Remarks by the First Lady at a DNC event

Ann and Robert Hamilton Residence, Pasadena, California

12:42 P.M. PDT

        MRS. OBAMA:  Well, goodness, that was good.  How’s everybody doing?  You all, thank you so much.  This is a real thrill for me.  It’s a pleasure to be here, to be back.  I remember so well being here -- gosh, how long ago was that?  Was that two years ago?  It was 2009, and I remember we were sitting -- was it right about here?  We had two big chairs and we were sort of the king and queen of Pasadena.  It was kind of cool.  (Laughter.)  

        So it is great to be back.  I want to start by thanking Lena for that very kind introduction and more importantly for her outstanding work today and every day.  She has been a real friend and supporter to both me and to the President, and we are grateful for her friendship, for her dedication, for her passion.  And let’s give her a round of applause.  (Applause.)  

        Yes, everyone, please feel free to sit.  It’s hot out here.  It’s nice and sunny.  Everybody, sit and rest.  

        I also want to recognize Ann and Robert Hamilton and their huge and beautiful family, for their incredible generosity in hosting us at their beautiful home.  Thank you again, Ann.  Thank you, Robert.  You all have been tremendous to us, as well.

        And I also understand that Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn is here.  Is she here?  Hey, Janice, if you’re here.  (Laughter.)  I know that she’s going to make a terrific member of Congress, but I’m glad that she is working hard on behalf of the people here.

        I also want to thank all of the National Finance Committee members for making this event such a tremendous success.  This is a terrific turnout.  You all are amazing.  Way to go.  Keep it up.

        And finally, I want to thank all of you all, everybody here, for coming today.  And I am thrilled to see so many new faces.  I know there are people here who have not been to an Obama event, and we are excited to have you here.  But I’m also thrilled to see so many people who have been with us right from the very beginning -- (applause) -- yes, indeed -- (applause) -- folks who have been through all of the ups and downs, all of the nail-biting moments along the way, because there was some drama, right?  There’s always a little drama.  And today, as I look ahead to the next part of this journey, I can’t help but think back to how it all began.

        And I have to be honest with you, when Barack first started talking about running for President, I wasn’t exactly thrilled by the idea.  I was proud of what my husband was doing in the U.S. Senate.  And don’t get me wrong, I knew he would make an extraordinary President.  I knew it.  I told you all.  (Applause.)

        But like a lot of people, I still had some cynicism about politics.  That was my hesitation.  And I was worried about the toll that a presidential campaign would take on my family.  We had two beautiful daughters.  They were young at the time.  Malia is now here -- yeah -- and we’re trying to work on the length of the shorts and all that stuff.  (Laughter.)  It’s a whole different set of conversations.  But we had two young daughters at home, and the last thing I wanted to do was disrupt their lives and upset their routine.  That was a huge concern.  The last thing in the world that I wanted was to spend time apart from my children.  They are the air that I breathe.

        So I have to tell you it took some convincing on Barack’s part, and by “some” I mean a whole lot.  (Laughter.)  And even as I hit the campaign trail, I was still a little uneasy about this whole “President thing.”  That's what Malia would call it, the “President thing.”

        But I have to tell you that something happened to me during those first few months on the trail that changed me.  See, when we started campaigning in places like Iowa and New Hampshire and South Carolina, it wasn’t just about handshakes and stump speeches.  It started to become about conversations -- conversations on people’s front porches and in their living rooms; people welcoming us into their home.  People who didn’t know anything about us opened up their homes before Barack Obama was Barack Obama.  People were sitting down at the kitchen table, talking.  They welcomed us into their homes and into their lives.

        And I remember one of the first events that I did in Iowa was a gathering in a beautiful backyard, a very solid community; folks who were just sitting on the lawn.  It was one of my first events.  And I remember within a few moments, I was so comfortable in that place that I had never been before that I kicked off my heels, like I'd like to do now but I’m not going to -- (laughter) -- and I remember I was just standing barefoot in the grass, just talking to people.  That's how comfortable I was.

        That’s what campaigning became for me.  It was about meeting people one-on-one and hearing what was going on in their lives.  That's what gave me energy, learning about the businesses they were trying to start -- businesses they were trying to keep afloat, the home they loved but could no longer afford, the spouse who came back from the war, changed forever, who needed help, the child who was so smart, who could be anything in the world she wanted if only her family could afford to pay tuition.

        It’s those stories that I heard that moved me.  And even more than that, these stories were familiar to me.  So familiar.

        And that was one of the lessons that I learned.  Whether you grew up on the South Side of Chicago or in a backyard in Iowa, our stories are shared.

        In the parents working the extra shift, or taking that extra job, I saw Barack’s mother, a young single mom struggling to support Barack and his sister.

        I saw my father, who dragged himself to work at the city water plant every morning, because even as his Multiple Sclerosis made him weaker and weaker, my father was determined to be our family’s provider.

        In the grandparents coming out of retirement to pitch in and help make ends meet, I saw my own mother who has helped me raise my girls -- thank God for Grandma -- (applause) -- from the day she was born -- from the day they were born.

        I saw Barack’s grandmother who caught a bus to work before dawn every day to help provide for her family.

        And in the children I met who were worried about a mom who’s lost her job, or a dad deployed far from home, kids so full of promise and dreams, of course I saw my own two daughters, who, as you know, are the center of my world.

        And what I saw was that these folks weren’t asking for much.  I mean, Barack talked about this.  They were looking for basic things –- like being able to see a doctor when you get sick.  Not much.  (Applause.)  Things like having a decent public school for your kids, and making sure they had a chance to go to college even if you weren’t rich.  Little things.  Things like making a decent wage, having a secure retirement, leaving a little something better for your kids.

        And while we may have grown up in different places and seemed different in many ways, these stories were my family’s stories.  They were Barack’s family’s stories.  All over the country we heard these stories.  Their values were the same; things like -- that we learn from our parents -- that you treat people how you want to be treated, right; that you put your family first, no matter what; that you work hard at everything you do, you put in 120 percent; that you do what you say you’re going to do; when you make a promise, you keep it, even if it’s hard, even if it’s -- (applause) -- not in your self-interest.  These were our family’s values.

        And I saw this playing itself out around the country.  And suddenly, everything Barack had been saying about how we’re all interconnected, about how we’re not just red states or blue states, those weren’t just lines from a speech.  It was what I was seeing with my own eyes around the country.  It was something that I wished every American could experience.

        And that changed me.  That pushed me away from my cynicism.  It kept me from worrying about my own inconveniences and the sacrifices that we would have to make to make this happen.

        And you know something else that changed me during all those months out on the campaign trail?  You all changed me.  I mean, the truth is, coming back here and seeing so many new faces, people who I haven’t seen in a while but it’s still like coming home, you all changed me.

        See, because when I got tired, I would think about all the folks out there making calls, knocking on doors day after day.  Remember that?  People -- you’d never thought -- would be out on the street knocking on a stranger’s door telling him to vote for Barack Obama.  (Laughter and applause.)  And that would energize me just thinking about it.

