The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
March 04, 2011

Remarks by the President During a Classroom Tour in Miami, Florida

Miami Central High School
Miami, Florida

3:25 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you so much, everybody.  Look, I could not be prouder of you.  I couldn’t be prouder of your teacher and your principal.  The reason we came down here is because this is a model of what’s possible in so many schools across the country that were having trouble just a few years ago.  Because of great leadership, we’ve been able to turn it around.  And I can just tell that the way everybody is presenting themselves and the seriousness with which you take your work, you guys are all going to succeed, and you’ll help our country succeed, too.

So, all right?  Keep it up.  Okay.

END
3:26 P.M. EST

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
March 04, 2011

Remarks by the President to Student Overflow in Miami, Florida

Miami Central High School
Miami, Florida

3:39 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT:  What’s up, Rockets?  How are you?  (Applause.)  Well, thank you.  It is great to see all of you.  I am thrilled to be here at Miami Central.  That’s all right, I’m excited, too.

Listen, I just want to -- (applause) -- thank you.  I’m not going to give a long speech here because I’m going to give a long speech in the gymnasium.  But since we couldn’t seat everybody in there, I wanted to make sure that I came by and just said to all of you how very proud we are of the work that you guys have been doing. 

You know, just a few years ago, this school was really in trouble.  And a lot of young people, they were seeing their futures slip away because they were dropping out, they weren’t focused.  And the turnaround that’s been accomplished here is the reason that I wanted to come here, because what you guys are doing is not only helping to shape your future and ensuring your long-term success, but what it’s also doing is it’s sending a message to kids all across the country that there’s nothing we can’t accomplish when we put our minds to it.

So my main message to all of you is going to be, I need you to keep on working hard.  I need you to keep on taking pride in your school.  I need you guys to keep on listening to your teachers and working hard.  If you do, I’m confident you’re going to be successful.  And you will continue to be role models for young people who are coming up here in Miami-Dade, but also young people all across the country.

All right?  So thank you, guys.  I appreciate you.  I love you.  Thank you.  Thank you.

END
3:41 P.M. EST

The White House

Office of the First Lady

For Immediate Release
March 02, 2011

Remarks By The First Lady At “Let's Move” Healthier U.S. School Challenge Program Conference Call

Via conference call

3:02 P.M. EST

     MRS. OBAMA:  Thank you, Melody.  Thank you so much for that kind introduction, but more importantly thank you for all of your outstanding work.  We love you so much.  You’re working so hard for this administration, for the East Wing, for the entire White House, for the country.  She is amazing. 

I also want to thank Secretary Duncan as well as Secretary Vilsack for their leadership and their passionate commitment to the health and well being of our young people.  They have been tremendous partners to me on these efforts.  We would not be where we are today without their leadership.

And I also want to thank Becke Bounds for joining us on the call today and for the difference that she’s making for so many young people down in Mississippi where we got a chance to visit a few months ago.

And finally, I want to thank all of you on this call –- education leaders from all across the country –- for everything that you’ve done to make this first year of “Let’s Move” such a tremendous success.

More than just about anyone else, all of you on this call know what’s at stake here.  You know the impact that nutrition and exercise have on our kids’ academic performance.  You know from firsthand experience that our kids need time to run around and play before they can settle down and concentrate.  You know that they need something other than chips and candy before they can focus on math and reading.

And you know that the nutrition education that you provide in your schools is often the only guidance they get on making healthy decisions about what they eat.

The reality is that our schools are on the frontlines of our efforts to fight childhood obesity.  And every day, with the decisions that you all make, you’re shaping our children’s habits and preferences, and affecting the choices they’ll make for the rest of their lives.

That’s why many of you have been leading by example.  So many of you are revamping your schools’ physical education curricula.  You’ve been raising standards for the food that you serve in your lunchrooms.  You’re partnering with community groups that care about our kids.  You’re expanding best practices throughout your school systems.

And I know that in these times that all this isn’t easy, especially given the budget challenges that many of us are -- that you all are facing, shrinking budgets and limited resources.  And I know that right now a lot of school districts are struggling just to provide the basics. 

And that's why one of our missions of "Let's Move" is to do everything that we can to give folks like all of you the support you need to do your jobs. 

And that starts by helping more schools participate in the HealthierUS Schools Challenge.  That’s one of the main reasons we wanted to host this call today, get you all together, because we want to highlight the tools.  We want to highlight the technical assistance that's available to leaders like all of you who want to get your schools involved in this program. 

As you all know, this challenge is a great way for schools to create healthier environments for kids.  It sets concrete goals for more nutritious school food.  It creates goals for regular physical activity and for sound nutrition education to help kids make better choices.  Schools that complete this challenge can earn monetary rewards.  Let me repeat that:  Schools that complete this challenge can earn monetary rewards.  And we’ll also be inviting representatives from every award-winning school to a very special reception at the White House. 

And right now, we’re working to double the number of schools in the HealthierUS Schools Challenge.  And with your help -- and we can’t do this without you -- I am hoping that we won’t just meet this goal, but that we will exceed it.  That's right.  We’re trying to exceed the goal of doubling the number of US Healthier Schools, because ultimately, we want every school in this country to be a HealthierUS School.  We want every child in the country to have what they need to learn and to grow and to achieve their dreams.  And that's why we work with the nation’s largest school food providers, and they’ve committed to providing better foods in the schools -- more fruits and vegetables and whole grains in their meals, and less sugar, fat and salt. 

We’ve also started Chefs Move to Schools, where we’re bringing local chefs into schools to help create healthier menus and to support all of your nutrition education efforts.  And through Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools, that’s another effort where we’re helping to bring more fresh fruits and vegetables into those lunchrooms through salad bars.

We’re working to promote the President’s Active Lifestyle Award, which recognizes kids who exercise for 60 minutes a day, five days a week for six consecutive weeks.  This is a great tool to challenge kids, to get them engaged, to get them moving.  Kids always respond to an award.  And you can also learn more about the President’s Lifestyle Award by going to presidentschallenge.org.  Let me repeat that again.  You can learn more about the President’s Active Lifestyle Award by going to presidentschallenge.org. 

And finally, we’ve worked very hard -- we’re very proud that we worked with Congress to pass the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act.  And we will continue to find other ways to support schools as this law is implemented.  But we’re very excited that Congress has moved on this issue.  It’s going to provide much needed help and support to the schools. 

But as far as we’ve come, you all know we still have a long way to go.  And that’s where all of you come in.  We need more leaders like you to be involved in these programs.  The truth is that you all are some of the most important decision-makers in our kids’ lives.  And we need more of your ideas, quite frankly.  We need your energy.  We need your hard work.  We need you to keep us focused and moving in the right direction, because we’re not going to stop working on this issue -- I know I’m not -- until we’ve solved this problem of childhood obesity once and for all.  And this is something that we can do.  This is an issue that we can solve working together.  So we’re not going to stop until we know that our schools and our educators have everything they need to give our kids the healthy futures they deserve. 

So I am looking forward to working with more of your schools.  I’m hoping that through this call this will energize you all to go back into your district to work with the schools that you all have connections with and to get some of the focus on this technical support.  We want to get these numbers up.  We want to see all these schools joining us here in Washington to celebrate our increased numbers. 

So I want to thank you all in advance for the work that you’re going to do.  I want to thank you for the work that you’ve done to get us to this point.  I visited so many schools around the country, and it is always a joy to see the light in children’s eyes when they’re eating right and they’re exercising.  There is truly a difference in the energy in schools that are stepping up to this challenge.  And it’s thanks to so many of you that we’re seeing more of these schools.

     So, with that, I will stop and we will continue this conversation.  But, again, thank you for all your efforts.

END
3:11 P.M. EST

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
March 02, 2011

Remarks by the President Awarding the 2010 National Medal of Arts and National Humanities Medal

East Room

1:54 P.M. EST

     THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you very much, everyone.  Please -- please, have a seat.  Thank you.  Well, hello, everybody.  It is wonderful to have all of you here. 

I want to make mention of some folks in particular that have helped us to celebrate the arts and the humanities for many years.  First of all, if I’m not mistaken, our Democratic leader in the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, a great champion of the arts, is here.  There she is.  (Applause.)  Thank you, Nancy.

