Remarks by the President at a DNC Event

Studio Museum in Harlem
New York, New York

8:51 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, everybody. 

AUDIENCE:  Hello!

THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, New York.  (Applause.)  Hello, Harlem.  (Applause.)  It is good to be here tonight.  Hey, you, how did you get up there so high?  (Laughter.) 

I’ve got some acknowledgements I need to make.  Everybody here is important, but there are a few people I want to mention.

First of all, we are in the district of somebody who helped us to deliver on a historic legislative session over the last couple of years and has been a leader here for a very long time -- he doesn’t like to remember how long it’s been -- but Congressman Charlie Rangel is in the house.  (Applause.)

We’ve got your outstanding attorney general.  Eric Schneiderman is here.  (Applause.)  The former mayor of New York City, David Dinkins, is in the house.  (Applause.)  Several of Harlem’s outstanding leaders -- a great friend, one of my earliest supporters here in New York City, Senator Bill Perkins is in the house.  (Applause.)  Assemblyman Keith Wright is here. (Applause.)  Councilwoman Inez Dickens is here.  (Applause.) 

And finally, I just want to say how thankful I am for our Democratic National Committee Chairman.  I think some people obviously have seen Tim Kaine on television, and know that he was a governor of the great Commonwealth of Virginia.  What some of you may not know is Tim was the first person, the first elected official outside of the state of Illinois to endorse my candidacy for President.  (Applause.)

He made that announcement as governor of Virginia in Richmond, former seat of the Confederacy.  And this is back in February of 2007 when most people could not pronounce my name.  (Laughter.)  And there was not a big political upside to endorsing me at that point.  But he decided to do it because he thought it was the right thing to do and because we share a set of values about why to get into public service and who we were fighting for and the kind of America we were fighting for.

And I say all this because there have been some rumors swirling around that Tim might decide to plunge back into electoral politics.  And if he does I want even people up here to be paying attention and to be rooting for him, because he is not just a leader for Virginia, he is a leader for America.  And I'm very thankful to him.  Thank you, Tim.  (Applause.) 

Now, we meet here tonight, after as challenging a two years as America has gone through in our lifetimes.  And when we started this journey three or four years ago we understood that America was at a turning point.  We understood that the wheels of history were churning and that the old ways of doing business couldn't help us to get to where America needed to be.  It couldn't make us more competitive.  It couldn't make us more energy independent.  It couldn’t ensure that our kids were learning and able not only to go to college but also advance in careers.

We knew that how we approached international policy, trying to stand on our own without thinking about how we could mobilize the international community as a force multiplier, that that was not going to work given the incredible number of challenges that we faced.  And most of all, I guess we understood that unless we changed our politics, unless we changed how we did business, that the same problems that we had been talking about decade after decade would perpetuate themselves; that we had to undergo a transformation in how we thought about citizenship and how we thought about each other, and that we had to get beyond some of the old divisions that were holding us back as a people.

And so what our campaign tried to do was to resuscitate that notion that there’s something fundamental that binds us together, despite all our differences.  You look out on the room today, we’ve got people from every possible walk of life.  And that's part of what makes New York City such an incredible place.  (Applause.)  And so what we wanted to do was adapt to the times, adapt to the 21st century, but also remind ourselves that there are some old-fashioned, timeworn values; that whether your forebears landed at Ellis Island or they came here on a slave ship or they crossed the Rio Grande, or however they got here, they typically had a commitment to hard work and a commitment to community and a commitment to family and a willingness to dream big dreams, and a patriotism that was not rooted in ethnicity but was rooted in a creed and a set of ideals and a belief that in America anything was possible.  That's what brought us together as a campaign.  (Applause.) 

And what we then tried to do is to translate in concrete terms what would that mean in terms of policy.  It would mean that we were educating our kids not just to be outstanding workers and outstanding entrepreneurs, but also outstanding citizens.  It meant that we had to make sure that we had an energy policy that not only protected the planet but also ensured our long-term security because it ratcheted down our dependence on foreign oil.  It meant that we finally had, in a nation as wealthy as ours, a health care system that was rational and smart and did not leave millions of people uninsured or at risk of bankruptcy just because a family member got sick.  (Applause.) 

We had to make sure that the ideals of equality and justice had real meaning, and that we didn’t just stand pat on the progress that we had made during my lifetime, but in fact we kept on making progress so that 50 years from now people would look back and they’d say, this is a more just and a more equal place for everybody.  (Applause.)  It’s exciting, isn’t it?  (Laughter.) 

So here’s the deal, people.  We haven’t finished our task.  We’ve still got some work to do.

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Fired up!

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Ready to go!

THE PRESIDENT:  There have been times where we had to make some really tough decisions, really unpopular decisions, digging ourselves out of this incredible economic hole that we were in. We had to stabilize the financial system.  That wasn’t always popular.  We had to save the U.S. auto industry, and everybody said that wasn’t going to work.  And I just want to report that GM just announced it’s hiring every single one of the workers that they laid off before we took office.  (Applause.)

But when you look back on the track record of accomplishments over the last two years, I think you can go down that list of commitments we made to each other -- not just commitments I made, but commitment we made to each other about the kind of country we want to be -- and I think we’ve got some things that we can be proud of. 

We passed health care reform, and it is going to make life better for millions of Americans.  (Applause.)  We pulled this economy out of the ditch, and just in this last year alone, over a million and a half jobs have been created, and we’re going to keep on creating more.  We made sure that we finally got rid of that archaic policy, “don’t ask, don’t tell,” because we wanted to make sure that every American who wants to serve, can serve.  (Applause.)

We raised fuel-efficiency standards on cars and invested in record amounts in clean energy, because we want to make sure that wind energy and solar panels and all of the incredible promise of a new energy future starts right here in the United States of America.

So we can go down the list domestically, and then we can talk internationally.  Obviously that's been on a lot of our minds lately.  And we are grateful to our men and women in uniform who have implemented so many difficult policies under such incredibly difficult conditions.  (Applause.)  And whether it’s helping the people of Haiti or it’s helping the people of Japan, whether it is being on the right side of history in the Middle East and North Africa or making sure that innocents who are seeking their freedom aren't slaughtered by tyranny -- (applause) -- what we've been able to do is to once again form the kind of American leadership that brings people together, as opposed to drives them apart, and that renews old alliances and creates new coalitions.

So we've gotten a lot of stuff done.  But right now what’s on my mind is what hasn’t gotten done yet.  We're going to have to fix a broken immigration system, and that is not yet complete. (Applause.)  We've got to make sure that even as we're securing our borders we also recognize that we are a nation of immigrants and that we want everybody to be able to partake in the American Dream.  (Applause.) 

We've got to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure.  I mean, New York looks pretty good, but we've got a lot of work to do on bridges and sewer systems, but also on the new infrastructure of a new age, making sure that we've got the best broadband systems and the best wireless systems and the smart grids and the high-speed rails that will help move people and goods and services and information all throughout this great country of ours.

We still have a lot of work to do on energy.  You know, tomorrow I'm going to give an energy speech.  The last time gas prices were this high was in 2008 when I was running.  And you remember what was going on right back then.  The other side kept on talking about “drill, baby, drill.”  That was the slogan. 

What we were talking about was breaking the pattern of being shocked at high prices and then, as prices go down, being lulled into a trance, but instead let’s actually have a plan.  (Applause.)  Let’s, yes, increase domestic oil production, but let’s also invest in solar and wind and geothermal and biofuels and let’s make our buildings more efficient and our cars more efficient.  Not all of that work is done yet, but I’m not finished yet.  (Applause.)  We’ve got more work to do.

We’re going to have to work to get our deficit under control.  I inherited a big debt and a big deficit.  And regardless of how we assign fault, all of us are responsible to work together to try to make sure that we can actually in good conscience be able to tell our children and our grandchildren we didn’t leave a mountain of debt to them. 

And that’s going to require some hard choices and it’s going to require us not just telling the American people what they want to hear but telling them what they need to hear.  And I think the American people are ready for that, but it’s not going to be easy.  And if we’re serious about winning the future, then all of us are going to have to recognize that we’ve got to have a government that lives within its means, that's investing in the things that we have to invest in to win the future, which means that we’re going to cut out some things that we don't need -- even if they're nice to have.

So if you go down this list and you say, not bad for two years work -- the one thing that I want everybody here to understand is that I am as hopeful, if not more hopeful, now than I was when I was running.  (Applause.)

You know, I did a bunch of network interviews today to talk about what we’re doing in Libya and why what happens in the Middle East is so important to us, and why those images coming from Tahrir Square in Egypt speak directly to who we are as a people, and that ultimately our long-term security will be because a new generation of leadership in that region recognizes we aspire for them to have opportunity and to be successful. 

And Diane Sawyer I think it was, she started listing out, well, let’s see, two wars that you’ve dealt with, a couple of earthquakes, nuclear situation in Japan, H1N1 virus, worst recession since the Great Depression.  “No wonder you look old,” she said.  (Laughter.) 

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  You look great!  (Laughter.) 

THE PRESIDENT:  No, she actually did not say, “No wonder you look old.”  (Laughter.)  But I do appreciate you saying that I look great.  (Laughter.)  I need encouragement, too, once in a while.  (Laughter.)

But no, what she said was, well, you know what, how do you kind of -- when you get up in the morning, how do you stay focused and motivated?  Don't you just want to pull the covers over your head sometimes? 

And what I said was that after two and a half years in this job -- or close to two and a half years, the thing that continually keeps me going is my complete confidence in the American people. 

There's a lot of talk about how divided America is, and how frustrated and angry and, in some cases people make arguments that especially the next generation, somehow they’re apathetic or they’re not involved.  I don't see that.  I mean, what I see are people who every day are doing the right thing by their families, by their communities.  They’re getting up, they’re going to work, or they’re out there pounding the pavement looking for work.  They’re managing budgets under incredible strain, but they’re doing so with grace and good humor. 

I see people who day in and day out are making sure that we got some -- do we have somebody here to just -- we don’t need -- we’ve got -- somebody is always following me around, so they’ll be fine.  It’s just -- next time you guys come, make sure to eat or drink ahead of time. 