        And when I got discouraged, I would think of folks opening their wallets, the folks who gave when they didn’t have much to give, to this campaign.  I would think of folks who had the courage to let themselves believe again and hope again.  And for so many people, it was hard for them to believe that this country would be ready for Barack Obama, but they let themselves believe again.  And that would give me hope.

        And the simple truth is that today, four years later, we are here.  I am the First Lady of the United States. Barack Obama is the President of the United States.  (Applause.)  We’re here because of all of you.  Truly.  (Applause.)

        And I’m not just talking about winning an election.  I’m talking about what we’ve been doing every day in the White House since that time to keep on fighting for the folks we met and fighting for those values that we share.  I’m talking about what your President has been doing to help us win the future.

        At a time when we still have so many challenges and so much work to do, it is so easy to forget what we’ve done along the way.

        But let’s just take a step back for a moment and think about what’s happened over the past couple of years -- because it’s only been a couple of years:

        We’ve gone from an economy that was on the brink of collapse to an economy that’s starting to grow again.  (Applause.)   We are helping middle-class families by cutting taxes -- middle-class families -- working to stop credit card companies from taking advantage of people.  We’re going to give working moms and dads a childcare tax credit because we know how those costs add up.  And we’re helping women get equal pay for equal work -- (applause) -- if you remember, that was the first bill my husband signed into law, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay act, the very first thing he did as President of the United States.

        Because of health care reform, millions, millions of folks will finally be able to afford a doctor.  (Applause.)  Their insurance companies won’t be able to drop their coverage when they get sick, or charge them through the roof because their child has a pre-existing condition.  No more.  And now we have to cover preventive care because of health reform –- simple things like prenatal care, mammograms that not just saves money but saves lives.  That's some of what we’ve done.

        Because we don’t want to leave our kids a mountain of debt, we are reducing the deficit by doing what families across this country are already doing.  We’re cutting back so that we can start living within our means as a country.

        But at the same time we’re investing in things that really matter -- things like clean energy, so that we can do something about those gas prices; scientific research, including important things like stem cell research.  We’re investing in those types of things.  (Applause.)  We’re also investing in education, in our future, in community colleges, which, as so many people know, that is the gateway to opportunity for so many folks.  That is where opportunity lies.  And Pell Grants, which help so many young people pay for their tuition, that's the investment we’ve been making.  And through a competition that we call Race to the Top, we’ve got 40 states working to raise standards and to reform their schools.

        We’re working to live up to our founding values of freedom and equality.  And today, because my husband ended Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, our troops will never again have to lie about who they are to serve the country they love.  We’ve got that done, too.  (Applause.)

        And you may recall, although this happened very early, my husband appointed two brilliant Supreme Court Justices -- (applause) -- and for the first time in history, our daughters –- and our sons –- watched three women take their seat on the nation’s highest court.  (Applause.)

        We’re working to keep our country safe and restore our standing in the world.  We are responsibly ending the war in Iraq and have already brought home 100,000 men and women in uniform who served this country so bravely.  (Applause.)  They are now home.  

        And today, thanks to the tireless work of our intelligence and counter-terrorism communities and the heroic efforts of our troops, the man behind the 9/11 attacks and so many other horrific acts has finally been brought to justice.  (Applause.)

        Finally, we are tackling two issues near and dear to my heart, both as First Lady and as a mother.

        The first, as Lena mentioned, is childhood obesity.  This issue doesn’t just affect our kids’ health and how they feel.  It affects how they feel about themselves and it affects whether they will have the energy and the stamina to succeed not just in school but in life.  So we’re working hard to get better food into our schools and into communities and to help parents make better decisions for their kids.  And we’re making some progress.

        The second issue is one, again, that I came to on the campaign trail, meeting so many extraordinary military families.  These folks are raising their kids and running their households all alone while their spouses are deployed, many of them multiple deployments.  And they do it with a tremendous courage, strength and pride.  I have seen it for myself.  It will move you.  Every American should spend time on a base.  Every American should visit a military hospital.  Every American should understand that strength and discipline and sacrifice.

        That’s why we launched a nationwide campaign to rally our country to serve those men and women and their families as well as they’ve served us.  (Applause.)

        So those are just some of the things that have happened in two years.  I could go on, but it’s hot.  (Laughter.)  

        So I think it’s fair to say that we’ve made some significant change these last couple of years.  And we should be proud of what we’ve accomplished.  Everyone.  (Applause.)  

        But we should never be satisfied, because we know that we still have so much more work to do.  We know that too many of our kids still don’t have what they need to succeed.  We know that too many folks are still struggling to pay their bills every day.

        And the truth is, is that all those folks we campaigned for, and we won for, and that we’ve been fighting for all these years, those folks still need our help.  

        And that, more than anything else, is what drives my husband as President.  

        Now, let me tell you something about your President.  That’s what I see when he returns home after a long day traveling around the country, I mean, doing things you wouldn’t imagine that a single person could do in the span of 24 hours.  And he always tells me not about how hard the day was but about the people he’s met along the way.

        And I see in those quiet moments late at night, after we’ve put the girls to bed, and he’s hunched over his desk, and he’s reading everything -- letters people have sent him.  That's what keeps him motivated.  He reads those letters.  A letter from the woman dying of cancer whose health insurance wouldn’t cover her care.  Those are the letters he’s reading.  The letter from the young person with so much promise, but so few opportunities.

        And I see the sadness and the worry that's creasing his face.  And I hear the passion and the determination in his voice.  He says, “You know, Mich, you won’t believe what these folks are going through.”  He says, “It’s not right.  Still not right.  And we’ve got to fix this.  We have to do more.”

        And what some of you know, who has spent any time with Barack, is that when it comes to the people he meets and the stories he hears, he has a memory like a steel trap.  I mean, it’s a gift.  He remembers everything.  He can retain so much information, substantively -- stories, background, and children.  He might not remember your name, but if he’s had a few minutes and a decent conversation, he will never forget your story.  It becomes imprinted on his heart.  And that is what he carries with him every day –- that collection of hopes, and dreams, and struggles.

        That is what your President does.  That's where he gets his passion.  And that’s why he works so hard every day.  I mean, this man doesn’t take a day off.  The President of the United States works every day.  There isn’t a problem that faces this world that doesn’t come across his desk, with an expectation of completion.

        Starting first thing in the morning and going late into the night, hunched over every briefing, he reads every word of every memo so that he is more prepared than the people briefing him, writing notes, asking questions.  That is who your President is.  That's who you elected, because all those wins and losses, trust me, are not wins and losses for him.  They’re wins and losses for the folks whose stories he carries with him, the folks he worries about and prays about before he goes to bed at night.

