The White House

Office of the Vice President

For Immediate Release
August 24, 2010

Remarks by Vice President Joe Biden at the Recovery Act Innovation Report Event

Recovery Act Innovation Report Event
South Court Auditorium, Eisenhower Executive Office Building

As Prepared for Delivery—

Let me start by addressing a couple of items from the news this morning.

First, as of today, we have officially reduced the number of U.S. troops in Iraq below 50,000, meeting a commitment President Obama made before taking office – and meeting it ahead of schedule. Next week, as you know, the U.S. military will end its combat mission in Iraq, with the remaining troops advising and assisting Iraqi forces. This is a remarkable milestone in a war that began more than seven years ago.  We owe a debt of gratitude to our military.

Second, I want to respond to the remarks made this morning by Mr. Boehner, the Republican leader in the House.

After months of promising a look at his party’s agenda and their plans for America, he made what was billed as a major economic address. And his chief proposal apparently was that the President should fire his economic team.  Very constructive advice, thanks. 
 
So, let's just review a little history here:  For eight years before we arrived, Mr. Boehner and his party ran this economy and the middle class into the ground.

They took the $237 billion surplus they inherited from the Clinton Administration and left us with a $1.3 trillion deficit, and, in the process, quadrupled the national debt – all before we had turned on the lights in the West Wing.

They gave free rein to the special interests to write their own rules at the expense of everybody else.

And the sum total of it was the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression—a crisis that wreaked havoc on families and businesses across this country--a crisis from which we are still digging out.

The head of their campaign committee, Representative Pete Sessions, said that if they were to take control of Congress this fall—which, by the way, they won't—that they would go back to "the exact same agenda" they were pushing before President Obama took office.

They think the policies they had in place during the Bush years—the ones Mr. Boehner helped craft and sell—were the right ones. Well, let me tell you, there are millions and millions of Americans who saw their paychecks shrink or their jobs, houses, and savings vanish.  Mr. Boehner is nostalgic for those good old days…the American people are not. 

They don't want to go back.  They want to move forward.

Now let me respond to a few specific points Mr. Boehner raised:

On taxes, let's be clear on what this debate is all about: the big tax cuts of the last decade are scheduled to expire. This President says the middle class can't afford higher taxes in the midst of this recession. They've borne the brunt of it.

So the President proposes we extend the tax cuts for 98 percent of Americans.

What Mr. Boehner wants to do is extend the tax cut to the other two percent.  That means we’re going to have to borrow $700 billion we don’t have to give a $100,000 a year tax cut to millionaires.

This is a tax cut they don’t need, and they won’t use to create jobs or economic growth.

So to justify that, he has created this myth that a tax cut for millionaires is actually a tax cut for small business.

There aren't three percent of small businesses in America that would qualify for that tax cut. It's a Wall Street tax cut, not a Main Street tax cut.   At the same time, they’re blocking the genuine $12 billion tax cut for small businesses we proposed.

Also, he wants to give U.S. companies that shift jobs and profits overseas a tax credit for taxes they don’t even pay.

We've seen this movie before, Mr. Boehner. We know how it turns out.  And the American people deserve something different and something better.

The rest of his so-called plan doesn’t offer any real economic agenda, it merely is a list of things he thinks the President shouldn’t do.

So after all of this buildup and hype, all we know is what John Boehner and his Republican colleagues are against.  We still haven’t heard what they’re for.

So let’s be clear about the kind of change this administration supports.

Today, Secretary Duncan will make an announcement about Race to the Top, which is our plan to reward states that are willing to take bold steps and change the way we educate our children.

It’s striking that Mr. Boehner’s economic address was devoid of any proposal to improve America’s schools.

And another key to our economic future that Mr. Boehner ignored is what we’re here to discuss: innovation.

Let me tell you basic formula:

Government plants the seeds, the private sector makes them grow, and we launch entire industries, create hundreds of thousands jobs, and spark new forms of commerce that were once unimaginable, allowing us to dominate the 21st century like we did in the 20th.

You know, Secretary Chu is really the perfect person to talk about innovation with us today.  From what I understand, you don’t win a Nobel Prize for repeating the formulas of the past.  You win one for doing something that’s never been done before.  You win one for innovating. 

And more than ever, America needs to innovate. I’ve been all over this country, and talked to a lot of people, and I’ve not yet found anyone who has said to me:  Just bring us back to where we were.  Just bring the economy back to what it was before the beginning of this recession. 

Because not only were families struggling before the beginning of this great recession —America was stagnating.

We were seeing big challenges getting bigger —climate change, our dependence on foreign oil, the erosion of our manufacturing base. 

And at the same time, Americans were losing jobs, and losing hope. 

So when we passed the Recovery Act, our goals were three-fold:

•          To rescue a rapidly deteriorating economy;
•          To put the country on a path to recovery by getting Americans back to work quickly; and
•          To reinvest in the country’s long-term economic future.

On the first two counts, we’re making progress:  We’ve created 3 million jobs, and we’re adding jobs every month.  The economy has been growing for a full year. 

In the last six months of the Bush Administration, we lost 3 million private sector jobs.  In the first seven months of this year, we created 630,000 private sector jobs.

We’re turning this around.

Now, it’s not happening as fast as any of us would like, and certainly not fast enough for the millions of folks who are still out of work.  But there isn’t any doubt – we’re moving in the right direction.

It’s that third part of our strategy that we’re here to report on today. 

As I said, it’s not enough just to rebuild the industries of the 20th century. 

We knew we had to lay the foundation for a new, more robust American economy, one that was ready to meet the challenges of the 21st century—which are different from the ones we face in the 20th.  And, like those before us, we know we have to innovate.

Since its birth, the United States has been a nation built on discovery and innovation.  In fact, our very roots are in innovation. We’re innovators — that’s who we are.  We’re tinkerers and inventors, explorers and entrepreneurs. 

It was in this spirit of taking bold steps forward amid daunting adversity that President Obama signed the Recovery Act. 

Today, I am proud to release this report on how the down payments we have made to entrepreneurs and innovators through the Recovery Act are transforming the American economy.

The report has a lot of details, but I can summarize it very briefly:

The first point I want to make is, our investments in innovation are creating jobs, creating new industries, making existing industries more competitive, and, in the process, they’re driving down costs for new technologies that are badly needed, and helping our nation reassert our place as the world’s center for inventors and entrepreneurs.

This report focuses on our investments in four main areas  Think of them as seed money:
 
1.         Modernizing transportation, including advanced vehicle technology and high-speed rail;
2.         Jumpstarting the renewable energy sector through wind and solar energy;
3.         Investing in groundbreaking medical research; and
4.         Building a platform that will enhance the private sector’s ability to innovate, through investments in broadband and the Smart Grid, by giving them the tools they need to grow.

In each of these areas, we’re seeking game-changing breakthroughs.  And in some cases, entire new American industries are being born—the very industries that are going to allow us to lead the world in the 21st Century.

I’d like to highlight just a bit of what’s happening in each of these areas.

First, modernizing transportation.

I know that we have several electric vehicle manufacturers, battery makers, and people working on charging infrastructure here today.

I was at a Jeep plant yesterday.  Right now, we’re seeing that we did the right thing when we stepped in to give them American auto industry a second chance.

Our goal was not just to rebuild the auto industry of the past—but to create an American auto industry for the next century, that will dominate for decades to come.

I want to see a day when you can pop the hood on your electric car made in Smyrna, Tennessee, to check on your advanced battery made in Holland, Michigan, or Noblesville, Indiana, and an electric motor made in Longmont, Colorado, as you recharge your vehicle at an electric charging station in San Diego. 

But we knew that day wasn’t going to come on its own.  In the greatest automobile producing-country on Earth, we were manufacturing less than two percent of the world’s advanced vehicle batteries. 

Thanks to the Recovery Act, that’s changing – in a big way.  Because we provided $2 billion in seed money to 30 advanced battery and electric drive component factories, it brought more than $2 billion more in private capital off the sidelines.   And, as a result, America is expected to have the capacity to produce 20 percent of the world’s advanced vehicle batteries by 2012.  By 2015, it could be as much as 40 percent—because the private sector will continue to invest in these changes.

And more importantly, we’re on pace to reduce the cost of batteries for autos by 70% by 2015 – which will make electric vehicles cost-competitive with similar non-electric vehicles.

When you put it all together, it means that America will once again be able to provide “Wheels for the world” –  the most advanced, efficient, competitive cars found anywhere—with a side benefit of not having to rely on foreign oil. 

Second, we’re jumpstarting investment in renewable energy.

Three decades ago, the U.S. led the world in another arena - the development of renewable energy such as wind, solar, and geothermal power.  Since that time, because of the failure to invest in these industries, we’ve fallen behind. 

