November 12, 2010 | 1:10 | Public Domain
Vice President Joe Biden visits Arlington National Cemetery to honor Veterans Day. The Vice President laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns, spoke with Veterans and Military Families at the Memorial Amphitheater, as well as visiting Section 60 of the cemetery.
Last fall, the Middle Class Task Force and the Council on Environmental Quality released a report called Recovery Through Retrofit, which identified the key barriers standing in the way of strong and sustainable home energy-efficiency industry. For the past year, we have been working with our partners across the federal government to address these barriers, and today, the Vice President announced three new initiatives that will grow this industry and help middle-class families save money on their energy bills.
First, homeowners don’t have access to clear and reliable information about their home’s energy performance and how to improve it. So today, the Department of Energy announced a program called Home Energy Score. Using a new software tool, trained contractors will be able to go through a house in an hour or less and generate a report with two critical components:
The White House
Office of the Vice President
WASHINGTON – At a Middle Class Task Force event today, Vice President Biden announced a series of federal actions designed to lay the groundwork for a strong, self-sustaining home energy efficiency retrofit industry. These actions include a new Home Energy Score program that will help homeowners make cost-effective decisions about home energy improvements and a new retrofit financing program called PowerSaver. The Vice President was joined by Nancy Sutley, Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ); Steven Chu, Secretary of Energy (DOE); Hilda Solis, Secretary of Labor (DOL); and Shaun Donovan, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
“The initiatives announced today are putting the Recovery Through Retrofit report’s recommendations into action – giving American families the tools they need to invest in home energy upgrades,” said Vice President Biden. “Together, these programs will grow the home retrofit industry and help middle class families save money and energy.”
The announcement culminates an 18-month-long interagency effort facilitated by CEQ with the Office of the Vice President, 11 departments and agencies and six White House offices. The interagency working group has addressed the recommendations laid out in the October 2009 Middle Class Task Force Recovery Through Retrofit report, which identified homeowners’ lack of access to information and consumer-friendly financing options, as well as a lack of skilled workers, as the key barriers to a strong nationwide market for home energy upgrades. The initiatives announced today include:
“Improving home energy efficiency in the U.S. is a common sense way to grow jobs here at home while saving American families money on their electricity bills and reducing harmful air pollution,” said Nancy Sutley. “These actions will support the growth of a strong home energy retrofit market in yet another demonstration of how a healthy economy and a healthy environment go hand in hand.”
Said Secretary Chu, “The Home Energy Score will help make energy efficiency easy and accessible to America’s families by providing them with straightforward and reliable information about their homes’ energy performance and specific, cost-effective energy efficiency improvements that will save them money on their monthly energy bills. ”
Home Energy Score program: DOE has developed a voluntary new Home Energy Score program that will help homeowners make cost-effective decisions about home energy improvements. Trained and certified contractors will be able to use a newly developed energy software tool to generate:
DOE will launch the Home Energy Score this fall through a pilot program in select regions across the country before making the voluntary program available everywhere. For those pilots in rural areas, USDA Rural Development will partner with DOE and rural electric cooperatives to increase participation and improve home energy efficiency in rural America. To see a sample Home Energy Score, click HERE.
“HUD and FHA are committed to lowering the cost and expanding the availability of affordable financing for home energy retrofits,” said Secretary Donovan. “PowerSaver will help more homeowners afford common sense, cost saving improvements to their homes, and will create jobs for contractors, installers and energy auditors across the country.”
A New Financing Option – PowerSaver Loans: FHA PowerSaver is a new financing option, developed by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), which will enable homeowners to make energy saving improvements to their homes through affordable federally-insured loans from private lenders. Homeowners will be able to borrow money for terms as long as 20 years to make energy improvements of their choice, based on a list of proven, cost-effective measures developed by FHA and DOE. FHA’s approval and monitoring procedures will ensure that PowerSaver loans are only offered by responsible, qualified lenders. PowerSaver will begin as a two-year pilot program. For more information, click HERE.
“Publishing workforce guidelines will help workers and employers pursue training strategies that are consistent with leading energy retrofitting practices,” said Secretary Solis. “Not only is high quality training at the core of broader access to job opportunities in this growing industry, it also keeps workers safe and fosters maximum return on the investments of homeowners looking to decrease their energy costs. That’s what I call a win-win proposition.”
Workforce Guidelines for Home Energy Upgrades: DOE and DOL, with support from the Departments of Education, Health and Human Services, and the Environmental Protection Agency, have created voluntary guidelines that identify the skills and knowledge necessary for workers in the home energy retrofit industry. The Workforce Guidelines for Home Energy Upgrades can be adopted by training providers to improve retrofit course curriculum and training programs. In addition, DOE will work with the Weatherization Assistance Program, Recovery Act grantees, and other federal retrofit programs to put the Workforce Guidelines into practice across the country. The Guidelines, which were drafted with input from a wide range of industry stakeholders, are designed to foster the growth of a skilled workforce that will increase homeowners’ confidence in the retrofit industry. Before finalizing the Workforce Guidelines, DOE invites the public and industry to provide comments at: www.weatherization.energy.gov/retrofit_guidelines.
Healthy Indoor Environment Protocols for Home Energy Upgrades: The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Healthy Indoor Environment Protocols for Home Energy Upgrades serves as a companion document to the Workforce Guidelines for Home Energy Upgrades. These protocols provide the recommended actions necessary to maintain or improve indoor air quality and resident health when performing home energy retrofits. Before finalizing the Protocols, EPA invites the public to provide comments at: www.epa.gov/iaq/homes/retrofits.html.
SBA’s Green Business Opportunities Course: The Small Business Administration’s (SBA) new online course, Green Business Opportunities: A Small Business Guide, provides training for entrepreneurs who are looking to enter the home energy retrofit market. The course provides free business counseling and information for those seeking to launch a new business or expand an existing business in the energy efficiency market. This training opportunity is free and available on SBA Office of Entrepreneurship Education’s website at www.sba.gov/training.
For more information on all these initiatives, click HERE.
The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
Washington, D.C. – On November 11, Cabinet Secretaries and senior officials will join Vice President Joe Biden, First Lady Michelle Obama, and Dr. Jill Biden in participating in Veterans Day service projects, events, and ceremonies across the country and around the world in honor of our nation’s Veterans, those wounded or killed in battle, our soldiers home and abroad, and their families.
Administration officials will attend ceremonies, greet troops, and participate in a variety of community service projects joining volunteers across the nation in support of our servicemen and women on the 92nd anniversary of the end of World War I.
Additionally, as part of the WhiteHouse.gov Tuesday Talks series, Tammy Duckworth, Veterans Affairs Assistant Secretary for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs, will participate in a live video chat on WhiteHouse.gov and Facebook on Tuesday, November 9, at 2:15 p.m. EST. People around the country are invited to submit their questions on the Administration's commitment to supporting our service members and their families. Visit the White House blog for more information.
The details of the Veterans Day service projects and events are below. Events are taking place on Thursday, November 11, and are open to the press unless otherwise noted. For more information on each event, please contact the relevant agency or office directly.
Vice President Joe Biden
The Vice President will host a Veterans Day breakfast at the White House. This event will be closed press. Afterwards, the Vice President will visit Arlington National Cemetery where he will participate in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknowns. This event is open to pre-credentialed media. The Vice President will then deliver remarks at the Memorial Amphitheater at Arlington National Cemetery. This event is open to pre-credentialed media.