        And in the end, for Barack Obama, and for me, and for so many of us here, that is what politics is about.  It’s not about one person.  (Applause.)  It is not about one President.  We talked about this.  This election was not about Barack Obama.  It’s about how we work together to make real changes that make a real difference in people’s lives on the ground.  The young person attending college today because she can finally afford it.  The mom or dad who can take their child to a doctor today because of health care reform.  Those are real changes for people.  You may not hear them on the news all the time, but that's helping folks.  The folks who are working on the line today at places like GM, and bringing home a good paycheck to their families.

        Now, more than ever, we need your help to finish what we’ve started.  We need all of you to be with us on the next phase of our journey.  And I’m not going to kid you, it is not going to be easy.  And it is going to be long.  It was never supposed to be easy for Barack Obama.  Did anybody think that?  (Laughter.)  Was anybody under the impression that this was going to be smooth and easy?  Well, I wasn’t.  (Laughter.)  It’s going to be hard.  And there will be plenty of twists and turns along the way.

        And I know you all have been riding that roller coaster, rolling -- oh, my god, what’s he doing now -- and why isn’t he -- oh, why did he -- why isn't he saying -- boy, it’s -- we hear you.  (Laughter.)  

        But here’s the thing about Barack –- and this is something I’d appreciate even if he hadn’t shown the good judgment to marry me.  (Laughter and applause.)  But even in the toughest moments -- and I have seen him every step of the way for every fight, for every decision -- when it seems like all is lost, and we’re all wringing our hands, and I’ve done it to him, too -- what’s going to happen, are we going to be okay -- (laughter) -- Barack Obama never loses sight of the end goal.  He is always an end-goal game player.  He’s not looking right here.  He’s looking way down the road.  (Applause.)  And he never lets himself get distracted by the chatter and the noise.  It doesn’t faze him.  He just keeps moving forward, step by step.  That's how change happens.  (Applause.)

        And in those moments when we’re all sweating it, when we’re worried that that bill won’t pass, or the negotiations might fall through, Barack always reminds me that we’re playing a long game here.  That's how he reassures me.  It’s not about today.  It’s about our future.  It’s about these kids.  It’s not about us.  

        He reminds me that change is slow.  Nothing worth having happens in an instant.  He reminds me that change does not happen all at once.  It never does.  Never has.  But he tells me that if we keep showing up, right, if we keep fighting the good fight, and doing what we know is right, then eventually we will get there, because we always have.  When you think about it, we always have gotten to the right place in this country.

        And that’s what he needs from you.  All of you.  That's why I’m back out here on the campaign trail.  He needs you to be in this with him for the long haul, the end game.  He needs you to hold fast to our vision and our values and our dreams for our kids and for our country.  He needs you to work like you’ve never worked before.  Every day.

        And that’s what I plan on doing, because I am not doing this just as his wife.  I never have.  I’m not doing it because I’m the First Lady.  I'll be doing it because I’m a mother.  (Applause.)  I want to leave a legacy for our girls that I can be proud of.  And more than that, I will be doing it as a citizen who knows that we can do great things together to change this country for the better, because the truth is, no matter what happens, my girls will be okay.  My girls will have plenty of advantages and opportunities in their lives.  And that’s probably true for a lot of families here, for a lot of your kids, as well.  

        But I think the last four years have shown us the truth of what Barack has always said: That if any child in this country is left behind, then that matters to all of us -- (applause) -- even if she’s not our son or our daughter.  If any family in this country struggles, then we can’t be fully content with our own family’s good fortune.  We can’t just sit back and let our neighbors struggle, because that’s not what we do in this country.  That's not who we are.  

        In the end, we cannot separate our own story from the broader American story.  And that, I know.  I’ve seen it.  Like it or not, we are all in this together.  And that's not so bad.  (Applause.)

        So I know that if we all put our hearts and our souls into this, if we do what we need to do during the next couple of years, then we can continue to make the change that we believe in.  We can.  And I know that if we do that, we can build the country that our children deserve.

        So I have one last question to ask you.  Are you in?  (Applause.)  I mean, are you ready for this?  (Applause.)  Because I am in.  (Applause.)  And I hope that you all are fired up.  (Applause.)  And I hope that you all are ready to go -- (applause) -- because it is going to take all of our energy to keep moving towards the future.  

        I look forward to working with you all hard in the years ahead.  Thank you all, God bless, keep praying, keep working.  (Applause.)  We are so grateful to all of you.  Thank you so much.  

END 1:10 P.M. PDT

Remarks by the President at Cree, Inc., in Durham, North Carolina

Cree, Inc., Durham, North Carolina

1:53 P.M. EDT

        THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, everybody!  (Applause.)  Thank you.  Thank you very much.  Thank you.  Thank you so much.  Thank you.  Thank you, everybody.  Please, everybody, have a seat.  Thank you.

        It is good to be back in North Carolina.  (Applause.)  It’s great to be back at Cree.  To all the employees at Cree, thank you so much for your outstanding work and hospitality.  I actually visited this plant about three years ago.  I was still running for office.  Somebody in the plant showed me a picture of the two of us together -- (laughter) -- and I looked so much younger then.  (Laughter.)  But -- so it’s true, I’ve got a lot more gray hair now than I did the last time I visited.  But I have a better plane -- (laughter) -- so it’s a fair trade.

        Now, that day, a wonderful man gave me a heck of an introduction.  He introduced himself by saying, “I am a Cree employee, and I help build the most energy-efficient LEDs in the world.  That’s what I do.”  And his name was David Jones.  David is the guy with the picture.  Where is David?  David must be -- there he is, David’s back there.  (Applause.)  As you can see, David is shy -- (laughter) -- and lacks enthusiasm -- (laughter) -- but nevertheless.

        So I got to see David looking at the new LED production line -- which he now runs, by the way –- and it’s easy to see why you guys are so proud of what you do.  This company has made amazing progress.  And the technology at this company is growing in leaps and bounds.  In fact, as I was talking to Chuck here at Cree, he was explaining how just since my last visit LEDs have become -- how much more efficient have they become?  

        MR. SWOBODA:  Twice -- doubled in efficiency.

        THE PRESIDENT:  Doubled in efficiency just since my visit three years ago -- just since my visit three years ago.  (Applause.)  

        So today the small business that a group of N.C. State engineering students founded almost 25 years ago is a global company.  It’s got 5,000 employees.  Next month, your new production line will begin running 24/7.  And soon you’ll add another 400,000 square feet of space on a new site next door.  So you’re helping to lead a clean energy revolution.  You’re helping lead the comeback of American manufacturing.  (Applause.)  This is a company where the future will be won.

        So David was telling the truth when he said how great it is to work here and how grateful he is for the opportunities that it provides.  But I also remember something else that David said that day.  He talked about how, even with a good job at a great company, it was getting tougher for working people to provide for their families without having to cut corners.  

        What he said was, “Where am I squeezing that balloon to make sure that my family has a life; that we’re moving forward; that we’re progressing?”  Now, that was in 2008, before the financial crisis, before the bottom fell out of the economy, before a vicious recession that made things that much tougher for working families.