President Obama, Secretary Chu, and I set a goal of doubling U.S. renewable energy generation capacity from wind, solar, and geothermal by 2012. 

We wanted to install as much renewable capacity in three years as the U.S. had in the previous thirty. 

But we’re ahead of pace to meet it.  In Pensacola, Florida, we’ve funded the largest photovoltaic power plant in North America, with over 90,000 solar panels—enough to provide energy for 3,000 homes. 

And the Department of Energy is in the process of supporting what will be the world’s largest solar thermal facility – in the Mojave Desert.  It will have 349,000 mirrors.

Because of projects like these, we are on pace to cut the cost of solar energy use in half by 2015 – leading us towards a day when solar power can be as cheap or cheaper than electricity from the grid, meaning that households can save money by using solar.

All told, the new generation capacity supported by the Recovery Act is going to power 16.7 million homes. 
 
But we knew that generating renewable power was only half the story – that we had to reassert ourselves as renewable manufacturing leaders as well.  So President Obama set a goal of doubling U.S. renewable manufacturing capacity by the end of 2011.

And, by the way, that means jobs. 

We’re on track to meet that goal, too.  We’re using a tax credit (48C) to increase incentives for renewable energy manufacturers to set up or relocate their businesses here in the US.  Already, for example, it’s paid out $346 million in tax credits for wind alone, resulting in 52 wind manufacturing projects in the US.

And again, it’s not just government.  It’s leveraging private capital:  All in all, $46 billion in clean energy funds we’re providing in seed money alone will generate more than $100 billion in non-federal investment in new energy projects. 

As a result, we are on pace to hit our target of doubling America’s renewable energy generation and manufacturing capacity by 2012.

Third, the Recovery Act is investing in groundbreaking medical research, with the goal of finding new ways to treat or prevent some of the world’s most daunting and debilitating diseases, to develop powerful new medicines, and even define strategies that will prevent disease from occurring in the first place—saving lives and saving hundreds of billions of dollars. 

This disease prevention work is happening across the board: in human genome sequencing, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and autism.

Thanks to the Recovery Act, researchers at our National Institutes of Health will complete the sequencing on 50 times as many human genomes as we’ve sequenced to date – not only increasing our understanding of disease, but also bringing down the cost of doing this work and opening the door to a future of personalized medicine. 

Thanks to Recovery Act funds, NIH will be able to sequence the genes of cancers that affect 10 million Americans – again, with the potential to start winning the war on cancer our nation declared in the early 1970s.

The first human genome map cost an estimated $2.7 billion.  Today, a genome map stands at $48,000.  Now, we stand on the verge of bringing the cost of a human genome map below $1,000 – fifty times cheaper than what is currently possible and with the potential to completely transform health care in America.

In the National Institutes of Health, we have one of the greatest assemblages of doctors and scientists in the world. 

Through the Recovery Act, we’re giving them the tools to make the most profound innovation of all: improving and extending health and human life, while bringing down the cost in medicine. 

The fourth area of investment is in building a platform for private sector innovation.

In all of these areas, the President and I recognize that the federal government’s role is limited.  We provide the seeds, but it’s the private sector that makes them grow. 

That’s why we’re investing so heavily in broadband.  Thanks to $7 billion in Recovery Act investments, bringing $3 billion in private capital off the sidelines, approximately 2 million rural American households – and tens of thousands of community institutions – will have better access to broadband. 

Farmers will be able to access real-time weather reports, water conditions, and crop prices, helping them be as competitive as possible in a global market.

As I said, we’re also investing more than $4 billion in Smart Grid, bringing more than $5 billion in capital off the sidelines.  Smart grids provide real-time information on electricity use, so that consumers and businesses can make efficient energy choices on a truly reliable network. 

A smart utility grid.  Universal broadband.  These are the foundation upon which innovative businesses can be built here in the U.S. – able to open their doors anywhere, and prosper everywhere.

And that’s really what this is about – giving American entrepreneurs the tools to do what they do best.

I know that there are several representatives of ARPA-E here today. The original ARPA was started in response to Sputnik.  The goal of this new agency was to rejuvenate America’s military research and development capabilities. 

In 1962, ARPA launched a nationwide effort to build a computer network called ARPA-NET.

By 1975, after spending just $25 million, ARPA researchers had done just that - and they’d created the basic structure of the modern Internet.

In the 1980’s, private industry dove in, and by 2009, the Internet was being used by approximately 27 percent of the world’s population, over 1.8 billion people.  It’s the engine for hundreds of billions of dollars of commerce. 

That was a relatively modest federal investment that allowed private industry to completely transform our economy.

That is exactly what we’re doing again.  Our federal investment is bringing money off of the sidelines. For example, in scientific research, $2.9 billion in investment is being doubled by external investors.  Or take clean energy, where a $46 billion investment is supporting more than $3 for every $1 we spent. 

In fact, on $100 billion of Recovery Act investments, the private sector is investing $286 billion—three dollars for every dollar we spend

A couple of months ago, I visited a company called Cree, in Durham, North Carolina.  I know we have some folks from Cree here today.

Their CEO, Chuck Swoboda, said: “The Recovery Act funding made it a straightforward decision to continue to invest in the U.S., both at our North Carolina facility and throughout our supply chain partners across the country.”

In his Nobel Prize lecture, Dr. Chu said, “As scientists, we hope that others take note of what we have done and use our work to go in directions we never imagined.”

Both had it exactly right, and it brings me back to where I started: 

Government plants the seeds, the private sector makes them grow, and we launch entire industries, create hundreds of thousands jobs, and spark new forms of commerce that were once unimaginable.

That’s how we’ve led the world in the past.  And that’s how we’ll dominate again in the future.   Looking at all of you, I know that we’re already on our way.

Thank you.  May God bless you all, and may God protect our troops.

The White House

Office of the Vice President

For Immediate Release
August 24, 2010

Vicepresidente Biden da a conocer informe sobre el impacto de la Ley para la Recuperación en la innovación

Las conclusiones del nuevo análisis son que Estados Unidos está en vías de lograr cuatro importantes avances científicos y tecnológicos debido a la Ley para la Recuperación 
 
WASHINGTON – El Vicepresidente Joe Biden hoy dio a conocer un nuevo informe, “La Ley para la Recuperación: Transformación de la economía de Estados Unidos por medio de la innovación” (“The Recovery Act: Transforming the American Economy through Innovation”), cuyas conclusiones son que la inversión de $100,000 millones en innovación por medio de la Ley para la Recuperación (Recovery Act) no sólo está transformando la economía y generando empleos, sino que está ayudando a acelerar los avances científicos y tecnológicos que reducen costos para los consumidores, salvan vidas y ayudan a hacer que Estados Unidos siga siendo competitivo en la economía del siglo XXI. Se puede ver el informe completo AQUI. 

“Desde el comienzo, hemos sido un país de descubrimiento e innovación, y hoy continuamos esa tradición a medida que las inversiones de la Ley para la Recuperación preparan el camino para avances trascendentales en transporte, energía e investigación médica”, afirmó el Vicepresidente Biden. “Estamos sembrando las semillas de la innovación, pero las empresas privadas y los principales científicos del país están ayudando a hacer que crezcan, creando sectores  industriales completamente nuevos, transformando nuestra economía y generando cientos de miles de empleos nuevos en el proceso”.

Según este nuevo análisis, Estados Unidos está en vías de lograr cuatro avances importantes debido a las inversiones de la Ley para la Recuperación:
• Reducir a la mitad el costo de la energía solar para el 2015, lo que hará que sea equivalente al costo minorista de la electricidad de la red eléctrica.
• Reducir en 70 por ciento el costo de baterías para vehículos eléctricos entre el 2009 y el 2015, lo que hará que el costo de un vehículo eléctrico durante su vida útil sea equivalente a un homólogo no eléctrico.
• Aumentar al doble la capacidad de Estados Unidos de generar energía renovable y su capacidad de producción industrial renovable para el 2012, un avance que no sería posible sin la Ley para la Recuperación.
• Reducir el costo del mapa personal del genoma humano a menos de $1,000 en cinco años, lo que permitirá que los investigadores secuencien 50 genomas humanos por el costo actual de secuenciar solamente uno.

El Vicepresidente Biden estuvo acompañado en el evento por el secretario de Energía Steven Chu y representantes de más de veinte empresas e instituciones de investigación que están aprovechando las inversiones de la Ley para la Recuperación para ayudar a hacer de Estados Unidos un líder mundial en sectores de rápido crecimiento como vehículos eléctricos y energía solar.  Los beneficiarios de la Ley para la Recuperación como Cree, Inc.; Navistar y Pacific Biosciences están utilizando dinero de la ley para lograr avances que ayudan a poner al alcance del estadounidense promedio tecnología que ahorra dinero y energía, y en algunos casos, incluso salva vidas.