     The Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, Rocco Landesman, is here.  Where’s Rocco?  There he is.  (Applause.)  The Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, Jim Leach, is here.  (Applause.)  The two most powerful people in the White House -- Jill Biden and Michelle Obama -- are here.  (Laughter and applause.) 

And two recipients who were unable to be here, but who we love, I want to make sure to acknowledge:  Meryl Streep and Harper Lee could not be here today, but they will be receiving their awards as well.  So please give them a round of applause.  (Applause.)

I was just told by my wife that I went off program because originally we were supposed to get everybody seated and I was supposed to then come in and make my formal remarks.  And I bulled my way through to go ahead and see the honorees before they came out here to sit down because these are extraordinary people.  One of the great joys of being President is getting a chance to pay tribute to the artists and authors, the poets and performers, who have touched our hearts and opened our minds -- or, in the case of Quincy Jones and James Taylor, set the mood.  (Laughter.)

One of the people that we honor today, Joyce Carol Oates, has said, “Ours is the nation, so rare in human history, of self-determination; a theoretical experiment in newness, exploration, discovery.”  That's what we do.

And for more than two centuries, this experiment has been conducted by revolutionaries and pioneers; by immigrants who braved hardship and inventors who tested new ideas; soldiers who fought for our freedom, and ordinary citizens who marched for their rights.

But we are here today because these men and women were not alone in these struggles.  With them were the stories that sparked their imaginations; the poetry and the music that inspired their causes; the works of art and literature that spoke to their condition, and affirmed their desire for something more. 

And I speak personally here because there are people here whose books or poetry or works of history shaped me.  I've got these thumb-worn editions of these works of art and these old records where they were still vinyl, Sonny -- (laughter) -- before they went digital that helped inspire me or get me through a tough day or take risks that I might not otherwise have taken.  And I think what's true for me is true for everyone here and true for our country. 

The fact is that works of art, literature, works of history, they speak to our condition and they affirm our desire for something more and something better.

It was the writings of Thomas Paine that General Washington ordered his men to read before crossing the Delaware.  It was spirituals sung by slaves around a campfire that helped to keep hope alive.  We can think of the protest songs that tell the story of the civil rights movement, the photographs from the Great Depression that showed how folks were suffering but also how they were striving. 

Time and again, the tools of change, and of progress, of revolution, of ferment -- they’re not just pickaxes and hammers and screens and software, but they’ve also been brushes and pens and cameras and guitars.

And the arts and the humanities help us through the hard times and they remind us of what make the good times worthwhile.  After all, the goal doesn’t always have to be so lofty.  Sometimes, we just need a break, a chance to laugh or escape from the moment.

So all of the individuals that we honor today are part of this tradition.  We can point to their performances -- on stage or on film -- that we carry with us forever because we’ve been so moved.  We can think of the novels that have chronicled the American experience -- from the streets of Newark to the courts of Alabama.  How many young people have come to see the senseless cruelty of racism -- and the importance of standing up for what’s right -- through the eyes of a girl named Scout?  How many young people have learned to think by reading the exploits of Portnoy and his complaints?  (Laughter.) 

We also remember the art that challenged our assumptions; the scholarship that brought us closer to the events of our history; the poetry that we loved -- or at least the poetry that we might recite to a girlfriend to seem deep.  (Laughter.)  Of course, we still hum the great songs by the musicians in this room -- songs that in many cases have been the soundtrack of our lives over decades.

And that’s why I’m so proud to have this opportunity to celebrate the contributions that all of you have made to our country.  It’s why we have to remember that our strength as a people runs deeper than our military might; it runs deeper than our GDP -- it’s also about our values and our ideals that each generation is called to uphold, and that each artist helps us better understand.

And it’s also about the capacity of the arts and the humanities to connect us to one another.  In a nation as big as ours, as diverse as ours, as full as debate and consternation as it sometimes is, what the people we honor here today remind us of is that kernel of ourselves that connects to everyone else and allows us to get out of ourselves, to see through somebody else’s eyes, to step in their shoes.  And what more vital ingredient is there for our democracy than that?

In 1962, in the last months of his life, the poet Robert Frost was dispatched by President Kennedy to visit the Soviet Union.  And it was a gesture of goodwill.  Frost traveled and gave readings, filling venues all across Russia.  What he really wanted to do, though, was have a chance to talk to Khrushchev.  Frost was a poet, but he was also a pretty tough guy. 

It wasn’t until the end of his trip that the meeting was arranged.  And when they met, even though Frost was frail and sick, he decided he had to speak his mind to the Soviet leader.  And Frost stood up and he said, “A great nation makes great poetry.”  And then he told Khrushchev that he should reunite East and West Berlin. 

A great nation should make great poetry.  Like so many artists and musicians and writers and poets before him -- and so many that came after him -- Robert Frost wasn’t afraid to say his piece or speak truth to power.  He wasn’t afraid to tell what was on his mind.  He wasn’t held back by convention or what was considered normal or acceptable. 

And that is an incredible power, an incredible resource.  And we’re seeing that power all across the world today.  That’s what challenges us.  That’s what pushes us to be better, to be more faithful to the sense of humanity that so often can be lost in the experiences of our daily lives.

Pissarro once said, “Blessed are they who see beautiful things in humble places.”  That is the blessing of those that we honor here today, and we are blessed that they are able to share what they see and what they hear. 

So now it is my privilege to present these medals to our recipients in both the arts and the humanities.  (Applause.)

MILITARY AIDE:  The 2010 National Medal of Arts recipients:

Robert Brustein.  (Applause.)  The 2010 National Medal of Arts to Robert Brustein for his contributions to the American theatre as a critic, producer, playwright, and educator.  As the founder of the Yale Repertory Theatre and the American Repertory Theatre and Institute for Advanced Theatre Training, and as the former theatre critic for The New Republic since 1959, Mr. Brustein has been a leading force in the develop of theatre and theatre artists in the United States.  (Applause.)

     Van Cliburn.  (Applause.)  The 2010 National Medal of Arts to Van Cliburn for his contributions as one of the greatest pianists in the history of music, and as a persuasive ambassador for American culture.  Since his historic 1958 victory at the first International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, Mr. Cliburn has reached across political frontiers with the universal message of beautiful music.  (Applause.) 

     Mark di Suvero.  (Applause.)  The 2010 National Medal of Arts to Mark di Suvero for his achievements as one of the most prominent American artists to emerge from the Abstract Expressionist era.  Exhibited throughout the world, Mr. di Suvero’s exemplary sculptures depict a strong political and social vision, demonstrating the power of the arts to improve our world.  (Applause.)

     Donald Hall.  (Applause.)  The 2010 National Medal of Arts to Donald Hall for his extensive contributions to American poetry.  Through an illustrious career and as a Poet Laureate of the United States from 2006 to 2007, Mr. Hall’s work has inspired Americans and enhanced the role of poetry in our national life.  (Applause.)

Accepting for Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, Ella Baff.  (Applause.)  The 2010 National Medal of Arts to Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival for contributions to the development of dance in the United States.  As America’s longest running international dance festival, thousands of people of all ages from across the United States and the world have Jacob’s Pillow to thank for opening their horizons to dance.  (Applause.)

Quincy Jones.  (Applause.)  The 2010 National Medal of Arts to Quincy Jones for his extraordinary contributions to American music as a musician, composer, record producer, and arranger.  As a master inventor of musical hybrids, he has mixed pop, soul, hip-hop, jazz, classical, African, and Brazilian music into many dazzling fusions, traversing virtually every medium, including records, live performances, movies, and television.  (Applause.)

Sonny Rollins.  (Applause.)  The 2010 National Medal of Arts to Sonny Rollins for his contributions to American jazz music.  Widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians of the post-bebop era, Mr. Rollins’ melodic sensibilities, playing style, and solos have delighted audiences and influenced generations of musicians for over 50 years.  (Applause.)

