:  I'm not going to get ahead of where we are in the next debate.  As you know, the next debate is a town hall meeting, so people in the audience will be asking the questions. We have no control over that.

And in the last debate, the President answered the questions that were asked of him.  We still continue to believe that Mitt Romney's experience and time at Bain, the deals he was or wasn't involved in depending on how long he was there, his investments, the short span of which we know about, are important because it offers a prism for the American people into what he's all about and what kind of a President he will be.

We'll continue to make that case.  We'll see what comes up in the next couple debates.

MR. CARNEY:  Thanks, guys.

Q    Thank you.

END
1:58 P.M. EDT

Presidential Memorandum -- Delegation of Certain Functions and Authorities under the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012

MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF STATE
THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
THE SECRETARY OF ENERGY
THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
THE SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY
UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS
OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM
PRESIDENT OF THE EXPORT-IMPORT BANK
OF THE UNITED STATES

SUBJECT: Delegation of Certain Functions and Authorities Under the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including section 301 of title 3, United States Code, I hereby order as follows:

I hereby delegate to the Secretary of State the functions and authorities vested in the President by sections 4(c), 5(a), 5(b), 5(c), 5(f), 6(a)(1), 6(a)(2), 6(a)(10), 6(b)(5), and 9(c) of the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996, (Public Law 104-172) (50 U.S.C. 1701 note), as amended most recently by the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012 (ITRSHRA) (Public Law 112-158) (the "Iran Sanctions Act"), such functions and authorities to be exercised in consultation with the Secretaries of the Treasury and Commerce and the United States Trade Representative, and with the Secretary of Homeland Security, the President of the Export-Import Bank of the United States, and the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and other agencies as appropriate.

I hereby delegate to the Secretary of State the functions and authorities vested in the President by sections 4(b), 4(e), 5(d), 5(e), 9(a), 9(b), 10, and 14(4) of the Iran Sanctions Act.

I hereby delegate to the Secretary of State the functions and authorities vested in the President by section 6(a)(11) of the Iran Sanctions Act, to be exercised when the Secretary of State has been delegated the function or authority to impose some or all of the sanctions outlined in section 6(a) of the Iran Sanctions Act. Such functions and authorities are to be exercised in consultation with the Secretaries of the Treasury and Commerce and the United States Trade Representative, and with the Secretary of Homeland Security, the President of the

Export-Import Bank of the United States, and the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and other agencies as appropriate and, once sanctions outlined in section 6(a) of the Iran Sanctions Act are selected, authority to implement such sanctions is delegated to the relevant agency heads commensurate with delegation of such authorities in this memorandum and any relevant Executive Orders implementing the Iran Sanctions Act.

I hereby delegate to the Secretary of the Treasury the functions and authorities vested in the President by section 6(a)(11) of the Iran Sanctions Act, to be exercised when the Secretary of the Treasury has been delegated the function or authority to impose some or all of the sanctions outlined in section 6(a) of the Iran Sanctions Act. Such functions and authorities are to be exercised in consultation with the Secretaries of State and Commerce and the United States Trade Representative, and with the Secretary of Homeland Security, the President of the Export-Import Bank of the United States, and the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and other agencies as appropriate and, once sanctions outlined in section 6(a) of the Iran Sanctions Act are selected, authority to implement such sanctions is delegated to the relevant agency heads commensurate with delegation of such authorities in this memorandum and any relevant Executive Orders implementing the Iran Sanctions Act.

I hereby delegate to the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, the functions vested in the President by sections 6(a)(6), 6(a)(7), 6(a)(8), and 6(a)(9) of the Iran Sanctions Act, if the sanctions that those provisions authorize have been selected pursuant to section 5(a) of the Iran Sanctions Act in accordance with the terms of this memorandum.

I hereby delegate functions and authorities vested in the President by CISADA, as amended by ITRSHRA, as follows:

• section 110 to the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury;

• sections 105A(b) and 105B(b) to the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with or at the recommendation of the Secretary of State, with respect to the determinations described in sections 105A(b)(1), 105A(b)(2), and 105B(b)(1), respectively;

• sections 105A(b) and 105B(b) to the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, with respect to the requirement to submit the initial and updated lists of persons determined to meet the criteria described in sections 105A(b)(1), 105A(b)(2), and 105B(b)(1), respectively, to the appropriate congressional committees as required by sections 105A(b) and 105B(b);

• section 401(b) to the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, with respect to the requirement to include a person on the lists required by sections 105A(b) and 105B(b);

• section 105A(b)(3) to the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury;

• sections 105A(a), 105A(c), 105B(a), and 401(b) to the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, with respect to the requirement to impose or maintain sanctions pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (IEEPA) under sections 105A(a), 105A(c), and 105B(a);

• sections 105A(a), 105A(c), and 105B(a) to the Secretary of State, with respect to the requirement to impose or maintain visa sanctions;

• section 401(b) to the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security on matters related to admissibility or inadmissibility within the authority of the Secretary of Homeland Security, with respect to functions and waiver authorities regarding the requirement to impose or maintain visa sanctions under sections 105(a), 105A(a), 105A(c), and 105B(a); and

• sections 105A(a), 105A(c), and 401(b) to the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretaries of State and Commerce and the United States Trade Representative, and with the Secretary of Homeland Security, the President of the Export-Import Bank of the United States, and the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and other agencies as appropriate, with respect to a determination in section 105A(c)(2)(B) regarding sanctions to be imposed or maintained from among those described in section 6(a) of the Iran Sanctions Act; and, once sanctions outlined in section 6(a) of the Iran Sanctions Act are selected pursuant to section 105A(c)(2)(B) by the Secretary of the Treasury, authority to implement such sanctions is delegated to the relevant agency heads commensurate with delegation of such authorities in this memorandum and any relevant Executive Orders implementing the Iran Sanctions Act.

