Remarks by the President at a Campaign Event -- Seattle, WA

Paramount Theater
Seattle, Washington

3:00 P.M. PDT

THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, Seattle!  Thank you.  (Applause.)  Thank you.  Thank you very much.  Thank you, Seattle!  Thank you.  (Applause.)  Thank you so much.  Thank you.  Thank you.  Thank you, guys.  Thank you, everybody.  Please, please, have a seat.  Thank you.  (Applause.)  Thank you.  Thank you very much.  Thank you.  Thank you, guys.  (Applause.)  Thank you very much.  It’s good to be back in Seattle.  (Applause.)

A few people I want to acknowledge.  First of all, please give a big round of applause to Sue for that unbelievable story, the great introduction, her incredible courage.  (Applause.)  She is just a wonderful person.  And I was saying backstage as I was listening, she’s the kind of story that you don’t read about in the papers.  That’s a story I’d like to read about -- (applause) -- somebody overcoming so many challenges, doing the right thing.  And I could not be prouder to have her introduce me.

A couple of other folks that are here today that I want to acknowledge -- your outstanding Governor, Chris Gregoire.  (Applause.)  Your outstanding Lieutenant Governor, Brad Owen is here.  (Applause.)  One of the best United States Senators in the country, Patty Murray is in the house.  (Applause.)  Former U.S. Representative and soon-to-be governor, Jay Inslee is here.  (Applause.)

I want to thank King County executive Dow Constantine.  (Applause.)  My terrific friend, former King County executive and somebody who did great work for us at HUD in Washington, Ron Sims.  (Applause.)  State party chair, Dwight Pelz.  (Applause.)  And of course, somebody who I just love and I’m just such a huge fan of because he’s a great person in addition to being a great musician, Dave Matthews.  (Applause.) 

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  I love you!

THE PRESIDENT:  (Laughter.)  I love you, too.  (Applause.) So, Seattle, I’m here not just because I need your help -- although I do; you’ll hear more about that.  I’m here because your country needs your help.

There was a reason why so many of you worked your hearts out in 2008.  And it wasn’t because you thought it would be easy.  You did support a candidate named Barack Hussein Obama.  The odds are rarely in your favor in that situation.  (Laughter.)  You didn’t need a poll to tell you that might not be a sure thing.

You did not join the campaign because of me.  You came together -- we came together -- because of a shared vision.  We came together to reclaim that basic bargain that built the largest middle class and the most prosperous nation on Earth.

We came together because we believed that in America, your success shouldn’t be determined by the circumstances of your birth.  If you’re willing to work hard, you should be able to find a good job.  If you’re meeting your responsibilities, you should be able to own a home, maybe start a business.  You should be able to give your kids the chance to do even better than you -- no matter who you are, no matter where you come from, no matter what you look like, no matter what your last name, no matter who you love.  (Applause.)

And so we came together.  This wasn’t just about me; this was you guys making a commitment to each other to try to bring about change because our country had strayed from these basic values.  We’d seen a record surplus that was squandered on tax cuts for people who didn’t need them and weren’t even asking for them.  Two wars were being waged on a credit card.  Wall Street speculators reaped huge profits by making bets with other people’s money.  Manufacturing was leaving our shores.  A shrinking number of Americans did fantastically well, but a lot more people struggled with falling incomes and rising costs and the slowest job growth in a century.

So it was a house of cards, and it collapsed in the most destructive, worst crisis that we’ve seen since the Great Depression.  And sometimes people forget the magnitude of it, you know?  And you saw some of that I think in the video that was shown.  Sometimes I forget.  In the last six months of 2008, while we were campaigning, nearly 3 million of our neighbors lost their jobs; 800,000 lost their jobs in the month that I took office.  And it was tough.  But the American people proved they were tougher.  So we didn't quit.  We kept going.  Together we fought back.

When my opponent said we should just let Detroit go bankrupt, we made a bet on American workers, on the ingenuity of American companies, and today our auto industry is back on top of the world.  (Applause.)