First Lady Michelle Obama
First Lady Michelle Obama will make a series of stops within the Kaiserslautern Military Community on Veterans Day to thank U.S. servicemen and women for their service. She will also visit Landstuhl Regional Medical Center to visit wounded warriors.
Dr. Jill Biden
On Wednesday, November 10, Dr. Jill Biden will join active-duty military, Veterans, and military families at a volunteer event in Washington, D.C., with the ServiceNation’s Mission Serve initiative. Dr. Biden will give brief remarks and join Veterans and other volunteers to work on landscaping and painting of the final two homes of a development at a Habitat for Humanity housing site in Northeast Washington’s Deanwood neighborhood. Dr. Biden and the First Lady helped to kick off the Mission Serve Initiative on Veterans Day in 2009 as part of their ongoing work to encourage Americans to show service members, Veterans, and military families appreciation for their service.
Department of Veterans Affairs
Secretary Shinseki will attend the White House breakfast with Veterans’ Service Organizations, hosted by the Vice President. Afterwards, he will participate in traditional Veterans Day ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery. He also will participate in receptions hosted by the Legion of Valor and the Paralyzed Veterans of America organizations.
Department of Defense
Secretary Gates will attend a Veterans Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.
Department of the Interior
Secretary Salazar will participate in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C.
Department of Labor
On Thursday, November 4, Secretary Solis participated in the Labor Department’s annual Salute to Veterans. On Wednesday, November 10, Assistant Secretary for Veterans’ Employment and Training Ray Jefferson will be the keynote speaker at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Veterans Day Salute.
Department of Housing and Urban Development
Secretary Donovan will host a Veterans Day event for staff at HUD headquarters.
Department of Energy
Secretary Chu will travel to New Orleans on Veterans Day to volunteer at a home construction site with the St. Bernard’s Project, a group dedicated to creating ongoing housing opportunities for community residents in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. In conjunction with the visit, the Department of Energy will also be announcing plans to advise St. Bernard’s Project staff on best practices to improve the energy efficiency of homes being rebuilt and new houses being constructed.
Department of Education
Secretary Duncan will observe Veterans Day by visiting Manor View Elementary School on the military post at Fort Meade and celebrating the unveiling of the school’s newly renovated library. Secretary Duncan, along with his family, will participate in the library’s ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Department of Homeland Security
Secretary Napolitano will lay a wreath during the Coast Guard ceremony at Arlington Cemetery.
Small Business Administration
Administrator Karen Mills on Wednesday, November 10, will make an announcement regarding SBA’s successful entrepreneurship programs for service-disabled Veterans, women Veterans, Guard, Reservists and family members.
General Services Administration (GSA)
Administrator Johnson will be in Gulfport, Mississippi, on Tuesday, November 9, for the opening of the Armed Forces Retirement Home, a retirement home for approximately 600 Veterans. GSA built this new retirement home to replace one destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.
The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
2:15 P.M. EDT
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Hello, Cleveland! (Applause.) Hello, folks. How you doing, ladies? It’s great to see you all. Man, I want to look like you when I grow up, man, you're looking awful good. (Applause.) Good to see you. Hey, folks, it’s great to be with you. (Applause.) It’s really good to be back in Ohio with the best governor in the United States of America, Ted Strickland. (Applause.)
Ted and I were raised the same way -- a simple proposition, real easy: You stick with them that brung you to the dance. (Laughter.) And Ted and Lee, they brought us to this dance, the President and me. And, Ted and Lee, we're here for both of you.
Let me tell you something, Ohio. Back where I come from Cleveland is the kind of place -- on a much smaller scale where I come from -- like where I came from. Ladies and gentlemen, it’s the kind of people who are the backbone of this country, the kind of people who are just straightforward, work hard, play by the rules, and expect the other guy to play by the rules. (Applause.)
It’s a state that because of Governor Strickland’s leadership in Columbus is a state that's on the march again. (Applause.) A state that's reestablished itself as a global hub for research, innovation and manufacturing -- like it used to be before these Republicans took hold. (Applause.)
All we need now is to keep this momentum going. And there’s only one way to do that -- and that's all of you that are here, you're the same folks that made sure Barack and I get to be on this stage today -- (applause) -- so we're asking you to do the same thing you did for us. Go out there to your neighbors, send emails, make phone calls, knock on doors, make sure you're there to give folks a ride to the polls on Tuesday -- because I'll tell you one thing. If John Kasich were to win this, I promise you the Governor’s Mansion is going to be a very different place and this momentum that Ted has got going is going to come to a screeching halt. And that's no exaggeration.
Kasich and Rob Portman, they want to do what they’ve always done. They’re not bad guys, they just have a whole different view of how real folks live. Ladies and gentlemen, these guys want to continue to give tax breaks to companies who send their jobs to China. They don't think --
AUDIENCE: Booo --
THE VICE PRESIDENT: This is real, though. This is not just political theater. They don't think we should be giving tax credits for renewable energy so that you can make the windmills and solar panels and lithium ion batteries right here in Ohio, and hire thousands and thousands of Ohioans. (Applause.) They don't think we should provide the tax breaks to middle-class families to help send their kids to this great university. They don't think that's -- literally, that's what we're doing. But they don't think we should. And as a matter of fact, they don't even want to make the middle-class tax cuts permanent -- unless -- unless we provide $700 billion in tax cuts to their wealthy friends, increasing the burdens of the debt $700 billion.
AUDIENCE: Booo --
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Folks, these guys have a different view.
Mr. President, a lot of folks here have been knocked down. They’ve been knocked down pretty hard by the economic policies supported by John and Rob and their Republican friends. A lot of folks have been hurt. But let me tell you something, Mr. President. These folks in here you're going to talk to in a second and you know from being here -- they’re tough. These folks don't stay down. (Applause.)
I believe you all believe like I do and like I was raised. My dad used to say, when you get knocked down, there’s only one thing to do -- get up! (Applause.) Get up! And, folks, when you get up, make sure the same thing doesn’t knock you down again. (Applause.)
And, folks, we're getting up. And we're going to make sure the bankrupt policies of the Republican Party don't knock us down again. We're getting up and we're staying up -- thanks to the leadership of President Obama and because of this great governor, Ted Strickland. (Applause.)
We're starting to get out of this god-awful mess the Republican Party left us with. We're creating jobs. We're making college affordable to the middle class again. We're revving up America’s research engine, finding new energy technologies, cures for diseases. We're working -- we're working to uphold that distinctly American promise that the next generation will have it better than we had it; that we'll leave our children and our grandchildren better off than what we inherited.
And, Mr. President, it’s because of you.
Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome my partner, the President of the United States of America, Barack Obama! (Applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: Hello, Cleveland! (Applause.) Thank you! Are you fired up? (Applause.) It is good to be back in Cleveland, good to be back in Ohio. (Applause.) And it’s great to be with a crowd that looks like it’s fired up and ready to go. (Applause.)
A few people I want to just thank because they are doing outstanding work each and every day: The Cleveland mayor, Frank Johnson -- Frank Jackson. Thank you so much. (Applause.) Thank you, Frank.
My dear friend, Attorney General Rich Cordray. (Applause.) State Treasurer Kevin Boyce. (Applause.) Some of the finest members of Congress that we have -- Senator Sherrod Brown is in the house. (Applause.) Congressman Dennis Kucinich. (Applause.) Congresswoman Betty Sutton. (Applause.) One of my favorite members of Congress who couldn’t be here because he just had a baby yesterday -- his wife had a baby. (Laughter.) He is an outstanding young man and we expect to send him back to Congress -- John Boccieri. (Applause.) New baby girl is named Emma, by the way.