James Taylor.  (Applause.)  The 2010 National Medal of Arts to James Taylor for his remarkable contributions to American music.  His distinctive voice and masterful guitar playing are among the most recognized in popular music and his expansive catalogue of songs has had a profound influence on songwriters and music lovers from all walks of life.  (Applause.)

     The 2010 National Humanities Medal recipients, accepting for Daniel Aaron, Anna Mundow Aaron.  (Applause.)  The 2010 National Humanities Medal to Daniel Aaron for his contributions to American literature and culture.  As the founding president of the Library of America, he has helped preserve our nation’s heritage by publishing America’s most significant writing.  (Applause.)

Bernard Bailyn.  (Applause.)  The 2010 National Humanities Medal to Bernard Bailyn for illuminating our nation’s early history and pioneering the field of Atlantic history.  Dr. Bailyn’s two Pulitzer Prize-winning works, The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution and Voyagers to the West, have opened minds to the story of our country’s earliest days.  (Applause.)

Accepting for Jacques Barzun, Marguerite Barzun.  (Applause.)  The 2010 National Humanities Medal to Jacques Barzun for his distinguished career as a scholar, educator, and public intellectual.  One of the leaders in the field of cultural history, Dr. Barzun’s decades of teaching and dozens of books have engaged countless readers across our nation.  (Applause.)

Wendell E. Berry.  (Applause.)  The 2010 National Humanities Medal to Wendell E. Berry for his achievements as a poet, novelist, farmer, and conservationist.  The author of more than 40 books, Mr. Berry has spent his career exploring our relationship with the land and community.  (Applause.)

Roberto González Echevarría.  (Applause.)  The 2010 National Humanities Medal to Roberto González Echevarría for his contributions to Spanish and Latin American literacy -- literary criticism.  His path-breaking Myth and Archive: a Theory of Latin American Narrative is among the widely cited scholarly works in Hispanic literature.  (Applause.)

Stanley Nider Katz.  (Applause.)  The 2010 National Humanities Medal to Stanley Nider Katz for a career devoted to fostering public support for the humanities.  As president of the American Council of Learned Societies for more than a decade, he’s expanded the organization’s programs and helped forge ties among our libraries, museums and foundations.  (Applause.)

Joyce Carol Oates.  (Applause.)  The 2010 National Humanities Medal to Joyce Carol Oates for her contributions to American letters.  The author of more than 50 novels, as well as short stories, poetry and nonfiction, Ms. Oates has been honored with the National Book Award and the PEN/Malamud Award for excellence in the art of short story.  (Applause.)

Arnold Rampersad.  (Applause.)  The 2010 National Humanities Medal to Arnold Rampersad for his work as a biographer and literary critic.  His award-winning books have profiled W.E.B. Du Bois, Langston Hughes, Jackie Robinson and Ralph Ellison, and he has edited critical editions of the works of Richard Wright and Langston Hughes.  (Applause.)

Philip Roth.  (Applause.)  The 2010 National Humanities Medal to Phillip Roth for his contributions to American letters.  Mr. Roth is the author of 24 novels, including Portnoy’s Complaint and American Pastoral, which won the 1998 Pulitzer Prize, and his criticism has appeared in our leading literary journals.  (Applause.)

Gordon Wood.  (Applause.)  The 2010 National Humanities Medal to Gordon Wood for scholarship that provides insight into the founding of our nation and the drafting of the United States Constitution.  Dr. Wood is author and editor of 18 books, including The Radicalism of the American Revolution, for which he earned a Pulitzer Prize.  (Applause.)

THE PRESIDENT:  I think it is entirely appropriate for all of us to stand and give a warm congratulations to the recipients of these awards.  (Applause.)  Not the recipients -- you don't have to stand. (Applause.)

Well, congratulations to all the recipients.  We’re going to take some quick pictures with them, and then usually we have a party around here.  (Laughter.)  Our Marine Band is very good and the food is pretty good around here too.  So enjoy yourselves and thanks again for helping us to celebrate these extraordinary men and women of letters and the arts.  Thank you.

END
2:19 P.M. EST

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
March 02, 2011

Remarks by the President on Shooting of American Service Members in Germany

James S. Brady Press Briefing Room

1:30 P.M. EST

     THE PRESIDENT:  I want to take a brief moment just to say a few words about a tragic event that took place earlier today in Frankfurt, Germany.
 
I'm saddened and I am outraged by this attack that took the lives of two Americans and wounded two others.  I think the American people are united in expressing our gratitude for the service of those who were lost.  Michelle and I have their family and their friends in our thoughts and prayers and we are praying for a speedy recovery for those who were injured.
 
     I want everybody to understand that we will spare no effort in learning how this outrageous act took place and in working with German authorities to ensure that all of the perpetrators are brought to justice.           
 
We don't have all the information yet, and you will be fully briefed as we get more information.  But this is a stark reminder of the extraordinary sacrifices that our men and women in uniform are making all around the world to keep us safe, and the dangers that they face all around the globe.
 
So I think it’s fair to say that on behalf of the American people we want to extend our deepest condolences to these families.  And we will give you further updates as we get more information about it.
 
Q    Anything on Libya?
 
Q    Will you take a question on Libya, sir?
 
THE PRESIDENT:  I will have a chance to take some questions tomorrow.  President Calderón from Mexico will be here, and so I'll give you guys a chance to ask a couple of questions on some of these other pressing topics.  All right?  Thank you.

END
1:33 P.M. EST

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
February 28, 2011

Remarks by the President and the Vice President to the National Governors Association

State Dining Room

11:16 A.M. EST

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Thank you very much.  I’m Joe Biden -- I’ll Jill Biden’s husband -- (laughter) -- which is how I’m getting to be known around here.  You’re about to -- we decided to bring in the second team now to talk to you all.  (Laughter.)    Folks, welcome back to the White House.  And for those of you who -- this is your first visit as governor, welcome and congratulations on your elections.
 
     You know, over the last two years the new governors -- the older governors will tell you, or at least the ones who’ve been around for two years, will tell you they probably got tired of hearing from me.  I was on the phone with you all so often during the Recovery Act.  I know none of you liked the Recovery Act much.  (Laughter.)
 
     But I just want to start off by thanking the governors who’ve been here for the last two years for the way in which you implemented it.  I just wanted to give you a little fact.  There were over 75,000 individual projects that went on in your states and a total of 250,000 awards, meaning a check had to be cut to 250,000 different entities.  And a group of IGs and outside examiners pointed out there’s less than 1/100th of 1 percent of fraud in the entire operation.  And that’s because of you.  That’s because of all of you.  (Applause.)  And it’s because of the mayors.
 
     The new governors, although there’s no Recovery Act, there will a be continued relationship between the federal and state and local government, and we plan on trying to use that as a template as to how to move forward so we save taxpayers money.
 
     The recovery is underway, although I’m sure a lot of you, having to cut your budgets, don’t feel it.  It’s a very difficult time for you all.  And I just want you to know that I think we probably can all agree on the major initiatives.  We may have a different prioritization, but we all know we have to do something about the long-term debt.  We all know that we have to do something about preparing ourselves to compete in the future in terms of education, innovation and infrastructure.
 
     But I want to remind you all that -- I know you all know but sometimes our constituents, you look at some of the polling, they think we’ve already lost the future to China.  They think we’ve already lost the future to India.  They already think we are behind the eight ball.
 
     We are still better positioned than any country in the world -- any country in the world -- to own the 21st century economically.  Our GDP is bigger than that of China, Japan and Germany combined.  We’re in a situation where here in the United States of America the median income is close to $50,000.  In China, it’s $4,500.  We wish them better.  But just to put this in perspective, it’s important to know where we stand now, the platform from which we now operate, and why if we do the right things we have an overwhelming prospect -- an overwhelming prospect -- of not only recovery here in the United States but leading the world in the 21st century.
 
     The man I’m about to introduce to you shares your view.  Americans have never settled for number two -- literally.  This is not hyperbole.  It’s not one of these chauvinistic things.  We want other nations to do well.  We’ll do better if they do well.  But we are not -- we not -- prepared, nor are you, to settle for being number two in anything.
 
And so, folks, that's why we’ve laid out -- the President has laid out in his State of the Union speech the need for us to innovate.  We have the most innovative economy in the world.  We have the freest of free-enterprise systems.  We know what we’re doing.  We want to unleash the free-enterprise system.
 