But what I see in the American people is just a core goodness and a core decency that expresses itself in so many different ways each and every day.  But that spirit, it’s got to be expressed not just in the workplace, not just on the Little League field or in church or a synagogue or a mosque.  It also has to be expressed in our politics.

And so the biggest thing that we haven’t gotten done and the thing that I’m going to ask all of you to be part of over the next couple of years -- we still have a big job to do in transforming our politics; to make sure that we can have robust debate and real policy differences, but we never forget that what binds us together is always stronger than what drives us apart -- (applause) -- and that for all the differences in race and region and ethnicity and background, we are all Americans and we believe in a set of fundamental principles, truths that we hold self-evident.  That is going to be as much of the unfinished business that we focus on over the next couple years as anything that we do.  And having friends like you who are here and ready to commit to that vision, that, too, makes me extraordinarily confident. 

So thank you so much, everybody.  I love you.  (Applause.)  Let’s go to work.  Yes, we can.

AUDIENCE:  Yes, we can!

THE PRESIDENT:  Yes, we can.  God bless you.  (Applause.)

END
9:12 P.M. EDT 

Remarks by the President at Dedication of the Ronald H. Brown United States Mission to the United Nations Building

USUN Building New York, New York

5:19 P.M. EDT
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  (Applause.)  Everybody, please be seated.
 
I am so grateful to be here in this beautiful space.  Let me begin by thanking the Brown family for making me a part of this celebration.  I want to thank President Clinton for his leadership and his outstanding example when it comes to foreign affairs.  I want to thank my outstanding -- and I mean outstanding -- U.N. Ambassador, Susan Rice.  (Applause.)  And the members of the diplomatic community who are here for your wonderful work.  Our dedicated U.N. Mission staff.  I want to thank Charlie Rangel for helping to make this day possible.  Mayor Dinkins, it’s wonderful to see you.  All the great friends of Ron Brown.  
 
It is a pleasure to be here.  I only met Ron Brown once.  I was primarily an admirer from afar.  Thank you, Patti, also for your pipes.  (Laughter.)
 
Unlike Ambassador Rice, I didn’t grow up next-door playing basketball on the Brown family court.  Although now I know where she got her jump shot and where her brother John got his jump shot.  We play occasionally in the “way over 40 league.”  (Laughter.)
 
Unlike many of you, I didn’t directly experience his irrepressible spirit —- always the best-dressed guy in the room. I'm sure he gave some tips to these two.  (Laughter.)  And the most confident, never losing his cool; an outlook -— as Ted Kennedy put it -— where “no, you can’t” always became “yes, you can.”  So Ron Brown was my kind of guy.  (Laughter.)    
 
Unlike President Clinton, I didn’t serve with Ron Brown, whose legacy is measured in the lives he touched and the memories that all of you carry.  And coming to the podium as the final speaker, I was thinking —- once again, everything has been said, and, once again, Bill Clinton has said it better than I could.  (Laughter.)
 
But while I didn’t know Ron Brown personally, I knew his story, and I drew inspiration from that story.  And so when you say he’d be proud that I'm President, I think it’s fair to say that I'm President in part because of him -- because of the example he set; because of the organization that he brought to the Democratic Party; because his capacity to get Bill Clinton elected -- which in turn I think showed how we could govern in a way that met the realities of the late 20th century and ultimately the 21st century.  He carved out that path for so many of us.  And I know why it’s so fitting that the home of our United Nations -- United States Mission to the United Nations is named in his honor.
 
Obviously, Ron wasn’t a diplomat in the traditional sense.  He never held the rank of ambassador.  He never forged a peace accord between warring factions -- unless you include the 1988 Democratic convention.  (Laughter.)  We’re here not because of the titles that he held, but because of the life he led.  Because Ron Brown embodied the values and the ideals, that sense of possibility, that is at the heart of the American story.
 
His was a quintessentially American story -- growing up in Harlem, serving his country in uniform, working his way through law school, and then just breaking down every barrier that he came across.  He lived that American creed that if you work hard enough, if you’re willing to put your shoulders to the wheel, there is nothing you cannot do.
 
As President Clinton mentioned, he never forgot where he came from.  No matter how successful he became, he was there, counseling kids on the street, giving them hope; fighting for workers and minority businesses to make sure that they had the same chances that he had had; mentoring the next generation -- so many of you -- imparting not only wisdom but the inspiration of his example.  “The American Dream,” he always believed, “rightfully belongs to every child in this nation.”
 
Ron Brown brought people together across race and cultures, various stations in life -- an ability that no doubt came from deep within him.  He was at once proud of his race -- he never shied away from it -- but he transcended his race at the same time.  It was said that some Republican business executives, when they went out on a trade mission, every once in a while they’d look over and say, that was Jesse Jackson’s campaign manager.  And yet here I am and I like this guy and he knows my business, and he is helping me succeed.
 
And in that way, not only was he serving them, but he was also serving the country -- because that understanding that he was fostering on those trade missions, they’d bring that back home and make it easier for people to work together in other contexts.  That was the lesson of his life -- that despite all the differences that we supposedly are divided by, at the end, we’re bound by what we have in common, as Americans and as human beings.
 
And Ron Brown understood America’s unique role in the world. He had that blend of idealism and realism, which recognizes that when we advance the prosperity of others, we advance our interests.  The scope of our influence, the values that we care so deeply about, they ripple around the world.  And that’s good for us.
 
That’s why he invested so much time and energy in Africa.  It’s why he argued that economic progress and human rights can’t be separated.  That’s why he called commerce and economic development the “infrastructure of democracy.”  That’s why he was on that flight to the Balkans -- because, he said, just as America “took the lead in the peace process, we need to show the way in rebuilding from the ruins of war.”
 
We need to show the way.  That was what Ron Brown did.  And that’s what America and our tireless diplomats do every single day, around the world and here at the United Nations.  And so on an occasion such as this, we don’t just dedicate a building; we also rededicate ourselves to the principles that guide us, as a sovereign nation but also as a member of the international community.
 
We believe, as we declared in the charter of this institution, “in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth” of all people and “in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small.”  And so, as united nations, we address the conditions that make the world more just and conflict less likely -- caring for children, tending to the sick, keeping the peace in places that are wracked by conflict, speaking out for the rights and dignity of every human being.
 
We believe that just as every sovereign nation has rights, that they also have fundamental responsibilities.  Governments exist not simply to perpetuate themselves, their own rule, but to fulfill the aspirations of their people.  And history teaches us that nations are more secure and the world is more peaceful when nations meet these responsibilities -- to uphold human rights, to resolve differences peacefully, when we advance our interests together.
 
We believe that when nations fail to meet these basic obligations -- when peace is threatened or international law is undermined -- that we cannot stand idly by.  The words of the charter must have meaning.  The writ of the international community must have credibility.  Violations of these core principles must have consequences.
 
Because what we’ve learned from bitter experience -- from the wars that were not prevented, the innocent lives that were not saved —- is that all that’s necessary for evil to triumph is that good people and responsible nations stand by and do nothing. There are times -— as when President Clinton showed extraordinary leadership in the Balkans, and moments such as now in the situation in Libya -- where our conscience and our common interests compel us to act.
 
We believe that force should not be the first option.  We understand the costs and risks involved in the use of force.  So, whenever possible, we turn to alternatives that might change behavior —- condemnation that puts violators on notice, sanctions that increase pressure, embargoes that block arms to aggressors, and accountability for those who commit crimes.  And should those prove insufficient, we have to be prepared to take the necessary measures to uphold international peace and security and protect innocent people.  That's what we’re doing in Libya, in large part because of the extraordinary work of some people in this room.
 
And finally, we believe that the world is more secure and the interests of the United States are best advanced, when we act collectively.  As I said last night, the burden of action should not always be America’s alone.  So in Libya today we see a broad and growing coalition, including Arab partners.  And I had to apologize to President Clinton before he walked out because he never sees his wife.  (Laughter.)  But the extraordinary work she’s doing in London today, the extraordinary work that she’s done over the past several months is part of that core understanding that when we act together, it’s a force multiplier.
Today we see the NATO Alliance in command of the arms embargo, the no-fly zone; starting tomorrow, the mission to protect the Libyan people.  We see the United Nations and many international organizations providing the assistance that’s needed to people who’ve been harmed by Qaddafi over the last several weeks.  Today in London we’re seeing more than 30 nations and the Libyan opposition come together to support a transition to a future that better serves the Libyan people.
 
That’s how the international community should work -- more nations; the United States right there at the center of it, but not alone -- everybody stepping up, bearing their responsibilities, carrying the costs of upholding peace and security.  That’s what it means to be united nations.  That was the vision imagined by the founders of this institution.
 
“In our disillusionment after the last war,” Franklin Roosevelt said, “we gave up the hope of gradually achieving a better peace because we had not the courage to fulfill our responsibilities in an admittedly imperfect world.”  And over the past six decades, there have been times where this imperfect institution and its members did not find the courage to fulfill our responsibilities.  And we are forever haunted by that.  We have seen the consequences of that in atrocities that might have been prevented.
 
And yet today in Libya, we are showing what’s possible when we find our courage; when we fulfill our responsibilities and when we come together, as an international community, to defend our common interests and our common values.  We’re saving innocent lives.  We’re making it clear that the United States of America, and the world, stand with those who seek to determine their own destiny, free from fear, and free to dream of a day when they, too, can live in justice and dignity.
 
I think that’s the essence of American leadership.  That’s what it means to lead.  This is the purpose of the United Nations.  And this will be the work of all who now labor in a building that bears the name of somebody who understood leadership, who lived a life of leadership, and that is Ronald H. Brown.  We are grateful to him.  And I cannot think of a better way to honor the extraordinary work that he has done and the influence that he continues to carry in all of our lives.
 
     So with that, I would like to invite Alma, Michael and Tracey to join me for the presentation.  (Applause.)

END
5:35 P.M. EDT

Remarks by the President at Univision Town Hall

Bell Multicultural High School
Washington, D.C.