“Gracias a las inversiones que la Ley para la Recuperación ha hecho posible, estamos dando rienda suelta al motor de la innovación de Estados Unidos para cambiar la manera en que usamos y producimos energía en este país”, afirmó el secretario Chu.  “Igualmente importante es que estos avances están ayudando a generar decenas de miles de nuevos empleos, lo que permite que Estados Unidos continúe siendo líder en la economía mundial y ayuda a ofrecerles un futuro mejor a las próximas generaciones”.

"Los fondos de la Ley para la Recuperación no sólo están produciendo miles de empleos en la comunidad de investigación biomédica, sino que también están ayudando a acelerar importantes descubrimientos médicos que beneficiarán la salud de estadounidenses en todo el país”, afirmó Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D., director del Instituto Nacional de Salud (National Institutes of Health o NIH).

En total, la Ley para la Recuperación está invirtiendo $100,000 millones en proyectos científicos y tecnológicos, y en innovaciones en todo el país, que van desde construir una red eléctrica inteligente a nivel nacional e infraestructura de informática para la atención de salud, hasta hacer que el emergente sector de vehículos eléctricos crezca, aumentar el acceso a banda ancha y sentar las bases para un sistema ferroviario nacional de alta velocidad. Se puede encontrar más información sobre las inversiones que la Administración está haciendo por medio de la Ley para la Recuperación y otros medios AQUI, en la nueva página de innovaciones lanzada hoy por WhiteHouse.gov.

La Ley para la Recuperación: Transformación de la Economía Estadounidense por medio de la Innovación
Hoja Informativa
 
Gracias a la Ley para la Recuperación, Estados Unidos está en camino de alcanzar cuatro importantes avances en materia de innovación que mantendrán la competitividad de Estados Unidos en la economía el siglo XXI y harán que la nueva tecnología de menor costo, mayor eficiencia energética y con el potencial de salvar vidas esté al alcance de los bolsillos de los consumidores:
1.      Reducir el costo de la energía solar a la mitad para el 2015.
2.      Reducir el costo de baterías para vehículos eléctricos en 70 por ciento entre el 2009 y el 2015.
3.      Aumentar al doble la capacidad de Estados Unidos de generar energía renovable y de producir equipo de energía renovable para el 2012.
4.      Reducir el costo de un mapa personal del genoma humano a menos de $1,000 en cinco años.
 
Objetivo #1: Reducir el costo de la energía solar a la mitad para el 2015
Gracias a la Ley para la Recuperación, estamos en camino de reducir el costo de la energía solar a la mitad para el 2015, lo cual reducirá el costo de generar energía solar al nivel del costo de la electricidad proveniente de la red eléctrica. 
• Como resultado de la inversiones de hoy, se calcula que el costo de la energía solar se reducirá a la mitad entre el 2009 y el 2015. El costo de la energía proveniente de paneles solares en los techos se reducirá de $0.21 por kWh en el 2009 a $0.10 por kWh en el 2015, lo cual es equivalente a las actuales tarifas residenciales de electricidad típicas. El costo de la energía de los proyectos solares de compañías de servicios públicos se reduciría de $0.13 por kWh hoy a $0.06 en el 2015, lo cual es equivalente al costo mayorista de energía que pagan las compañías de servicios públicos.
• Además, el costo de la energía proveniente de paneles solares en los techos podría reducirse hasta $0.06 por kWh para el 2030. A ese costo, la energía solar será significativamente más barata que la tarifa residencial de electricidad, y un hogar promedio podría ahorrar más de $400 al año en su cuenta de electricidad.
• La Ley para la Recuperación no sólo está apoyando la implementación de lo mejor en tecnología solar, sino que también está aumentando la producción y el uso a niveles mucho más altos, lo cual ayuda a reducir considerablemente los costos de la nueva tecnología.
• Algunas compañías están reduciendo el costo simplemente al aumentar la producción y usar más paneles solares estándar de silicona. Por ejemplo, la mayor planta fotovoltaica en Norteamérica, la DeSoto Solar Park en Pensacola, Florida de 25 MW fue fundada en parte por la Ley para la Recuperación. Esta planta de energía consiste en más de 90,000 paneles solares y suministra energía a 3,000 hogares.
 
Objetivo #2: Reducir el costo de baterías para vehículos eléctricos en 70 por ciento entre el 2009 y el 2015
Las inversiones de la Ley para la Recuperación nos han puesto en camino de reducir el costo de las baterías para autos en 70% entre el 2009 y el 2015. Esto significa que el costo de las baterías para el típico vehículo totalmente eléctrico se reducirá de $33,000 a $10,000, y el costo de la típica batería enchufable para híbridos se reducirá de $13,000 a $4,000.
• Esta reducción de costos para el 2015 se produce porque las inversiones de la Ley para la Recuperación aprovechan la tecnología de vanguardia y propician el aumento de la producción a un mayor nivel, lo cual reduce la curva de costos.
• Los vehículos eléctricos ya se han vuelto más económicos y accesibles. En el 2009, el único vehículo de motor eléctrico costaba más de $100,000. Pronto estarán disponibles el Nissan Leaf y el Chevy Volt, cuyo precio parte de $25,000 y $33,000 respectivamente.
• Una batería de $10,000 para vehículos totalmente eléctricos y una batería de $4,000 para vehículos híbridos enchufables significa que los vehículos totalmente eléctricos serán más económicos y su costo será competitivo con respecto a vehículos similares no eléctricos. A ese nivel de costos, los autos de motor eléctrico en realidad serán menos caros por el tiempo de su vida útil, que vehículos similares que no son eléctricos. Asimismo, estas inversiones harán que estas baterías menos costosas sean menos pesadas y más durables:
• Se prevé que el peso típico de una batería para un vehículo eléctrico disminuya en 33%, de 333 kilos a 222 kilos, para el 2015. Una batería menos pesada significa un carro más ligero, lo que a su vez significa que se necesitará menos energía para impulsar al vehículo.
• Se calcula que una batería típica dure 14 años en el 2015, más de tres veces la duración actual de 4 años.

 Objetivo #3: Aumentar al doble la capacidad de Estados Unidos de generar energía renovable y de producir equipo de energía renovable para el 2012
Estamos en vías de alcanzar nuestro objetivo de aumentar al doble la generación de energía renovable para el 2012, algo que no habría sido posible sin las inversiones de la Ley para la Recuperación.
• Más de $23,000 millones de inversiones de la Ley para la Recuperación respaldan la energía renovable. Muchas de sus inversiones están contribuyendo directamente a aumentar al doble la capacidad de Estados Unidos de generar energía eólica, solar y geotérmica renovable para el  2012. Eso significa instalar la misma capacidad de generar energía renovable en los próximos tres años que la que Estados Unidos instaló en los 30 años previos.
• Además, el Presidente Obama fijó el objetivo de aumentar al doble la capacidad de producción de equipo de energía renovable, para que Estados Unidos también pueda convertirse en un líder en la producción de esta tecnología.
• Específicamente, estos objetivos significan que:
• Aumentaremos al doble la capacidad energética, de 28.8 GW en generación de energía solar, eólica y geotérmica instalados hasta el 2008, a 57.6 GW para fines del 2011. Esta capacidad es suficiente para el suministro de 16.7 millones de residencias.
• Aumentar al doble la capacidad anual de producción de equipo de energía renovable (como aerogeneradores o paneles solares) de 6 GW a 12 GW para fines del 2011. Esto aumentará la porción de Estados Unidos en la producción mundial de módulos fotovoltaicos solares de 8% de toda la producción a 14% para el 2012.

Objetivo #4: Reducir el costo de un mapa personal del genoma humano a menos de $1,000 en cinco años
Las posibilidades que conlleva poder comparar genomas humanos enteros son ilimitadas. Hoy en día, con la ayuda de la Ley para la Recuperación, el National Institutes of Health está por reducir el costo de la secuenciación de ADN a $1,000 por genoma, cincuenta veces más barato de lo que actualmente cuesta.
• Con un precio más módico, la información del ADN podría convertirse parte de un examen médico rutinario. Al igual que un simple análisis, un económico análisis de todo el genoma de ADN podría ayudar a los proveedores de salud a escoger tratamientos eficaces y personalizados en el futuro. 
• Ésta es una noticia muy positiva, ya que desde un inicio, los científicos del Proyecto del Genoma Humano (Human Genome Project) sostenían que poder crear mapas y comparar genomas humanos podría producir curas y un entendimiento de algunas de las enfermedades más debilitantes de la actualidad, y al mismo tiempo, también crear en el proceso muchos nuevos puestos de alta capacitación.
• Siete proyectos financiados por la Ley para la Recuperación están tratando de reducir el costo de la secuenciación del genoma humano, cada uno con una estrategia tecnológica diferente.
• A fin de cuentas, el éxito en este cometido significará que la promesa de tratamientos que ofrecen las ciencias no sólo estará al alcance de las personas muy acaudaladas, sino también de decenas de millones de estadounidenses en todos los rincones del país.
 