We also know that we cannot rank tied with five nations for number nine in the world in the percentage of people we graduate from our universities.  It’s not acceptable.  It’s simply not acceptable.  That's why by 2020, we will, in fact, be once again leading the world as we did in the past.  That is a goal, a goal we will meet.  As my wife you just heard from, a community college teacher, would say, any nation that out-educates us is going to out-compete us.  It’s as simple and as basic as that.
 
And thirdly, we cannot have a 20th century infrastructure for the 21st century -- a 20th century infrastructure, as all of you know, that in fact is already in some areas teetering on needing major, major repairs.  And by infrastructure, we not only mean ports, road, airports; we also mean modern infrastructure from broadband to the new changes that are going to have to take place for what reason -- to make American business more competitive, to make American employees more hire-able, if you will.  There’s no such word, but able to be hired.  (Laughter.)  But the neighborhood I come from people understand what I say.  (Laughter.)
 
And so, folks, look, I just want to introduce you to the guy who -- as I said, we’ll disagree in the details, but I’m sure you share this man’s view, there is no -- no, no, no -- acceptable rationale for America being anything other than number one in the world.
 
Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States of America.  (Applause.)
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you very much.  Thank you.  Thank you, everybody.  Please have a seat.  Thank you so much.  Well, thank you, Joe.  Thank you to the members of my Cabinet and my administration who are here.  Thank you, Governor Gregoire and Governor Heineman, for your outstanding leadership.  And I also want to acknowledge Ray Scheppach.  Where’s Ray?  There he is -- who’s been NGA’s executive director for 28 years, and this is his final meeting.  So, Ray, thank you for your extraordinary service.  (Applause.)  Thank you.
 
So I hope everybody had fun last night.  I know that you had a wonderful time listening to Michelle and Jill.  Joe’s main function is to provide a buffer between me and them so that I don’t have to follow them immediately -- (laughter) -- because they are really good and care deeply about what’s happening with military families.
 
I hope today, all of you, feel free to make yourselves at home.  For those of you with a particular interest in the next election, I don’t mean that literally.  (Laughter.)
 
We meet at a moment when all of us -- Democrats and Republicans, leaders at the national and the state levels -- face some very big challenges.  Our country has come through a long and wrenching recession.  And as we recover, the question we’re going to have to answer is:  Where will the new jobs come from?  What will the new sources of economic growth be?  And how can we make sure that the American Dream remains a reality into the 21st century?
 
Now, in the short term, we came together here in Washington at the end of last year and enacted tax cuts that are already making Americans’ paychecks bigger and are allowing businesses to write off major investments.  These are tax cuts and changes in the tax credit system that are going to spur job creation and economic growth, and I’m proud that Democrats and Republicans worked with each other to get it done.  
 
In the long term, however, we need to address a set of economic challenges that, frankly, the housing bubble largely papered over for almost a decade.  We now live in a world that’s more connected and more competitive than ever before.  When each of you tries to bring new jobs and industries to your state, you’re not just competing with each other, but you’re competing with China, you’re competing with India, you’re competing with Brazil, you’re competing with countries all around the world.
 
And that means that we as a nation need to make sure that we are the best place on Earth to do business.  We need a skilled and educated workforce, a commitment to cutting-edge research and technology, and a fast and reliable transportation and communications network.  That’s how we’re going to bring new jobs to America, and that’s how we’re going to win the future.
 
Making these necessary investments would be hard at any time.  But it’s that much harder at a time when resources are scarce.  After living through a decade of deficits and a historic recession that made them worse, we can’t afford to kick the can down the road any longer.  So the budget debate that we’re having is going to be critical here in Washington.  And so far, most of it’s been focused almost entirely on how much of annual domestic spending -- what in the parlance we all domestic discretionary spending -- that we should cut.  There’s no doubt that cuts in discretionary spending have to be a part of the answer for deficit reduction.
 
And that’s why, as a start, I’ve proposed a five-year spending freeze that will reduce our deficits by $400 billion.  The budget that I sent to Congress cuts or eliminates more than 200 federal programs.  And it reforms dozens of others, from health care to homeland security to education, so that rather than throwing money at programs with no accountability or measured results, we’re committed to funding only those things that work.
 
All told, the budget cuts I’ve proposed will bring annual domestic spending to its lowest share of the economy since Dwight Eisenhower.  Let me repeat that.  Under my budget, if it were to be adopted, domestic discretionary spending would be lower as a percentage of GDP than it was under the nine previous administrations, including under Ronald Reagan’s.
 
But we know that this kind of spending, domestic discretionary spending, which has been the focus of complaints about out-of-control federal spending, makes up only about 12 percent of the entire budget.  If we truly want to get our deficit under control, then we're going to have to cut excessive spending wherever it exists -- in defense spending -- and I have to say that Bob Gates has been as good a steward of taxpayer dollars when it comes to the Pentagon as just about anybody out there, but we're going to have to do more -- in health care spending, on programs like Medicare and Medicaid, and in spending through tax breaks and loopholes.  That’s going to be a tough conversation to have, but it’s one we need to have, and it’s one I expect to have with congressional leaders in the weeks to come.
 
Those of you who are in this room obviously are on the front lines of this budget debate.  As the Recovery Act funds that saw through many states over the last two years are phasing out -- and it is undeniable that the Recovery Act helped every single state represented in this room manage your budgets,  whether you admit it or not -- you face some very tough choices at this point on everything from schools to prisons to pensions.
 
I also know that many of you are making decisions regarding your public workforces, and I know how difficult that can be.  I recently froze the salaries of federal employees for two years.  It wasn’t something that I wanted to do, but I did it because of the very tough fiscal situation that we’re in.
 
So I believe that everybody should be prepared to give up something in order to solve our budget challenges, and I think most public servants agree with that.  Democrats and Republicans agree with that.  In fact, many public employees in your respective states have already agreed to cuts.
 
But let me also say this:  I don’t think it does anybody any good when public employees are denigrated or vilified or their rights are infringed upon.  We need to attract the best and the brightest to public service.  These times demand it.  We’re not going to attract the best teachers for our kids, for example, if they only make a fraction of what other professionals make.  We’re not going to convince the bravest Americans to put their lives on the line as police officers or firefighters if we don’t properly reward that bravery.
 
So, yes, we need a conversation about pensions and Medicare and Medicaid and other promises that we’ve made as a nation.  And those will be tough conversations, but necessary conservations.  As we make these decisions about our budget going forward, though, I believe that everyone should be at the table and that the concept of shared sacrifice should prevail.  If all the pain is borne by only one group -- whether it’s workers, or seniors, or the poor -- while the wealthiest among us get to keep or get more tax breaks, we’re not doing the right thing.  I think that’s something that Democrats and Republicans should be able to agree on.
 
Now, as we begin to get our budgets under control, the other thing we can’t do is sacrifice our future.  Even as we cut back on those things that don’t add to growth or opportunity for our people, we have to keep investing in those things that are absolutely necessary to America’s success -- education, innovation, infrastructure.
 
On education, our approach has been to partner with you -- to offer more flexibility in exchange for better standards; to lift the cap on charter schools; to spur reform not by imposing it from Washington, but by asking you to come up with some of the best ways for your states to succeed.  That was the idea behind Race to the Top:  You show us the best plans for reform; we’ll show you the money.
 
We’re also working with you and with Congress to fix No Child Left Behind with a focus on reform, responsibility and, most importantly, results.  And we’re trying to give states and schools more flexibility to reward good teachers and stop making excuses for bad teachers, because we know that the single most important factor in a child’s success other than their parents is the man or woman at the front of the classroom.
 
And I had a chance to see this recently.  I went over to Parkville Middle School in Maryland, where engineering is now the most popular subject, mainly thanks to some outstanding teachers who have inspired students to focus on their math and their science skills.  So we know teachers can make a difference, and we want to help you have the very best teachers in the classroom.
 
We also have to invest in innovation -- in American research and technology, in the work of our scientists and engineers, and in sparking the creativity and imagination of our people.
 