10:37 A.M. EDT

 MR. RAMOS: Mr. President, I have the first question. As a newscaster and as an anchor, I have to ask first. And I would like to ask something that everybody wants to know. I don't know if you can give us something about the speech you're going to give later on for us to listen to here at Univision. And we are going through a very difficult time. We're going through three different wars at the same time. I was looking at the education budget in the country and it amazes me that every dollar that is being spent on education we spend $10 for war and the Department of Defense. Do we need to change that? What would you do?

 THE PRESIDENT: Well, first of all, I just want to say, Jorge, it’s wonderful to be with Univision. It’s wonderful to be here at Bell Multicultural. (Applause.) You guys are doing outstanding work.

I also want to make a confession, and that is that although I took Spanish in high school, I'm receiving translation through this earpiece. (Laughter.) But for all the young people here, I want you guys to be studying hard because it is critical for all American students to have language skills. And I want everybody here to be working hard to make sure that you don't just speak one language, you speak a bunch of languages. That's a priority. (Applause.)

 MR. RAMOS: Let’s talk about Libya.

 THE PRESIDENT: Jorge, with respect to Libya, I am going to be addressing this issue tonight, and I’ve already discussed it on several occasions, including on your program.

 Our involvement there is going to be limited both in time and in scope. But you’re absolutely right that we have a very large defense budget. Some of that is necessitated by the size of our country and the particular special role that we play around the globe. But what is true is that over the last 10 years, the defense budget was going up much more quickly than our education budget.

And we are only going to be as strong as we are here at home. If we are not strong here at home, if our economy is not growing, if our people are not getting jobs, if they are not succeeding, then we won’t be able to project military strength or any other kind of strength.

 And that's why in my 2012 budget, even though we have all these obligations -- we’re still in Afghanistan; I have ended the war in Iraq, and we’ve pulled 100,000 troops out -- (applause) -- but we still have some commitments there -- despite all that, my proposed budget still increases education spending by 10 percent, including 4 percent for non-college-related expenses. But we also increased the Pell Grant program drastically so all these outstanding young people are going to have a better chance to go to college. (Applause.)

 So the larger point you’re making I think is right that we have to constantly balance our security needs with understanding that if we’re not having a strong economy, a strong workforce and a well-educated workforce, then we’re not going to be successful over the long term.

 MR. RAMOS: Okay. Mr. President, one of the main problems here in the United States is that -- with Hispanics especially -- is that only one out of three of Hispanic students actually graduates from high school. They drop out. And Iris Mendosa, a student from this school has the first question. Iris?

 Q Hello, Mr. President. My name is Iris Mendosa, and I attend Washington, D.C. Bell Multicultural High School. And my question is: What can we do to reduce the amount of students that drop out of school before graduating?

 THE PRESIDENT: Well, I appreciate the question. And I want to reiterate something that Mr. Conde said at the outset. This is an issue that’s not just important for the Latino community here in the United States; this is an issue that is critical for the success of America generally, because we already have a situation where one out of five students are Latino in our schools, and when you look at those who are 10 years old or younger, it’s actually one in four. So what this means is, is that our workforce is going to be more diverse; it is going to be, to a large percentage, Latino. And if our young people are not getting the kind of education they need, we won’t succeed as a nation.

 Now, here’s what’s also important -- that eight out of 10 future jobs are going to require more than a high school education. They’re going to require some sort of higher education, whether it’s a community college, a four-year college, at the very least some job training and technical training -- all of which means nobody -- nobody -- can drop out. We can’t afford to have anybody here at Bell drop out. We can’t have anybody drop out anywhere in the country.

 Now, there are some things that we know work. To the extent that young people are getting a good start in school and are falling behind, they’re less likely to drop out. So that’s why it’s important for us to invest in early childhood education. And my budget makes sure that we put more money into that. In K through 12, we’ve got to make sure that we’ve got the highest-quality teachers. We have to make sure that we have parental involvement so that we are building a culture in our community. Everybody -- businesses, philanthropies, churches, whoever these young people are interacting with, they’ve got to hear a message that they don’t have any choice, they’ve got to graduate, and everybody is going to be behind them.

 We know that there’s some programs that will help young people catch up if they’ve already fallen behind. And one of the things that we’ve emphasized is something called Race to the Top, which is a program that says to states and school districts all across the country, if you design programs that are especially designed to get at those schools that are creating a lot of dropouts, that are not performing up to par, we’ll give you extra money if you are serious about reform.

 So we’re going to have to take a comprehensive approach to make sure that we reduce dropout rates. And the last point I’ll make on this -- there are about 2,000 schools in the country where the majority of dropouts take place. I mean, we can name them. We know what these schools are. And for us to put some extra help, some intensive help, into those schools to help turn them around is something that we've really got to focus on.

 Mr. Conde and I were both at a school down in Miami that used to have a 60 percent dropout rate and now they’ve been able to reduce that drastically because they completely turned the school around -- got a new principal, got -- about a third of the teachers were new, had a whole new approach, had the whole community surround them.

 We can do that with each of those 2,000 schools around the country, we can make a big difference. Great question. (Applause.)

 MR. RAMOS: As you know, the success in the students depends not only on good teachers and good administrators; it also depends on their parents.

 Q I’m from Chile. And my daughter attends CHEC. I do know that the success of our children’s education also hinges on their parents. So my question is, how can we help to fight illiteracy and lack of language knowledge, English knowledge?

 THE PRESIDENT: Well, first of all, the fact that you’re here shows that you’re a very involved parent and that’s where this has to start. No matter who you are, no matter where you come from, if you’re a parent, you are the single most important factor in whether your child is going to succeed. And so starting out very young, reading to your children -- even if you yourself are not an English-language speaker, reading them in Spanish gets them used to the idea of reading and builds their vocabulary and will be building a foundation for learning.

Making sure that as your children get older, that you’re turning off the television set and making sure that they’re doing their homework -- even if you as a Spanish-speaking person may not be able to help them with all their homework, you can make sure that they’re actually doing it. Parents making sure that they’re involved in their schools and going and meeting teachers. And I know that there are some schools where parents experience not a good interaction with the schools. The schools seem to push them away, particularly if English is not their native language. But you have rights as parents to make sure that your children are getting what they need. And the more you’re interacting with the teachers and the principals and the administrators, the more support you can provide to your child.

So those are all areas where parents can make a big difference. What we’re trying to do as the government is to make sure that we’re providing more incentives for schools to improve their parental involvement programs. We’re trying to make sure that schools are open and understand that it is up to them to provide a welcoming environment to parents so that they can be involved in their child’s education.

And specifically with respect to young people who are coming to school and English may not be their native language, we’ve got to make sure that we continue to fund strong programs, both bilingual education programs but also immersion programs that ensure that young people are learning English but they’re not falling behind in their subjects even as they are learning English.

And there’s a way to do that that is effective. We have schools that do it very well; there are some schools that don’t do it as well. We want to lift up those models that do it well. And parents should be demanding and insisting that even if your child is not a native English speaker, there is no reason why they can’t succeed in school, and schools have an obligation to make sure that those children are provided for. They have rights just like everybody else. (Applause.)

 MR. RAMOS: Thank you very much. Mr. President, in San Salvador, we had the opportunity to have a conversation regarding deportation, and I was telling you that your government has deported more immigrants than any other President before. And you also told me that many students in the United States, even though they are undocumented, are not deported. But Karen Montinado (ph) sent us this video, and I wanted for you to watch it together with me, and I want for you to give me your opinion regarding her experience:

Q My question for the President is why saying that deportations have stopped or the detention of many students like me? Why is it that we are still receiving deportation letters like this one?

 THE PRESIDENT: Well, Jorge, I said before we have re-designed our enforcement practices under the law to make sure that we’re focusing primarily on criminals. And so our deportation of criminals are up about 70 percent. Our deportation of non-criminals are down. And that's because we want to focus our resources on those folks who are destructive to the community. And for a young person like that young woman that we just spoke to, who’s going to school, doing all the right things, we want them to succeed -- which is why I have been such a strong proponent of the DREAM Act; why I reiterated during my -- (applause) -- why I reiterated during my State of the Union speech that we need to pass the DREAM Act. We came close in December. It almost happened.

And for those students here who aren’t familiar with what the DREAM Act says, basically what it says is if you’re a young person who came to this country with your parents, even if you were undocumented when you came here but you were a child -- you didn't make the decision -- you’ve grown up as an American child, and we want your talents here in the United States. And if you have done right in your community, if you’ve been studying hard, if you’ve been working in school, you should be able to go ahead and get a process towards legalization and a process whereby you can be a full-fledged citizen in this country.

 We almost were able to get it passed. We fell a few votes short. I believe that we can still get it done. But it’s going to be very important for all the viewers of Univision, all the students who are interested in this issue, we’ve got to keep the pressure up on Congress. And I have to say without being partisan that the majority of my party, the Democrats, I got their votes to get this passed, but we need a little bit of help from the other side. And so all of you need to contact your members of Congress, contact your members of the Senate, and let them know that this is something that is the right thing to do.

 America is a nation of laws, which means I, as the President, am obligated to enforce the law. I don't have a choice about that. That's part of my job. But I can advocate for changes in the law so that we have a country that is both respectful of the law but also continues to be a great nation of immigrants. And the DREAM Act is a perfect example of a law that can help fix this.

 Of course, I believe that we also have to have an even more comprehensive reform of our immigration system. It’s broken right now. We have to have secure borders. We have to make sure that businesses are not exploiting undocumented workers, but we have to have a pathway to citizenship for those who are just looking for a better life and contributing to our country. And I’ll continue to fight for that. (Applause.)

 MR. RAMOS: Mr. President, my question will be as follows: With an executive order, could you be able to stop deportations of the students? And if that’s so, that links to another of the questions that we have received through univision.com. We have received hundreds, thousand, all related to immigration and the students. Kay Tomar (ph) through univision.com told us -- I’m reading -- “What if at least you grant temporary protective status, TPS, to undocumented students? If the answer is yes, when? And if no, why not?”

 THE PRESIDENT: Well, first of all, temporary protective status historically has been used for special circumstances where you have immigrants to this country who are fleeing persecution in their countries, or there is some emergency situation in their native land that required them to come to the United States. So it would not be appropriate to use that just for a particular group that came here primarily, for example, because they were looking for economic opportunity.