I want to thank President Ronald Berkman here at Cleveland State University. (Applause.) I want to thank Common for his wonderful performance. (Applause.) I want to thank -- Congresswoman Betty Sutton is in the house, I believe. (Applause.) Is she here? Where is Betty? Hey, Betty. (Laughter.) And most of all, folks who are going to be leading Ohio for many years to come -- Lieutenant Governor Lee Fisher, who’s going to be going to Washington, and one of the finest governors in this country, Ted Strickland, and First Lady Frances Strickland. (Applause.)
We are here for Ted and we’re here for Lee and all the members of the congressional delegation.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: Marcia Fudge!
THE PRESIDENT: Marcia Fudge -- Marcia Fudge, of course. (Applause.) For some reason, Marcia wasn’t on the list. Is Marcia here? Where is Marcia? We love Marcia -- it’s just she wasn’t here, that’s all. I love Marcia. That’s my girl. (Laughter.) We were acknowledging those folks who were in the crowd, but we love Marcia. And Marcia is going to do a great job.
Look, Joe Biden and I -- Joe Biden and I have been traveling all across the country and there are a lot of places where we’re doing a lot of great work. But there are very few places where we are doing as much good work as we were doing right here in Ohio. (Applause.) And, Cleveland, in just two days -- in just two days, you’ve got the chance --
AUDIENCE INTERRUPTION: (Inaudible.)
AUDIENCE: Yes, we can! Yes, we can! Yes, we can!
THE PRESIDENT: I can’t hear you. Did you say, yes, we can?
AUDIENCE: Yes, we can! Yes, we can! Yes, we can!
THE PRESIDENT: In two days, you have the chance to set the direction of this country and this state for many years to come. Just like you did in 2008, you can defy the conventional wisdom -– the kind of conventional wisdom, the stale wisdom that says you can’t overcome cynicism in our politics; that says, no, you can’t overcome all the special interests and the special interest money; that says, no, you can’t tackle the biggest challenges in this country.
In two days, you’ve got the chance to once again say, “Yes, we can.” (Applause.)
Now, Cleveland, there is no doubt that this is a difficult election. And that’s because we’ve gone through an incredibly difficult time as a nation. And nobody knows that more than the folks in Cleveland and the folks in Ohio.
For most of the last decade, middle-class families have been struggling. This didn’t just start a year ago, it didn’t just start two years ago. Between 2001 and 2009, the average middle-class family saw their incomes across the country go down by 5 percent, when the other side was in charge. Between 2001 and 2009, job growth was slower than any time since World War II. Meanwhile, the costs of everything, from health care to sending a child to college, kept on going up and up and up. Too many families couldn’t send their kids to college. Too many families couldn’t visit a doctor when somebody got sick. Americans, too many of them were working two, three jobs and still couldn’t make ends meet. And a whole lot of folks couldn’t find a job at all.
And these problems were then compounded by the worst economic crisis, the worst financial crisis, since the Great Depression. I mean, think about it, we had a recession that was so bad we lost 4 million jobs before Joe and I were even sworn into office. Then we had another 750,000 jobs lost the month we took office; 600,000 the month after; 600,000 the month after that. We lost almost 8 million jobs before our economic policies could even be put into place.
Now, when Joe and I got to Washington, our hope was that both parties would put politics aside to meet this once-in-a-generation challenge. Because although we are proud to be Democrats, Cleveland, we are prouder to be Americans. (Applause.) And we had confidence and continue to have confidence that there are Republicans out there who feel the same way.
But the Republican leaders in Washington, they had a different calculation. Their basic theory was, you know what, the economy is so bad, we made such a mess of things, that rather than cooperate, we’ll be better off just saying no to everything. We’ll be better off not even trying to fix the economy. And people will get angry and they will get frustrated and maybe two years from now they will have forgotten that we were the ones who caused the mess in the first place.
In other words, their basic political strategy has been to count on you having amnesia. (Laughter.) They’re betting all of you forgot how we got here.
Well, Cleveland, it’s up to you to let them know we have not forgotten. (Applause.) It’s up to you to remember that this election is a choice -– between the policies that got us into this mess and the policies that are leading us out of this mess.
If they win this election, the chair of a Republican campaign committee promised to pursue the “exact same agenda” as they did before I came into office. Now, think about that. We know what that agenda is -- it does have the virtue of simplicity. You can describe it very quickly. You basically cut taxes for millionaires and billionaires; you cut rules for special interests; and then you cut middle-class families loose to fend for themselves. You don’t have a job? Tough luck, you’re on your own. You don’t have health care? Too bad, you’re on your own. You’re a young person who can’t afford to go to college? Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps, you’re on your own.
This is an idea, this notion of theirs, that turned a record surplus into record deficits. You hear them talking down about how they are going to cut debt and deficits? These are the folks who ran up the deficit. These are the folks that allowed Wall Street to run wild. These are the folks that nearly destroyed our economy. (Applause.)
Now, I bring this up not to re-argue the past. I bring it up because I don’t want to re-live the past. (Applause.) We’ve been there before, we’ve tried what they’re selling, and we are not going back. We are not going back. (Applause.)
Cleveland, imagine the Republicans were driving the economy like a car, and they drove it into the ditch. And this is a very deep, steep ditch. And Joe and I and Ted, we had to put on our boots, we had to rappel down. (Laughter.) And it’s muddy down there and dusty and hot. Somehow the Republicans, they fled the scene. And now they’re up on the street and they’re looking down, and we call them down to help and they say, no, that’s all right. (Laughter.) They’re sipping Slurpees -- (laughter) -- they’re fanning themselves. They’re saying, you’re not pushing hard enough. Sometimes they’re kicking dirt down into the ditch -- (laughter) -- making it a little harder for us.
But that’s okay. We kept on pushing. We kept on pushing. We kept on pushing. (Applause.) And finally -- finally we got that car back on level ground. It’s moving -- it’s pointing in the right direction. It’s a little banged up. It needs to go to the body shop. It needs a tune-up. But it’s pointing in the right direction. (Applause.)
And just as we’re about to go, suddenly we get a tap on our shoulders. And we look back, who is it? It’s the Republicans. And they’re saying, we want the keys back.
AUDIENCE: Nooo --
THE PRESIDENT: Cleveland, we can’t give them the keys back. They don’t know how to drive. (Applause.) You can’t give them the keys back. They can ride with us, but we don’t want to go back in the ditch.
Have you noticed when you want to go forward, what do you do with your car?
AUDIENCE: D!
THE PRESIDENT: You put it in D. When you want to go backwards, what do you do?
AUDIENCE: R!
THE PRESIDENT: You put it in R. That’s not a coincidence. (Applause.) I don’t know about you, but I want to move forward. (Applause.)
Look, because of the steps we’ve taken, we no longer face the possibility of a second depression. The economy is growing again. The private sector has created jobs nine months in a row. And you heard Ted describe his track record here in the state of Ohio -- massively expanding access to education, seeing job growth month after month, building infrastructure to put people back to word. That is Ted’s record. That’s Lee’s record. (Applause.)
So at the federal level and the state level, we have been working hard. But, look, we understand we’ve got a long way to go. We’ve got a lot of work to do. I know there are a lot of people out there who are still hurting. I know there are families some of them still hanging by a thread. It keeps me up at night. It keeps Joe up at night. It keeps Ted up at night. That’s what we’re fighting to fix.