        So the world has changed since the first time David and I met.  And for a lot of our friends and neighbors, that change has been painful.  Today, the single most serious economic problem we face is getting people back to work.  We stabilized the economy.  We prevented a financial meltdown.  An economy that was shrinking is now growing.  We’ve added more than 2 million private sector jobs over the last 15 months alone.  (Applause.)  

        But I’m still not satisfied.  I will not be satisfied until everyone who wants a good job that offers some security has a good job that offers security.  (Applause.)  I won’t be satisfied until the empty storefronts in town are open for business again.  I won’t be satisfied until working families feel like they’re moving forward again, that they’re progressing again.  That’s what drives me every day when I walk down to the Oval Office -- you, your families, your jobs, your dreams, and everything it takes to reach those dreams.

        Now, our economic challenges were years in the making, and it will take years to get back to where we need to be.  But for all the hits we’ve taken, we are still America.  We’ve got the largest economy in the world, we’ve got the best workers in the world, we’ve got the finest universities in the world, we’ve got the most successful companies in the world.  We’ve got everything we need to help our workers adapt and to help our fellow Americans through this tough period.  

        But it’s going to take all of us working together -– the private sector, government, non-for-profits, academia.  And that’s what I came back to Cree to talk about today.  I brought some folks with me.  I travel with a bigger entourage these days than I did three years ago.  (Laughter.)

        So the group I brought today is a group called the Council on Jobs and Competitiveness.  These are leaders who have decades of experience in running some of America’s best businesses, creating jobs, understanding what it takes to grow our economy and strengthen our middle class.  They come from the business sector, but also labor, universities.  Most importantly, they come from outside Washington.  And they’ve decided to dedicate their time and energy to this singular task:  How do we create more jobs in America?  

        And by the way, we put this together many months ago, not in response to one jobs report, but because we understood even though the economy was growing, it wasn’t growing as fast as we want, and it wasn’t producing as many jobs as we want.  And so I told them I wanted to hear every smart, forward-thinking idea that they have to quicken the pace of job growth and make sure our economy and our workers can adapt to changing times.

        So we just had an opportunity to meet backstage to talk about how we get our job creation engine running faster, and I want to highlight a couple of their ideas that apply to companies like this, to companies like Cree.

        Now, the advanced manufacturing that you do here requires skilled workers.  And you guys are lucky -– you’ve got excellent schools nearby, like UNC and N.C. State and Duke.  Reggie, I -- don't worry I’m not forgetting Duke.  (Laughter.)  Every time I come here, there’s some ACC thing that I got to work through.  (Laughter and applause.)

        So -- but because you’ve got these great schools, you can hold your own talent draft -– not just in basketball, but when it comes to highly skilled workers.  And Durham Public Schools has strengthened that talent pipeline by forming a school of engineering at Southern High School, which celebrated its first graduating class last week.  And we are so pleased with that because we want more engineers in America.  (Applause.)  

        Here’s why this is so important.  Right now, there are more than four job-seekers for every job opening in America.  But when it comes to science and high-tech fields, the opposite is true.  The businesses represented here tell me they’re having a hard time finding high-skilled workers to fill their job openings.  

        And that’s because today only 14 percent of all undergraduate students enroll in what we call the STEM subjects -– science, technology, engineering, and math.  Of those students, one-third will switch out of those fields, and only about 2 in 5 will graduate with a STEM degree or certification within six years.  

        So these are the jobs of the future.  These are the jobs that China and India are cranking out.  Those students are hungry because they understand if they get those skills they can find a good job, they can create companies, they can create businesses, create wealth.  And we’re falling behind in the very fields we know are going to be our future.

        So we can do better than that.  We must do better than that.  If we’re going to make sure the good jobs of tomorrow stay here in America, stay here in North Carolina, we’ve got to make sure all our companies have a steady stream of skilled workers to draw from.

        So last year, in pursuit of this goal, we brought together companies and community colleges to forge pipelines directly from the classroom to the office or the factory floor -– helping workers find better jobs, and helping companies find the right workers.  Last week, we announced new commitments by the private sector, as well as colleges and the National Association of Manufacturers, to make it possible for 500,000 community college students to earn industry-accepted credentials for manufacturing jobs that companies across America are looking to fill.

        So what happens here now is businesses and trade organizations are going into the community colleges, helping to design the training for specific jobs that they know are going to be available, in some cases providing the equipment to help those students train on.  The students then have an incentive.  They know, you know what, if I do well here, I know I’m going to have a job.

        And today, with the leadership of the Jobs Council, we’re announcing an all-hands-on-deck strategy to train 10,000 new American engineers every year.  (Applause.)  So -- and by the way, our Jobs Council, led by Jeff Immelt, they’re doing this not counting on a whole bunch of federal funding.  Private sector companies are teaming up to help us promote STEM education, to offer students incentives to finish those degrees, and then to help universities fund those programs.  They’re going to double their summer internship hiring.  

        We’re talking about companies like Intel, whose CEO Paul Otellini is here today.  And Paul is heading up our task force for the Jobs Council in helping to figure this out, because he understands Intel’s survival depends on our ability to get a steady stream of engineers.  I’ve been, by the way, to the Intel plant out in Oregon.  It is unbelievable.  It’s out of -- something out of science fiction.  And I pretended like I understood what they were saying the whole time.  (Laughter.)  

        But that’s what’s going to drive our competitiveness in the future.  We know that if we’re going to maintain our leadership in technology and innovation, our best companies need the world’s brightest workers –- American workers.

        Now, that brings me to a second idea that we discussed backstage.  At Cree, you’re putting people back to work in a field that has the potential to create an untold number of new jobs and new businesses right here in America -– and that’s clean energy.  And my administration has invested heavily in clean energy manufacturing, because I want to see the LEDs and solar panels and wind turbines and electric cars of tomorrow made right here in the U.S of A.  I want them made right here.  (Applause.)   

        We invested in this company with a tax credit that allowed you to boost capacity and lower costs and hire hundreds of new workers.  And with a grant from the Department of Energy, you’ve made incredible breakthroughs in smart grid technology to transmit clean, renewable energy across the country more efficiently at less cost.

        Now, breakthroughs like these have the potential to create new jobs in other sectors of the economy as well.  Think about it.  Cree makes energy-efficient lighting that can save businesses and consumers a lot of money.  And there are a lot of buildings out there that need upgrading.  And there are a lot of workers ready to do the upgrades.  Construction workers were hit harder than anybody by recession.  Almost one in six construction workers are out of work.  And that makes no sense at a time when we’ve got so much of America that needs to be rebuilt.

        So this is what led us to create what we’re calling the Better Buildings Initiative -– putting people back to work doing the work that America needs done.  Upgrading buildings for energy efficiency could save America’s businesses up to $40 billion a year on their utility bills.  And obviously that $40 billion could be better spent growing and hiring new workers.  It will boost manufacturing of energy-efficient products like those made here at Cree.  It will put contractors and construction workers back on the job.  It is a win-win-win-win proposition.