The White House

Office of the Vice President

For Immediate Release
August 24, 2010

Declaraciones del Vicepresidente sobre el nuevo informe de la CBO sobre el empleo y el impacto económico de la Ley para la Recuperación

El Vicepresidente Joe Biden dio a conocer hoy las siguientes declaraciones sobre el nuevo informe de la Oficina de Presupuesto del Congreso (Congressional Budget Office o CBO) sobre el empleo y el impacto económico de la Ley para la Recuperación y Reinversión en Estados Unidos (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act):

“Este nuevo análisis de la Oficina de Presupuesto del Congreso, entidad no partidista, es una confirmación más de lo que venimos oyendo de destacados economistas, los gobernadores y familias en todo el país: la Ley para la Recuperación está logrando rescatar la economía afectada por ocho años de una fallida política económica y le está dando mayor solidez que nunca.  Cuando la CBO, el principal organismo de control del Congreso y una institución sumamente respetada por ambos partidos, dice que debido a la Ley para la Recuperación hasta 3.3 millones de estadounidenses están trabajando actualmente y la tasa de desempleo es hasta 1.8 por ciento más baja, es imposible que lo nieguen incluso los críticos más cínicos y empecinados en promover el fracaso. Entonces, mientras que los republicanos en el Congreso –el mismo partido que nos metió en este aprieto para comenzar– quiera dar marcha atrás y volvernos a meter en los mismos apuros de los que estamos saliendo, ahora está más claro que nunca que no nos podemos dar el lujo de retroceder; debemos seguir adelante y avanzar aprovechando medidas como la Ley para la Recuperación, que están generando empleos y haciéndonos más competitivos en la economía del siglo XXI”.

Según el informe de la CBO, “Impacto estimado de la Ley para la Recuperación y Reinversión en Estados Unidos en la producción económica de abril del 2010 a junio del 2010” (“Estimated Impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act on Employment and Economic Output from April 2010 through June 2010”), en el segundo trimestre del 2010, la Ley para la Recuperación:
• aumentó el nivel del Producto Interno Bruto real (modificado para reflejar la inflación) o PIB: entre 1.7 por ciento y 4.5 por ciento,
• disminuyó la tasa de desempleo: entre 0.7 puntos porcentuales y 1.8 puntos porcentuales,
• aumentó el número de personas empleadas: entre 1.4 millones y 3.3 millones

Se puede ver el informe completo en inglés AQUI . 

 

The White House

Office of the Vice President

For Immediate Release
August 24, 2010

Vice President Biden Releases Report on Recovery Act Impact on Innovation

New Analysis Finds U.S. Now On-Track to Achieve Four Major Science and Technology Breakthroughs Due to Recovery Act 

WASHINGTON – Vice President Joe Biden today unveiled a new report, “The Recovery Act: Transforming the American Economy through Innovation,” which finds that the Recovery Act’s $100 billion investment in innovation is not only transforming the economy and creating new jobs, but helping accelerate significant advances in science and technology that cut costs for consumers, save lives and help keep America competitive in the 21st century economy.  The report can be viewed in full HERE. 

“From the beginning, we have been a nation of discovery and innovation – and today we continue in that tradition as Recovery Act investments pave the way for game-changing breakthroughs in transportation, energy and medical research,” said Vice President Biden.  “We’re planting the seeds of innovation, but private companies and the nation’s top researchers are helping them grow, launching entire new industries, transforming our economy and creating hundreds of thousands of new jobs in the process.”

According to this new analysis, the U.S. is now on-track to achieve four major innovation breakthroughs thanks to Recovery Act investments:

  • Cutting the cost of solar power in half by 2015, putting it on par with the cost of retail electricity from the grid.
  • Cutting the cost of batteries for electric vehicles by 70 percent between 2009 and 2015, putting the lifetime cost of an electric vehicle on-par with that of its non-electric counterpart.
  • Doubling U.S. renewable energy generation capacity and U.S. renewable manufacturing capacity by 2012, a breakthrough that would not be possible without the Recovery Act.
  • Bringing the cost of a personal human genome map to under $1,000 in five years, allowing researchers to sequence 50 human genomes for the same cost as sequencing just one today.

Vice President Biden was joined at the event by Secretary of Energy Steven Chu and representatives from more than two dozen companies and research institutions that are leveraging Recovery Act investments to help make America a global leader in high-growth industries like electric vehicles and solar power.  Recovery Act recipients like Cree, Inc.; Navistar and Pacific Biosciences are using Recovery dollars to make advances that will help put money-saving, energy-saving and, in some cases, even life-saving technology within reach for average Americans.

“Thanks to investments made possible by the Recovery Act, we are unleashing the American innovation machine to change the way we use and produce energy in this country,” said Secretary Chu.  “Just as importantly, these breakthroughs are helping create tens of thousands of new jobs, allowing the US to continue as a leader in the global economy and helping to provide a better future for generations to come.”

"The Recovery Act funding is not only producing thousands of jobs in the biomedical research community, it is also helping speed important medical discoveries that will benefit the health of Americans nationwide," said Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D., NIH Director.

Overall, the Recovery Act is investing $100 billion in science, technology and innovation projects across the country ranging from building a nationwide smart energy grid and health information technology infrastructure to growing the emerging electric vehicle industry, expanding broadband access and laying the groundwork for a nationwide high speed rail system.  More information on investments the Administration is making in innovation through the Recovery Act and other means can be viewed HERE at the new Innovation page launched on WhiteHouse.gov today.

The Recovery Act: Transforming the American Economy through Innovation
Fact Sheet

Thanks to the Recovery Act, the U.S. is now on-track to achieve four major innovation breakthroughs that will keep America competitive in the 21st century economy and make new cost-saving, energy-saving and life-saving technology affordable for and accessible to consumers:

  1. 1. Cutting the cost of solar power in half between by 2015.
  2. 2. Cutting the cost of batteries for electric vehicles by 70 percent between 2009 and 2015.
  3. 3. Doubling U.S. renewable energy generation capacity and U.S. renewable manufacturing capacity by 2012.
  4. 4. Bringing down the cost of a personal human genome map to under $1,000 in five years.

Goal #1: Cutting the cost of solar power in half by 2015
Thanks to the Recovery Act, we are on track to cut the cost of solar power in half by 2015, which will bring the cost of generating solar power down to the cost of electricity from the grid. 

  • As a result of today’s investments, the cost of solar energy is forecast to drop by half between 2009 and 2015.  The cost of power from rooftop solar panels will drop from $0.21 per kWh in 2009 to $0.10 per kWh in 2015, which is equivalent to typical household electricity rates.  The cost of power from utility-scale solar projects would drop from $0.13 per kWh today to $0.06 in 2015, which is equivalent to the cost of wholesale utility power.
  • Further, the cost of rooftop solar power could drop to as low as $0.06 per kWh by 2030. At that cost, solar power will be significantly cheaper than household electricity rates – and an average household could save more than $400 per year in electricity bills.
  • The Recovery Act is not just supporting implementation of the latest solar technologies, but also is scaling up manufacturing and deployment to much greater levels, both of which help to dramatically bring down the costs of new technologies.  
  • Some companies are reducing cost simply by scaling up manufacturing and deployment of the standard silicon solar panel. For example, the largest photovoltaic power plant in North America, the 25 MW DeSoto Solar Park in Pensacola, Florida, was funded in part by the Recovery Act. The power plant consists of over 90,000 solar panels and provides enough power for 3,000 homes.

Goal #2: Cut the cost of batteries for electric vehicles by 70 percent between 2009 and 2015
Recovery Act investments have now put us on track to cut the cost of batteries for autos by 70% between 2009 and 2015. This means that the cost of batteries for the typical all-electric vehicle will fall from $33,000 to $10,000, and the cost of typical plug-in hybrid batteries will drop from $13,000 to $4,000.

  • This cost reduction by 2015 is because of Recovery Act investments that are taking advantage of the latest technologies, ramping up manufacturing to much higher levels, and marching down the cost curve.
  • Already, electric vehicles are becoming more affordable and accessible. In 2009, the only available electric-drive vehicle cost more than $100,000. Soon, the Nissan Leaf and the Chevy Volt, starting at $25,000 and $33,000 respectively, will be available.
  • A $10,000 battery for all-electric vehicles and a $4,000 battery for plug-in hybrid vehicles will mean that electric-drive cars are affordable and cost competitive with similar non-electric vehicles. At those battery costs, electric-drive cars actually will be less expensive over the life of the car than similar non-electric vehicles. What’s more, these investments will make these less-expensive batteries lighter and more durable:
    • The weight of a typical electric-vehicle battery is forecasted to decrease by 33%, from 333 kilograms to 222 kilograms, by 2015. The lighter battery means a lighter car, which means less energy is needed to power the car.
    • A typical battery is expected to last 14 years in 2015 – more than three times as long as the current 4-year lifetime.