But, you know what, the way to fix it is not to go back to what got us here. It’s to move forward with the policies that are getting us out. (Applause.) See, Ted and Lee and Joe and I, we’ve got a different idea about what the next few years should look like. And it’s an idea rooted in our belief about how this country was built. We didn’t come from wealth. We didn’t come from fame. But our families understood, in America if you work hard, if you’re responsible, if you do the right thing, you’ve got a chance.
And our families taught us that government doesn’t have all the answers to our problems. Government should be lean and efficient. We can’t waste taxpayer dollars, especially at a time as tough as time. But in the words of the first Republican President, Abraham Lincoln, we also believe that government should do for the people what they cannot do better for themselves. (Applause.)
We believe in an America that rewards hard work and responsibility and individual initiative; that believes in the free market. But we also believe in a country where we look after one another -- where I am my brother’s keeper, where I am my sister’s keeper. (Applause.) That’s the America I know. That’s the America Joe knows. That’s the America Ted knows. That’s the America you know -- an America that invests in its future and in its people; an America that’s built to compete in the 21st century.
We know the jobs and businesses of tomorrow will end up in countries that educate their workers best, that build the best infrastructure, that have the strongest commitment to research and technology. I want that nation to be the United States of America. (Applause.) I want that taking place right here in Ohio, right here in Cleveland. That’s how we’re going to rebuild. (Applause.)
There is absolutely no reason that China should have faster railroads, that Singapore should have newer airports. We’re the nation that built the transcontinental railroad. We’re the nation that built the Interstate Highway System. Right now, we are seeing thousands of people working to rebuild our roads and our railways and our runways, right here in Ohio and all across the country, trying to start to rebuild an infrastructure for the 21st century, putting people to work doing the work that America needs done.
We see an America where we invest in homegrown innovation and ingenuity; where we export more than we import; where we make it easier to start a business or patent an invention. We don’t want to keep giving tax breaks to companies that are shipping jobs overseas. I want companies getting tax breaks that are investing in Cleveland and in Dayton and in Toledo and in Ohio and in the United States of America. (Applause.) In small businesses and American manufacturing -- which is coming back -- and in clean energy companies. I don’t want solar panels and wind turbines built in Asia or Europe. I want them made right here in the U.S. of A. with American workers. (Applause.) That’s the choice in this election.
We see an America where every citizen has the skills, the training to compete with any worker in the world. We can’t allow other countries to outpace us when it comes to education. We used to be number one in the rate of college graduation rates. We used to be at the top in math and science. Now we’re ninth in the proportion of college graduates, 21st and 25th in math and science. That’s unacceptable.
And so we made historic investments in education, just like Ted has done here in Ohio. We set a goal that by 2020 we’re going to be number one again in the proportion of college graduates. (Applause.)
Now, remember I said it is a choice this election. The other side, their main economic idea -- this is their main idea -- is to provide $700 billion worth of tax cuts to the top 2 percent of earners --
AUDIENCE: Nooo --
THE PRESIDENT: -- the 2 percent of wealthiest Americans, an average of $100,000 for millionaires and billionaires. Now, look, I want people to succeed. I think it’s wonderful if folks get rich. I want everybody to have a chance to get rich. You do, too -- this guy is raising his hand. (Applause.) I think that’s great. That’s part of the American Dream. But the way they want to pay for these tax cuts is to cut education by 20 percent and to borrow the rest from other countries.
AUDIENCE: Nooo --
THE PRESIDENT: Let me tell you, do you think China is cutting education spending by 20 percent?
AUDIENCE: No!
THE PRESIDENT: Is Germany cutting education by 20 percent?
AUDIENCE: No!
THE PRESIDENT: They’re not because they’re not playing for second place. They’re playing for first place. And you know what, the United States of America, we don’t play for second place, we don’t play for ninth place or 21st place or 25th place -- we play for number one. (Applause.) And that’s what we’ve got to do in education.
And that’s why we committed tens of billions of dollars that had been going in unwarranted subsidies to big banks and we steered that money to where it needed to be going -- to students right here at Cleveland State and all across the country -- (applause) -- increasing access to Pell Grants, increasing college scholarships. (Applause.)
That's why we want to make permanent our new college tax credit, a tax credit worth $10,000 in tuition relief for each young person who is going to college. That's the choice in this election. That's what America is about. That's what we believe in. (Applause.)
We see an America where corporations are thriving and profitable but where they’re also living up to their responsibilities -- to treat consumers fairly, to play by the same rules as everybody else. That's why we made sure insurance companies couldn’t jack up your premiums for no reason, or deny you coverage just because you’re sick. That’s why we made sure credit companies can't hit you with hidden fees or penalties. (Applause.) That’s why we made sure taxpayers are never again on the hook for the irresponsibility of Wall Street banks. (Applause.)
And you know, we see an America where we don’t pass on a mountain of debt to the next generation. We’ve got to go after this trillion-dollar deficit that I inherited when I took office -– but we’re going to do it in a responsible way. Not by cutting education by 20 percent. Not by burdening our children or our seniors or our veterans or middle-class families. We won't do it by borrowing another $700 billion to give tax cuts to folks who don't need them. We'll do it by asking for shared sacrifice of all Americans. That's the choice in this election. That’s the America that we believe in.
So, look, we've got a lot of work to do over the next few years. Ted has got a lot of work to do here in Ohio. Lee has got a lot of work to do in Washington. And we’re going to need to work together -– Democrats and Republicans and independents -– to get it all done. But, you know what, so far we're not seeing that from the other party. I guess they’re feeling cocky, maybe. The Republican leader of the House says “this is not a time for compromise.” That's a quote. The Republican leader of the Senate said his main goal for the next two years –- his top priority –- is to win the next election and to beat me.
AUDIENCE: Nooo --
THE PRESIDENT: Think about this. His priority is not to get the economy moving. It’s not to create jobs. It’s not to reduce the deficit. His top priority is to win the next election. We haven’t even finished this election. (Applause.)
But you know, that’s the mentality that we’re fighting against, Cleveland. That’s the kind of politics that we’ve got to change. It’s a politics that always puts scoring points ahead of solving problems. And that’s where all of you come in -- each and every one of you here. The only way to fight that kind of politics -– the only way to match the millions of dollars of negative ads that have been pouring down, using these phony front groups -- millions of dollars of ads -- the only way to fight that is millions of voices who are ready to finish what we started in 2008. (Applause.)
We’ve got to get Cleveland out to vote. We've got to get everybody in Ohio out to vote. And in Ohio you can vote early. There is early voting just a few blocks from here, so you can go right after this rally if you haven’t voted. (Applause.) Because if everyone who fought for change in 2008 shows up to vote in 2010, we will win this election. I am confident of that. (Applause.)
A lot of you got involved in 2008 because you believed we were at a defining moment in our history. That's what Joe believed. That's what I believed. You believed that we were in a time where the decisions we make won't just affect us; they’ll affect our children, they’ll affect our grandchildren for decades to come. That’s the reason so many of you knocked on doors, made phone calls, and some cast your vote for the very first time.
And it turns out, as I said at the time, change isn’t easy. Power concedes nothing without a fight. And so throughout the past 20 months we have been pushing and working, and I've had a great partner in Joe Biden. Couldn't have a better Vice President. (Applause.) And I've had a great partner in Ted Strickland. Couldn't have a better governor than Ted. (Applause.) And we've made progress. But I know that sometimes, as we're grinding out this change, and there’s all the negative ads and the pundits on TV and there’s still a lot of unemployment out here, and sometimes people feel discouraged.