        So today, the members of my job council updated me on their efforts to push this initiative in the private sector.  And they’re working closely with a champion for this kind of energy innovation, President Bill Clinton, who I asked to co-lead the effort with them.  

        And as we get this moving, it can snowball -- because, right now, the big impediment is a lot of companies know they would save money if they had more energy efficiency, but they may not have the initial capital to do it.  In some cases, building owners, they’re thinking to themselves, well, if I put in all this new lighting am I going to be able to recover it with -- through the rents or the leases that I’m able to obtain?  And so what we’ve got here are premier experts who are going to be able to help us design this program to really get this to take off.

        Now, this is just two examples of the kind of work that’s being done by the Jobs Council.  They had all sorts of recommendations that they’re talking about.  How do we deal with making sure our regulations makes sense, so that we start eliminating ones that don’t work, aren’t making consumers better off, or aren’t improving our quality of life?  How do we make sure that small businesses get financing?  Because there are a lot of small businesses out there that are still struggling to get capital.  Large businesses are doing pretty well.  So they’re tackling a whole host of different issues.  

        Now, their recommendations aren’t going to solve every problem that we face.  But slowly, steadily, they’re helping us to move forward.  We’re going to pursue these ideas and any good ideas that are out there, no matter where they come from.  Because even though this is a big country with a great diversity of opinion -- as you discover when you’re President -- (laughter) -- we won’t agree with each other on everything, we can agree on some basic things.  

        We can agree on educating our children and training our workers to be the best in the world.  We should be able to agree on investing in the research and technology that leads to new ideas and new industries.  We should be able to agree on developing clean energy and manufacturing jobs that come with it.  It makes sense for us to rebuild our infrastructure and all the jobs that it can create.  That’s what’s going to be required to grow our economy.  That’s what it takes to help our people prosper.  That’s how we’re going to get to the future that we dream about for our children and our grandchildren.

        And the main thing I want to communicate to all of you here at Cree, everybody here in North Carolina, and all across the country is we’re going to get there.  I know that because I’ve seen it here at this company, where you’re helping to lead the clean energy revolution.  I’ve seen it across the Midwest, where automakers are coming back and hiring again, even after reading their own obituaries just two years ago.  I’ve seen it from coast to coast, where men and women are testing new ideas and starting new businesses and bringing new products to market and helping America come back stronger than before.  

        So I am optimistic about our future.  We can’t be complacent.  We shouldn’t pretend that a lot of folks out there are not still struggling.  But I am absolutely optimistic that we’ve got everything it takes for us to succeed in the 21st century.  Americans do not respond to trials by lowering our sights, or downscaling our dreams, or settling for something less.  We are a people who dream big, even when times are tough -- especially when times are tough.  We’re a people who reach forward, who look out to the horizon and remember that, together, there’s nothing we can’t do.  

        And as long as I have the privilege of being your President, I’m going to be right there with you, every step of the way, fighting for a brighter future in this community, in North Carolina, and across the United States of America.

        Thank you very much, everybody.  God bless you.  Thank you.  (Applause.)

END 2:14 P.M. EDT

Remarks by the First Lady at the National Women's Partnership Luncheon

Washington Hilton, Washington, D.C.

1:26 P.M. EDT

     MRS. OBAMA:  Thank you.  (Applause.)  You all, thank you so much.  (Applause.)  Oh, I can’t really see you out there, but I feel you.  (Laughter.) 

     It’s great to be here.  First of all, let me thank Debra for her leadership and her passion and her smarts and her grace and for that really nice introduction.  (Laughter.) 

     I also want to thank Ellen Malcolm for her leadership on your board and for all of her work on behalf of women across this country. 

     I want to recognize Sally Susman for her leadership with today’s luncheon.  I got to see her in the U.K. with the Queen.  She looked mighty fine.  (Laughter.)

     And of course I want to thank all of you for inviting me here to your annual gala luncheon.  This is a pretty big deal here.  It’s a lot of you out there.  (Laughter.) 

     It’s really nice to be back with all of you at the National Partnership for Women and Families. 

     And as you know, I was here three years ago.  I remember it really well.  You honored Deval Patrick, one of our favorite governors.  (Applause.)  It’s a great event.  I was happy to be there then and I am joyful to be here today, especially on your 40th anniversary.  Forty years.  Forty years of progress.  Now, that's something to be really proud of.  

     You know what, let’s think about it.  Let’s think about the challenges women faced 40 years ago.  For example, in 1971, there were no women in President Nixon’s Cabinet.  None.  There was one woman in the Senate.  And we were still 10 years away from the first female on the Supreme Court. 

     I mean, back then, the ceiling wasn’t just glass, I think it was more like concrete.  (Laughter.)  There were no female CEOs of Fortune 500 companies.  Only eight percent of women had a college degree, if you can imagine that.  The number of women being appointed to the federal bench was actually declining.  And women earned just 60 cents for every dollar that a man earned.  All that, and we had to deal with polyester, too.  (Laughter.)  Some tough times.  (Laughter.) 

     And that was the world we were living in when this organization was formed.  It was a world where a young girl looked to the future and saw many more hurdles and barriers than open doors and pathways to opportunity.  It was a world that made many of you say, “enough, enough.”

     And that was when a small group of you gathered in a kitchen to talk about what you needed to do to fight for discrimination -- or fight against it and inequality. 

     So, you began by volunteering to take on a few important cases.  And soon enough, you needed more help so you hired some staff.  And before you knew it, you were opening an office.  And as your efforts grew, you began tackling more and more issues, steadily becoming one of the most influential organizations for women and families in our country. 

     And today, as you stop and take a breath and look back for a moment at all that you’ve accomplished, you will see that over the last four decades, you have made such an amazing imprint on nearly every single one of this nation’s major policy achievements for women and families.  And that's something to be proud of.  (Applause.)

     I’ve heard about how back in the ‘80s, one of your staff attorneys spent countless hours in her office with little more than a vision, a typewriter -- because yes, there were typewriters -- (laughter) -- and a whole lot of white-out.  Remember white-out?  (Laughter.)  It’s very challenging.  (Laughter.)  She was pounding away at the first draft of a document, a document that, nine years later, would become the historic Family and Medical Leave Act.

     The Partnership was also a driving force behind so many other major legislative achievements including the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, the Civil Rights Act of 1991, the paid family leave laws in California, Washington, and New Jersey, and the nation’s first citywide ordinance for paid sick days in San Francisco, and, as Debra mentioned, any day now the governor will sign the first statewide paid sick days law in Connecticut.  (Applause.)

     Thanks to your tremendous efforts, the landscape of this nation has been fundamentally changed for the better: our workplaces are more family-friendly, women and girls do have more opportunities, and many discriminatory practices have been completely abolished. 