 With respect to the notion that I can just suspend deportations through executive order, that’s just not the case, because there are laws on the books that Congress has passed -- and I know that everybody here at Bell is studying hard so you know that we’ve got three branches of government. Congress passes the law. The executive branch’s job is to enforce and implement those laws. And then the judiciary has to interpret the laws.

 There are enough laws on the books by Congress that are very clear in terms of how we have to enforce our immigration system that for me to simply through executive order ignore those congressional mandates would not conform with my appropriate role as President.

That does not mean, though, that we can't make decisions, for example, to emphasize enforcement on those who’ve engaged in criminal activity. It also doesn’t mean that we can't strongly advocate and propose legislation that would change the law in order to make it more fair, more just, and ultimately would help young people who are here trying to do the right thing and whose talents we want to embrace in order to succeed as a country. (Applause.)

 MR. RAMOS: You mentioned minutes ago -- you talked about the DREAM Act. And you talk to parents and teachers and one of the things of the educational system in the United States is it allows them to go to elementary school and secondary studies, high school, but it doesn’t allow them to go to college. And Sonia Marlene (ph) has a question regarding the DREAM Act. And students have been frightened and they are saying publicly that they are undocumented and they are being at risk of deportation.

 Q Thank you for being here in this forum. My name is Sonia Marlene(ph). And I'm a mother, a parent, an activist, and pro-undocumented young people. After the non-passing of the DREAM Act in Congress, many students asked me, why should I keep struggling to continue with my studies when I don't have a future in this country? What should I answer to them, Mr. President?

 THE PRESIDENT: Well, I think that change in this country sometimes happens in fits and starts. It doesn’t happen overnight. If you think of the history of the civil rights struggle, though even after Brown v. Board of Education, there were still struggles to ensure that ultimately everybody was treated with dignity and respect.

 I think with respect to the DREAM Act, as I said, it was very close to passage. We didn’t get it passed this time, but I don't want young people to be giving up because if people in the past had given up, we probably wouldn’t have women’s rights, we wouldn’t have civil rights. So many changes that we’ve made had to do with young people being willing to struggle and fight to make sure that their voices are heard.

 And one of the things just to reemphasize is if we’ve got talented young people here in the United States who are working hard, who aspire to college, in some cases want to serve in the military, want to serve our country, it makes no sense for us to send them away.

One of the strengths of America, compared to other countries, is that we’re always attracting new talent to our shores -- people who reinvigorate the American Dream. And that has to continue in this generation. And so they should know, these young people should know that they have a President who believes in them and will continue to fight for them and try to make sure that they have full opportunities in this country. (Applause.)

 MR. RAMOS: Thank you. At the beginning of this show, Mr. President, we were saying why are 10 dollars spent in wars and a dollar on schools. Somebody else asked why do we help people who have more money instead of doing that to people who have less money.

 The next question comes the Jimenes family, and so this is what they want to ask you: “Hello, Mr. President. California is one of the last on the list regarding spending in schools. However, it seems that there’s a lot of money for arms and for corporate bailouts but not for school budgets. How is it our children can stay strong in our country, can survive, if we don’t want to spend in their education today, a quality education?”

 THE PRESIDENT: Well, the irony is, is that California used to be famous for having the best school system in the country. And that wasn’t that long ago. I mean, when I was a young person -- I know I seem very old to all of you -- (laughter) -- but when I was a young person back in the ‘70s, ‘80s, everybody would say what a great public school system California had and what a great university system California had. But, unfortunately, most education funding is done at the state level. And in many states, what’s happened is that there have been various laws put in place that limit the ability to raise money for schools, partly by capping property taxes.

 And, look, I’m somebody who believes that money is not everything when it comes to schools. You’ve got some great schools in low-income neighborhoods that don’t have a high tax base but you’ve got a dynamic principal, you’ve got great teachers, you’ve got parents who are rallying around the school. You can do well even if you don’t have a lot of money.

 But money does make a difference in terms of being able to provide the resources, the supplemental help, the equipment, the technology, the science labs, all those things. And the fact of the matter of is, is that in most states what we need is for people to reprioritize.

Part of what happened in California was there were huge amounts of money spent on prisons and that drained away money from the school system. And if it turns out that it costs $16,000 or $17,000 or $20,000 for one inmate, and you could spend an extra $3,000 or $4,000 or $5,000 in a school to keep that -- young people from going into prison in the first place, it’s a smart investment for us to invest in the schools first.

 But what’s important, I think, for everyone to understand is this is typically a decision that’s made at the state level. And so in each of the states, wherever you’re watching -- in Arizona, in New Mexico, in California, in Maryland -- whatever state you’re in, you should be pressing your state legislatures and your governors to make sure that they are properly prioritizing education when it comes to the state budget, because just as a country is going to succeed because it’s got the best workers, the same is going to be true in states.

 Companies can locate anywhere today, and they’re going to choose to locate in those places where they’ve got the most well-educated, best-trained workforce, because then that saves them money. They don’t have to re-train people. They know that whoever they hire they’re going to have good math skills and good science skills and good communication skills. So that’s a huge competitive advantage for any state in the country. And it’s important, I think, for you to make sure that all your state and local officials know this is something that you’re paying attention to.

But it’s a great question. Thank you. (Applause.)

 MR. RAMOS: One of the things that surprised me during this investigation that we ran through is that when I get eight Hispanic students together, only one of them, one out of eight of Hispanics will go to college. That I think is just a waste of talent and energy and their life. And Kenny Alvarado (ph) has a question regarding changing that number, who knows, that eight or seven can go, that most of them can actually attend school.

 Q Hello, Mr. President, my name is Kenny Alvarado. I attend Bell Multicultural and I have great aspirations to be able to attend university. Before a student was able to receive two scholarships a year to pay for college. Now that student can only have one. What is your government going to do to keep the Pell scholarship without cutting the budget for education?

 THE PRESIDENT: Well, first of all, I expect you to go to college, so -- I’m confident that you’re going to succeed. (Applause.) I believe in you.

 Here’s what we’ve done over the last two years. First of all, we increased the level of Pell Grants so now you can get up to $800 more in Pell Grants every year than you were able to do two years ago because of changes that we made.

 We also made Pell Grants available to millions more students around the country. So we expanded eligibility so that more young people could get access to student loans and grants that would help them pay for college.

The way we did this -- the student loan program through the government had been previously funneled through banks, and the banks were taking out a profit on the student loan program, even though these were all loans that were guaranteed by the U.S. government -- so the banks weren’t taking any risks. They were basically just processing these loans, but they were taking a couple billion dollars off the top in profits. And we said, well, why do we have to go through the banks? Why don't we just give these loans directly to the students? That will save us billions of dollars. That way we can expand the program, make sure that more young people can go to college. So that's what we have already implemented.

 In addition, what we’ve said is that starting in 2014 -- so right about when you guys are -- some of you are starting college, in some cases some of you will be right in the middle of college -- we’re going to institute a program whereby your loans repayments will not have to exceed more than 10 percent of your income.

Now, this is something very important for all of you, because -- (applause) -- I speak from experience. Michelle and I, we didn’t come from wealthy families. So we came from families a lot like yours, and we had to take out all these student loans to go to college and law school. By the time we were out, we had, I think between us, $120,000 worth of debt. It took us 10 years to pay it off. And we were lucky because we both got law degrees; we could make enough money to pay that debt.

But let’s say that we had wanted to teach, and we were only making -- what’s a teacher making these days? (Laughter.) Not enough, is what somebody said. (Laughter.) Or you wanted to go into public service, or work for a non-profit. You might not be able to make enough to afford servicing $120,000 worth of debt, or $60,000 worth of debt. So what we said is we’re going to cap at 10 percent. And we will give you additional help if you go into helping professions like teaching that are so important to our future.

 The bottom line is this. We’ve made enormous strides over the last two years. If you are working hard, if you guys are getting good grades in school, if you are ready to be admitted to college, there's no reason why you should not be able to afford to go to college. We’re going to make sure that we’re helping to provide you the money you need. All right? (Applause.)

 MR. RAMOS: Well, thank you. Well, Kenny, the President of the United States wants for you to go to a university or college. We’ll talk to you in four more years, okay? (Laughter.)

Mr. President, one of the biggest tragedies is that -- you don’t have to die to go to school and many of our students are suffering bad -- bullying is what it’s called in English, they’re being abused at school. And you and your wife have been involved in a program to avoid that to happen. But the bottom line is at least one of four students go to school and instead of studying they are at risk of being wounded or even die. Jessica Bermudes (ph) sent us a video -- I don’t know how many thousands of letters you receive, but you received one from her. And this is what she wrote:

 “Mr. President, I wrote you a letter after my son passed away but you never answered. It’s been two years since he committed suicide and I haven’t been able to get any legal remedy that would do justice to my son. Compensation is not enough. Would you be willing to pass a federal law that sanctions bullying like the type my son suffered?”

 THE PRESIDENT: Well, obviously we’re heartbroken by a story like that and we’ve been seeing reports in the news -- and some young people here, you’ve probably seen young people who took their own lives because they had been experiencing such terrible bullying and peer pressure in the schools.

Now, look, bullying has always existed. I’ve said before when I was a kid, I was teased. I had a different name; I had an unusual background; I had big ears. (Laughter.) And so all of us have been bullied at some point -- except maybe Jorge because Jorge was very handsome and cool in school, I’m sure. (Laughter.)

MR. RAMOS: I don’t think so.

 THE PRESIDENT: So all of us have experienced this to some degree or another. But it’s gotten worse partly because of new communications. Right? You guys understand this better than I do, but Facebook, Twitters -- (laughter) -- you know, all that stuff makes for added pressure not just in school but also outside of school. You can’t escape it.

 And so what we did was we had a conference at the White House where we convened interested groups from across the country -- parent organizations, philanthropies, student organizations -- to find ways that -- strategies that we could put in place to reduce bullying.