Now, a lot of this obviously is done in the private sector.  But as much as the private sector is the principal driver of innovation it’s often hesitant to invest in the unknown, especially when it comes to basic research.  Historically, that's been a federal responsibility.  It’s how we ended up with things like the computer chip and the GPS.  It’s how we ended up with the Internet.  It’s also how a lot of your states are already attracting jobs and industries of the future.
 
I went to Wisconsin, for example, a few weeks ago, and I visited a small-town company called Orion that’s putting hundreds of people to work manufacturing energy-efficient lights in a once-darkened plant.  They benefited from federal research.
 
In Ohio and Pennsylvania, thanks in part to federal grants, I saw universities and businesses joining together to make America a world leader in biotechnology and in clean energy.  And if you have any doubt about the importance of this federal investment in research and development, I would suggest that you talk to the cutting-edge businesses in your own states.  They will tell you that if we want the next big breakthrough, the next big industry to be an American breakthrough, an American industry, then we can’t sacrifice these investments in research and technology.
 
The third way that we need to invest is in our infrastructure -- everything from new roads and bridges to high-speed rail and high-speed Internet -- projects that create hundreds of thousands of private sector jobs.  And I know that in some of your states, infrastructure projects have garnered controversy.  Sometimes they’ve gotten caught up in partisan politics.
 
This hasn’t traditionally been a partisan issue.  Lincoln laid the rails during the course of a civil war.  Eisenhower built the Interstate Highway System.  Both parties have always believed that America should have the best of everything.  We don’t have third-rate airports and third-rate bridges and third-rate highways.  That’s not who we are.  We shouldn’t start going down that path.
 
New companies are going to seek out the fastest, most reliable ways to move people, goods, and information -- whether they’re in Chicago or they’re in Shanghai.  And I want them to be here, in the United States.  So to those who say that we can’t afford to make investments in infrastructure, I say we can’t afford not to make investments in infrastructure.  We always have had the best infrastructure.  The notion that somehow we’d give up that leadership at this critical juncture in our history makes no sense.
 
Just ask the folks that I met up in Marquette, Michigan -- I was talking to Rick Snyder about this -- up in the Upper Peninsula.  This is a town of 20,000 people far away from the hustle and bustle of places like Detroit or Grand Rapids.  But because of the wireless infrastructure that they have set up, they’ve now got -- the local department store, third generation family-owned department store, has been able to hook up with the university and have access to wireless, and they are now selling two-thirds of their goods online.  They’re one of the 5,000 fastest growing companies in America -- up in the Upper Peninsula because the infrastructure was in place to allow them to succeed.
 
     And you’ve got kids in schoolhouses in even more remote areas who are able to plug in to lectures and science fairs anywhere in America because of the infrastructure that was set up.  That’s a smart investment for every state to make.  And the federal government wants to be your partner in making those investments.
 
These are the kinds of investments that pay huge economic dividends in terms of jobs and growth.  They are the fundamentals that allow some states to weather economic storms better than others.  They’re the fundamentals that will make some states better positioned to win the future than others.  These investments are not just critical for your state’s success; they’re critical for America’s success.  And I want to be a partner in helping you make that happen.
 
Which brings me to the final topic that’s going to help determine our ability to win the future, and that’s getting control of our health care costs.  Now, I am aware that I have not convinced everybody here to be a member of the Affordable Care Act fan club.  But surely we can agree that for decades, our governments, our families, our businesses watched as health costs ate up more and more of their bottom line.  There’s no disputing that.  That didn’t just happen last year.  It didn’t just happen two years ago.  It’s been going on for years now.
 
We also know that the biggest driver of the federal debt is Medicare costs.  Nothing else comes close.  We could implement every cut that the House of Representatives right now has proposed and it would not make a dent in our long-term budget, wouldn’t make a dent in our long-term deficits -- because of healthcare costs.  We know it’s one of the biggest strains in your state budgets -- Medicaid.
 
And for years, politicians of both parties promised one thing:  real reform.  Everybody talked about it.  Well, we’ve decided to finally do something about it -- to create a structure that would preserve our system of private health insurance; would protect our consumers from the worst abuses of insurance companies; would create competition and lower costs by putting in place new exchanges, run by the states, where Americans could pool together to increase their purchasing power and select from various plans to choose what’s best for them -- the same way that members of Congress do, the same way that those who are lucky enough to work for big employers do.
 
And the fact is, that the Affordable Care Act has done more to rein in rising costs, make sure everyone can buy insurance, and attack the federal deficit than we’ve seen in years.  And that’s not just my opinion; that’s the opinion of the Congressional Budget Office -- nonpartisan -- the same one that puts out numbers that when it’s handy to go after me, people trot out and say, boy, these are -- look at these numbers.  So they’re saying we’re saving a trillion bucks because of this act on our health care costs.  Otherwise, we’d be a trillion dollars more in the red.  That’s something that we should build on, not break down.
 
Now, that doesn’t mean that the job of health care reform is complete.  We still have to implement the law, and we have to implement it in a smart and non-bureaucratic way.  I know that many of you have asked for flexibility for your states under this law.  In fact, I agree with Mitt Romney, who recently said he’s proud of what he accomplished on health care in Massachusetts and supports giving states the power to determine their own health care solutions.  He’s right.  Alabama is not going to have exactly the same needs as Massachusetts or California or North Dakota.  We believe in that flexibility.
 
So right now, under the law, under the Affordable Care Act,
Massachusetts and Utah already operate exchanges of their own that are very different -- operate them in their own way.  And we made sure that the law allowed that.  The same applies for other requests, like choosing benefit rules that meet the needs of your citizens, or allowing for consumer-driven plans and health savings accounts.
 
And this recognition that states need flexibility to tailor their approach to their unique needs is why part of the law says that, beginning in 2017, if you can come up with a better system for your state to provide coverage of the same quality and affordability as the Affordable Care Act, you can take that route instead.  That portion of the law has not been remarked on much.  It says by 2017, if you have a better way of doing it, help yourself, go ahead, take that route.
 
Now, some folks have said, well, that’s not soon enough.  So a few weeks ago, Oregon Senator Ron Wyden, a Democrat, and Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown, a Republican, and Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu, they proposed legislation that would accelerate that provision.  So it would allow states to apply for such a waiver by 2014 instead of 2017.
 
I think that’s a reasonable proposal.  I support it.  It will give you flexibility more quickly, while still guaranteeing the American people reform.  If your state can create a plan that covers as many people as affordably and comprehensively as the Affordable Care Act does -- without increasing the deficit  -- you can implement that plan.  And we’ll work with you to do it.  I’ve said before, I don’t believe that any single party has a monopoly on good ideas.  And I will go to bat for whatever works, no matter who or where it comes from.
 
I also share your concern about Medicaid costs.  I know this has been a topic of significant conversation over the last couple of days.  We know that over half of all Medicaid costs come from just 5 percent of enrollees, many of whom are what’s called dual eligibles -- seniors in Medicare as well as in Medicaid.  The Affordable Care Act helps address this by changing the incentives for providers so that they start adopting best practices that will work to reduce cost while improving quality.
 
But we understand the pressure you’re under.  We understand that we’ve got to do more.  So today -- and I mentioned this to Christine last night -- I’m asking you to name a bipartisan group of governors to work with Secretary Sebelius on ways to lower costs and improve the quality of care for these Americans.  And if you can come up with more ways to reduce Medicaid costs while still providing quality care to those who need it I will support those proposals as well.
 
So here’s the bottom line.  Once fully implemented, I’m convinced the Affordable Care Act will do what it was designed it to do -- cut costs, cover everybody, end the worst abuses in the insurance industry, and bring down our long-term deficits.  I am not open to re-fighting the battles of the last two years, or undoing the progress that we’ve made.  But I am willing to work with anyone -- anybody in this room, Democrat or Republican, governors or member of Congress -- to make this law even better; to make care even better; to make it more affordable and fix what needs fixing.
 