And I know that some of the excitement of Election Night and Inauguration Day starts to fade. You know, Beyoncé was singing and Bono was up there. (Applause.) And I know people start to -- oh, that was fun. Now it’s just seems like work all the time. And then you guys see me on TV and, boy, he’s getting really gray. Did you see that? (Laughter.) He’s starting to look old. (Laughter and applause.)
But, look, Cleveland, I want you to remember this. Don’t let anybody tell you this fight isn’t worth it. Don’t let anybody tell you you’re not making a difference. Because of you, there’s a woman somewhere in Ohio who no longer has to choose between losing her home and treating her cancer. (Applause.) Because of you, somewhere in Ohio there’s a parent who can look their child in the eye and say, yes, you are going to college, we can afford it. (Applause.) Because of you, somewhere in Ohio there’s a small business owner who kept their doors open in the depths of recession. Because of you, there are nearly 100,000 brave men and women who are no longer at war in Iraq -- because of you. (Applause.)
So don’t let them tell you that change isn’t possible. Because here’s what I know: It’s always been hard to bring about change in America. Think about it. This country was founded on hard. I mean, we started off as 13 colonies having to battle the most powerful empire on Earth. And a lot of people said, well, you can’t do that. And then they decided we’re going to try a new form of government -- of and by and for the people. And they said we hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness. (Applause.)
That idea had not been tried before. There was no certainty of success. But they knew it was worth trying. And over decades, they had to make that idea real -- had to abolish slavery, had to win women the right to vote, had to win workers the right to organize. (Applause.)
All that change was hard. Imagine if our parents, our grandparents, our great-grandparents, if they had said, ah, you know what, this is just too hard, I’m getting discouraged. What if they had just given up? What if people had been calling them names and worse and they had said, we can’t do this?
They said, “Yes, we can.”
AUDIENCE: Yes, we can!
THE PRESIDENT: They understood that the only thing that prevents us here in America from achieving our dreams, the only thing that might prevent us is if we don’t try. The only reason we are here is because past generations have been unafraid to push forward, even in the face of difficulty, even in the face of uncertainty. That’s how we came through war. That’s how we came through depression. That’s why we have civil rights and workers’ rights and women’s rights, and that’s the spirit we need today. (Applause.)
Cleveland, the journey we began together was never about just putting a President in the White House. It was about building a movement for change that endures. It was about realizing that in the United States of America, if we are willing to fight for it, if we’re willing to work for it, if we believe in it, anything is possible. (Applause.)
So, Cleveland, I need you to keep on fighting. I need you to keep on believing. I need you to knock on some doors. I need you to talk to your neighbors. I need you to talk to your friends. I need you to go early vote. I need you to get your friends to vote. Because if you are willing to step up to the plate, Ted will win this election; Lee will win this election. We will restore our economy. We will rebuild our middle class. And we will reclaim the American Dream for future generations.
God bless you, and God bless the United States of America. (Applause.)
END
2:56 P.M. EDT
The White House
Office of the Vice President
Tonight, the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board posted on Recovery.gov quarterly reports required from some recipients of Recovery Act funding. The recipient reports provide more detailed information about a portion of Recovery Act activity during the third quarter of 2010. The Vice President issued the following statement:
“I’m encouraged by these new reports which show that the Recovery Act is continuing to play a critical role in creating jobs and supporting economic growth in communities across the country. Recipients report directly funding over 670,000 jobs last quarter with about 20 percent of Recovery Act funds – in-line with independent estimates that the Recovery Act is supporting about 3 million jobs overall.”
“The upswing in infrastructure jobs reported reflects the significant activity underway nationwide over the last few months on infrastructure projects ranging from highway construction to clean water. And, even as the new state education aid we secured this summer begins to kick in, the Recovery Act continues to support hundreds of thousands of education jobs across the country.”
“A record number of recipients filed reports this quarter, providing the American people with the most detailed look yet at some of the ways the Recovery Act is creating jobs in their community. Because these reports provide real-time data directly from the recipients themselves, they are not perfect or complete - but, in keeping with our commitment to transparency and accountability, they offer the public an unprecedented view of the Recovery Act as it’s put to work.”
To learn more about these reports, click HERE.
The White House
Office of the Vice President
The Vice President today chaired a Cabinet-level meeting on Iraq to discuss the status of negotiations on government formation. Ambassador Jim Jeffrey provided a political update and General Austin noted that the security situation is steady and that the Iraqi Security Forces are performing professionally. This meeting is part of a regular series of senior-level discussions on Iraq led by the Vice President.
This afternoon, we marked Domestic Violence Awareness Month with the President and Vice President by highlighting the Obama Administration’s unprecedented coordination and cooperation across the entire government to protect victims of domestic and sexual violence and enable survivors to break the cycle of abuse.
For almost 30 years, the month of October has been a time to renew our commitment to ending one of the most tragic and senseless crimes in this country. We were honored to be joined today by a diverse audience from big cities and small towns, from tribes, women’s organizations, survivors, domestic violence and sexual assault advocates, fatherhood programs, law enforcement agencies, and faith communities, all joined by a common purpose- to end violence against women.
The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
Wilmington, Delaware
1:46 P.M. EDT
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Hey, everybody. Good to see you all. (Applause.) Hello up in the balcony! (Applause.) Hello, Wilmington! (Applause.) It’s good to be home. It’s good to be home. (Applause.) It’s good to be home. Tommy, how are you doing, pal? Good to see you. (Applause.)
And I’ll tell you what, I noticed no one missed me as senator once you got Kaufman. (Laughter.) I got to say something about Ted Kaufman. All the years I served in the Senate, I can say this without fear of contradiction -- no one -- think about this now, I mean it literally, Jack Markell -- (laughter) -- no one -- no one has made as much of an impact in his first two years as a senator than Ted Kaufman in the entire 36 years I’ve been there. (Applause.)
Hey, Lynn, how are you? (Applause.) And John Carney, I want you to know I’m from Claymont too, you know. (Laughter.) We got a great ticket.
And I’ll tell you what, you know, the President is always talking about Chicago and Hawaii. (Laughter.) You know, they’re nice -- Hawaii is magnificent. Chicago, I like. But I’ll tell you what, I was reminding him as he got out of the car today, he would not be President of the United States today but for Delaware. (Applause.) And let me tell you why. No, let me tell you why. The way I look at it, without David Plouffe and Dan Pfeiffer, we’d have had a hard time. (Applause.)
Ladies and gentlemen, I want to introduce Dan Pfeiffer’s mom and dad. Where are you, Mom and Dad? Dan is our political -- Dan Pfeiffer’s mom and dad, we owe you big. We owe you big. (Applause.) You produced a great Delawarean and we’re counting on him saving us again.
Ladies and gentlemen, it’s a delight to be home and a delight to be back with all of you. Chris, when you were referencing all those people that learned from me, the President leaned up and put his hand on my shoulder and he said, “And the old guy.” (Laughter.) You all learn from me. My lord, I’m not that old. (Laughter.) Actually, I am. I was telling the President I remember when -- well, anyway. (Laughter.)
Hey, look, we’re here for one overwhelming reason. There is a great, great deal at stake. You all got behind the President and me in this last election and Delaware produced really big for Barack Obama and Joe Biden. And I couldn’t have been prouder that my home state played such a -- not only a solid role, but so overwhelmingly supported us. And it meant a great deal to me personally.