 Now, one of the most powerful tools, it turns out, is students themselves. And there are schools where young people have done surveys to find out how much bullying is taking place in school and how secure do you feel in the classroom. And then the students themselves started an entire campaign in the schools to say, we’re not going to tolerate bullying, and in fact, if we see somebody bullying, we’re going to call them out on it. And that peer pressure could actually end up making as much of a difference as just about anything.
 
 But obviously we are interested in finding additional strategies for how we can reduce this epidemic of bullying that’s taking place. And the young people here, if you have suggestions in terms of how we should approach these problems, we want to listen to you. And if you go to the White House website, whitehouse.gov, that will give you a set of tools and strategies that we’re pursuing in terms of trying to make a difference on this issue. (Applause.)

 MR. RAMOS: As you know, Mr. President, we are pressuring parents for them to help their children, and this is what they’re telling us through Univision and univision.com, is that maybe they don’t speak English or they don’t have the time because they are working hard. Maybe they need to -- they are concerned about immigration problems. But Margarita Gramajo (ph) is a parent, and she will speak for herself.

 Q Good morning, Mr. President. My name is Margarita Gramajo (ph). I know many parents that don’t speak English, and they also have to work long hours to be able to feed their families. I would like to know what your government can do, how can you help these parents so they are better able to support their children’s education?

 THE PRESIDENT: Well, the first thing we can do is make sure that parents have economic opportunities, that they’ve got a job that pays a decent wage. Obviously, in many immigrant communities, families and parents may be working two or three jobs because they're making such low wages. Oftentimes, they don't have benefits, so if they get sick, they don't have a place to turn and that becomes an added burden. And so, overall, one of the most important things we can do is just make life easier for those who don't make a lot of money and are sometimes working in the underground economy.

And that's why comprehensive immigration reform is important. That's why our health care reforms that will provide health insurance for a lot of families that are out there is so important, because that will relieve some of the financial pressure and burden.

 But when it comes to schools, as I said before, I want schools to welcome parents. I want schools to go out there actively calling parents and finding out how can we work with you to make sure your students can achieve. How can we enlist you in the project of making sure your young people graduate from high school, go to college and move on to a career? If a school is not doing that, if it’s not actively reaching out to parents, then it’s not doing its job.

And my Secretary of Education is sitting right in front of you, Arne Duncan. And he travels all across the country, and a lot of what we do when we talk to schools is telling them how important parental involvement is, and trying to recruit parents.

 Now, if they don't speak English, then it’s important for those schools to think about strategies to have translators in the schools to help them communicate with the teachers and the principals. If it turns out that the school budgets are tight and they can’t afford to hire translators, then we should enlist community members who are bilingual to come in and volunteer on parent-teacher meetings.

This is where philanthropies can make a big difference. This is where churches can make a big difference -- because there’s no reason why the community can’t also mobilize to support parents to make sure that they are able to take the time to meet with teachers and support the overall process of education.

 So I can’t make a parent who’s not interested, interested. Ultimately, that has to come from the parent, him or herself. But what I can do is make sure that the school knows how important the parent is, and that’s something that we are emphasizing in every program that we do. And when we evaluate, for example, programs like Race to the Top, where we’re looking to give extra money to schools, one of the criteria we look at is, do you have a smart plan for getting parents involved -- because oftentimes that may be one of the indicators of success. All right? (Applause.)

 MR. RAMOS: One of the main concerns that parents have is not only that one out of four in school, but besides that, there’s a huge need for them to work and who are they going to leave their children with? Early development -- who will take care of my child when they have to go to work? Belquiz Martinez (ph) has the next question, also from a mother, from a parent.

Go ahead.

 Q Well, good evening, Mr. President. My name is Belquiz Martinez (ph), and my children attend bilingual education. And this is my question. I would like to know what are you going to do -- what your presidency is going to do to keep the bilingual programs and the early Head Start?

 THE PRESIDENT: Well, one of the things that we’ve already done in my first two years as part of the Recovery Act was to put several billion additional dollars into Head Start programs and early childhood education programs.

The Latino community is a young population and so there are a lot of young kids, so they need high-quality early childhood education, high-quality daycare, high-quality Head Start programs, more than just about any other community. Unfortunately, actually, they are underrepresented in these programs, and we need to do more to provide that kind of support. So in our new budget we’re also putting additional resources into early childhood education.

 This is something that will pay big dividends for the entire society down the road. Because what we know is, when kids get a good start, when they come to school prepared, then they are more likely to stay on grade level and not fall behind.

 On the other hand, if a child comes to school and they don’t know their colors, they don’t know their letters, they’re not accustomed to being read to, then they’re starting off at a disadvantage. And kids can overcome those disadvantages -- I’m somebody who never gives up on any kid -- but, let’s face it, the longer they’re behind, the more discouraged they get. They may get turned off from school and ultimately they end up dropping out.

 So we’re already putting more money into these programs. It’s not enough. Waiting lines for high-quality childcare is still too long. We've got to do more.

 The other thing is, in addition to more money we have to reform many of these programs, because, frankly, sometimes a childcare program may look nice on the outside, but when you get inside it turns out that the instructors there, they’re not professionally trained, they don't know anything about early childhood development. They’re basically just babysitters -- which is fine if you're going out for an evening with your spouse, but if these folks are going to be with your child each and every day for five hours, six hours, eight hours, you want somebody who knows -- who’s been professionally trained and understands how to make sure that you're giving a good foundation of learning to children.

 And so we're doing a lot of work in improving professional development and the quality of the programs, even as we increae the money to support subsidies for those programs. (Applause.)

 MR. RAMOS: We have talked about different topics, very important, giant concepts, but the main concerns of our children are more concrete. It’s about tests. When was the last time you took a test -- do you remember that?

 THE PRESIDENT: Let me tell you, I am tested every day. (Laughter.) I was tested when I appeared on Jorge’s program a couple of -- four days ago. (Laughter.) He’s a very tough instructor, a tough -- he’s a tough grader. (Laughter.)

 MR. RAMOS: You passed your test. Lisa has a question regarding tests.

 Q My name is Lisa and I'm going to attend my last year here at Bell Multicultural High School. Students go through a lot of tests. Could you reduce the amount of tests? For example, we found a student passes a test, he shouldn’t take the same test next year.

 THE PRESIDENT: Well, I think probably what you're referring to are standardized tests -- because if you're just talking about your math or your science or your English test, tough luck -- (laughter) -- you’ve got to keep on taking those tests, because that's part of the way that teachers are going to know whether you're making progress and whether you understand the subject matter.

 What is true, though, is, is that we have piled on a lot of standardized tests on our kids. Now, there’s nothing wrong with a standardized test being given occasionally just to give a baseline of where kids are at. Malia and Sasha, my two daughters, they just recently took a standardized test. But it wasn’t a high-stakes test. It wasn’t a test where they had to panic. I mean, they didn’t even really know that they were going to take it ahead of time. They didn’t study for it, they just went ahead and took it. And it was a tool to diagnose where they were strong, where they were weak, and what the teachers needed to emphasize.

 Too often what we've been doing is using these tests to punish students or to, in some cases, punish schools. And so what we've said is let’s find a test that everybody agrees makes sense; let’s apply it in a less pressured-packed atmosphere; let’s figure out whether we have to do it every year or whether we can do it maybe every several years; and let’s make sure that that's not the only way we're judging whether a school is doing well.

 Because there are other criteria: What’s the attendance rate? How are young people performing in terms of basic competency on projects? There are other ways of us measuring whether students are doing well or not.

 So what I want to do is -- one thing I never want to see happen is schools that are just teaching to the test. Because then you're not learning about the world; you're not learning about different cultures, you're not learning about science, you're not learning about math. All you're learning about is how to fill out a little bubble on an exam and the little tricks that you need to do in order to take a test. And that's not going to make education interesting to you. And young people do well in stuff that they’re interested in. They’re not going to do as well if it’s boring.

 So, now, I still want you to know, though, you're going to have to take some tests, man. (Laughter.) So you're not going to get completely out of that. All right? (Applause.)

 MR. RAMOS: My host here is Maria Tukeva, the principal of Columbia Heights educational campus, and hers has to do with teachers and to hire the teachers and get better pay for the teachers.

 Q Mr. President, first of all, thank you so much again for the great honor of your presence here. I have a very important problem. You know the lack of African American teachers and Latinos, they have to have role models they can relate to. How can we create a training and recruiting program for African Americans and Latino teachers? (Applause.)

 THE PRESIDENT: I think this is a great question. This is a great question. I’m not sure I’m going to get these statistics exactly right, but I think that if the percentage of Latino students now is 20 percent, percentage of African American students might be 12-15 percent, the number of African American and Latino teachers may only be 3 or 4 percent, maybe 5 percent. And when it comes to male teachers, it’s even lower. That's a problem.

 So there are a couple things that we can do. Number one is I think it’s very important for us to say to young people who are thinking about a career, think about teaching. There’s no job that's more important and is going to give you more satisfaction and will give you more impact and influence over your community than if you go into teaching.

And so we’re trying to constantly elevate teaching as a profession. And I think we as a society have to do that, because young people, they're kind of seeing what appears to be valued. And if all they see are basketball players and rappers and -- then that's where they’ll gravitate to. And if, on the other hand, they see that teachers are being lifted up as important, then they’ll think about teaching as a career. So that's part number one.

 Part number two, we’re working to figure out how to do more recruitment in historically black colleges and universities, in Hispanic-serving institutions. We need to get in there and say to young people, consider teaching as a career. And I know that that’s something that Arne Duncan has emphasized.

I’m going to be giving a commencement at Miami Dade College, which, if I’m not mistaken, is the single largest institution serving Hispanic students in the country. President Padrón is here, who also happens to chair my Council on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Students. And one of the things that I want to do when I’m there, I’ll speak to the fact that I want a bunch of those young people going into teaching.

 So we’ve got to go to where the students are, get them early, get them in the pipeline, provide them the outstanding training that they need, and make sure then they’re supported as they go through. Because part of the challenge in teaching, it’s not just enough to recruit the teacher. Once the teacher is in the classroom, they’ve got to have support systems in place, professional development in place, so that they can learn their trade.