Goal #3: Double U.S. renewable energy generation capacity and U.S. renewable manufacturing capacity by 2012
We’re now on track to hit our target to double renewable energy generation by 2012, something that would not have been possible without Recovery Act investments.

  • Over $23 billion of Recovery Act investments support renewable energy. Many of these investments are directly contributing to the doubling U.S. renewable energy generation capacity from wind, solar, and geothermal by 2012.  This means installing as much renewable energy generating capacity in the next three years as the U.S. had in the previous thirty. 
  • In addition, President Obama set the goal of doubling renewable manufacturing capacity, so that the U.S. can gain leadership in manufacturing these technologies as well.
  • Specifically, these goals mean that we will:
    • Double renewable energy capacity from the 28.8 GW of solar, wind, and geothermal generation that has been installed as of 2008, to 57.6 GW by the end of 2011. That’s enough capacity to power 16.7 million homes. 
    • Double renewable energy manufacturing capacity from an annual output of 6 GW of renewable equipment (like wind turbines or solar panels) to 12 GW by the end of 2011. This will increase the U.S. share of global manufacturing of solar photovoltaic modules from 8% of all production, to 14% by 2012.

Goal #4: Bring down the cost of a personal human genome map to under $1,000 in five years
The promise of being able to compare entire human genomes is boundless.  Today, with the help of the Recovery Act, the National Institutes of Health are on track to slash the cost of DNA sequencing to $1,000 per genome – fifty times cheaper than what is currently possible.

  • With a more affordable price tag, DNA information could become a routine part of medical care.  Just like a simple blood test, an inexpensive whole-genome DNA scan could help health care providers in the future choose effective, personalized treatments. 
  • This is welcome news, as since before the start of the Human Genome Project scientists have believed that being able to map and compare human genomes could unlock cures and insights into some of the most debilitating diseases existing today, while also creating many new skilled jobs in the process.
  • Seven projects funded by the Recovery Act are attempting to drive down the cost of human genome sequencing, each with a different technological strategy.
  • Ultimately, success in this endeavor will mean that the promises of treatment offered by this science will not only be available to the super wealthy, but will be available to tens of millions of Americans in every corner of the country.

The White House

Office of the Vice President

For Immediate Release
August 23, 2010

Remarks by Vice President Joe Biden at the Veterans of Foreign Wars 111th National Convention

Veterans of Foreign Wars 111th National Convention
Indianapolis, Indiana

As Prepared for Delivery—

“Honor the dead by helping the living.”  That’s what you’re all about. That’s what the VFW has always been about. Like you, I know that our nation has just one truly sacred obligation: to prepare and equip those we send into harm’s way, and to care for them when they come home.

Commander Tradewell—Tommy—you’ve walked that walk. You served bravely in Vietnam, then came back and kept right on fighting to make sure your comrades got everything they deserved. Thank you for your service, over there, and over here.

To Richard Eubank, who also served at the height of the Vietnam War, I want to wish you the best of luck as you take the helm of this great organization at a critically important time.

And Bob—thank you for having me, and for all you do on behalf of the VFW, every day in Washington. And to Jan Tittle, President of the Ladies Auxiliary. Thank you for all that you do. And to my home state commander, Bob Wilkinson. And to the Ladies Auxiliary, Roberta Walter. Thank you all for your service. I particularly want to acknowledge those veterans of the Korean War, who this summer are marking the 60th Anniversary of the start of that conflict. 

Over the last 111 years—from San Juan Hill to the Argonne Forest, Midway to Inchon, Hue City to Kuwait City, and the Korengal Valley to the Sunni Triangle—VFW members have fought for our country on both the frontlines and the home front. You and your predecessors helped establish the Department of Veterans Affairs and build a National Cemetery System. You worked to secure a better future for service members and their families by helping pass two GI bills.

And you have spoken out time and again on behalf of your 2.2 million members, and for all those who have fought in America’s wars. This work—your work—has never been more important than it is today.

Over the past decade, our military has embarked on a longer period of sustained combat than ever before in our history. More than two million service members have deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, more than half of whom have now returned to a civilian life with the honored title of “Veteran.”

Of those men and women—the very best our nation has—almost 40,000 have been wounded and 5,640 have made the ultimate sacrifice.

And President Obama is taking a major step toward concluding one of those wars, just as he pledged to do before he ever took office. One month after his inauguration, at Camp Lejeune, President Obama laid out a plan for ending the war in Iraq responsibly, and we have followed it closely ever since.

As a result, one week from tomorrow, the U.S. combat phase of that war will close. From more than 140,000 troops in Iraq when our Administration took office, by the end of August, 50,000 will remain. Our last remaining combat unit, one that I visited with and know well, the 4th Stryker Brigade of the Army’s Second Infantry Division, left Iraq last week.

I’m proud to say that as of September 1, the mission of the United States Forces in Iraq will be to advise, assist, train, and equip the Iraqi Security Forces; to conduct partnered counterterrorism operations; and to provide security for our military and civilian personnel and infrastructure.

I recently went to Fort Drum, to meet with the Army’s proud 10th Mountain Division, whose motto is “climb to glory.” God, have they climbed to glory. I was there to welcome nearly 3,000 of them back from Iraq, three months early, after they accomplished all of their goals.

These homecomings are something I have long looked forward to, and I know many of you have as well. The day my son Beau returned from a yearlong tour in Iraq, and I watched him embrace his wife and children, was one of the proudest and happiest moments of my life.

By the end of next year—2011—our remaining troops in Iraq will have come home to their families and a grateful nation. This is only possible because of the extraordinary progress our military—the finest fighting force this planet has ever seen—has brought about, led by the great General Ray Odierno.

Three accomplishments are worth singling out.

First, violence in Iraq has decreased to such a degree that those who last served there three or four years ago—when the country was being torn apart by sectarian conflict—would hardly recognize the place. Al Qaeda in Iraq and the Shiite extremists remain dangerous, and their attacks still claim innocent lives. But they have utterly failed to achieve their objectives of inflaming sectarian conflict and undermining the Iraqi government.

Second, Iraq’s security forces—now more than 650,000 strong—are already leading the way to defend and protect their country. We have transferred control over hundreds of bases, and many thousands of square miles of territory. Some said that our drawdown would bring more violence. They were wrong, because the Iraqis are ready to take charge. And in recent months, operations that they led, based on intelligence they developed, killed two key leaders of Al Qaeda in Iraq and purged more than 30 other top terrorists from its ranks.

Third, but no less important, is the fact that Iraqi leaders who once settled disputes through violence are at this very moment, ironing out their differences in face-to-face negotiations.

The Iraqis recently held their second national election that the world all agreed was legitimate, and although it is taking a long time to form a government, I am convinced that this will happen soon.

Another way of putting this is that politics has broken out.

Now, I certainly don’t need to tell you that politics is not always pretty, even our own. But the hard work of forming a new government is well underway, and we urge these politicians to match the courage their citizens have shown, by completing that process.

Ever since the President asked me to oversee our Iraq policy, I have been actively engaged, on a daily basis.  I have visited the country 13 times; I know all the players from all the leading coalitions; I speak regularly with Iraqi leaders; and I understand Iraq’s intricate politics.  We have a first-rate Embassy team, now led by Ambassador Jim Jeffrey, that is interacting daily with the Iraqis throughout the government formation process.

Many people point to the Iranian influence in Iraq but I believe this to be exaggerated.  The Iranian government spent over $100 million dollars to try to sway the national elections but Iran failed.  The Iraqi people voted for their desired candidate, not who the Iranians wanted them to vote for.

Now the Iraqi leaders are working to form a government and we urge them to do so in a way that reflects the will of the Iraqi people.  An important step in this process is formalizing a power-sharing arrangement, which the Iraqi leaders are currently undertaking to do.  

This process can sometimes be frustrating, and there will be ups and downs, but I am confident that the Iraqis will form a national unity government soon.

And one more thing: Drawing down our troops does not mean we are disengaging from Iraq. In fact, quite the opposite is true. While our warriors that remain there are as capable as any in our armed services—they know how to fight if they have to—their mission has changed. They are there now to help the Iraqis help themselves. 

Meanwhile, we are also ramping up a civilian-led effort to help ensure Iraq remains stable, sovereign, and self-reliant. We will continue to help strengthen its economic and political institutions, foster new ties of trade and commerce, and support Iraq’s return to its rightful place in the region and the broader community of nations.