You know that expression attributable to James Joyce. He said, “When I die, Dublin will be written in my heart.” Well, when I die, Delaware will be written on mine. And Delaware has always, always, always come through for me. (Applause.)
But, folks, it’s really, really important that we keep this momentum going. And it’s impossible to keep this momentum going without us having the United States Senate. And as Chris will tell you, the first guy that I called to ask to run for the United States Senate -- I think I may have been among the first to call you. I think I was maybe beaten by Beau from Iraq. I’m not sure who called first. (Laughter.) But we called to strongly suggest that Chris Coons run for the United States Senate.
And I think Chris Coons even had Mike Castle won, I think Chris Coons would still have made it and still have been the next United States senator. But let me tell you why I called him. (Applause.) Let me tell you why my family, from my sister, Valerie, who has campaigned up and down the state for Chris -- and for my wife and my daughter and everyone -- the reason we feel so strongly about Chris Coons is, like you, we know him.
We not only know he has a really genuinely keen intellect and is an incredibly bright guy. That is self-evident. But the other thing about him is -- that I like about him the most -- and I thank his mom and his dad -- he is so centered. He knows why he is in this. There’s a lot of people in this audience, Mr. President -- who I’m going to introduce in a moment, who’s backstage -- that I’ve been asked ever since I won this Senate seat at age 30, everyone understandably said, well, if Biden can win it at 30, anybody can do this. (Laughter.) And so -- you’re laughing, but that’s not -- (laughter.) And so an awful lot of young candidates have come to me and said, you know, I’m thinking of running. I don’t think there’s many who have run in the last 30 years that haven’t at least politely come by and say, what do I need to do?
And I always say the same thing. I say, the one thing you have to know in order to run -- and John is shaking his head -- is what it’s worth losing over about. What are you willing to lose the election over? That’s the measure of whether or not you’re engaged in this for the right reason, whether it’s something other than ambition.
That is something I never, never, never, never, never wondered about Chris Coons. This guy knows exactly why he’s engaged. This guy knows exactly why he’s asked his magnificent three children and his wife to go through what is both an honor but also a real hard slog, because he knows what’s worth losing over and why he has to win. And it’s about giving middle-class folks an even shot, just a level playing field. My dad used to say, “Joey, I don’t expect the government to solve my problem, but I at least expect them to understand my problem.”
This guy understands the problem of struggling Americans -- those struggling to get into the middle class and those who are in the middle class barely hanging on about to slide out. That’s what this is all about. That’s what this race is all about.
And that’s why I am absolutely convinced, I can say without fear or reservation of ever being contradicted, when Chris Coons goes to the United States Senate, you will never, never, never, never have to wonder why you voted for him. This is a man of incredible integrity. (Applause.) And this is a man of action.
So, look, I work with a guy I’ve liked from the day I met him -- actually went out -- he needed me like he needed another hole in his head, but actually went out and campaigned for him when he was running for the United States Senate out in Illinois. We’ve become genuinely good friends, close friends. This guy has a backbone like a ramrod. I kid him he’s got a brain bigger than his skull and he’s got a heart to match both. This is a man who knows what has to be done. This is a man who’s not afraid to take tough decisions. And I honestly believe -- some of you kid me, because you say, how can I after all these years be more optimistic than I was when I first got elected at age 29? I’m optimistic because I know the history of the journey of this country, and never, ever, ever, when the American people have been given an even shot, never when they’ve laid out a vision for them, have they ever not repaired to that vision.
The guy I’m about to introduce to you is all about that. This is a guy who knows where America has to go, is not afraid to stand up and say it, and is willing to lay out the vision. No President has ever been a great President that hasn’t laid out a vision for the people as to how they can move from where they are.
During the campaign, he and I used to say -- and I’m paraphrasing him -- that we Americans, we know we don’t have to accept a situation we can’t bear. We just have to have the backbone to stand up and fight -- fight for what we know is right.
Well, ladies and gentlemen, my dad used to say it a little bit differently. When you get knocked down, there’s only one thing you do. Get up. Just get up. And ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States, Barack Obama, is getting America back on its feet. We have gone from hemorrhaging jobs to creating jobs. We have gone from hemorrhaging in debt to beginning to grab hold of debt. We’ve gone from one of the least respected nations of the world under the last President to one of the most respected nations of the world. We brought already -- we brought home 100,000 troops from Iraq and we’ll keep the commitment of ending that war in Iraq and leaving -- (applause.)
Ladies and gentlemen, what you have known for a long time and the President has known of late is I never say anything I don’t mean, and sometimes I say things I mean I shouldn’t say. (Laughter.) But folks, I mean what I say and I’m telling you, Wilmington is coming back, Delaware is coming back, the United States of America is coming back, and in large part it’s because of this man I’m about to introduce, the President of the United States of America, my friend, Barack Obama. (Applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Thank you, Wilmington. (Applause.) Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you, everybody. Thank you. Thank you very much, everybody. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you.
Everybody, please have a seat. It is good to be back in Wilmington. (Applause.) Last time I was here, it was a day just like today, spectacular day. We were outside. Some of you were there. (Applause.) And it was just -- it was just beautiful.
It is great to be back here in Delaware. It is an extraordinary honor to be here to campaign for the next great senator from the state of Delaware, Chris Coons. (Applause.)
I want to just acknowledge some of the extraordinary public servants who are here. You’ve already heard from them or about them, but all these folks have been such great friends of mine, and such terrific workers on behalf of Delaware, I want to make sure to make mention of them.
Governor Jack Markell is here, and he’s just doing a great job. (Applause.) Where’s Jack? There he is. Lieutenant Governor Matt Denn is here, along with Zachary. Senator Ted Kaufman, done extraordinary work over the last two years. (Applause.) Thank you, Ted. And my great friend, Tom Carper, senior senator from Delaware. (Applause.)
Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden. (Applause.) We are so thrilled with the work that he’s done, but also his extraordinary service to our country. (Applause.) We are proud of him and grateful for him. And former lieutenant governor and soon-to-be member of Congress John Carney is in the house. (Applause.)
And then there’s this guy. (Laughter.) I’ve had to make a lot of decisions over the last 24 months -- both before I was President and since. The single best decision that I have made was selecting Joe Biden as my running mate -- the single best decision I’ve made. I mean that. (Applause.)
Joe has been an extraordinary Vice President, a great friend, a fighter, somebody who knows what our core mission is, which is making sure that we are growing this economy on behalf of a middle class so they can aspire to live out the American Dream. Joe has lived out that dream. He hasn’t forgotten where he came from.
And so I know that me taking him out of Delaware for a while was frustrating, but I assure you it was worth it at least for me -- (laughter) -- and I think for you. So I am grateful to all of you.
Now, that’s why it’s so important in filling these enormous shoes of Joe that we get somebody who represents those same Delaware values. And Chris is the kind of leader that you want representing you in the United States Senate. (Applause.)
He knows this state. He knows its values. When he talks about cleaning up Washington, it’s from the standpoint of somebody who’s cleaned house as a county executive -- (applause) -- somebody who’s balanced a budget -- (applause) -- somebody who’s cracked down on wasteful spending. Somebody who even cut his own pay. Believe me, you won’t see too many members of Congress willing to do that. (Applause.)