     Because of you, America is better.  It is a better country, it is a better place to raise a child, it is a better place to work, it is a better place to pursue a dream. 

     But, fortunately, this isn’t a group that rests on its laurels.  Every one of you here knows all too well that there is still so much work left to be done.  And that’s what I want to speak briefly with you about today –- the work that remains and the people that are needed to finish that job.

     And I just want to start with the work of my husband’s administration.  Since day one, we’ve been fighting for American women and families.  As you know, my husband made the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act the very first bill he signed into law as President of the United States.  (Applause.)

     He created the White House Council on Women and Girls to make sure that the entire government pays attention to the interests of women, girls, and their families.  We’ve improved the earned income and child tax credits, which means that more than 12 million families will find it just a little easier to pay the bills and put food on the table. 

     My husband signed the Affordable Care Act, as you know, which makes it easier for millions -- (applause) -- millions of Americans to afford a doctor.  Because of this legislation, more women can get mammograms and other preventative services with no cost out of pocket.  No one will have their insurance dropped solely because they get sick, and a child won’t be denied insurance because he or she has a pre-existing condition.

     We’ve held forums and launched pilot programs to promote workplace flexibility because we know, all of us, that flexible workplaces translates into more productive workers, more satisfied employers, and more importantly a robust economy.  We all know that.  

     My husband nominated two phenomenal women -- Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan -- to the Supreme Court.  (Applause.)  

     He has made women nearly half of his nominees to the federal bench, which is a greater percentage than any other President in history.  (Applause.)

     And the important thing is that all of these advances benefit not just women, but every American.  Yeah, they benefit men.  (Laughter.)  We’re still looking out for you guys.  (Laughter.)  They benefit our communities, our economy, and the very system of laws on which this nation is built. 

     And we know that none of that could have happened without all of you.  You all are the people who have been fighting for all of these victories.  You all have been building that broad base of support that makes this happen.  You have created a chorus of voices speaking out on behalf of families all across this country.

     And as we look ahead to the work that remains, we know our continued progress on these issues depends on all of you.

     The President established an equal pay task force to mobilize the full force of the administration in support of equal pay.  And, as you know, he supports the Paycheck Fairness Act.  But -- (applause) -- that's my cheerleader right there -- (laughter) -- but this bill and this issue will not move forward without your help.  To make sure that we do not lose ground on the progress we’ve made on health care, we also need your help to better educate people about their rights and how the Affordable Care Act benefits them in their daily lives.  They have to know.  We need your help to continue to give a voice to all of those Americans who will ultimately be affected by these conversations and debates here in Washington.

     It is up to you to tell their stories -- stories of mothers who can’t afford a child care provider, but don’t have the luxury to take time off work; stories of families that will lose their insurance if this health care law is rolled back.  Without you, millions of these families will have no voice. 

     And we need your help as we push forward on issues like paid leave and paid sick days, balance in the judiciary, educational equality.  We need you, because even today, with all the advances that we've made, too many women face barriers and roadblocks for reaching their full potential.  Too many girls are held back by narrow expectations and limited options. 

     So it is our job to just keep working not just for us, but for them.  We’ve got to make sure that we do everything we can so that our daughters and granddaughters can pick up wherever we leave off, which leads to the other part of what I want to talk to you about, and that is the people we need to get this job done. 

     Now, all of you have been leaders on these issues for decades.  You have played a critical role in the battles and the victories that we just talked about, celebrate.  And each of you have made progress.  As we’ve made that progress, you looked ahead to the next frontier.  You've looked at the next way to make an impact for women and families. 

     But if we truly want to keep moving forward, our focus must not only be on the next set of issues, but on the next set of leaders, as well.  And it’s our responsibility to engage and inspire that next generation.  It’s our responsibility to reach back and keep pulling up those promising young leaders.

     And that’s something that I’ve tried to do as First Lady, because I know that my role gives me this unique opportunity to impact young people.  So I feel a deep obligation to do everything in my power to make the most of this limited moment.

     And that’s why I've devoted so much of my attention to working with young women and girls right here in D.C., through the White House Leadership and Mentoring Initiative.  (Applause.)  We are celebrating those girls right after we leave here.  (Applause.)   

     We’re bringing in girls who have never been inside the White House or, for some, have barely been outside of their own neighborhoods, and we’re taking them to places that they’d never thought they’d go.  We’re taking them to meet with Supreme Court justices, sitting in the chambers.  It's a powerful image, meeting with members of Congress, famous musicians and artists, because I want these girls to hear those stories.  I want them to see themselves in these leaders.  And I want them to realize that every path in this world is open to them, even if it doesn’t always feel that way.

     And that’s the same message that I carry with me as I travel outside of our borders, because in so many ways, especially for young people today, those borders really don’t mean much anymore.  Our economies, our health, our dreams globally are all interconnected.

     So when I visited London just a couple of weeks ago, I told teenage girls there that no matter where they come from, if they push themselves and believe in themselves and work hard, they can succeed just like anyone else.  We know that.  And I delivered this message to them at Oxford, because I wanted those young women to walk through those courtyards and hallowed halls, be a part of one of the most renowned universities in the world, because I wanted them to talk to students and faculty there and begin to envision a life for themselves in such inspired settings.  It was a beautiful thing to watch.

     In Chile, I told young girls that they can compete with boys, that they can break with tradition, that they can build their own careers and fulfill every last one of their dreams. 

     And, in a couple of weeks, I’m traveling to South Africa and Botswana, because I believe that today’s generation of young women leaders in that country can carry forward the legacy handed down by those who led the fight for freedom and democracy.  (Applause.)   

     And I do this work joyfully, because I know how big an impact young people can and must make on our world.  And I believe it is so important for them to know that there are so many of us here in America who not only care about them, but who believe and will invest in their future.

     But, in the end, no matter the issue -- whether you’re organizing a campaign for health care, or workplace fairness, whether you're putting more women on the federal bench -- the truth is so many of these issues may not be resolved in our lifetime. 

     And we can never forget that it’s the next generation that will carry these issues forward.  It will be our sons and our daughters, our grandchildren attending this luncheon in 20 or 30 years.  Yeah, kind of scary.  (Laughter.)  But they're ready.  They’ll be the ones fighting for every last penny in the pay disparity.  They’ll be the ones who sit down in their office with some next-generation iPad to write tomorrow’s landmark legislative victories.  They're going to be the ones to do it. 

     So it is up to us to inspire them, to engage them, to make them believe that they have the power and the ability to get this done.  It is up to us to reach back and keep pulling and pulling and pulling more people up, so that we make way for the next leaders and they can keep this country moving forward. 

     And I know we’re up to it, particularly the folks in this room.  You all have shown that kind of leadership and passion throughout this organization’s history.  Every time a challenge has come your way, you’ve delivered.  It's been a marvel to watch.  Every time there was a need, you’ve filled it.  And I know that as long as we’ve got you, as long as we keep making progress on today’s issues and then building tomorrow’s leaders, then we will achieve the progress we seek.  We will do it.  