While the Iraq war winds down, our troops continue to take the fight to our enemies in Afghanistan.  That is where Al Qaeda plotted and trained to launch the devastating attack on 9-11.

Our forces there are now in the able hands of one of our nation’s finest generals, David Petraeus—a great warrior, strategist, and friend—whom you are honoring this week with the Eisenhower Award.

Afghanistan poses unique and daunting challenges, including a local population scarred by more than three decades of war and plagued by illiteracy, crushing poverty, and corrupt governance.

The country’s harsh terrain is some of the least hospitable our forces have ever had to navigate. I’ve seen it firsthand, including two years ago when a surprise blizzard forced my helicopter to land between two snowy peaks, on a road not much wider than the rotor blades, about 9,000 feet up, with a steep drop on both sides.

But after too many years of neglect, we now have a clearly defined strategy, backed by the resources needed to implement it—and we are making measurable progress focused on the overarching goal: to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat Al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan, so that it no longer threatens America and our allies.

In order to do this, we must deny Al Qaeda a safe haven.  We must reverse the Taliban's momentum. And we must strengthen the capacity of Afghanistan's security forces and government so that they can begin to assume primary responsibility for their country's future.

Nearly all of the additional personnel President Obama ordered to the region are now in place, along with about 10,000 new troops and trainers provided by our allies for the International Security Assistance Force.

General Petraeus only now has all the resources that the strategy calls for. Together, they are working tirelessly to strengthen the Afghan security forces, and to take insurgents on in regions where they have run roughshod for too long. That effort is being complemented by an unprecedented surge of civilian diplomats and technical experts.

In the meantime, our Ambassador, General Eikenberry, is working every day, pushing the  Afghan government to step up its efforts to tackle corruption, and devise a plan of reintegration for the portion of the Taliban that is ready to lay down its arms and join the government.

As General Petraeus has said, we will assess the progress made in December and begin a responsible conditions-based transition to Afghan security leadership, on a province-by-province basis, in July 2011, a date that represents both our sense of urgency for Afghanistan to step up and our resolve to meet our stated goals.

In the meantime, our thoughts and prayers remain with our troops still serving in harm’s way, and we will continue to give them the resources they need to succeed. But, as you know better than anyone, providing for our service members overseas is where our responsibility to them begins, not where it ends.

That is why the Obama-Biden Administration has embarked on one of the largest, most comprehensive programs in American history to support our returning veterans, and their families, long after their military service is over.

President Obama trusted a great warrior, General Eric Shinseki, with transforming the Department of Veterans Affairs to meet 21st Century challenges. We’re providing him the resources to do exactly that. Even while freezing most discretionary spending, we’ve given VA one of the biggest budget increases in 30 years—$16 billion, for a total of $114 billion—and followed that up with a request for an increase of another $11 billion next year.

I know we hear some voices—and we will continue to hear more—who say that in tough economic times we can’t fulfill that commitment. But I say to those voices: whether or not we keep this promise will say a lot about whether we are who we say we are.

In my view, our nation’s obligation to veterans is not negotiable.

Meanwhile, the post-9/11 G.I. Bill is already helping nearly 300,000 veterans— and, for the first time, their family members—earn college degrees. We are revitalizing VA facilities, including $957 million for the already admirable Veterans Health Administration and $46 million for our VA cemeteries—national shrines that must be preserved. We have taken steps to help veterans exposed to Agent Orange in Vietnam and those who suffer from a range of ailments related to their service in the first Gulf War.

Tommy, Richard, and others here will remember how veterans from our generation had to prove the source of their ailments in order to get their benefits. The burden was on them.  Well, thanks in part to the hard work of your organization they no longer have that burden.  It’s now the government’s.

And also thanks to your help, we will not make the same mistake with younger veterans.

For those with post traumatic stress disorder, our policy will be to trust veterans’ own explanations of how it came about, without requiring corroborating evidence. And we’ve implemented a new rating system to improve how claims of traumatic brain injury are evaluated. We’re doing these things because wounded veterans should not have to plead for the care they deserve.

Two landmark pieces of legislation deserve special mention, and not just because the VFW was instrumental in both successes.

For the first time in American history, we have secured advanced appropriations to end, once and for all, the nightmare of long delays in funding for veterans’ medical treatment.  And since sometimes the best care comes from family members, we passed the Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act to fund and train relatives who serve as caregivers for wounded warriors.

Almost 18,000 men and women have been wounded so badly in Iraq and Afghanistan that they could not return to duty.

The good news is that medical advances and improved technology allowed so many to survive who might not have made it home from past conflicts. But it also means that many are left with injuries that will require critical care for the rest of their lives.  

You know as well as I do that long after the wars are over; after the welcome home parades; after the memorials are built and the streets renamed; you and your fellow veterans organizations will still be needed out there demanding that these wounded warriors get the care they need years and decades from now.

I’m counting on you.  An entire generation of veterans—my son’s generation—is counting on you. We owe them nothing less, because the warriors we sent to Iraq and Afghanistan have served as ably as any generation of fighting men and women in our nation’s history.

But the sacred obligation I mentioned earlier extends also to those who share the burden of veterans’ service. That is why First Lady Michele Obama, and my wife, Jill, are leading an unprecedented push for our nation to support and engage military families.

Over nearly a decade, military families have endured multiple deployments, and the wrenching toll that absence takes. When our son Beau was in Iraq, Jill and I came to understand what the poet John Milton meant when he wrote, and I quote: “They also serve, who only stand and wait.”

Our military families do far more than stand and wait. We owe them for their service to our country. And we must acknowledge and repay that debt. It is no secret that today more than ever, a small fraction of our citizens bear the lion’s share of the cost our wars have imposed.

The call to duty has been answered by a new generation of heroes every bit as honorable as those who came before.

Heroes like Lt. Col. Chris Kolenda, whom I met on a far-flung FOB in a remote corner of Kunar Province, Afghanistan, a few miles from the Pakistan border. With the heart of a warrior and the precision of a cultural anthropologist, he and his soldiers talked me through the myriad tribes and sub-tribes that inhabited his terrain, and the near-constant enemy fire they endured every night sitting on that exposed mountaintop. 

Heroes like the seven service members who last week were awarded the Silver Star for valorous acts more awe-inspiring than anything Hollywood could have conjured.

One of them, Sergeant First Class David Nunez, was traveling through the Afghan village of Shewan on May 29, 2008, when insurgents attacked. His body engulfed in flames, he sought to save his comrades’ lives by ridding his damaged vehicle of ammunition and explosives, until he made the ultimate sacrifice.

These stories are chapters in the greatest epic of our age. They will inspire future warriors as surely as did those in this room who fought and bled in wars gone by. And our enemies should take them as irrefutable proof of our resolve in the face of the threats we now confront.

As President Obama said upon taking office: “Our spirit is strong and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.”

On behalf of a grateful nation, I thank all of our troops—and all of you here today—for giving life to those words, and for sacrificing so much for your country. God Bless you. God bless all our troops around the world.  And God Bless the United States of America.

Subscribe

Lakes and Rivers: A Middle Class Task Force Visit to the Chrysler Toledo Assembly Complex

Posted by Jared Bernstein on August 23, 2010 at 04:00 PM EST

When it comes to the auto companies, we often focus more on the lake than the streams and rivers.

That is, much of the attention to how this critical sector is faring focuses on the end-of-the-line assembly plants, and less on the suppliers that provide the parts to be assembled. 

You might think that’s because in employment terms, the end-of-the-line is most important.  But in fact, for every worker in the assembly plant, there are three workers in the supply chain. 

So if you want to assess the health of the auto industry, you’ve got to look beyond the factories that build the cars and trucks and examine how the suppliers are doing.

With that in mind, Vice President Biden traveled to Toledo, Ohio, today to hold a Middle Class Task Force event at the Chrysler Toledo Assembly Complex.  This state-of-the-art complex houses the main assembly plant producing the Jeep Wrangler, surrounded by three of the plant’s suppliers. 

See more about Economy  

Strengthening the American Auto Industry

August 23, 2010 | 29:39 | Public Domain

Vice President Joe Biden talks about the steps the Administration has taken to strengthen the American auto industry as he visits the Chrysler Toledo Assembly Complex in Toledo, OH.

Download mp4 (283MB) | mp3 (27MB)

An Obligation to Those Who Serve

August 23, 2010 | 41:53 | Public Domain

Vice President Joe Biden speaks on the end of combat operations in Iraq, the Administration’s commitment to Afghanistan, and our nation’s obligations to our veterans in remarks to the Veterans of Foreign Wars 111th National Convention in Indianapolis, IN.