Chris has traveled all across this state, talking to people, finding out what’s on their minds, listening to their hopes for the future. He wants Delaware to be a leader on clean energy because he knows it will lead to new jobs and new industries -- and he’s got a plan to make it happen. (Applause.) Chris isn’t looking to be a voice for special interests. He wants to be a voice for Delaware. This is where he grew up. This is the community he’s going to fight for if you send him to Washington.
Now, in a little more than two weeks, you have the opportunity, right here in Delaware, to set the direction of this state and this country for the next several years. In two weeks, you can continue the journey that we started in 2008. And just like you did in that election, you can defy the conventional wisdom that says you can’t change Washington, you can’t overcome the cynicism of politics, you can’t overcome all the special interest money, you can’t solve tough problems. That has always been the conventional wisdom.
It was the conventional wisdom two years ago. You remember that? Everybody said, “No, you can’t.” And two years ago, you said, “Yes, we can.” (Applause.) And you can say that same thing two weeks from now.
I want everybody to be clear -- there is no doubt this is a difficult election. It is difficult here and it is difficult all across the country. And although I think Chris has so far run an extraordinary race, I don’t want anybody here taking this for granted. This is a tough political environment. (Applause.) This is a tough political environment right now. This is a difficult election because we’ve been through an incredibly difficult time as a nation.
For most of the last decade, middle-class families saw their costs rise and their incomes fall. They saw too many jobs disappear overseas. There were too many parents who couldn’t afford to send their kids to college or see a doctor when they got sick, or Americans working two jobs, three jobs just to make ends meet. And all these problems were compounded when we had the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, the worst in most of our lifetimes, a recession that cost us more than 4 million jobs in the six months before I took office; 750,000 jobs lost the month I was sworn in; 600,000 the month after that; 600,000 the month after that. All told, 8 million jobs lost -- most of them lost -- before any of our economic plans an opportunity to take effect.
It was a once-in-a-generation challenge. And I’ll be honest with you -- Joe will recall this -- our hope was that because this was such a unique challenge, that it would cause both parties to put politics aside for the sake of the country. (Applause.) That was our expectation. Our hope was that we could move beyond the division and the bickering and the game-playing that had dominated Washington for so long, because although we are proud to be Democrats, we’re prouder to be Americans. (Applause.)
But you know what happened. The Republican leaders in Washington made a different decision. And I want to be clear it was the decision of Republicans in Congress, because I think there were a whole lot of Republicans all across the country who in fact wanted the same thing, but that’s not what they saw in Washington. (Applause.) Their attitude -- it was tactical on their part -- was that we were climbing out of such a deep hole, they had made such a big mess, that they figured it was going to take some time to repair the economy, longer than any of us would like. They knew that people would be frustrated. They knew people would be angry. And they figured if they just sat on the sidelines and opposed us every step of the way –- if they said no even to policies that they could agree with, that historically they had supported, then people might forget that they were the ones who had caused the mess -- (applause) -- and that people’s anger and frustration would lead them to success in the next election. That was their strategy.
And you have to give them credit -- in terms of short-term tactics, it wasn’t a bad strategy. In terms of what was good for the country, it didn’t work out so well. So the other side wants you to believe that this election is simply a referendum on the current state of the economy.
But make no mistake. This election is a choice. This election is a choice. And the stakes couldn’t be higher.
If they win this election, the chair of the Republican campaign committee has promised to pursue the exact same agenda as they did before I took office. And we know what that agenda was: you cut taxes, mostly for millionaires and billionaires, you cut rules for special interests, and then you cut middle-class families loose to fend for themselves.
We also know the results of that agenda. It’s not as if we didn’t try it. (Laughter.) This isn’t -- we don’t have to guess in terms of how their theories might work out.
From 2001 to 2009, slowest job growth since World War II; 2001 to 2009, incomes for middle-class families went down by 5 percent. Those aren’t my claims. That was trumpeted in The Wall Street Journal. Took a record surplus and turned it to a record deficit; an agenda that let Wall Street run wild at the expense of folks on Main Street; an agenda that nearly destroyed our economy.
That’s what they say they want to go back to, the exact same agenda. If they take over Congress, the other side has promised to roll back health reform so that insurance companies can go back to denying you coverage when you get sick, or denying your child coverage if they’ve got a preexisting condition.
They want to roll back Wall Street reform so that taxpayers are on the hook again for Wall Street bailouts, and credit card companies can hit you with hidden fees and penalties, and mortgage brokers can steer you to the most expensive mortgage, or a mortgage you can’t afford.
They want to cut back on education spending by 20 percent to help pay for a $700 billion tax break that only the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans will ever benefit from.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: No!
THE PRESIDENT: My sentiments exactly. (Laughter and applause.)
This is the same theory they’ve been peddling for years. This is not as if they went off into the desert after 2008, and they said, boy, we really screwed up. Let’s meditate here a little bit and let’s try to figure out what we did wrong. And then they came back and they said, we realize the error of our ways and we got some new -- that’s not what’s happening. They’re just pretending as if all that stuff didn’t happen.
And so it’s up to you to remind your friends and your neighbors and your coworkers, we’ve tried that stuff. It didn’t work. We’ve been there before and we’re not going back. (Applause.) We’re moving forward, not backwards. (Applause.)
We don’t want to keep giving tax breaks to companies that ship jobs overseas. We want to give tax breaks to companies that are investing right here in Wilmington, right here in Delaware. (Applause.) We don’t want tax cuts for folks who don’t need them by borrowing the money from China to pay for them and cut education in the process. We want to invest in young people right here in the United States of America, because we know that the countries that out-educate us today are going to out-compete us tomorrow. And so we’re going to invest in our young people. (Applause.)
We don’t want to go back. (Applause.) We don’t want to go back to the days where insurance companies and Wall Street banks had free reign to run roughshod over the middle class. We don’t want to see more two years of gridlock and game-playing and point-scoring in Washington. We want to solve problems. We want to move forward. That’s why Chris is running. That’s why his family is putting up with him running, because we want to solve problems for the families of Delaware and people all across America. (Applause.)
We want a growing middle class and an economy that’s built to compete in the 21st century. And because of the steps we’ve taken, we no longer face the possibility of a second depression. As Joe said, the economy is now growing again. The private sector -- we’ve seen job growth in the private sector nine months in a row now. But we still have a long way to go. We’ve still got a lot of work to do. There are a lot of people hurting out there. I hear from them every day, families hanging on by a thread. That’s what’s keeping me up at night. That’s what keeps me fighting.
And I know this, the biggest mistake we could make right now as a country is to go back to the same policies that caused this hurt in the first place. The last thing we should do is return to a philosophy that nearly destroyed our economy and decimated the middle class over the course of years. And that’s what this election is about, not where we are right now, but where we want to go two years from now and five years from now and 10 years from now and 20 years from now. It’s not about the work we’ve done, but the work we have left to do.
And I bring this up not because I want to re-litigate the past. It’s because I don’t want to re-live the past. I want to reach for a better future. (Applause.)
And this election is a choice between our fears and our hopes. That’s what’s at stake right now. Look, Chris and I -- and Joe -- we’ve got a different idea about what the next two years should look like. It’s an idea rooted in our belief about how this country was built. We know government doesn’t have the answer to all our problems. We believe government should be lean and efficient. And you’ve seen Chris’s track record on that front as a county executive. (Applause.)