We saw manufacturers start to invest in America again, consistently adding jobs for the first time since the 1990s.  Businesses got back to basics, created over 4 million jobs in the last 26 months -– more than 1 million of those in the last six months alone.  (Applause.)  

So we’re making progress.  Are we satisfied?  Of course not.  Too many of our friends, too many of our family are still out there looking for work.  Too many homes are still underwater.  Too many states are still laying off teachers and first responders.  A crisis this deep didn’t happen overnight, and we understand it won’t be solved overnight.  We’ve got more work to do.  We know that.

But here’s what else we know:  That the last thing we can afford is a return to the policies that got us here in the first place.  Not now.  Not with so much at stake.  (Applause.)  We’ve come too far to abandon the changes that we fought for these past few years.  We’ve got to move forward, to the future that we imagined in 2008 -- where everybody gets a fair shot, and everybody is doing their fair share, and everybody plays by the same rules.  That’s the choice in this election.  And Seattle, that’s why I’m running for a second term as President of the United States of America.  (Applause.)

Now, my opponent in this election, Governor Romney, he's a patriotic American.  He’s raised a wonderful family.  He should be proud of the great personal success he's had as the CEO of a large financial firm.  But I think he’s drawn the wrong lessons from those experiences.  He actually believes that if CEOs and the wealthiest investors like him get rich, that the rest of us automatically do, too.  (Laughter.)

When a woman in Iowa shared the story of her financial struggles, he gave an answer right out of an economics textbook.  He said, “Our productivity equals our income,” as if the only reason people can’t pay their bills is because they’re not productive enough. 

Well, that’s not what’s going on.  Most of us who have spent some time talking to people understand that the problem isn’t that the American people aren’t working hard enough, aren’t productive enough -– you’ve been working harder than ever.  The challenge we face right now -– the challenge we’ve faced for over a decade -– is that harder work isn’t leading to higher incomes.  Bigger profits haven’t led to better jobs.
  
What Governor Romney does not seem to get is that a healthy economy doesn’t just mean maximizing your own profits through massive layoffs or busting unions.  You don’t make America stronger by shipping jobs or profits overseas.  (Applause.)  When you propose cutting your own taxes while raising them on 18 million families, that’s not a recipe for economic growth. 

And by the way, there’s nothing new about these ideas.  I’m just starting to pay a little more attention to this campaign here, and -- (laughter) -- I keep on waiting for them to offer up something new.  But it’s just the same old stuff.  (Laughter.)  It’s the same agenda that they have been pushing for years.  It’s the same agenda that they implemented when they were last in charge of the White House -- although, as Bill Clinton pointed out a few weeks ago, this time their agenda is on steroids.  (Laughter.)  This time they want even bigger tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans.  This time they want even deeper cuts to things like education and Medicare and research and technology.

AUDIENCE:  Booo --

THE PRESIDENT:  This time they want to give banks and insurance companies even more power to do as they please. 

AUDIENCE:  Booo --

THE PRESIDENT:  Now, somehow they think that these same bad ideas will lead to different results than they did the last time -- or they’re hoping you won’t remember what happened the last time when we tried their bad ideas.  (Laughter.) 

Well, I’m here to say, Seattle, that we were there.  We remember.  We're not going back there.  We're moving this country forward.  (Applause.)  We're moving forward.  We're moving forward.  (Applause.)

Look, we don’t expect government to solve all our problems -- and it shouldn’t try to solve all our problems.  I learned from my mom that no education policy can take the place of a parent’s love and attention, and occasionally, getting in your face.  (Laughter.)  As a young man, I worked with a group of Catholic churches who taught me that no poverty program can make as much of a difference as the kindness and commitment of a caring soul.  (Applause.)

