Happy 4th from @VP

Amy Dudley
Amy Dudley
July 04, 2011
10:55 AM EST

Watch out @whitehouse… Vice President Biden’s office is now on Twitter.

Today, the Office of the Vice President launched an official Twitter account – @VP – with a call from Vice President Biden and Dr. Jill Biden asking all Americans to remember our troops and military families on Independence Day.

VP&Dr. B hope you take time to think about our troops & military families this Independence Day, Happy July 4th from OVP! @JoiningForces

@VP is the latest addition to the growing White House community on Twitter and comes as the White House prepares for its first ever Twitter Town Hall with President Obama this Wednesday, July 6th at 2:00 EDT.

Through @VP, Vice President Biden’s staff will keep followers up to speed on all things happening in the Office of the Vice President (OVP) – from the West Wing, to the Eisenhower Executive Office Building and the Office of Dr. Jill Biden, to the Naval Observatory. @VP will be on the road with the Vice President across the country and around the world, providing updates on the latest news and announcements coming out of OVP, as well as a behind the scenes look at Veep-life.

We hope you’ll connect with the Vice President’s office today by following us @VP, as well as tune in to hear the President discuss jobs and the economy with @whitehouse followers at the White House Twitter Town Hall.

Amy Dudley is Deputy Press Secretary to the Vice President
Related Topics: Technology

Behind the Scenes: First Lady Michelle Obama at Cape Town Soccer Event

June 24, 2011 | 2:17 | Public Domain

The First Lady, Michelle Obama, participated in a Youth Soccer event at Cape Town Stadium with local youths geared towards promoting exercise and raising awareness about HIV/AIDS among South African youth. Before the event, the first lady met with the organizations who help to sponsor the activities. Here, she meets and here's the story of Nozandulela Samela, a communications associate of the organization mothers2mothers and a woman living with HIV.

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The White House

Office of the Vice President

For Immediate Release
June 23, 2011

Statement by Vice President Biden On the Bipartisan Debt Talks

Over the past several weeks, the bipartisan debt talks have made significant progress on a blueprint for putting America’s fiscal house in order.  Working together in good faith, we have found many areas of common ground and potential agreement on substantial savings.  As all of us at the table said at the outset, the goal of these talks was to report our findings back to our respective leaders.  The next phase is in the hands of those leaders, who need to determine the scope of an agreement that can tackle the problem and attract bipartisan support.  For now the talks are in abeyance as we await that guidance.  We stand ready to meet again as necessary.

As the President and I have made clear from the beginning, the only way to make sure we begin to live within our means is by coming together behind a balanced approach that finds real savings across the budget – including domestic spending, defense spending, mandatory spending, and loopholes in the tax code.  We all need to make sacrifices, and that includes the most fortunate among us.

I continue to be grateful to my fellow negotiators for taking on this formidable challenge.  We have made real headway and laid the groundwork to get this done.  We owe it to the American people to take every responsible step to do right by our economy and the nation’s future.

"We're Keeping Our Promises": Vice President Joe Biden on Afghanistan, Iraq, and Our Commitment to Defeat al Qaeda

Kori Schulman
Kori Schulman
June 23, 2011
10:53 AM EST

Last night, President Obama addressed the nation on the way forward in Afghanistan and his plan to remove 10,000 American troops from Afghanistan by the end of this year, and a total of 33,000 by next summer.

To put this decision in a larger context, Vice President Biden took a few minutes to share his thoughts about the promises this Administration has made – and kept – when it comes to the war in Afghanistan, the war in Iraq, and our commitment to defeat al Qaeda.

Watch the Vice President's full remarks here.

Related Topics: Counterterrorism, Defense, Middle East and North Africa, South and Central Asia, Foreign Policy

Vice President Joe Biden on Keeping Our Promises

June 22, 2011 | 4:35 | Public Domain

Following President Obama's address to the nation on the way forward in Afghanistan, Vice President Biden takes a few minutes to share his thoughts about the promises this Administration has made -- and kept -- when it comes to the war in Afghanistan, the war in Iraq, and our commitment to defeat al Qaeda.

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The White House

Office of the Vice President

For Immediate Release
June 22, 2011

Readout of Vice President Biden's Meeting with Iraqi Council of Representatives Speaker Osama al-Nujaifi

Vice President Biden met today with Iraqi Council of Representatives Speaker Osama al-Nujaifi. The Vice President praised the Speaker’s stewardship of Iraq’s legislature and offered continued support for the development of Iraq’s democratic institutions, including a national partnership government. The Vice President also thanked the Speaker for his work to secure approval for a $400 million compensation package for American victims of the Saddam Hussein regime. The Vice President and the Speaker discussed our shared interest in an enduring partnership between the United States and Iraq, across a range of sectors, under the Strategic Framework Agreement.

Oregon Representative Jefferson Smith

June 22, 2011 | 1:40 | Public Domain

Oregon Representative Jefferson Smith talks about being a young elected official.

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Raw Video: The First Lady Visits Emthonjeni Community Center

June 21, 2011 | 2:00 | Public Domain

Raw video of the First Lady Michelle Obama and the First Family's visit to Emthonjeni Community Center in Zandspruit Township, South Africa, where they are welcomed in song and taught a local dancing game from the children.

On Board: First Day with The First Lady in South Africa

June 21, 2011 | 1:19 | Public Domain

After arriving in South Africa, First Lady Michelle Obama spent her first day in Johannesburg where she dropped by the Mandella Foundation, visited an under-served community center to donate books, toured the Apartheid Musuem. Also, In an anticipation of the Young African Women's Leaders Forum, the First Lady held an inspirational gathering with the 76 participants.

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President Obama Discusses Economic Growth with America’s Mayors

Posted by David Agnew on June 21, 2011 at 10:17 AM EST
President Meets with Conference of Mayors

President Barack Obama meets with the U.S. Conference of Mayors leadership to discuss the economy and their local efforts to create jobs and spur economic growth, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, June 20, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Monday afternoon, President Obama met with a bipartisan group of fourteen mayors to talk about the state of the economy in their cities and their just-ended meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Baltimore, Maryland.  The President, who was joined by Vice President Biden, Chief of Staff Bill Daley, and Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett, stressed his continued commitment to working closely with mayors to spur job creation and economic growth.

Mayors attending included:

•         Mayor David Bing of Detroit, MI
•         Mayor Mick Cornett of Oklahoma City, OK
•         Mayor Buddy Dyer of Orlando, FL
•         Mayor Anthony Foxx of Charlotte, NC
•         Mayor Sly James of Kansas City, MO
•         Mayor Kevin Johnson of Sacramento, CA
•         Mayor Elizabeth Kautz of Burnsville, MN
•         Mayor Michael Nutter of  Philadelphia, PA
•         Mayor Jean Quan of Oakland, CA
•         Mayor Kasim Reed of Atlanta, GA
•         Mayor Joe Riley of Charleston, SC
•         Mayor R.T. Rybak of Minneapolis, MN
•         Mayor Scott Smith of Mesa, AZ
•         Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa of Los Angeles, CA
 
The newly-installed President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, told the President that he appreciated the solid working relationship that mayors have with this White House and urged the President to continue fighting for investments in our nation's infrastructure.  Mayor Villaraigosa also urged Congress to address job creation and stressed the importance of education and workforce training programs.

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