You see, part of the genius of our Founders was the establishment of a federal system in which each of our states serves as a laboratory for our democracy.  Through this process, some of the best state ideas became some of America’s best ideas.  So whether it’s through Race to the Top, or improving the Affordable Care Act, or reforming the way that we approach social programs by ensuring that spending is tied to success, our approach has been to give you the flexibility that you need to find your own innovative ways forward.  In fact, this week I’m issuing a Presidential Memorandum that instructs all government agencies to follow this flexible approach wherever the law allows.
 
But even as we preserve the freedom and diversity that is at the heart of federalism, let’s remember that we are one nation.  We are one people.  Our economy is national.  Our fates are intertwined.  Today, we’re not competing with each other; we’re competing with other countries that are hungry to win new jobs, hungry to win new industries.
 
I’m confident we will win this competition as long as we’re fighting it together.  And I know that, whatever our differences, you share that goal.  So you’ve got a partner in the White House to make this happen.  And I hope that this becomes the start of a productive and serious conversation going forward -- one that I want to start by answering some of your questions.
 
So thank you very much.  (Applause.)  Thank you.

END
11:47 A.M. EST

The White House

Office of the First Lady

For Immediate Release
February 28, 2011

Remarks by the First Lady and Dr. Jill Biden to the National Governors Association

State Dining Room

10:54 A.M. EST

DR. BIDEN:  Good morning, and thanks to all of you for inviting us here today.  It was a great time last night, wasn’t it?  We had a great day --
 
  MRS. OBAMA:  Whooo!  (Laughter and applause.)
 
  DR. BIDEN:  So Michelle and I will be joining your spouses shortly for lunch.
 
But we wanted to speak to you today about something that’s very important to all of us:  military families.
 
Over the past two years, we have had the privilege of traveling around the country and around the world, visiting with service members and their families, and hearing their stories firsthand.  Many of the stories are about the pride these families have in serving our country.  But there are also challenges.
 
We bring the concerns back to the White House, and the President and the Vice President and the Cabinet have responded by committing attention and resources to support our military families.
 
We know that each of you shares our commitment by supporting our troops and their families.  Many of you have active bases in your states, and all of you have Guard and Reserve families.
 
We know well the tremendous service they provide to our country.  Today, Michelle and I want to talk to you about our efforts to increase awareness of the unique experiences of military families.
 
We want to take the opportunity to thank you for your ongoing support and ask for your feedback about the needs and concerns of military families in your states.
 
Many of you know that my son was deployed to Iraq as a member of the Delaware Army National Guard.   He is back now, but I will always remember the mixture of pride and concern that I felt throughout his deployment.
 
I know I don’t have to tell any of you just how critical the National Guard is to our national security.   Tens of thousands of our brave citizen soldiers are serving in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other regions –- and taken together, they make up nearly one half of our nation’s military strength.
 
They also respond to national disasters, humanitarian crises –- from 9/11 to Hurricane Katrina, to areas in need around the world -- they answer the call under your leadership.
 
As a military mom, I know what a difference it makes when individuals or groups reach out to show support to service members and their families.
 
I’ve seen through my work with small grassroots organization at home called Delaware Boots on the Ground that community groups can make a huge difference.
 
Where a military family in Delaware has a need, we try to meet it, whether it’s physical labor or repairs around the house, a fun night out for the kids, or other simple ways individuals, businesses and groups can support a family through a deployment.
 
There are small and effective groups like this all over the country -- like one in Minnesota that collects top-brand hockey equipment for military children, or the barbecue lovers in Ohio that travel the state providing meals for military family picnics, deployment and welcome-home ceremonies, or the accountants across the country that dedicate their talents every spring to help with tax returns.
 
As an educator, I love hearing about the ways schools and teachers support military children during the deployment of a parent.
 
Just a few weeks ago, an amazing teacher near Ft. Stewart in Georgia told me how she sets up parent-teacher conferences over the Internet, so she can update deployed parents on their children’s progress in the classroom.  Many of the military children in that school keep laminated pictures of their deployed parent on their desk.
 
There are so many great and inspiring stories which demonstrate that every American can take their time, their expertise and their passion and use it to support and thank a military family.
 
Michelle and I have talked a lot about the ways that all Americans can support our troops and thank these men and women for their service.
 
And now, we are trying to encourage all Americans to join us in this effort.
 
As long as we have the privilege and the honor of serving in our roles, the First Lady and I will do whatever we can to support those who protect us -- and we look forward to working with you and your spouses on these ongoing efforts.
 
And now it is my pleasure to introduce my partner, my friend, your First Lady, Michelle Obama.  (Applause.)
 
MRS. OBAMA:  Thank you.  Thanks so much, Jill.  And again, welcome.  I hope you all had a lovely evening last night.  Got your groove on.  (Laughter.)  But we had a great time, so I hope you’re getting a lot of work done today.
 
I know that you have a busy day ahead, and Jill and I are grateful to have a chance to talk to you today about our latest endeavor.  But we wanted to take a few minutes to talk with you about an issue that is important to both of us, as Jill said, and that’s mobilizing our country to support our military families.
 
As you know, all our men and women in uniform represent only 1 percent of the population, 1 percent of our country taking care of the needs of all of us.  And they shoulder the entire responsibility of defending our country.  They’re enduring tour after tour of duty, and they’re missing birthdays and holidays and all those daily moments with the people they love the most.
 
And these men and women aren’t the only ones who sacrifice for our country.  I said this when I appeared on Oprah, is that it’s very easy for us to recognize the men and women in uniform because they’re in uniform, but there are people who we don’t see who aren’t in uniform.  And the truth is those are the people who take care of them, and they’re their families.  Their families serve, too.
 
And over the last two years, Jill and I have spent a lot of time meeting with spouses who play the role of both parents for months on end.  If you think about the challenges your families face as you serve, which is how I came to this issue thinking about the challenges I face and then looking at a military spouse who is shouldering the exact same burden -- juggling play dates and carpools and doing their best to hide their own fears while answering questions from their kids about when mom or dad is coming home, enduring the grief and the heartbreak if they don’t return.
 
So the thing I had to think about is if I’m feeling sorry for myself in my role with all that I’m juggling, just imagine if I were in their position, with the pressures and the challenges and the uncertainty.  But they do it proudly.  And that’s the thing that we’ve learned.  That’s been one of the benefits of traveling around the country.  These families do not want our pity.  They do not want our sympathy.  They serve like their service members with pride, and they do it without complaint and they do it without regret.  And every day, these men and women and these children and these parents and these aunts and uncles, they show us what words like “service” and “strength” and “sacrifice” -- they show us what those words really look like.
 
So I think we can all agree, all of us, regardless of what our political positions may be, we can all agree that with everything these families do to take care of this country and all of us, America, we have an obligation to take care of them.  And that’s why last year my husband ordered a sweeping review of the entire federal government to see what the government is doing for these families and what the government could be doing better for these families.
 
And we gathered nearly 50 recommendations from Cabinet agencies for how we can improve services for our military families.  That includes everything from simplifying financial aid applications for these families, to increasing career opportunities for these spouses, to expanding childcare options for the children of service members.
 
And all of this is a very good start.  These are all very important steps, because our view is that we have to look internally before we can look outside.  But we know that the needs of our military families won’t be met simply by improving the way things work here in Washington.
 
So much of what these folks need are things that government can’t provide.  They need employers who are willing to hire them, even if they’re moving all across the country.  They need employers who understand the unique challenges that military spouses face.  They need schools that recognize the unique needs of kids who are facing multiple deployments.  They need to know those kids are in their classrooms.
 
They need communities that show gratitude for the sacrifices they’re making -- not just with words, but with deeds.  And not just once in a while, not just on Veterans Day or Memorial Day, but these communities need to rally around these families every single day.
 
And that’s why next month, Jill and I are going to be launching a campaign to rally this country around to support not just our troops, but their families.  And we’re focusing on four main areas:  employment, education, wellness and public awareness.
 
     And just to give you a sense of what we hope to do, I mean, if you look at what we’ve accomplished with “Let’s Move” just in one short year, our goal is to take that same model and make the conversation about our military families at the top of mind of every single one of us in this country.
 
     We’re going to be working with businesses and nonprofit organizations to improve career opportunities for veterans and military spouses.  There are a lot of wonderful models, companies that are already doing great things.  We want to raise up those models and encourage other businesses to find a way to do the same.
 