     So I want to thank you for all of your work, because it has inspired me.  It keeps me going.  Thank you -- and for all that you’ll do in the years and decades ahead not just for women, not just for families, but for our country and for our world.  Congratulations.  Take care and let's get to work.  (Applause.)  

END 1:44 P.M. EDT 

Remarks by the First Lady at Let's Move! Child Care Announcement

CentroNia Child Care Center, Washington, D.C.

12:21 P.M. EDT
     
     MRS. OBAMA:  Thank you.  (Applause.)  Thank you so much.  Everyone, please be seated.  Hello.  Hola!
     
     AUDIENCE:  Hola!
     
     MRS. OBAMA:  Doesn’t get any better than that.  (Laughter.) 
     But I am just thrilled and delighted to be here. 
     
     First, I want to thank General Cartwright for that moving testimony as well as his introduction.  This is an example of where the several issues that I work on intersect so nicely.  And I think General Cartwright made it very clear how health and nutrition, our child care facilities, the work that we do to support our military families, this is all about the same thing in so many ways.  And we are so grateful for his leadership and his service and his family’s sacrifice on so many issues, particularly these.  We are grateful, and I am so sorry you didn’t get the nap.  (Laughter.)  I know we did promise it, but you didn’t get snack time, either.  (Laughter.) 
     
     I also want to thank Secretary Sebelius for joining us today as well as her work.  And I have to say, Secretary, it’s actually called The Dougie, not The Doogie. (Laughter.)  It’s okay, you know.  I know your cool factor just went down by one, but it’s okay.  (Laughter.) 
     
     SECRETARY SEBELIUS:  You had to call me out.
     
     MRS. OBAMA:  I had to.  I said it back there.  I said I’m calling her out, calling her out.
     
     But obviously all the progress that we have made, we could not have done it without her leadership, without her staff support, and we are again so grateful to you for being so focused on these issues.  Thank you again for being here.
     
     I also want to thank Renata Claros and Myrna Peralta also for hosting us in this wonderful facility.  You all are doing some magnificent work here at CentroNia.  It is amazing, and I’m so glad that we had the cameras on to see the quality of care that you all provide here.
     
     Just want to thank a few other people, as well:  Dr. Jim Gavin, who is from the Partnership for Healthy America -- Healthier America; David Lissy from Bright Horizons Family Solutions; David Bailey from Nemours Foundation; Linda Smith from NACCRRA.  All of these groups have come together today to help put together this event and the initiative that we’re announcing today. 
     
     Again, I am thrilled to be here.  Este es un lugar maravilloso.  (Laughter and applause.)  I can say that because it is absolutely true.  That is easy to say.  This is a perfect setting for us to launch our latest effort with "Let's Move.”
     
     As many of you know, for almost a year and a half we’ve been bringing folks together to tackle the epidemic of childhood obesity.  We’ve been working with some of our biggest corporations and non-profit organizations across the country.  We’ve been signing up hundreds of schools for the HealthierUS School Challenge.  We’ve been kicking off efforts to enlist support from folks all over this country -- chefs, and health professionals, mayors, and faith leaders.
     
     But in addition to all of this work, we’ve also been doing a lot of listening, as well.  And one of the things that we’ve heard across the board -- from child care providers to health experts to moms and dads -- it is how vital it is to get our kids started on the path to a healthy life from the very beginning.
     
     These early years are pivotal.  When you look at the statistics -- and Secretary Sebelius talked about some of them -- but more than half of obese children become overweight before their second birthday.  It starts that early. 
     
     Obesity rates among kids ages two to five have doubled in the last few decades.  And some children as young as three are showing warning signs of heart disease.  And that wasn’t always the -- that wasn’t something that many of us grew up -- these statistics didn’t exist when many of us were younger. 
     
     And with more than half of our nation’s kids under the age of five in some type of child care arrangement, day care facilities and home-based providers oftentimes play a very central role in providing the healthy foundations that our kids need.
     
     And that's why we are so excited to launch our Let’s Move Child Care.  Through this initiative, we’re going to be providing Let’s Move Child Care participants with an easy checklist so providers know some very easy steps that they can take to make kids healthy.
     
     And it’s as simple as five steps.  That's the beauty of this stuff.  It’s not complicated.  It is not costly.  It’s just a matter of knowledge and implementation.
     
     One of the steps -- one to two hours of physical activity, things that we saw up in the playroom.  It is not easy to make young kids sit still.  (Laughter.)  They like to move.  So that's their natural way of being.  You just have to give them the environment, and a couple of balls, and some plastic containers, and have them move for a couple hours a day.
     
     The second is limiting screen time for all kids, but making sure we eliminate it for kids under two.  And I know a lot of parents get shocked by that -- not the TV! -- but that's one of those small things at an early age that keeps kids, their minds active.  It forces us as parents to engage them in a different way.  So turning off the TV, creating some limits is another one of the steps.
     
     The third is serving a fruit or a vegetable at every meal.  At every meal.  Not just once in a while but at breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and throwing it in at snack time, as well. 
     
     This is one I like, the fourth one:  Serve only water, low-fat milk, or 100 percent juice.  That's something that a lot of parents don't understand, is the high level of sugar content that are in the average juice box juice drink.  And if kids are geared towards drinking milk and water, that's all they’re ultimately going to want anyway, and that is going to be a huge lifesaver, at no cost for most families.
     
     And finally, supporting mothers who choose to breastfeed.  Whether we do it in our workplaces or in our child care facilities, breastfeeding, as we have learned, is one of the ways to reduce the level of obesity in a child.  The longer a mother can breastfeed, the better off a child will be on a whole range of health issues.  And I know here at CentroNia that you all are working to make sure that mothers can bring their milk to their child on a daily basis.  Those are the kind of things that workplaces -- that we all need to understand is an important part of a family’s well being and a child’s health.
     
     And with the help of the Nemours Foundation and NACCRRA, we have the tools and the information that can help parents and providers answer questions and implement the checklist either in their environments or in their homes.  So all people have to do to get more information is to go to letsmove.gov or they can also go to healthykidshealthyfuture.org to learn more.
     
     On these websites there will be plenty of how-to tips and ideas to help create a healthier environment for kids.  It’s as simple as that. 
     
     But, you know, the one thing that you won’t need for this, you won’t need a fundraising plan.  No one’s going to need to start a capital campaign to take part in Let’s Move Child Care.  No one’s going to have to hire new staff or completely overhaul their programming. 
     
     Here at CentroNia you all have found ways to save money in how you feed these young people, or at least keep the costs neutral.  So there are ways to implement these five simple steps in a way that doesn’t have to require more funding.
     