And Democrats, we have to remember some things.  Not every regulation is smart.  Not every tax dollar is spent wisely.  Not every person can be helped who refuses to help themselves.  We believe in individual responsibility.  But that’s not an excuse to tell the vast majority of responsible, hardworking Americans -- folks like Sue who've done all the right things -- “you’re on your own.”  That if you're -- had the misfortune, like most people do, of having parents who may not be able to lend you all the money you need for college, that you may not be able to go to college.  (Applause.)  That even if you pay your premiums every month, you’re out of luck if an insurance company decides to drop your coverage when you need it most.  (Applause.)  

That’s not who we are.  That’s not what built this country.  That's not reflective of what's best in us.  We built this country together.  We built railroads and highways, we built the Hoover Dam and the Golden Gate Bridge -- we built those things together.  We sent my grandfather’s generation to college on the GI Bill -– together.  We did these things not because they benefited any particular individual, any particular group; we did these things because we were building a platform for everybody to be able to succeed.  We were creating the conditions for everybody to be able to succeed.  These things made us all richer.  They gave us all opportunity.  (Applause.)  They moved us all together, all forward, as one nation, and as one people.

And that’s the true lesson of our past.  We love the free market.  We believe in rewarding entrepreneurship and risk.  But when I hear my opponent and some of these folks talk as if somehow nobody had anything to do with the success of these businesses and our entrepreneurs, I have to remind them that we -- we the people -- invested in creating the Internet that allowed Microsoft and Google and Facebook to thrive.  There's not a business in this country that's not benefiting from roads and bridges and airports -- the investments we make together.  Every time we've got a kid who's getting a great education in a public school and able to go to get an outstanding education at a public university, we're contributing to the possibilities of the free market succeeding.  And that’s the right vision for our future.  That’s the reason I'm running for President, because I believe in that vision.  I believe in that vision.  (Applause.)   

I’m running to make sure that by the end of this decade, more of our citizens hold college degrees than any other nation on Earth.  I want that to happen here in America.  (Applause.)  I want to help our schools hire and reward the best teachers, especially in math and science.  (Applause.)  I want to give 2 million more Americans the chance to go to community colleges and learn the skills that local businesses are looking for right now, because that's what we need in the 21st century.  (Applause.)  Higher education can’t be a luxury.  Education is -- higher education is an imperative that every American should be able to afford -- not just for young people but for mid-career folks who have to retrain, have to upgrade their skills.  That’s the choice in this election.  That’s why I’m running for President.

I’m running to make sure that the next generation of high-tech manufacturing takes root in places like Seattle and Cleveland and Pittsburgh and Charlotte.  I want to stop rewarding businesses that ship jobs and profits overseas.  I want to reward companies that are creating jobs here in the United States of America.  That’s the choice in this election.  (Applause.)

I am running so that we can keep moving forward to a future where we control our own energy.  Our dependence on foreign oil is at the lowest point it's been in 16 years.  (Applause.)  Because of the actions we took, by the middle of the next decade our cars will average nearly 55 miles per gallon.  (Applause.)  Thousands of Americans have jobs because the production of renewable energy in this country has nearly doubled in just three years.

So now is not the time to -- (applause) -- now is not the time to cut these investments to pay for $4 billion a year in giveaways to the oil companies.  Now is not -- now is the time to end subsidies for an industry that's just doing fine on its own.  Let’s double down on clean energy that's never been more promising for our economy and for our security and for the safety of our planet.  That's why I’m running, Seattle, and that's the choice in this election.  (Applause.)

For the first time in nine years, there are no Americans fighting in Iraq.  (Applause.)  Osama bin Laden is no longer a threat to this country.  Al Qaeda is on the path to defeat.  And by 2014, the war in Afghanistan will be over.  (Applause.)

America is safer and it’s more respected because of the courage and selflessness of our diplomats and our intelligence officers, but most of all, because of the United States armed Forces.  (Applause.)

And as long as I’m Commander-in-Chief, this country will care for our veterans, and we will serve our veterans as well as they’ve served us because no one who fights for this country should have to fight for a job or a roof over their heads when they come home.  (Applause.)