     We’re working with education groups to make schools more accommodating for military kids, and we’re going to be encouraging all Americans to simply step up as individuals, which the folks in this country are more than willing to do.  We care about our troops.  Oftentimes we just don’t know what to do.  And our hope is that through this public awareness campaign, we can funnel that energy, we can galvanize it, and we can direct it in a way that’s going to be most helpful for our military families.
 
     And that might mean something as simple as mowing the lawn for a family in your community or shoveling the snow.  When you talk to military families, these are the small things that make them feel appreciated without making them feel helpless.  Or offering military family discounts at local businesses, offering professional services -- whether someone is a lawyer or an accountant or a mechanic.  Whatever people do, that’s what we’re asking Americans -- find the thing that you do best and find a way to make that service something of importance and value to our military families.
 
     However folks choose to help, the idea here is very simple:  It’s about doing everything we can to keep military families in our hearts and on our minds.
 
     And this isn’t just about doing it in a time of war because once the war is over -- and hopefully that will happen -- the battles of military families and our troops continue.  The residual effects of deployments go on and on for a lifetime.  So this isn’t just a campaign for today.  This is a campaign for every day, all day.  This is going to outlive me and Jill and Joe and Barack.  This is something that should be a part of what we do here in America.
 
     And Jill -- as she said, that this is especially important when we talk about our National Guard servicemen and women who you all have special responsibility for right in your own states so you know their needs, you know their contributions.
 
     National Guard families, they face the same struggles as any other military family.  The difference is, is that these families often don’t live on bases or in communities with those built-in resources and support networks.  They are our neighbors.  We don’t even see them.  We don’t even know the challenges they face.  And oftentimes they’re living in communities where no one can relate to their experiences at all.  So it takes a special effort to reach out to these individuals and their families.  And that’s why we want to work with all of you -- the governors of our states and with people and organizations within your states -- to help us find ways to better support military families, to keep raising awareness and making these families an important part of all of our common agenda.
 
So we’re here because we want to hear from you.  If you have outstanding ideas -- shoot, if you have good ideas -- (laughter) -- or if there are groups in your states that you know are making a difference, we’re asking you to tell us about these.  Part of what Jill and I are going to continue to do is to travel the country and to use our platform, our ability to attract a little attention, and to shine a light on your states and the things that you do in an effort to provide these an example for the rest of the country for what they can do.
 
So we want to hear those ideas.  We want to hear from your staffs.  We want to put this information on serve.gov and find ways to better connect people looking for volunteer opportunities, looking for good ideas, finding a way for them to connect with you in your states.
 
Because in the end, this is something that I think we can all agree on, no matter where we come from, no matter what we might think about any other issue.  We all know that this issue -- this is not a Democrat issue, this is not a Republican issue.  This is an American issue.  And more importantly, this is an American obligation.  It truly is.
 
It’s about showing our gratitude to that very small group of Americans who make such a tremendous contribution and sacrifice to this country.  And it’s about serving the people who sacrifice so much to serve us.
 
One thing my husband says is that when he talks to troops and he goes out to wherever they’re stationed, that they don’t talk about themselves.  Never do they ask for anything for themselves.  They are our soldiers, they’re focused, but they always worry about what’s going on back at home.  That’s what keeps them not being able to focus on their mission -- not knowing that their wife, their children are being cared for; when they come back that they’ll be secure.  Those are the issues that our soldiers struggle with when they’re out on the battlefield.
 
So I know that this is something that we can do together.  And Jill and I, we didn’t come to this issue knowing that we were both passionate about this.  We were blessed to be put together and be able to join forces behind this one issue.  And we want the entire nation to feel like this is an obligation that we all can work on together.
 
So we’re going to need your help.  We’re going to need your support and encouragement to make this a reality.  We’re very excited about this initiative because we think that this will not only help our troops and their families, but it will help us as a nation link together and be even stronger.
 
So we’re excited.  We’re going to gear up.  We’re going to be working hard.  We’re going to on the road.  We’re going to make this fun and exciting.  We’re going to pull in businesses and entertainment and sports, and we’re going to pull in all sectors to get behind this effort.  And I know that people are more than ready to step up.  So if there is any way that you can helpful to us, if there are any suggestions that you can have for how we structure and talk about this issue so that it continues to be a bipartisan issue, we will gladly take those recommendations.  But I am looking for your leadership to make this happen, to make this a true success.  And if we do this we will have some grateful families behind us.  They’ve just been grateful to hear that this is a part of the national conversation.  They don’t even want much.  So I think because of that we can succeed.
 
So I want to thank you all for giving Jill and I your time.  I know your time is limited.  Things are tough in your states back home.  But I think even in this economy there are so many things we can do to keep this agenda in the forefront of all of our minds.
 
So thank you all in advance, and I look forward to visiting your states.  So you all take care and good luck.  (Applause.)

END
11:16 A.M. EST

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
February 27, 2011

Remarks by the President and Governor Gregoire of Washington in an Exchange of Toasts at the 2011 Governors' Dinner

State Dining Room

7:14 P.M. EST

     THE PRESIDENT:  Well, good evening, everybody.  Welcome to the White House.  I want to start by acknowledging your outstanding chair, Christine Gregoire, for her wonderful work -- (applause) -- and your vice chair, Dave Heineman, for his wonderful work.  Thank you very much.  (Applause.)
 
     I want to welcome some of you back, and I want to welcome those who are here for the first time.  I know some of you may be confused and think this is the Oscars.  (Laughter.)  There are some similarities.  First of all, everybody looks spectacular.  And the second thing is, if I speak too long the music will start playing.  (Laughter.)  So I’m going to be very brief.
 
     I know that the last couple of years have not been easy in a lot of your states.  People have been struggling.  Folks have lost jobs.  Businesses have shuttered.  We went through the toughest recession since the Great Depression.  And nobody has felt it more than folks back home, and you see it each and every day.  You have to respond in ways that go beyond just ideology or rhetoric.
 
     The thing about governors is you’re in charge and people know where to find you, and they expect you to help them during tough times.  And many of you over the last two years have done extraordinary work.  Many of you are expected for the next two years, next four years, or however long it may be, to do extraordinary work.
 
     The main message I want to deliver tonight, in addition to asking you to have some fun this evening, is to know that you’ve got a partner here in the White House.  If you look around the room, we come from a lot of different parts of the country and people may have different perspectives, but one thing that we all absolutely share is the belief in the American Dream and the confidence that when our people get opportunities, they’ve got the ingenuity and the stick-to-it-ness and the drive to succeed.
 
     And our job is to make sure that we are doing everything possible to ensure that each child gets a good education; that somebody who has a great idea is able to start a business and run with it; that we’re looking after our people, including those who are most vulnerable; and that we’re going to be bequeathing to the next generation the kind of America that will make us proud and assuring that the 21st century will be the American century just like the 20th century was.
 
     We can’t do that by ourselves.  There’s extraordinary diversity among our states, and that’s a great strength.  That’s why our federal system is the laboratory for democracy, because in each of your states you guys are trying all kinds of things.  And oftentimes your best ideas end up percolating up and becoming models and templates for the country.
 
     But we’re also one nation and our goal has to be to find ways to find common ground and to work together, and I’m confident that we can do that moving forward.
 
     So I want to propose a toast:  Not only to all the governors who are here, but also to all their spouses, who put with life in politics.  (Laughter.)  It’s not always easy, but I hope your families, given all the sacrifices you’re making, feel that it’s worth it, because I certainly believe that the work that you’re doing each and every day is making an extraordinary contribution to our country.
 
     Thank you very much.  Cheers.
 
     (An exchange of toasts is offered.)
    
     And with that, I’d like Christine to come up and offer a few words, as well.
 
     GOVERNOR GREGOIRE:  Well, thank you, Mr. President.  On behalf of all of the governors of our great country and their guests, we are delighted to be here.  I want to thank you for your tremendous leadership through what is a very, very challenging time for our country.
 
     And if I might, I’d like to say a big thanks to our First Lady Michelle Obama, who has left a wonderful message across America that we stand with our men and women in service and we support our military families.  (Applause.)
 