Download mp4 (400MB) | mp3 (38MB)

Read the Transcript

Remarks by Vice President Joe Biden at the Veterans of Foreign Wars 111th National Convention

Veterans of Foreign Wars 111th National Convention
Indianapolis, Indiana

As Prepared for Delivery—

“Honor the dead by helping the living.”  That’s what you’re all about. That’s what the VFW has always been about. Like you, I know that our nation has just one truly sacred obligation: to prepare and equip those we send into harm’s way, and to care for them when they come home.

Commander Tradewell—Tommy—you’ve walked that walk. You served bravely in Vietnam, then came back and kept right on fighting to make sure your comrades got everything they deserved. Thank you for your service, over there, and over here.

To Richard Eubank, who also served at the height of the Vietnam War, I want to wish you the best of luck as you take the helm of this great organization at a critically important time.

And Bob—thank you for having me, and for all you do on behalf of the VFW, every day in Washington. And to Jan Tittle, President of the Ladies Auxiliary. Thank you for all that you do. And to my home state commander, Bob Wilkinson. And to the Ladies Auxiliary, Roberta Walter. Thank you all for your service. I particularly want to acknowledge those veterans of the Korean War, who this summer are marking the 60th Anniversary of the start of that conflict. 

Over the last 111 years—from San Juan Hill to the Argonne Forest, Midway to Inchon, Hue City to Kuwait City, and the Korengal Valley to the Sunni Triangle—VFW members have fought for our country on both the frontlines and the home front. You and your predecessors helped establish the Department of Veterans Affairs and build a National Cemetery System. You worked to secure a better future for service members and their families by helping pass two GI bills.

And you have spoken out time and again on behalf of your 2.2 million members, and for all those who have fought in America’s wars. This work—your work—has never been more important than it is today.

Over the past decade, our military has embarked on a longer period of sustained combat than ever before in our history. More than two million service members have deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, more than half of whom have now returned to a civilian life with the honored title of “Veteran.”

Of those men and women—the very best our nation has—almost 40,000 have been wounded and 5,640 have made the ultimate sacrifice.

And President Obama is taking a major step toward concluding one of those wars, just as he pledged to do before he ever took office. One month after his inauguration, at Camp Lejeune, President Obama laid out a plan for ending the war in Iraq responsibly, and we have followed it closely ever since.

As a result, one week from tomorrow, the U.S. combat phase of that war will close. From more than 140,000 troops in Iraq when our Administration took office, by the end of August, 50,000 will remain. Our last remaining combat unit, one that I visited with and know well, the 4th Stryker Brigade of the Army’s Second Infantry Division, left Iraq last week.

I’m proud to say that as of September 1, the mission of the United States Forces in Iraq will be to advise, assist, train, and equip the Iraqi Security Forces; to conduct partnered counterterrorism operations; and to provide security for our military and civilian personnel and infrastructure.

I recently went to Fort Drum, to meet with the Army’s proud 10th Mountain Division, whose motto is “climb to glory.” God, have they climbed to glory. I was there to welcome nearly 3,000 of them back from Iraq, three months early, after they accomplished all of their goals.

These homecomings are something I have long looked forward to, and I know many of you have as well. The day my son Beau returned from a yearlong tour in Iraq, and I watched him embrace his wife and children, was one of the proudest and happiest moments of my life.

By the end of next year—2011—our remaining troops in Iraq will have come home to their families and a grateful nation. This is only possible because of the extraordinary progress our military—the finest fighting force this planet has ever seen—has brought about, led by the great General Ray Odierno.

Three accomplishments are worth singling out.

First, violence in Iraq has decreased to such a degree that those who last served there three or four years ago—when the country was being torn apart by sectarian conflict—would hardly recognize the place. Al Qaeda in Iraq and the Shiite extremists remain dangerous, and their attacks still claim innocent lives. But they have utterly failed to achieve their objectives of inflaming sectarian conflict and undermining the Iraqi government.

Second, Iraq’s security forces—now more than 650,000 strong—are already leading the way to defend and protect their country. We have transferred control over hundreds of bases, and many thousands of square miles of territory. Some said that our drawdown would bring more violence. They were wrong, because the Iraqis are ready to take charge. And in recent months, operations that they led, based on intelligence they developed, killed two key leaders of Al Qaeda in Iraq and purged more than 30 other top terrorists from its ranks.

Third, but no less important, is the fact that Iraqi leaders who once settled disputes through violence are at this very moment, ironing out their differences in face-to-face negotiations.

The Iraqis recently held their second national election that the world all agreed was legitimate, and although it is taking a long time to form a government, I am convinced that this will happen soon.

Another way of putting this is that politics has broken out.

Now, I certainly don’t need to tell you that politics is not always pretty, even our own. But the hard work of forming a new government is well underway, and we urge these politicians to match the courage their citizens have shown, by completing that process.

Ever since the President asked me to oversee our Iraq policy, I have been actively engaged, on a daily basis.  I have visited the country 13 times; I know all the players from all the leading coalitions; I speak regularly with Iraqi leaders; and I understand Iraq’s intricate politics.  We have a first-rate Embassy team, now led by Ambassador Jim Jeffrey, that is interacting daily with the Iraqis throughout the government formation process.

Many people point to the Iranian influence in Iraq but I believe this to be exaggerated.  The Iranian government spent over $100 million dollars to try to sway the national elections but Iran failed.  The Iraqi people voted for their desired candidate, not who the Iranians wanted them to vote for.

Now the Iraqi leaders are working to form a government and we urge them to do so in a way that reflects the will of the Iraqi people.  An important step in this process is formalizing a power-sharing arrangement, which the Iraqi leaders are currently undertaking to do.  

This process can sometimes be frustrating, and there will be ups and downs, but I am confident that the Iraqis will form a national unity government soon.

And one more thing: Drawing down our troops does not mean we are disengaging from Iraq. In fact, quite the opposite is true. While our warriors that remain there are as capable as any in our armed services—they know how to fight if they have to—their mission has changed. They are there now to help the Iraqis help themselves. 

Meanwhile, we are also ramping up a civilian-led effort to help ensure Iraq remains stable, sovereign, and self-reliant. We will continue to help strengthen its economic and political institutions, foster new ties of trade and commerce, and support Iraq’s return to its rightful place in the region and the broader community of nations.

While the Iraq war winds down, our troops continue to take the fight to our enemies in Afghanistan.  That is where Al Qaeda plotted and trained to launch the devastating attack on 9-11.

Our forces there are now in the able hands of one of our nation’s finest generals, David Petraeus—a great warrior, strategist, and friend—whom you are honoring this week with the Eisenhower Award.

Afghanistan poses unique and daunting challenges, including a local population scarred by more than three decades of war and plagued by illiteracy, crushing poverty, and corrupt governance.

The country’s harsh terrain is some of the least hospitable our forces have ever had to navigate. I’ve seen it firsthand, including two years ago when a surprise blizzard forced my helicopter to land between two snowy peaks, on a road not much wider than the rotor blades, about 9,000 feet up, with a steep drop on both sides.

But after too many years of neglect, we now have a clearly defined strategy, backed by the resources needed to implement it—and we are making measurable progress focused on the overarching goal: to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat Al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan, so that it no longer threatens America and our allies.

In order to do this, we must deny Al Qaeda a safe haven.  We must reverse the Taliban's momentum. And we must strengthen the capacity of Afghanistan's security forces and government so that they can begin to assume primary responsibility for their country's future.

Nearly all of the additional personnel President Obama ordered to the region are now in place, along with about 10,000 new troops and trainers provided by our allies for the International Security Assistance Force.

General Petraeus only now has all the resources that the strategy calls for. Together, they are working tirelessly to strengthen the Afghan security forces, and to take insurgents on in regions where they have run roughshod for too long. That effort is being complemented by an unprecedented surge of civilian diplomats and technical experts.

In the meantime, our Ambassador, General Eikenberry, is working every day, pushing the  Afghan government to step up its efforts to tackle corruption, and devise a plan of reintegration for the portion of the Taliban that is ready to lay down its arms and join the government.

As General Petraeus has said, we will assess the progress made in December and begin a responsible conditions-based transition to Afghan security leadership, on a province-by-province basis, in July 2011, a date that represents both our sense of urgency for Afghanistan to step up and our resolve to meet our stated goals.

In the meantime, our thoughts and prayers remain with our troops still serving in harm’s way, and we will continue to give them the resources they need to succeed. But, as you know better than anyone, providing for our service members overseas is where our responsibility to them begins, not where it ends.

That is why the Obama-Biden Administration has embarked on one of the largest, most comprehensive programs in American history to support our returning veterans, and their families, long after their military service is over.

President Obama trusted a great warrior, General Eric Shinseki, with transforming the Department of Veterans Affairs to meet 21st Century challenges. We’re providing him the resources to do exactly that. Even while freezing most discretionary spending, we’ve given VA one of the biggest budget increases in 30 years—$16 billion, for a total of $114 billion—and followed that up with a request for an increase of another $11 billion next year.