My opponent has a different view.  He said it was “tragic” to end the war in Iraq.  He says he won’t set a timeline for ending the war in Afghanistan.  I have set a timeline, and I intend to keep it.  (Applause.)  After a decade of war that’s cost us thousands of lives, that's cost us over a trillion dollars, the nation we need to build is our own.  (Applause.)

So we’re going to use half of what we’re no longer spending on war to pay down the deficit, and we’re going to -- (applause) -- we’re going to invest the rest in research and education, and repairing our roads and our bridges and our runways and our wireless networks.  That's the choice in this election.  (Applause.)

And I’m running to pay down our debt in a way that is balanced and a way that's responsible.  After inheriting a trillion-dollar deficit, I signed $2 trillion of spending cuts into law.  And now I want to finish the job responsibly and properly, streamlining government, cutting more waste -- there’s still more there to be had -- but also reforming our tax code so that it’s simpler and fairer and it asks the wealthiest Americans to pay a little bit more.  (Applause.)

My opponent won’t tell us how he'd pay for his new, $5 trillion tax cut –- a tax cut that gives an average of $250,000 to every millionaire in the country.

AUDIENCE  Booo --

THE PRESIDENT:  So we may not know the details, but we know the bill for that tax cut will either be passed on to our children, or it’s going to be paid by a whole lot of ordinary Americans.  And I refuse to let that happen again.  (Applause.)

We’re not going to pay for another millionaire’s tax cut by eliminating medical research projects into things like ovarian cancer or Alzheimer’s.  I refuse to pay for another tax cut by kicking children out of Head Start programs, or asking students to pay more for college, or eliminating health insurance for millions of poor, and elderly, and disabled Americans on Medicaid.  (Applause.)

And as long as I’m President of the United States, I’m not going to allow Medicare to be turned into a voucher that would end the program as we know it.  (Applause.)  We’ll reform Medicare, not by shifting costs to seniors but by reducing the spending that isn’t making people healthier.  There are ways of doing it that preserve this program that is so vital to so many people.

So Seattle, that’s what’s at stake.  There’s a lot at stake.  On issue after issue, we can’t afford to spend the next four years going backwards. 

America doesn’t need to re-fight the battles we just had over Wall Street reform or health care reform.  Listen to Sue.  Here’s what I know:  Allowing 2.5 million young people to stay on their parents’ health insurance plan -- that was the right thing to do.  (Applause.)  Cutting prescription drug costs for seniors -- right thing to do.  (Applause.)  We’re not going back to the days when insurance companies had unchecked power to cancel your policy, or deny you coverage, or charge women differently from men.  We’re not going back.  We’re going forward.  (Applause.)

We don’t need another political fight about ending a woman’s right to choose, or getting rid of Planned Parenthood -- (applause) -- or taking away access to affordable birth control.  I want women to control their own health choices.  (Applause.)  Just like I want my daughters to have the same economic opportunities as your sons.  We’re not going to turn back the clock.  (Applause.)  We’re not turning back the clock.  

We’re not returning to the days when you could be kicked out of the United States military just because of who you are and who you love.  (Applause.)  We’re moving this country forward.  We are moving forward to a country where every American is treated with dignity and with respect.  And here in Washington you’ll have the chance to make your voice heard on the issue of making sure that everybody, regardless of sexual orientation, is treated fairly.  You will have a chance to weigh in on this.  (Applause.)  We are a nation that treats people fairly.  We’re not going backwards.  We’re not going backwards.  We’re going forwards.  (Applause.)  We’re going forward.  We’re going forward, where everybody -- everybody is treated with dignity and respect.

We will not allow another election where multimillion-dollar donations speak louder than the voices of ordinary citizens.  (Applause.)

And it’s time to stop denying citizenship to responsible young people just because they’re children of undocumented immigrants.  (Applause.)  This country is at its best when we harness the God-given talents of every individual; when we hear every voice; when we come together as one American family -- black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled -- everybody striving for the same dream.  That’s what we’re fighting for.  That’s why I ran for President.  That's why I’m running again for President.  That’s why I need your help.  (Applause.)