The delegation of Presidential functions and authorities in CISADA in my memorandum of September 23, 2010 (Delegation of Certain Functions and Authorities Under the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010), and Executive Order 13553 of September 28, 2010, shall remain in effect to the extent not inconsistent with this memorandum.

I hereby delegate the functions vested in the President by section 13(r)(5) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended by ITRSHRA, to the Secretary of State and the Secretary of the Treasury commensurate with their respective areas of responsibility.

I hereby delegate the functions and authorities vested in the President by ITRSHRA, and portions of the Iran Sanctions Act as referenced in ITRSHRA, as follows:

• section 102(b) to the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury;

• section 202(b) to the Secretary of State in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury;

• section 211(a) to the Secretary of State and the Secretary of the Treasury in consultation with each other and commensurate with their respective areas of responsibility outlined in Executive Orders 13382 and 13224;

• section 211(c) to the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury;

• section 212, except the Presidential function in section 212(d)(3), to the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretaries of the Treasury and Commerce and the United States Trade Representative, and with the Secretary of Homeland Security, the President of the Export-Import Bank of the United States, and the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and other agencies as appropriate and, once sanctions outlined in section 6(a) of the Iran Sanctions Act are selected pursuant to section 212(a), authority to implement such sanctions is delegated to the relevant agency heads commensurate with delegation of such authorities in this memorandum and any relevant Executive Orders implementing the Iran Sanctions Act;

• section 213, except the Presidential function in section 213(b)(3), to the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretaries of State and Commerce and the United States Trade Representative, and with the Secretary of Homeland Security, the President of the Export-Import Bank of the United States, and the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and other agencies as appropriate and, once sanctions outlined in section 6(a) of the Iran Sanctions Act are selected pursuant to section 213(a), authority to implement such sanctions is delegated to the relevant agency heads commensurate with delegation of such authorities in this memorandum and any relevant Executive Orders implementing the Iran Sanctions Act;

• section 218(b) to the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State;

• section 220(c) to the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State;

• section 221(a) to the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury;

• section 221(e) to the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security;

• sections 301(a) and 301(b) to the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State;

• section 301(d)(2) to the Secretary of State;

• section 301(e) to the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretaries of the Treasury and Homeland Security;

• sections 302(a), 302(b), 302(c), and section 302(f), except the Presidential function in section 302(f)(3), to the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretaries of State and Commerce and the United States Trade Representative, and with the Secretary of Homeland Security, the President of the Export-Import Bank of the United States, and the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and other agencies as appropriate and, once sanctions outlined in section 6(a) of the Iran Sanctions Act are selected pursuant to section 302(b)(1), authority to implement such sanctions is delegated to the relevant agency heads commensurate with delegation of such authorities in this memorandum and any relevant Executive Orders implementing the Iran Sanctions Act;

• sections 302(d) and 302(e) to the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury;

• section 303 to the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury and other agencies as appropriate; all agencies of the United States Government are hereby directed to take all appropriate measures within their authority to carry out any sanctions that the Secretary of State, in exercising the authority delegated by this subparagraph, determines should be imposed;

• section 312(d) to the Secretary of State and the Secretary of the Treasury in consultation with each other and commensurate with their respective areas of responsibility;

• section 505(b) to the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretaries of the Treasury and Energy;

• section 601 to the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of State, commensurate with their respective areas of responsibility outlined in this memorandum;

• sections 702, 703, and 704 to the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with or at the recommendation of the Secretary of State, with respect to the determinations described in sections 702(b), 703(b)(1)-(2), and 704(b) and the imposition of IEEPA sanctions required under sections 702(a), 703(a), and 704(a);

• sections 702(b), 703(b), and 704(b) to the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, with respect to the submission of initial and updated lists of persons determined to meet the criteria described in sections 702(b), 703(a), 703(b)(1)-(2), and 704(b), respectively;

• section 703(b)(3) to the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, with respect to certifications to the appropriate congressional committees;

• section 705 to the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, with respect to the requirement to impose or maintain sanctions pursuant to IEEPA under section 702(a), 703(a), or 704(a); and

• section 705 to the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, with respect to the requirement to include a person on a list required by section 702(b), 703(b), or 704(b).

Any reference in this memorandum to provisions of any Act related to the subject of this memorandum shall be deemed to include references to any hereafter-enacted provisions of law that is the same or substantially the same as such provisions.

The Secretary of State is authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.

BARACK OBAMA