Because it’s like anything else. I mean, there’s no job where you would just start off the first day and suddenly you know exactly what you’re doing. Jorge, I’m sure, was a very young person when he became a news anchor, but I’m sure he had to get some tips and he got better and better as time went on. Certainly that’s true for me as a public servant, as an elected official. Well, teachers are the same way.

 So we’ve got to have professional development programs. We’ve got to have mechanisms to make sure that people succeed over time. But I’m confident that if we give them the opportunity, there are going to be a lot of young people who want to pursue this career. (Applause.)
 

 MR. RAMOS: Not long ago I was having a conversation with my son. He’s only 12 years old, and he couldn’t believe that I grew up in a world where there were no cell phones, no Internet, no computers. (Laughter.) So do you have your BlackBerry with you, or do you have an iPhone? What do you have?

 THE PRESIDENT: You know, I took my BlackBerry off for this show, because I didn’t want it going off, and that would be really embarrassing. But usually I carry a BlackBerry around.

 MR. RAMOS: Do you have an iPad?

 THE PRESIDENT: I do have an iPad.

 MR. RAMOS: Your own computer?

 THE PRESIDENT: I’ve got my own computer.

 MR. RAMOS: Very well. (Laughter.)

 THE PRESIDENT: I mean, Jorge, I’m the President of the United States. You think I’ve got a -- (laughter and applause) -- you think I’ve got to go borrow somebody’s computer? (Laughter.) Hey, man, can I borrow your computer? (Laughter.) How about you? You’ve got one?

 MR. RAMOS: Okay, Diana has a question regarding computers. So go ahead, Diana.

 Q Hello, Mr. President, my name is Diana Castillo (ph), and I attend Bell. My question is, do you believe that the new technology like iPads, computers, helps students in their education? And if that is so, what can be done so we can have access to this technology?

 MR. RAMOS: A minute -- I’m afraid I'll have to tell the most powerful man in the world that he only has one minute.

 THE PRESIDENT: Actually, the truth is it can make a difference. If the schools know how to use the technology well, especially now with the Internet, it means that students can access information from anywhere in the world. And that's a powerful tool.

So a lot of schools that we’ve seen now have every student getting a computer. We visited a school up in -- where was that? It was in Boston, at Boston Tech? Is that what it’s called? And each student gets a computer. And they were able to do science experiments and get the information right on the screen directly as they were working in the labs.

So what we want to do is encourage schools to use technology. But technology is not a magic bullet. If you have a computer, but you don't have the content and you don't have teachers who know how to design good classes around the computer, it’s not going to make a difference. So it’s not just the technology. We also have to make sure that we have the teachers that are trained to work with students so they can use that technology to explore all these -- all the information that's available out there today. (Applause.)

 MR. RAMOS: It’s my understanding that you also wanted to address our audience -- last words.

 THE PRESIDENT: Well, first of all, I just want to thank again Univision for hosting this town hall. Part of the reason why we felt this was so important is because the Latino community in this country will be a key for our future success. And all of the young people who are sitting here are going to be a key to our success. And that means that everybody has to be involved in this project of lifting up graduation rates; lifting up performance in things like math and science; making sure that young people are getting education beyond high school so that they are prepared for the careers of the future.

And what I want to say is that the government can do its part -- we can increase funding for education; we can make college more affordable through grant programs and loan programs -- but we can’t do it alone. Ultimately, everybody has to be involved, and that includes the students here.

And I just want to say to all the young people here -- this is a competitive world now, and you can’t expect to be able to just find a job just because you’re willing to work. If you haven’t prepared through a good education, you are going to be trapped in low-end jobs. And so you’ve got to bring an attitude of hard work and pursuing excellence each and every day. That’s what you have to bring to the classroom. That’s what we need as a country. And if we do -- if we all work together, then I’m confident that not only is the Latino community going to succeed, but the American family is going to thrive and succeed in the 21st century. (Applause.)

MR. RAMOS: Mr. President, the last thing I wanted to tell you -- there are more than 50 million Hispanics and you are the first African American President. And with great education, of course, we hope that we have the first Latino president soon. Thank you for being here.

THE PRESIDENT: They may be sitting here. (Applause.) Who knows?

MR. RAMOS: Definitely. Thank you so much from Univision. Thank you so much. (Applause.)

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much.

END
11:33 A.M. EDT

Remarks by President Obama and President Funes of El Salvador in Joint Press Conference

National Palace, San Salvador, El Salvador

3:00 P.M. CST

      PRESIDENT FUNES:  (As translated.)  Thank you so much for your presence.  Thank you to all the friends of the press, both domestic and international.

      First of all, I would like to thank President Obama for his visit, and also to his family and his delegation that accompanied this morning.  And on behalf of my wife, Vanda, and all the people of El Salvador, I really thank you, Mr. President, for the support that you have given to the people of El Salvador and to the process of transition and building of democracy that we're going through.  It is a great honor to have your presence in El Salvador.  So welcome, once again, Mr. President, and I hope that you enjoy, the few hours that you're going to be here, the hospitality of our people.

      President Obama asked me if this is the weather characteristic of this time of the year, and I was saying that, yes, and that it is a pity because if he had stayed a little bit longer we could have invited you to get to see the beaches of our country that are one of the best in the region.

      Dear friends of the press, this visit of President Obama is historical.  This encounter is produced when our country is immersed in a process of deep changes that started with the political -- a transition that took place in a very orderly and peaceful manner that has meant a transcendental step forward for the consolidation of our democracy and of our institutions in the fight for transparency.

      Therefore, we are in the face of a great opportunity for our political, economic and social development, an opportunity that is historic in nature, to do away with the obstacles that in the past did not allow us to advance as a unit towards a new model of development with social justice.

      Your visit, Mr. President, is circumscribed within this process as showmanship of your recognition of the advancements in our democracy and the effort that we have carried out as a people to reach international consensus that will allow us to continue progressing together facing the great challenges, especially poverty and the commitment to get greater levels of citizen security.

      We coincided when we were talking with President Obama that this visit to the Latin America region is fundamental, and he was telling me some details of his meeting with President Dilma Rousseff of Brazil and the President of Chile.

      The truth, Mr. President, is that this is a fundamental visit, first of all because Latin America, after the democratization process that we’ve gone through the last two decades, is now a region in peace that enjoys the desserts, fruits of this great struggle for human rights and the strengthening of our democracies.

      But also it is fundamental from the economic point of view because the majority of the Latin America countries are just overcoming this international crisis better than other countries in the world based on models against poverty and betting on their productive sectors and the hardworking people that they have.

      We celebrate these circumstances that situate Latin America as a fundamental point within the international reference after this international crisis.  And I think that the criteria with which you have based your visit to Latin America is as support to the path that my country has taken -- to take Brazil and Chile as my points of reference.

      First because Chile represents for us an example of democratic transition that was very successful of overcoming dictatorships and polarization.  It is a country that has been able to cure its injuries to reach this institutional soundness that we admire so much.

      And Brazil has also shown in the eight years of the presidency of my friend, Lula, and now with the starting of the presidency of Dilma, Brazil has demonstrated that the struggle against poverty is the greatest engine for growth, and that this model that strives to improve production is also our inspiration.
      So we celebrate being part of this visit, of this tour, and to be able to go more in depth in this friendship that we started on March 8th last year when I visited you in Washington.

      And allow me briefly before I give the floor to President Obama to synthesize from my perspective some of the topics that we developed in this bilateral agenda.

      First of all, as I said in private, now I say it in public in front of the friends of the President, I want to thank publicly the President of the United States for including our country in such important initiatives like the Bridge Project and the Partnership for Growth.

      Both are very important processes for us.  And in this sense, we have requested the President to dynamize this process so that these projects can become a reality as soon as possible. We already have a schedule that foresees the definition of great projects in June, with which we will start this partnership.

      I also want to thank the words of President Obama when he recognizes the importance of our population in the development of his country.  The presence of more than 2 million of Salvadorans that work and live in the United States, and the importance that this population has in the development of El Salvador through the remittances that they send year by year.

      Of course, migration was another key issue in our conversation.  We coincided once again with President Obama on the need to have focus for development and joint responsibility in this sense.  We also coincided that with regards to migration, the best strategy is the struggle against poverty and the creation of opportunities to have our people stay in their places of origin.

      Migration is a painful expression of a world that has not been able to establish accessible parameters of justice and inclusion.  I have expressed to President Obama my pleasure when I heard in his speech at the Union State the commitment of pushing an agreement of both parties, bipartisan agreement for comprehensive immigration reform and present it to the Congress of the United States.

      And finally, we also talked about security, and we did so in an extended meeting with the presence of officials of the Cabinet of President Obama, as well as ours.  This has been a key issue in this meeting and I have expressed to President Obama the willingness of my government to continue with the efforts of Central American security.

      We said that narco activity, as such a security, is not an issue that is only a problem for El Salvador and Nicaragua, isolatedly, not even Colombia or Mexico alone.  It’s a problem that attacks us as a region.  And this is why we are building a regional strategy through the CARSI Initiative.

      Of course I also insisted that this is an issue that should not only be approached through the persecution of the crime by our armies and police, but that we have to stress prevention policies.  And therefore, the best weapon to combat and reduce crime in the region is through the investment in social policies.

      And finally, I thanked President Obama, as I do it right now in public, for his decision to visit the tomb of Monsignor  Romero and the kindness of his invitation to accompany him in this historical visit.  As I have said, Monsignor is the spiritual guide of this nation, and the visit that you are going to carry out to the tomb of Monsignor implies for us a recognition of a leader, an international leader like President Obama, to the message of Oscar Romero and the universal validity of his message.

      Thank you once again for your stay in our country, and we thank you for the expression of kindness by your wife and your children in this visit to El Salvador.  Thank you very much, Mr. President.

      PRESIDENT OBAMA:  President Funes, thank you so much for your very generous words.  It was a pleasure to welcome you and First Lady Pignato to the White House last year.  I want to thank you today for welcoming me and my wife and our daughters to El Salvador.  We are honored to be here.