You know, Seattle, this election is actually going to be even closer than the last.  And the reason for that is too many of our friends and neighbors, they're still hurting because of this crisis.  And they see what’s going on in Washington, and they don't like it, and so there’s just a frustration level there that will express itself in the election.

And I hear it from too many people who are wondering why they haven’t been able to get one of the jobs that have been created.  Because even if jobs have been created, until you got a job, that jobs report doesn't mean much.  They're wondering why their home is still underwater, or why their family hasn’t been touched by the recovery.  So there’s still a lot of -- a lot of work to be done.  And folks are just -- they get so frustrated about Washington.

And as I said, the other side, they're not going to -- the other side will not be offering these Americans a real answer to their questions.  They’re not offering a better vision.  They're not offering a new set of ideas.  Everybody knows that.  There’s nothing you’ve heard from them where you say, man, I didn't think of that.  (Laughter.)  Now, that's fresh.  That's new.  Maybe that will work.  (Laughter.)  That's not what’s going on here.

What they will be doing is spending more money than we’ve ever seen before on negative ads –- ads that exploit people’s frustration for some short-term political gain.  Over and over again, they’ll tell you America is down and out.  America is not working.  They’ll say, are you better off than you were -- without mentioning that their frame of reference is before the worst crisis in our lifetime.

We’ve seen this play before.  And here’s the thing, the real question, the question that we have to answer, the question that will actually make a difference in your life and the lives of your children and the lives of your grandchildren -– it's not just about how we’re doing today.  It’s about how we’re doing tomorrow and the next day and the day after that. 

Will we be better off if more Americans get a better education?  Will we be better off if we reduce our dependence on foreign oil?  Will we be better off if we start doing some nation-building here at home?  Will we be better off if we're investing in clean energy?  Will we be better off if we ask the wealthiest Americans to pay their fair share?  Will we be better off if we invest in new research and science and technology?

When we look back four years from now, or 10 years from now, or 20 years from now, won’t we be better off if we have the courage to keep moving forward? 

AUDIENCE:  Yes!

THE PRESIDENT:  That’s the question in this election.  (Applause.)  That's the question in this election.  And that outcome is entirely up to you.  You’ll have to contend with even more negative ads, with more cynicism, more nastiness -- sometimes just plain foolishness.  (Laughter.) 

But if there’s one thing that we learned the last time around, one thing we learned in 2008, there is nothing more powerful than millions of voices calling for change.  (Applause.)  When you knock on doors; when you pick up the phone; when you talk to your friends; when you decide it’s time for change to happen, guess what?  Change happens.  Change comes to America.  (Applause.)  And that’s the spirit that we need again. 

If people ask you what this campaign is about, you tell them it’s still about hope.  You tell them it’s still about change.  You tell them it’s still about ordinary people who believe that in the face of great odds, we can make a difference in the life of this country.  (Applause.)

Because I still believe, Seattle.  I still believe.  I still believe we're not as divided as our politics suggest.  I still believe that we have more common ground than the pundits tell us.  I believe we're not Democrats or Republicans first; I think we're Americans first.  (Applause.)  I still believe in you.  (Applause.)  I still believe in you, and that's why I’m asking you to still believe in me.  (Applause.)  I told you in 2008 that I wasn’t a perfect man -- maybe Michelle told you.  (Laughter.)  And I won’t be a perfect President.  But I promised back when I was running that first time that I’d always tell you what I thought, and I’d always tell you where I stood, and I’d wake up every single day fighting as hard as I know how for you.  (Applause.) 

And Seattle, I kept that promise.  I have kept that promise, and I will keep it as long as I have the honor of being your President.  (Applause.)  So if you’re willing to stick with me, if you’re willing to fight with me, if you’re willing to work even harder this election than the last one, I guarantee you we will move this country forward.  (Applause.)  We will finish what we started. 