     Mr. Vice President, thank you for being our partner, for taking our calls and calling us, and making sure that we are there for you and you are there for us.  And to Dr. Jill Biden, thank you for being a symbol for all of the people in America for what higher education really means.
 
     And to all of you who are members of the Cabinet, thank you for your friendship.  Thank you for being with us.  Thank you for reaching out, listening to us.
 
     So, ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of the nation’s governors, I propose a toast to the President of the United States.  Sir, we stand with you as you deliver a message across the world of peace and democracy, as you bring back to America the kind of economic recovery we all need, and as you give hope to all of the children of America.
 
     To the President of the greatest nation in the world, President Obama.  Thank you.
 
     (An exchange of toasts is offered.)
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  All right.  Let’s start dinner, and everybody have fun.

END
7:19 P.M. EST

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
February 24, 2011

Remarks by the President at "In Performance At The White House: The Motown Sound"

East Room

7:31 P.M. EST

     THE PRESIDENT:  Good evening, everybody.  Please have a seat.  Tonight we continue one of my favorite traditions here at the White House by celebrating the music that’s at the heart of the American story.  And as we come to the end of Black History Month, I can’t think of a better way to do it than by honoring the legendary sound of Motown.  (Applause.)
 
I want to start by thanking our performers here tonight:  Natasha Bedingfield, Sheryl Crow, Jamie Foxx, Gloriana, Nick Jonas, Ledisi, John Legend, Amber Riley, Mark Salling, Seal, Jordin Sparks, Smokey Robinson -- (applause) -- and because we weren’t sure that was enough, we thought we might throw Stevie Wonder in there.  (Applause.)  And obviously we are grateful for all the other Motown legends who are gracing us with their presence.  Thank you for being here.
 
Over the years, this room has hosted some of the most talented musicians in the world, from classical to country.  But Motown is different.  No one knows exactly when jazz began.  Nobody knows who the first person was to sing a freedom song.  But we know where Motown came from.  We know it was born in the basement of a house on West Grand Boulevard in the Motor City -- Detroit.  (Applause.)  And we know it started with a man named Berry Gordy, who is here with us tonight.  Stand up, Berry.  (Applause.)
 
Now, apparently Berry tried a lot of things before following his heart into music.  A high school dropout, he failed as a record store owner, competed as an amateur boxer, finally took a job earning $85 a week on the assembly line at the local Lincoln-Mercury plant.  And it was there, watching the bare metal frames transformed into gleaming automobiles, that Berry wondered why he couldn’t do the same thing with musicians, and help turn new talent into stars.
 
And before long, he quit his job at the plant, borrowed $800, and set up shop in a little house with a banner across the front that read “Hitsville, U.S.A.”  His family thought he was delusional.  (Laughter.)  But as Berry said, “People thought the Wright Brothers had a stupid idea, so I say, ‘Bring on the stupid ideas.’”
 
As it turned out, Berry could recognize talent and potential better than anybody else in the business.  It began with Smokey Robinson, who stopped by the Motown house with a group of friends calling themselves the Miracles.  Then came one of Smokey’s neighbors -– a high school senior named Diana Ross, who started out working as a secretary.  One of the Miracles brought along his little brother, who invited a 10-year-old blind kid named Stephen Hardaway Judkins to tag along.  (Laughter.)  And then there was a group called the Jackson Five, fresh from amateur night at the Apollo, that Gladys Knight told Berry he just had to see.
 
Pretty soon, the basement studio was turning out hits faster than Detroit was turning out cars.  From 1961 to 1971, Motown produced 110 Top 10 hits from artists like Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, The Four Tops and The Supremes.  In the process, Motown’s blend of tight lyrics, catchy melodies and deep soul began to blur the line between music that was considered either “black” or “white.”  As Smokey Robinson said, “I recognized the bridges that were crossed, the racial problems and the barriers that we broke down with music.  I recognized that because I lived it.”
 
Along the way, songs like “Dancing in the Streets” and “What’s Going On” became the soundtrack of the civil rights era. Black artists began soaring to the top of the pop charts for the first time.  And at concerts in the South, Motown groups literally brought people together –- insisting that the ropes traditionally used to separate black and white audience members be taken down.
 
So, today, more than 50 years later, that’s the Motown legacy.  Born at a time of so much struggle, so much strife, it taught us that what unites us will always be stronger than what divides us.  And in the decades since, those catchy beats and simple chords have influenced generations of musicians, from Sheryl Crow to the Jonas Brothers.
 
So to everybody watching, both here and at home, let’s take a trip back to that little studio in Detroit and enjoy the unmistakable sound of Motown.  Thank you very much.  (Applause.)

END
7:38 P.M. EST

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
February 24, 2011

Remarks by the President at Meeting with the President's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness

 

Eisenhower Executive Office Building 

1:50 P.M. EST

     THE PRESIDENT:  Well, I don't want to waste too much time with a big windup.  And I know that everybody here has already been busy today doing some terrific work.  I just want to, first of all, thank Jeff and I want to thank all of you for your willingness to participate in our Jobs Council. 

Just in terms of genesis, I think many of you are aware of the fact that two years ago we set up a business advisory group to help guide us through a crisis that we hadn’t -- of the sort that we hadn’t seen since the Great Depression -- mostly focused on the financial sector, figuring out how we stabilize that, and how we make sure that the credit markets are working, and how we adverted a Great Depression.

     We have done that.  The economy is now growing.  In many sectors we're seeing recovery.  But the biggest challenge that we're seeing right now is the fact that unemployment is still way too high all across the country.  And so what we wanted to do was retool.

     It’s critical for us to have input from folks who are actually hiring, putting people to work, making payroll, making the products and services that make our economy so powerful.  But we want to make sure that we narrowed the focus to think about how do we ensure, A, that we're putting people to work right now, but also how do we lay the foundation for us to win the future over the long term.

     This is obviously a theme that I talked about during the State of the Union.  It is my belief that we have all the pieces in place for us to make sure that the 21st century is the American Century just like the 20th was.  But we're going to have to up our game in this newly competitive world.  And that means that we've got to out-educate every other country in the world.  We're going to have to out-innovate every country in the world.  We've got to make sure that we've got the best infrastructure to move people and goods and services throughout the economy.

     I want us to be an economy that is not simply buying from other people and borrowing to do it.  I want us to be selling to other people and having some other folks owe us some money.  And so it is going to be absolutely critical for us during a period of significant fiscal constraint that we create the kind of public/private partnership that makes that happen.  And it’s going to be very important for us to get ideas from people who’ve actually -- are actually on the ground right now, trying to build your businesses and operate in a extraordinarily competitive world.

     So my main purpose here today at this first meeting I think is to listen, to get a sense of where all of you think the economy is right now, what kinds of steps we need to be taking.  As I talked about during the State of the Union, we want to remove any barriers and any impediments that are preventing you from success and from growth.  At the same time, we want to put a challenge to America’s businesses that even as we're working with you to streamline regulations, to reform our tax system, to take other steps that have been sitting on the shelf for quite some time under both Democratic and Republican Presidents, we want to make sure that we're also putting a little pressure on you guys to figure out how do we make sure that the economy is working for everybody; how do we make sure that every child out there who’s willing to work hard is going to be able to succeed; how do we make certain that working families across the country are sharing in growing productivity and that we're not simply creating an economy in which one segment of it is doing very well, but the rest of the folks are out there treading water.

     So, Jeff, again, I want to thank you for your extraordinary work.  I want to thank all of you for agreeing to participate. 

Last point I'll make is that I'm not interested in photo ops and I'm not interested in more meetings.  I've got enough photo ops and enough meetings.  I have a surplus of that.  So I expect this to be a working group in which we are coming up with some concrete deliverables.  I don't think that we have to be trying to hit homeruns every time.  I think if we hit some singles and doubles, if we find some very specific things that this group can help us on and we can work on together, then we can build on that success, and in the aggregate, over time, this will have really made a difference at a critical juncture in our economy.

     So, thank you very much.  And with that, I'm going to turn it over to you, Jeff. 

END

1:55 P.M. EST