      Yesterday in Santiago, Chile, I outlined how the United States is forging partnerships for progress with nations and peoples across Latin America.  And there are few better examples of both the opportunities and challenges facing the Americas today than here in El Salvador.

      Fortunately for El Salvador, it enjoys the wise leadership of President Funes.  Mr. President, I want to commend you for your courageous work to overcome old divisions in Salvadoran society and to show that progress comes through pragmatism and building consensus.  You’ve articulated a vision of economic growth and social progress that is inclusive of all segments of Salvadoran society.  And I want to make it clear today that the United States wants to be a partner with El Salvador in this process.  We want El Salvador to be successful.

      Thanks to smart investments in education, rural development and infrastructure, El Salvador has made gains in reducing poverty.  And to build on this progress, El Salvador is one of the first four countries in the world in our Partnership for Growth, which is a key element of my administration’s new approach to development.

      Instead of the old donor-recipient model, we’re working as partners, with El Salvador in the lead, to confront the hurdles to growth and development.  As El Salvador’s largest trading partner, we’ll help identify reforms that can mobilize private investment, increase trade and create opportunities for the Salvadoran people.  And one of the most important steps is to foster collaborations between government and the private sector, because both have so much to gain when people are lifted out of poverty and contribute to their country’s prosperity.

      At the same time, we need to increase trade and economic growth across Central America.  I very much appreciated the President’s insights on the region.  Today I’m pleased to announce a new effort -- our Crossroads Partnership.  We’ll work with countries in the region to make borders more efficient and more secure so we’re encouraging trade and economic growth rather than constraining it.

      As President Funes mentioned, we discussed immigration.  President Funes is committed to creating more economic opportunities here in El Salvador so that people don’t feel like they have to head north to provide for their families.  As I told the President, I remain firmly committed to comprehensive immigration reform in the United States.

      I know this is especially important to the some 2 million Salvadoran people who are living and working in the United States.  They’re making extraordinary contributions to our country, even as they support their families and communities here in El Salvador.  So I updated the President on the new consumer protections that I signed into law, which give people more information and make sure their remittances actually reach their loved ones back home.

      Today, we’re also launching a new effort to confront the narco-traffickers and gangs that have caused so much violence in all of our countries, and especially here in Central America.  Our two nations already cooperate very closely in the fight against these criminals.  As I said in my speech yesterday, the United States will do our part as the nations of Central America develop a new joint security strategy this spring.

      Under the Central American Citizen Security Partnership that I’m announcing today, we’ll focus $200 million to support efforts here in the region, including addressing, as President Funes indicated, the social and economic forces that drive young people towards criminality.  We’ll help strengthen courts, civil society groups and institutions that uphold the rule of law.  And we’ll work closely with regional partners like Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Canada, and international partners like Spain, the European Union and the Inter-American Development Bank.  This has to be a coordinated effort that draws on the unique expertise of different countries and institutions.

      Finally, we’re deepening our efforts to pursue sustainable energy and to address climate change, which is already a harsh reality for Salvadorans and people across the region who face more frequent and more severe storms.  El Salvador is already a leader in geothermal energy.  Under the Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas, El Salvador is working to connect grids in this region to make electricity more reliable.  I want to commend President Funes for taking another step today -- agreeing to host a regional center where the nations of this region can come together to find new ways to reduce emissions and prevent deforestation.   

      So, again, Mr. President, I want to thank you for welcoming me here today and for your commitment to closer ties between our nations.  I think the partnership that we’re forging together are exactly what’s needed in the Americas today -- neighbors joining with neighbors to realize progress that none of us can achieve alone.  Every nation, I believe, no matter how large or how small, can contribute to that progress.  And I believe that under the leadership of President Funes, El Salvador can be a source of great prosperity and security for this region for many years to come.

      Thank you very much.

      Q    Good afternoon.  President Obama, I would like to ask you if you could explain a little bit more how you are going to distribute this $200 million throughout the region with regards to security.

      And we would like to know the opinion of President Funes on the commitment of El Salvador and Central America in this effort.

      PRESIDENT OBAMA:  The emphasis is to work with a regional approach and the various Central American countries have come together to help shape and design how that money might be best spent.  So rather than the United States coming in and saying, here’s the best way to do things, what we want to do is to hear what are the respective challenges that each country is facing.

      The regional security initiatives that are already taken place, we can build on.  We obviously need to focus on basic policing, security, rule of law, the judicial system -- that's a component of it.  But as President Funes indicated, part of the key is making sure that we're also using this to reach young people and give them the better path.

      I thought President Funes gave a very eloquent response to one of my questions during our bilateral meeting.  He said, I don't want a young man in El Salvador or a young woman in El Salvador to feel that the only two paths to moving up the income ladder is either to travel north or to join a criminal enterprise.

      And that's why emphasis on education and emphasizing social programs, giving young people other pathways has to be part of this overall program.

      But we're in close consultation.  This is a program that will be designed and led here in Central America by the respective governments.  And I’m confident that President Funes will show great leadership in making sure that that money is appropriately used here in El Salvador.

      PRESIDENT FUNES:  (As translated.)  Thank you very much, President Obama, for your comments, especially for your expectations of this new contribution for the Central American region that President Obama is announcing today.

      When we started with the CARSI Initiative, this initiative aimed at responding to a concern that we had as Presidents of the region, which is that organized crime, particularly as common crime and crime in general, is not a problem only of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, or Colombia or Mexico.  It’s a problem that we can only face as a region.  The capacity of operating of these criminal organizations, the financial capacity to buy institutions to permeate the different institutions and penetrate our institutions is so large that if we do not join as countries, as nations, and if we do not use the successful experiences of countries like Colombia and Mexico, we will not be able to defeat this problem.

      This is why I have been assisting in international fora and with Central American integration meeting in June last year, where we said that besides trade, we need to have a regional security policy.  We have submitted our request to the authorities and the government of the United States to have greater cooperation funds earmarked to perfecting our police, modernize our military institutions, and to also perfect and modernize our public ministries, especially in the development of a greater capacity to investigate crimes -- specific crimes like financial crimes.  We are projecting a training program with the assistance of the United States for 150 prosecutors to specialize the investigation of complex crimes like organized crime.

      And something that is very important and I’m pleased to hear that President Obama agrees with us, that the efforts that we make in repression and persecution of criminals is not going to do anything unless we take away from the criminals the fertile soil that they have found in this region.  And this fertile soil is thanks to the fact that we have a lot of youngsters that are living in a situation of poverty and social exclusion -- exclusion from the benefits and the services that the state should give them.  And this is why I insisted with President Obama that we cannot continue offering our youngsters in El Salvador and the region, go to the United States to find employment and entertaining and education opportunities that they don't find here, or to fall in the hands of the criminal gangs -- especially the gangs.

      How can we avoid this?  Investing more in prevention policies.  Our focus as a region, and particularly as the government of El Salvador is that the crime, and particularly drug trafficking and the consumption of drugs, is not only going to -- by attacking supply, but also demand.

      This is why this afternoon I also heard with great pleasure the President of the United States reiterate that his government has invested a large amount of money in the combat of the reduction of consumption.  Without consumption, you don't have any demand, no supply, and the criminal organizations dedicated to drug trafficking cannot continue making a profit.  And this is what we want to do throughout the region because Central America is no longer a transfer or a passageway but it’s also a consumption strip.

      MR. CARNEY:  The first question from the White House Press Corps will be from Juliana Goldberg of Bloomberg.

      Q    Thank you, Mr. President.  Thank you, President Funes.
      Mr. President, on Libya, coalition partners can’t seem to agree on who will take the lead in the next phase of the military campaign.  Can you today still assure the American people that the U.S. will be in charge for only a matter of several -- a few more days?

      And also we also learned today of two American pilots who went down in Libya.  We’re assured that they're safe.  But have you sufficiently prepared the American people for the costs of war -- of course, the human costs, but also the financial costs?

      PRESIDENT OBAMA:  Let me, first of all, say obviously we were extraordinarily relieved to find out that these two young men were safe in American hands.  As the Pentagon indicated, this appears to have been a malfunction in the aircraft, and it is a testament to our military that we have fully prepared for any contingency, including something like this, and they were able to recover these individuals rapidly.

      And in fact, as part of the planning effort leading up to this, I specifically had discussions with Admiral Mullen and other of our military personnel to make sure that we had the kind of standard recovery efforts in place, because there are risks involved.  And on the day that I indicated that this was a possibility, and then on the day that I indicated that we, in fact, were moving forward, I said that there is no military operation that does not entail risk.  And that's why this is always the most difficult decision that I make as Commander-in-Chief and as President of the United States.

      Now, I have absolutely no doubt that we will be able to transfer control of this operation to an international coalition. I had discussions with Prime Minister Cameron and President Sarkozy today.  In fact, NATO is meeting today as we speak to work out some of the mechanisms for command and control.  I would expect that over the next several days you will have clarity and a meeting of the minds of all those who are participating in the process.

      We're already seeing a significant reduction in the number of U.S. planes that are involved in operations over Libya, because, as I said initially, our job was to take our unique capabilities and create a space to shape the environment so that the operation of a no-fly zone could operate effectively, and to make sure that our immediate humanitarian goals could be met.

      And I just want to emphasize to the American people, because of the extraordinary capabilities and valor of our men and women in uniform we have already saved lives.  In Benghazi, a city of 700,000 people, you had the prospect of Qaddafi’s forces carrying out his orders to show no mercy.  That could have resulted in catastrophe in that town.  Qaddafi’s forces have pulled back because of this timely intervention.

      And obviously there are always risks involved in this kind of operation, but for us to be able to structure something where we bring our unique capabilities to bear to fulfill a mission that is supported by the international community against somebody who was about to direct his armed forces against his people in the most vicious of ways is something that I think the American people, and certainly our American military, should be proud of.

      I said at the outset that this was going to be a matter of days and not weeks.  And there’s nothing based on how we've been able to execute over the last several days that changes that assessment.