I’m still fired up.  I’m still ready to go.  And we will show the world why it is that the United States of America is the greatest nation on Earth. 

Thank you, everybody.  God bless you.

END          
3:36 P.M. EDT

Presidential Nominations Sent to the Senate

NOMINATIONS SENT TO THE SENATE:

Deborah Ruth Malac, of Virginia, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Liberia.

Thomas Skerik Sowers II, of Missouri, to be an Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs (Public and Intergovernmental Affairs), vice Ladda Tammy Duckworth.

Fernando Torres-Gil, of California, to be a Member of the National Council on Disability for a term expiring September 17, 2014. (Reappointment)

Commitments to Promote Financial Empowerment Across the Country

Today, Cecilia Muñoz, Director of the Domestic Policy Council, joined by businesses and community leaders from across the country at the White House Summit on Financial Capability and Empowerment, announced new private- and public-sector commitments to improve financial literacy and capability for all Americans. The Administration also unveiled a new resource guide for schools, colleges and universities, employers, and community leaders to help them create their own capability initiatives aimed at empowering Americans to better understand and address financial matters, from saving for retirement to managing credit.

“Across our country, millions of Americans work hard and play by the rules to protect the gains they have made and secure a brighter future for their loved ones” said Cecilia Muñoz, Director of the Domestic Policy Council. “The resilience and ingenuity of our people are driving our economic recovery, and as we lay the foundation for an America built to last, we must also promote the ability of all Americans to make financial decisions that help them gain a footing into the middle class, kinder their entrepreneurial spirit, and sustain our long-term economic stability.”

“After what we’ve learned from the Great Recession, now more than ever we know the importance of empowering more Americans with both financial literacy and clear, basic financial information to not only protect them from devastating personal outcomes but also to prevent dynamics that can harm the entire economy,” said Gene Sperling, Director of the National Economic Council.  

In addition to the resource guide, a new, interactive tool for youth and parents to learn important financial lessons from ages 3 to 18+ was officially launched. Money as You Grow, created by the President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability, uses easy-to-understand language and includes behavior-changing activities around 20 key money concepts.

Studies show young Americans, low-income households, Latinos and African-Americans present particular vulnerabilities in financial capability. Approximately one in three Latinos and African-Americans do not have a bank account and nearly a quarter approach retirement with less than $1,000 in total net worth, excluding pensions and Social Security.  Young adults, ages 18-29,  are more likely to pay the minimum payment only on their credit cards, rapidly accruing debt.

The 14 new commitments, aimed at helping thousands of Americans access information and tools they need to make responsible financial decisions, were made by companies and organizations across the public, private and non-profit sectors, including:

REACHING CITIES & COMMUNITIES

• National Conference of Black Mayors: The National Conference of Black Mayors (NCBM) announced that more than 80 Mayors have committed to stand up local Financial Literacy Councils before the end of 2012 with goal of 100 cities.  These Financial Literacy Councils will serve as a local one-stop shop for financial dignity, financial capability and empowerment, for youth, consumers, and businesses.  For the full list of cities, please click here.

• Allstate: Allstate committed to providing $1 million to support state domestic violence coalitions in their work to provide innovative financial services to survivors of domestic violence in order to help empower them to make financial decisions on their own.

• Charles Schwab Foundation: The Charles Schwab Foundation committed $1 million over two years to co-develop with AARP Foundation a financial education and mentoring pilot program designed to help vulnerable older workers and job-seekers set goals and implement action plans to reduce debt, repair credit, build savings and regain control of their finances. The program will be delivered through select nonprofit partners in six cities – Washington, D.C. metro area, Austin, Denver, Phoenix, New Orleans and San Francisco.  Launching this summer, the pilot program has a goal to mobilize 300 volunteers and reach 6,000 participants in the first year.