I know we hear some voices—and we will continue to hear more—who say that in tough economic times we can’t fulfill that commitment. But I say to those voices: whether or not we keep this promise will say a lot about whether we are who we say we are.

In my view, our nation’s obligation to veterans is not negotiable.

Meanwhile, the post-9/11 G.I. Bill is already helping nearly 300,000 veterans— and, for the first time, their family members—earn college degrees. We are revitalizing VA facilities, including $957 million for the already admirable Veterans Health Administration and $46 million for our VA cemeteries—national shrines that must be preserved. We have taken steps to help veterans exposed to Agent Orange in Vietnam and those who suffer from a range of ailments related to their service in the first Gulf War.

Tommy, Richard, and others here will remember how veterans from our generation had to prove the source of their ailments in order to get their benefits. The burden was on them.  Well, thanks in part to the hard work of your organization they no longer have that burden.  It’s now the government’s.

And also thanks to your help, we will not make the same mistake with younger veterans.

For those with post traumatic stress disorder, our policy will be to trust veterans’ own explanations of how it came about, without requiring corroborating evidence. And we’ve implemented a new rating system to improve how claims of traumatic brain injury are evaluated. We’re doing these things because wounded veterans should not have to plead for the care they deserve.

Two landmark pieces of legislation deserve special mention, and not just because the VFW was instrumental in both successes.

For the first time in American history, we have secured advanced appropriations to end, once and for all, the nightmare of long delays in funding for veterans’ medical treatment.  And since sometimes the best care comes from family members, we passed the Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act to fund and train relatives who serve as caregivers for wounded warriors.

Almost 18,000 men and women have been wounded so badly in Iraq and Afghanistan that they could not return to duty.

The good news is that medical advances and improved technology allowed so many to survive who might not have made it home from past conflicts. But it also means that many are left with injuries that will require critical care for the rest of their lives.  

You know as well as I do that long after the wars are over; after the welcome home parades; after the memorials are built and the streets renamed; you and your fellow veterans organizations will still be needed out there demanding that these wounded warriors get the care they need years and decades from now.

I’m counting on you.  An entire generation of veterans—my son’s generation—is counting on you. We owe them nothing less, because the warriors we sent to Iraq and Afghanistan have served as ably as any generation of fighting men and women in our nation’s history.

But the sacred obligation I mentioned earlier extends also to those who share the burden of veterans’ service. That is why First Lady Michele Obama, and my wife, Jill, are leading an unprecedented push for our nation to support and engage military families.

Over nearly a decade, military families have endured multiple deployments, and the wrenching toll that absence takes. When our son Beau was in Iraq, Jill and I came to understand what the poet John Milton meant when he wrote, and I quote: “They also serve, who only stand and wait.”

Our military families do far more than stand and wait. We owe them for their service to our country. And we must acknowledge and repay that debt. It is no secret that today more than ever, a small fraction of our citizens bear the lion’s share of the cost our wars have imposed.

The call to duty has been answered by a new generation of heroes every bit as honorable as those who came before.

Heroes like Lt. Col. Chris Kolenda, whom I met on a far-flung FOB in a remote corner of Kunar Province, Afghanistan, a few miles from the Pakistan border. With the heart of a warrior and the precision of a cultural anthropologist, he and his soldiers talked me through the myriad tribes and sub-tribes that inhabited his terrain, and the near-constant enemy fire they endured every night sitting on that exposed mountaintop. 

Heroes like the seven service members who last week were awarded the Silver Star for valorous acts more awe-inspiring than anything Hollywood could have conjured.

One of them, Sergeant First Class David Nunez, was traveling through the Afghan village of Shewan on May 29, 2008, when insurgents attacked. His body engulfed in flames, he sought to save his comrades’ lives by ridding his damaged vehicle of ammunition and explosives, until he made the ultimate sacrifice.

These stories are chapters in the greatest epic of our age. They will inspire future warriors as surely as did those in this room who fought and bled in wars gone by. And our enemies should take them as irrefutable proof of our resolve in the face of the threats we now confront.

As President Obama said upon taking office: “Our spirit is strong and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.”

On behalf of a grateful nation, I thank all of our troops—and all of you here today—for giving life to those words, and for sacrificing so much for your country. God Bless you. God bless all our troops around the world.  And God Bless the United States of America.

Close Transcript

Video: The Vice President and Dr. Biden Welcome Troops Home from Iraq

Katelyn Sabochik
Katelyn Sabochik
August 18, 2010
11:56 AM EST

A few weeks ago, the Vice President and Dr. Jill Biden visited Fort Drum in upstate New York to welcome home the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, from Iraq. One of the most deployed brigades in the U.S. Army, the 2nd Brigade Combat Team has participated in three deployments to Afghanistan and four deployments to Iraq.

Watch the Vice President and Dr. Biden honor our troops service and welcome them home.

Download Video: mp4 (46MB)
Related Topics: Defense, Foreign Policy, Homeland Security, New York

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
August 18, 2010

Vice President Biden Announces Recovery Act Investments in Broadband Projects to Bring Jobs, Economic Opportunity to Communities Nationwide

 WASHINGTON -- Vice President Biden today announced 94 Recovery Act investments in broadband projects that will create jobs and expand economic opportunities within 37 states.  These investments in high-speed Internet infrastructure will help bridge the technological divide in communities that are being left in the 20th century economy and support improvements in education, healthcare, and public safety.  Today’s announcement, an investment totaling $1.8 billion, is part of a nearly $7 billion Recovery Act initiative. 

“Today's investment in broadband technology will create jobs across the country and expand opportunities for millions of Americans and American companies. In addition to bringing 21st century infrastructure to underserved communities and rural areas, these investments will begin to harness the power of broadband to improve education, health care, and public safety,” said Vice President Biden. “The awards are another great example of how the Recovery Act is creating jobs upfront, while also building a foundation for sustainable job creation and global competitiveness.”

The projects receiving funds today are part of a program – administered by the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service (RUS) – to expand broadband access and adoption across the country. 

“The broadband investments announced today are going to put people to work in the near term, but they also will lay the groundwork for sustainable economic growth down the road,” U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said. “These projects will connect Americans who have for too long been without the full economic, educational and social benefits of high-speed Internet access – access central to success in the 21st Century.”

“The broadband projects announced today will give rural Americans access to the tools they need to attract new businesses, jobs, health care and educational opportunities,” Secretary of Agriculture Vilsack said. “The Obama Administration understands that bringing broadband to rural America provides a gateway for businesses and key anchor institutions – such as libraries, schools, public safety and community centers – to provide services to thousands of Americans. These projects will create jobs building these networks, and the completed systems will provide a platform for rural economic growth for years to come.”

Today’s announcement includes 66 grants awarded by the Commerce Department for projects to deploy broadband infrastructure and connect community anchor institutions to broadband, create and upgrade public computer centers, and encourage the sustainable adoption of broadband service.  It also includes 28 awards from USDA for broadband infrastructure and satellite projects that will provide rural residents in 16 states and Native American tribal areas access to improved service.

The Department of Commerce awards also contain grants for public safety broadband networks that will improve response times and communication at the scene of emergencies.   These projects constitute a critical set of demonstration projects and a head start on President Obama’s commitment to support the development of a nationwide, interoperable public safety wireless broadband network.    A description of these public safety awards can be viewed HERE.

According to an analysis released by the National Economic Council last year, overall Recovery Act investments in broadband are expected to create tens of thousands of jobs in the near term and expand economic development and job opportunities in communities that are being left behind in the new knowledge-based economy. Recovery Act broadband projects help bring down the cost of private investment, attract Internet service providers to new areas, improve digital literacy among students and workers, and help create new opportunities in employment, education, and entrepreneurship by wiring homes and businesses. With new or increased broadband access, communities can compete on a level playing field to attract new businesses, schools can create distance learning opportunities, medical professionals can provide cost-efficient remote diagnoses and care, and business owners can expand the market for their products beyond their neighborhoods to better compete in the global economy.

Funding is contingent upon the recipient meeting the terms of the loan, grant or loan/grant agreement.  A complete list of projects receiving Recovery Act broadband grant awards today can be viewed in full HERE.

President Obama signed The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 into law on February 17, 2009. It is designed to jumpstart the nation’s economy, create or save millions of jobs, and put a down payment on addressing long-neglected challenges so that the country can thrive in the 21st century. The Act includes measures to modernize our nation’s infrastructure, enhance energy independence, expand educational opportunities, preserve and improve affordable health care, provide tax relief, and protect those in greatest need.

More information about USDA’s and Commerce’s Recovery Act efforts is available at http://www.broadbandusa.gov.  More information about the Federal government’s efforts on the Recovery Act is available at http://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/recovery.