      Q    And on financial costs --

      PRESIDENT OBAMA:  We will continue to provide details to the American people about the costs of this operation.  But because it is limited in time, scope, with a well-defined mission, we're confident that this is something that we can budget as part of our overall operations.  I mean, keep in mind that there are costs involved in the rescue efforts that we are assisting in Japan.  Events happen around the world in which the United States, with our unique capabilities, has to respond as a leader in the world community.  We build those into our budget.  This was something that we can build into our budget, and we're confident that not only can the goals be achieved, but that at the end of the day the American people are going to feel satisfied that lives were saved and people were helped.

      Q    Good afternoon, President Obama.  President, in the last few days, we have heard your statement where you talk about starting partnerships such as Partnerships for Growth and for Progress.  Now we’re talking about Crossroads Partnership.  Going to more punctual matters, what does this consist of?  Is there seed money?  Is it going to be reimbursable or not?  What projects are we talking about here and how much money could be generated?

      And if possible, Mr. President, I would like to know about immigration, taking advantage of your presence here since we haven’t been able to talk to you before.  We have about 25 percent or 30 percent of our population who are living illegally in the United States.  So what are your short-term plans, President Obama?  Are you going to lobby for comprehensive reform or temporary residence for the Salvadorans that are working with the TPS or that are living with a TPS who are there?  Thank you.

      PRESIDENT OBAMA:  Specifically on immigration reform first, as I indicated in my remarks and as I said in my State of the Union speech, I continue to believe in comprehensive immigration reform.  America is a nation of laws and it is a nation of immigrants.  And so our job is to create secure borders, to make sure that we’re got a legal immigration system that is effective and is not frustrating for families, doesn’t divide families.

      But we also have to make sure that those who are in the United States illegally at this point, but in some cases have been there for a long time, in some cases have children who were born in the United States and are United States citizens, that they have a pathway to get right by the law.  And several years ago we were able to craft a bipartisan consensus, at least in the United States Senate, around this issue.  Senator John McCain, Senator Ted Kennedy had a comprehensive immigration reform bill that I supported and was a part of when I was in the Senate.  And we were able to get it passed through the Senate, and we couldn’t get it passed through the House of Representatives.

      Over the last two years, it’s been more difficult to gain Republican support for some of these efforts.  And my hope is, is that they begin to recognize over the next year that we can’t solve this problem without taking a broad, comprehensive approach.  And that will benefit not only those Salvadorans who are living in the United States, but it also, more importantly, from the perspective of the region, can ensure that relations between neighbors and trade and economic relations between neighbors is more orderly and more secure, more regularized.

      It is the right thing to do.  This is the time to do it.  And I will continue to push hard to make it happen.  It won’t be easy.  The politics of this are difficult.  But I am confident that ultimately we are going to get it done.

      Now, with respect to particular programs, I will have my team provide a sheet that has details of how these various programs would work.  We already mentioned the $200 million for security.  There are other initiatives that are very important.  The Partnership for Growth -- the immediate plans involve our experts meeting with President Funes’ economic advisors and exports to determine what exactly are the barriers for improved growth and development here in El Salvador.

      So one of the ways that we are redesigning our development assistance programs is to recognize that dollars are important but institutional reforms may end up being more important -- or, at least, they have to go hand in hand, because what a country like El Salvador does not want is perpetually to be looking for the outside for its own development.  Ultimately it wants to be able to find growth and tap into its own potential here inside the country.

      And so those are the kinds of systematic consultations that are currently taking place, which will help determine how we can best spend any develop money that’s put forward.

      Of course, we already have currently a Millennium Challenge grant coming into El Salvador that involves several hundred million dollars and is helping on a wide variety of fronts.  And we want to continue to build on some of the success that are taking place there.

      Q    Thank you, Mr. President.  Thank you, President Funes. President Obama, you mentioned a few minutes ago how this mission in Libya was narrow in scope, limited in duration.  But potentially it seems quite open-ended in the sense that as long as Qaddafi remains in power, civilians presumably will need protection from him.  My question to you is, what is your exit strategy for U.S. military involvement if Qaddafi does not succumb to the international pressures to leave?  Are you saying, essentially, the U.S. will hang in there militarily in Libya if Qaddafi hangs in there?

      And in the grand tradition of U.S. press asking multi-part questions, one more.  Setting aside the humanitarian goals that you just mentioned a few minutes ago, can you articulate the U.S. national security interest in military action in Libya?  Thank you, sir.

      PRESIDENT OBAMA:  The military action that we moved forward on, in conjunction with our international partners, was defined by the U.N. Security Council resolution that said we have a humanitarian threat and we need to deal with that humanitarian threat quickly, in part through a no-fly zone, in part by ensuring that humanitarian assistance can get into places that need it.  And what we’ve done is to create the space for that to happen.

      I think fairly shortly we are going to be able to say that we’ve achieved the objective of a no-fly zone.  We will also be able to say that we have averted immediate tragedy.

      Now, you were absolutely right that as long as Qaddafi remains in power, unless he changes his approach and provides the Libyan people an opportunity to express themselves freely and there are significant reforms in the Libyan government, unless he is willing to step down, that there are still going to be potential threats towards the Libyan people.

      And we will continue to support the efforts to protect the Libyan people, but we will not be in the lead.  That’s what the transition that I discussed has always been designed to do.  We have unique capabilities.  We came in, up front, fairly readily, fairly substantially, and at considerable risk to our military personnel.  And when this transition takes place, it is not going to be our planes that are maintaining the no-fly zone.  It is not going to be our ships that are necessarily involved in enforcing the arms embargo.  That's precisely what the other coalition partners are going to do.

      And that's why building this international coalition has been so important because it means that the United States is not bearing all the cost.  It means that we have confidence that we are not going in alone, and it is our military that is being volunteered by others to carry out missions that are important not only to us, but are important internationally.  And we will accomplish that in a relatively short period of time.

      Now, with respect to our national interests, the American people and the United States have an interest, first of all, in making sure that where a brutal dictator is threatening his people and saying he will show no mercy and go door-to-door hunting people down, and we have the capacity under international sanction to do something about that, I think it’s in America’s international -- in America’s national interest to do something about it.

      That doesn’t mean that we can solve every problem in the world.  It does mean that when you have not only the United Nations but also the Arab League and also other countries in the Gulf who are saying, we need to intercede to make sure that a disaster doesn’t happen on our watch as has happened in the past when the international community stood idly by.

      It is in America’s national interest to participate in that because nobody has a bigger stake in making sure that there are basic rules of the road that are observed, that there is some semblance of order and justice -- particularly in a volatile region that's going through great changes like the Middle East -- than does the United States of America.

      Now, we’ve already seen what happened in Egypt and Tunisia
      -- peaceful transitions.  We have a huge national interest in making sure that those are successful because if Egypt can make a transition from an autocratic regime to a democracy, if Tunisia can make those same changes, they become models for a peaceful transition that at some point may be adopted by other countries in the region.

      If on the other hand, they spill into chaos, in part because they’ve got a million Lebanese -- or a million Libyans who are pouring into these countries, and their borders become less secure, and there’s a breakdown of order, that could have spillover effects in the entire region.

      So not only do we have a humanitarian interest, but we also have a very practical interest in making sure that the changes that are sweeping through that region are occurring in a peaceful nonviolent fashion.

      And when we can have some impact on that with a relatively modest contribution as part of a broader international effort, then I absolutely believe that the costs are outweighed by the benefits, and that is what drove my decision.  And that's why I think that we need to make sure that we see this through effectively.

      PRESIDENT FUNES:  We are just going to make reference to a prior question from -- this is Mr. President -- with your permission, President Obama, and also to address any other doubt of the media that they may have.

      I just want to go back to the matter of El Salvador and the remarks made regarding the importance of these announcements made by President Obama with regards to projects that may be financed through the initiative and the Partnership for Growth.

      We need to place things in context.  What’s fundamental in my opinion in this Partnership for Growth is that the different visions at the foundation of this initiative that is driven by the government of President Obama.  It’s not the traditional way of looking at the region from the perspective of the donor that looks at the receiver as that -- as a mere receiver or beneficiary of the same.  And I said this to President Obama -- I cannot go to the United States or any other country of the world to knock on the doors of the national banking system or the doors of the USAID or any other cooperation agency of the United States in order to ask for either more credit or more nonreversible cooperation funds without making a domestic effort that has not taken place in the past and that we cannot delay much further.

      We need to also give our contribution in this partnership.  And our difference is in that the financial aid capacity that we have.  But just to include the country of El Salvador in this it’s a message to the international investors that we can trust El Salvador.  The government of El Salvador is now working on a series of projects that will be presented to the inter-government teams in this next April -- we can have a better idea of which of these programs or these projects are going to be financed.  And we have an initiative in the port region, especially, and the extension of the airport, which I explained to President Obama in our bilateral meeting that we just had, but also in the transportation public system, and also in renewable energy projects -- so that once we have these projects prepared and already submitted to the inter-government teams, we hope that, in turn, we will have taken a decision on this regard, but from a different perspective.

      No longer will it be a country that receives aid as a donor or receiver from a donor country without us doing our own efforts.  And what does this effort consist of?  And I already mentioned this to President Obama that we need to have a fiscal agreement that will send more funds to the Internal Revenue so that we can reactivate the economy, but also to fight against poverty and social exclusion.

      This is an effort that we need to carry out.  We cannot -- no longer be one of the countries with the lowest tax returns, only surpassed by Guatemala.  We need to be able to increase this revenue and close with about 17 percent of the GDP.  It’s still low compared to other countries of the region, not to mention the United States, but it’s what we need to do as a nation.

      But what’s important in this is that we can send a message to the investors that we can invest in El Salvador, be them foreign international investors, and that the type of partnership that we are taking about and that we are creating with the United States by initiative of the U.S. government will then imply a joint cooperation where not only the United States will contribute with resources but also El Salvador will, and we’ll have a set of political reforms that will have transparent management of these funds.

      So this is why in the following days we will send to the legislative assembly our public-private association that will be driven by the bridge project and the Partnership for Growth.  And we will continue sending all the initiatives that are necessary to create the institutional environment that will make it possible for us to have this economic predictability and also for this trust to take place with the investors.

      Thank you, Mr. President.  Thank you, everyone.

                             END           3:55 P.M. CST