• HelloWallet and Marsh & McLennan Companies: In cooperation with Marsh & McLennan Companies, HelloWallet, a technology start-up that provides unbiased financial guidance to workers at leading U.S. employers, has committed to donating 20,000 two-year subscriptions to non-profit and government organizations to help a variety of Americans in need improve their well-being and manage their financial responsibilities. The value of these memberships is worth more than $4 million, which HelloWallet expects to generate at least an estimated $20 million in new savings for individuals and families in need.

• MasterCard: MasterCard is making two new community-based announcements: 1) the creation of ‘Your Money Smarter’, which is a new regional financial inclusion and education program that delivers basic and useful tips about budgeting, tracking, saving and spending money and understanding financial management tools to communities in the US via text message and is a scalable platform that will be tested with 18 community organizations in the U.S. and then eventually rolled out nationally; and 2) the ‘PayPerks for Public Sector’ program, which is an optional feature of MasterCard’s federal, state and local government prepaid card programs that fuses online education with sweepstakes-based incentives in order to provide consumers with information on the most effective use of their government-sponsored prepaid cards.

REACHING AMERICA’S YOUTH

• Chicago Public Schools and Discover: The Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is announcing a K - 12 Financial Literacy Framework that will launch during the upcoming 2012-2013 school year with a 12th Grade Personal Finance Capstone Course. Once fully operation, the initiative will begin equipping more than 400,000 students each year with the knowledge, skills and tools to become informed and active citizens in a global society and to make wise financial decisions. Funding for the course is being provided by a $1 million grant from Discover Financial Services as part of the company's effort to bring financial education curriculum into public high schools across the country.

• Denver Public Schools and Operation HOPE: Denver Public Schools is launching a new effort to increase student financial literacy in Far Northeast Denver to connect more than 1,500 low and moderate-income middle and high school students with business executives from across the city. Students will learn the ins and outs of running a small business through these mentorships, and then will get their chance to start their own operation. Student businesses will then be tracked by Gallup using the Gallup-HOPE Index throughout the year to determine how successful their individual projects are. The goal is to teach students how to create financial goals, set budgets and then work within their means as they try to accomplish their goals in a project-based environment.

• Oakland Unified School District and Operation HOPE: Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) is expanding their partnership to deliver “Banking on Our Future” financial literacy education to every 4th - 12th grade student, approximately 14,000 students, in the Oakland Public Schools. This project will launch the Gallup HOPE Index and the HOPE Business-in-a-Box initiative. The project will consist of small businesses and entrepreneurial endeavors run by students which are easy to start, fund and operate and tailored for the interests and capabilities of Oakland youth. The Gallup HOPE Index will measure each student's level of hope, well-being, engagement, financial literacy, and economic energy.

• AOL and the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship:  AOL’s Cambio.com is launching a new content hub focused on helping teens create businesses and learn to make smart financial choices throughout their lives. The destination has the potential to reach 1 million teens monthly through the Cambio Network. At the outset, Cambio and the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) will collaborate to allow teens access to NFTE’s soon to launch MakeYourJob.org – a five step process to start a summer business – that includes inspiring videos of fellow teen entrepreneurs on Cambio.com.  AOL will also give a select number of teen entrepreneurs competing in NFTE’s National Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge the opportunity to present their business ideas on stage at TechCrunch Disrupt-NY in September 2012.

• Bank of America and National College Advising Corps: Bank of America is investing $1 million over the next three years in the National College Advising Corps (NCAC) to assist more than 100,000 students and their families to better understand FAFSA resources and financial management, with the goal of helping students manage financial debt more effectively and decrease the burden of student loans.  NCAC’s primary goal is to raise college enrollment and completion rates among low-income, first-generation-college, under-represented high school students.

• MasterCard and the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship: MasterCard and the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) are announcing the expansion of its partnership in order to help realize the goal of providing entrepreneurial training and resources to more than one million children by 2017.  With an expanded grant of more than $1,000,000 for the 2012-2013 school year, MasterCard will support the modernization of NFTE’s core curriculum.  MasterCard will also serve as founding sponsor of the inaugural NFTE 2.0 Innovation Incubator to be unveiled in St. Louis later to help youth develop innovative businesses. 