     But everyone is going to see that these small changes can make a big difference.  And that's been the beauty of "Let's Move.”  We’re not talking about grand-scale changes.  These are small, basic, simple things that people have to reincorporate into our lives at every level because what we have learned is that if our kids get into the habit of getting up and playing again, and turning off the TV, and finding other ways to engage themselves other than the computer, which is wonderful but it shouldn’t be the only way, if they relearn how to do that, that's a good thing. 
     
     We know that if we open up children’s palates to new tastes -- I mean, one of the things we watched upstairs -- babies, little bitty babies eating salad and fish and strawberries and mashed sweet potatoes, and loving it, because that's what they’re used to eating -- that that's going to -- starting that at an early age is going to set their palates for what they will eat and what they can tolerate.  You’ve seen that here. 
     
     And if they’re not glued to the TV screen all day, those are the things that set the stage for habits for a healthy life early on.  Just small pieces of information; things we want to make sure people know.  Whether they -- and how they implement it, that's a whole different story.  But a lot of families don't even know.
     All of this comes as a response to parents across the country who have voiced their support for healthier child care centers.  Again, moms and dads know.  They are relying on these health care centers.  Many of them would much rather be at home with their own kids doing this, but they can’t.  So they come to places like this, and they are counting on all of you, all of us, to make sure these options don't thwart what they’re trying to do in their home.  And we’re so excited that many child care providers are already committing to implement the checklist at their facilities.
     
     The Department of Defense is signing up all of its facilities, which, as the General mentioned, is serving more than 200,000 children each day.  So they’re on board.
     
     Head Start is going to be encouraging its programs to meet this goal, so they’re on board.
     
     The General Services Administration will enlist 100 percent of their facilities, which serve nearly 10,000 kids to follow this checklist.
     
     And through our Let’s Move Cities and Towns program that we’ve also launched, we have several mayors in places like Omaha, Nebraska; and Greenville, South Carolina; and Avondale, Arizona that are coming up and making commitments to improve the child care in their communities. 
     
     The Partnership for a Healthier America is working with private providers like Bright Horizons.  That's the nation’s second largest private child care provider, and they’re going to implement this checklist at nearly 600 child care centers across the country.
     
     So we already have commitments that are going to affect hundreds of thousands of children today.  Again, that's why we’re excited to be able to launch this.  That's why these partners here today are so important, because we wouldn’t have this announcement if we didn’t have the folks ready to step up and invest and get the ball rolling and be the models as CentroNia is to show we can do this, and it can work, and it can work really, really well.
     
     And I got to see a lot of that, walking around this morning.  I saw and heard about all the steps they’ve taken right here right in our own community that include -- they cook their own meals on-site.  They have a chef who cares deeply about what she is doing and how she is feeding the kids and the quality of the food, and that information is then being used to educate families. 
     
     I saw the menu -- fish -- it was a good-looking lunch.  (Laughter.)  Let me tell you.  And I haven’t had lunch yet, and I was tempted to take a strawberry, but I thought, you know, that might not look that good -- First Lady stealing food from children.  (Laughter.)  So I left their plates alone.  But I was hungry.
     
     But they are serving their own meals and doing it in a cost-neutral way, and expanding that to the employees of the center.  I understand you all have the opportunity to buy this good food, and I hope everybody is, because it was really good.  (Laughter.) 
     
     And they serve their meals family-style, which is -- seems like a small thing, but sitting down -- how old were the little ones we were sitting with?  Babies.  Little itty-bitty babies, right?  They were serving themselves, using the tongs, learning manners, having conversation -- not with real sentences or anything -- (laughter) -- but all the expression that goes along with sitting at the table and having a glass of milk and passing the food. 
     
     The ritual of sitting down and re-introducing that activity into the life of kids, it also helps them balance what they eat, because if you’re not just sitting down, chowing down, you can moderate what you eat because the meal isn't just about feeding yourself physically.  It’s about feeding your emotional soul.  So they serve it family-style.  And this is also a learning tool for the young kids here.
     
     And they’ve been using the MyPlate, just to put another plug in there for MyPlate.  We haven’t talked about that enough.  (Laughter.)  But learning, helping the kids understand the proportions that they need, that they mostly should be eating fruits and vegetables at each meal; that protein is a smaller portion, and, you know, that -- what is a grain?  I mean, all of that is going on right now in the school at mealtime.  It is beautiful.
     
     They use local parks and community spaces so that the kids can get outside on a regular basis.  They planted a garden for fresh foods, which security wouldn’t let me see -- (laughter) -- but I got the picture.  It’s there.
     
     They built a dance studio that we got to see, where a lot of good moves happen -- even The Dougie.  (Laughter.) 
     
     And they’ve plopped a playground on the top of their roof here, which, again, I didn’t get to see that, either, but I know that it’s nice.
     
     And now -- and this is interesting outcomes -- the nurse here says that the number of kids visiting her office with stomachaches has dropped significantly.  Immediate benefits.  Things we take for granted at how our kids eat and what they put in their body affects how they feel every day, which then it in turns affects how they perform each day. 
     
     They say that they’re noticing that more children will try new foods, again, because if you’re introducing it at 12 months and 20 months, then it’s not so foreign when they’re four.
     
     And since kids like what they’re trying, they’re even asking their parents for healthy things like salad once they come home.  And let me tell you, a lot of parents say, how do I get my kids to enjoy vegetables?  We have to give them to them.  I mean, that's really the simple answer.  They have to eat it and eat it regularly until they understand that this is the new flavor, this is how it tastes, this is how the crunch feels.  They have to play around with their food, in a way.
     
     And that's really what this is all about.  Just like the drawings they sketch here, they find their way to the refrigerator, just like the songs that they sing here start to echo throughout their homes, all of these healthy habits that the kids here are learning will also find their way home, and these young people, as small as they are, will become leaders in their own homes, because they’re going to ask for things that their parents never knew they would even try. 
     
     And that's why I am so excited about Let’s Move Child Care, because I know that child care facilities and home-based providers can be a real building block for an entire generation of healthy kids.  That's the power that you all have, and the potential and the opportunity.
     
     So I want to thank you for sharing this wonderful few hours with me.  It has been truly joyful.  Your children are amazing.  And that must mean they have some amazing parents, and I know some of them are here, because many of the employees have children who go here.  (Applause.)   So well done.
     
     The staff here is incredible.  You can tell in just a few short minutes that they care deeply about these kids, and the kids care deeply about them, because they certainly weren’t coming to us.  (Laughter.)  They knew who they were with.
     
     So I congratulate you on the success that you’ve had.  Our goal is to show you off as a model.  I know that there are many other facilities around the country that are doing cutting-edge things.  Our goal is to lift them up, give people tools and steps, if they choose to implement this, to show them that there is a way and there are people who have done it and can give some guidance and some support.  So we are grateful to you all for the work that you have done.  And I look forward to working more with you in the months and years ahead.
     
     So let’s just keep on moving.  Thank you so much.  (Applause.)

END 12:41 P.M. EDT