But in the words of Abraham Lincoln, the first Republican President, we also believe government should do for the people what they cannot do better for themselves. (Applause.) We believe in a country that rewards hard work and responsibility; a country where we look after one another; a country where we say I am my brother’s keeper, I am my sister’s keeper. I’m not just thinking about myself. I’m thinking about everybody. I want every child to succeed. I want everybody to climb that ladder to success. That’s the choice in this election. That’s what we’re about. That’s why we’re Democrats. That’s why we’re going to win this election. (Applause.) You’re fired up? (Applause.)
We see a future where the next century is driven by American innovation and American ingenuity. We want to give tax breaks to companies that are creating jobs and investing in research and development right here in the United States, to small businesses, to American manufacturers, to clean energy companies. I don’t want solar panels and wind turbines and electric cars and advanced batteries made in Europe or Asia. Chris Coons and I want them built in here in the United States of America, by American workers. I want us to take the lead in energy independence. That’s the choice in this election. (Applause.)
We see an America where every citizen has the skills and training to compete with any worker in the world. The other side might think it’s a good idea to cut education by 20 percent, but let’s think about this. Do you think that China is cutting education by 20 percent? Is South Korea cutting education spending, or India, or Germany? These countries, they’re not cutting back on education. Those countries are not playing for second place. And neither should we. The United States of America, we play for first. We play for first place. (Applause.)
And that’s why we took tens of billions of dollars, with the help of Tom and Ted and others, we took tens of billions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies that used to go to big banks; they’re now going where they should be going -- to students and families. Millions of young people out there getting a break on their student loans so they can go to college. That’s why we want to make our new college tax credit permanent. This is a tax credit worth $10,000 in tuition relief for each student who’s going to college. That’s the America we believe in. (Applause.)
That’s the America we believe in where the middle class is growing and where opportunity is shared, and the only limit to your success is how hard you are willing to work. That’s why the tax cuts we want to make -- the tax cuts we want to make permanent would go to middle-class families. That’s why we’ll fight the efforts of some in the other party to privatize Social Security, because as long as I’m President, no one is going to take the retirement savings of a generation of Americans and hand it over to Wall Street. Not on my watch. (Applause.) That’s why we’re going to keep fighting to keep the new protections we put in place for patients and consumers, so insurance companies can’t drop you when you’re sick, credit card companies can’t jack up your rates without notice on your bill.
That’s the choice in this election. That’s what we’re fighting for.
Now, right now, the same special interests that would profit from the other side’s agenda, they are fighting hard, they’re fighting back. To win this election, they are plowing tens of millions of dollars into front groups that are running misleading, negative ads all across America. Tens of billions of dollars are pouring in. And they don’t have the courage to stand up and disclose their identities. They could be insurance companies, or Wall Street banks, or even foreign-owned corporations. We will not know because there’s no disclosure. They’ve got these innocuous-sounding names -- “Americans for Prosperity,” and “Moms for Motherhood.” (Laughter.) I made that last one up. (Laughter.)
But this isn’t just a threat to the Democrats. It’s a threat to our democracy. (Applause.) And the only way to fight it, the only way to match their millions of dollars is with millions of voices who are ready to finish what we started in 2008. And that’s where you come in.
A lot of you got involved in 2008 because you believed we were at a defining moment in our history, a crossroads. You believed this is a time where the decisions we make won’t just affect us; they’re going to affect and shape the lives of our children and our grandchildren for decades to come. And that’s the reason you knocked on doors and made phone calls and waited in line to cast your vote, some of you for the very first time, because you believed that your actions could make a difference, that you might play some small role in making big change.
Now, we are in the midst not just of advocating for change, not just calling for change, but doing the grinding and sometimes frustrating work of delivering change inch by inch, day by day. And it’s not easy. Believe me, Joe and I know. And I understand that some of the excitement has faded since election night or inauguration day. You know, that was fun. Beyoncé was singing, and Bono. (Laughter.) But that’s not what the election was about.
I also know it’s hard to keep faith when a family member still hasn’t found a job after months of trying, or another foreclosure sign is hung on the house down the street. And it doesn’t help when you turn on the television and you see politicians tearing each other down, or pundits who treat politics like a sport.
But I’m here to tell you, don’t let anybody tell you that this fight is not worth it. Don’t let them tell you that we’re not making a difference. Because of you, there is a woman in New Hampshire right now who no longer has to choose between losing her home and treating her cancer. (Applause.) Because of you, there are parents right now who can look their children in the eye and guarantee that those kids are going to college. Because of you, there are small business owners and clean energy entrepreneurs who can keep their doors open and put out “help wanted” signs in the window. Because of you, there are nearly 100,000 brave men and women who are no longer at war in Iraq. Because of you. (Applause.) So don’t let them tell you change isn’t possible. (Applause.)
Don’t let them convince you that we have not made progress. We have made progress. I’ve been using this analogy as I travel across the country. Now, these folks drove the car into the ditch. And Joe and I, Tom and Ted and others, we all put on our boots and we went down into that ditch. And it was muddy and it was nasty and hot. And there were bugs. (Laughter.)
But we decided we were going to get that car out of the ditch. We kept on pushing. We kept on shoving. And every once in awhile, we’d look up and the Republicans, they’d just be standing there -- (laughter) -- fanning themselves, sipping on a Slurpee. (Laughter.) And we would say, why don’t you come down and help? They’d say, no, no. That’s looks muddy down there, no. (Laughter.)
So we pushed anyway. We kept on pushing. We kept on pushing. And finally we got this car up on level ground, pointing in the right direction. (Applause.) And, you know, look, the car is a little dented up. It needs to go to the body shop. It needs a tune-up. But it’s running and it’s ready to go forward.
And, suddenly, we get this tap on our shoulder and we look back. And who is it? The Republicans. They say, excuse me, can we have the keys back? And we got to tell them, no, you can’t have the keys back. You don’t know how to drive. (Applause.) You can’t have them back. You can’t have them back. (Applause.) You can ride with us, but you got to ride in the back seat. (Applause.) We’re not going to have special interests riding shotgun. We want the American people in the front. (Applause.)
You’ve noticed when you want your car to go forward, what do you do? You put it in “D.” (Laughter.) When you want it going backward, what do you do? You put it in “R.” (Applause.) We want to go forward. We don’t want to go back. Don’t let them tell -- don’t let them take this country backwards. (Applause.)
Don’t let them take this country backwards because you didn’t care enough to fight for it. Because if our parents and grandparents and great grandparents had made the same decision 50 years ago or 100 years ago, we would not be here tonight. The only reason we are is because past generations were unafraid to push forward. Even in the face of difficulty, even in the face of uncertainty, they were willing to do what was necessary, even when success was not promised and was sometimes slow, and you had to grind it out. That’s how we got through war. That’s how we got through depression. That’s why we have civil rights. That’s why we have workers’ rights. That’s why we have women’s rights. That’s the spirit we need today. (Applause.)
The journey we started in 2008 was not about putting a President in the White House. It was never just about getting to election night. It was about every day after that, and building a movement for change that endures. It’s about realizing that in the United States of America, anything is possible -- if we’re willing to work for it and fight for it and believe in it. (Applause.)
So I need you all to keep on fighting. I need all of you to knock on doors. I need all of you to talk to your neighbors. I need all of you to make phone calls. I need all of you to commit to vote for Chris Coons. (Applause.) Because if you are willing to step up to the plate, we won’t just win this election, we’re going to restore our economy and rebuild our middle class, and we will reclaim the American Dream for this generation.
Thank you. God bless you. God bless the United States of America. (Applause.)
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2:25 P.M. EDT