REACHING WORKING AMERICANS

• Allstate: Allstate has committed to providing each of its more than 30,000 employees with a financial wellbeing self-assessment tool, which is currently under development. Not unlike a health assessment tool, this program will enable Allstate’s employees to gain a better understanding of their personal financial situation. In addition to the tool, Allstate will provide its employees with free financial capability services, such as credit counseling, that will be tailored to their needs.

• American Express: American Express has committed to create a Virtual Smart Saving Fair to encourage employees and their families to engage in the financial tools and resources provided by American Express.  The initial rollout to American Express’ 4,000 plus employees that do not work from an office (virtual employees) will be followed by a broader rollout to 27,000 U.S. employees and their families. 

• Visa Inc.: Visa is committing to provide comprehensive personal finance education resources to all 7,500 of their employees by the end of 2013. Every Visa employee will receive their own financial literacy tool kit, a comprehensive collection that will include a broad array of tutorials, interactive calculators, videos and podcasts for them and their family. Visa will also create a web-based financial education resource center on the company’s Intranet site. Finally, Visa will provide free educational materials to all other organizations participating in the Summit who are making similar workplace-based financial capability pledges.

Administration Officials Announce National Strategy to Increase Travel and Tourism in the United States to 100 Million Visitors Annually by 2021

WASHINGTON, DC – Commerce Secretary John Bryson and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar today announced the Administration’s National Tourism and Travel Strategy – delivering on President Obama’s call in January for a national strategy to promote domestic and international travel opportunities throughout the United States.

The National Strategy is a blueprint for expanding travel to and within the U.S., laying out concrete steps to be taken in five key areas.  It sets out a goal of increasing American jobs by attracting and welcoming 100 million international visitors annually by the end of 2021, more than a 50 percent increase over the number expected this year. These international visitors would spend an estimated $250 billion per year, creating jobs and spurring economic growth in communities across the country.

“Tens of millions of tourists from all over the world come and visit America every year.  They stay in our hotels, they eat at our restaurants, they visit our attractions, and they help create jobs.  At a time when too many Americans are still looking for work, we need to make it easier for more people to visit this country and keep our economy growing,” said President Obama.

“This Administration will continue to do everything we can to support travel and tourism – our number one services export – which will help support millions of American jobs,” Secretary Bryson said. “I am proud of our work on the National Strategy, a product of a strong private-public partnership, which will make the U.S. even more welcoming to visitors and reinforce our message to the world: the United States is open for business.” 

“As our nation’s economy continues to gain strength, tourism - especially international tourism - holds the promise of being an economic engine for the country,” Secretary Salazar said. “These recommendations will help make the United States a more attractive travel destination for people around the globe, and I look forward to working with our partners across government and industry to turn this strategy into action.”

The U.S. tourism and travel industry is a substantial component of U.S. GDP, exports, and employment.  Efforts to make America the top tourist destination in the world offer a tremendous opportunity to create jobs and strengthen the U.S. economy.  In 2011, the travel and tourism industry generated $1.2 trillion from domestic and international travel and supported 7.6 million jobs – with international travel to the United States resulting in a record $153 billion in receipts and supporting 1.2 million jobs. The Commerce Department recently released a travel and tourism forecast projecting that the U.S. can expect 4-5 percent average annual growth in tourism over the next five years, and that 65.4 million foreign travelers are projected to visit the U.S. in 2012 alone.

In January 2012, President Obama signed an Executive Order and announced new administrative initiatives to significantly increase travel and tourism in the United States. He charged Secretaries Bryson and Salazar with leading a Task Force for Travel and Competitiveness to create the National Strategy. Today’s strategy reflects input from local government and business leaders, including the U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board (TTAB), as well as ongoing initiatives throughout the Federal government, to ensure that the government leverages all of our national assets and resources to fully support the travel and tourism industry.