THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release                          February 19, 2009

REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
AND THE VICE PRESIDENT
AT MEETING WITH NATION'S MAYORS
East Room
10:36 A.M. EST

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Well, thank you all for being here today, and welcome back to the White House.  (Applause.)  Mr. Mayor, my mayor in the city of Wilmington, Jim Baker -- when I got elected, he assumed that he got an office in the West Wing.  (Laughter.)  But he has a telephone number that is accessible -- hi, Jim, how are you?
Thank you all for being here.  It's great to be with so many -- so many leaders who are literally, to use that shopworn phrase, on the front lines where the economy lives and dies, and where people are struggling, and you have to deal with it every day.
You know, in a long career in politics, there's one overwhelming reason why I never ran for mayor, Richie, it's too hard.  (Laughter.)  They have got your phone number, and they know where you live, and they come and they use it.
Well, President Obama and I are turning that around.  We want you to know you can have our phone number, and you know where we live.  (Applause.)  And we expect you to use it.  Already, we've met with you and the Conference of Mayors over half a dozen times.
Too often in the past, America's cities have been neglected, and our mayors haven't had -- haven't been able to be heard on the questions of national policy.  That's a story you all understand and know very well.  But we know how important cities are -- 65 percent of our nation's population, as you all know, live in our cities.  Our cities are the home of seven out of ten American jobs.  And when you're talking about the "knowledge economy jobs," the number rises to eight and ten -- eight out of ten.  Cities are vital to our economy, essential to our recovery, and haven't been paid much attention to.
Our economy can never reach, in our view, its full potential if we have people who are living blocks away, but worlds away from the bustling downtowns full of opportunity.  Our poor transportation systems don't provide mobility people need to get to the job.  Or they aren't enough police or firefighters in communities to keep the communities safe.
And that's why the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act President Obama signed this week I think includes unprecedented investment in American cities.  (Applause.)  Simply stated, that's the commitment made in this law.  Now, the hard part in one sense, is up to us.  We got to make this work.  We got to make it work for our people.  We got to make it work for our cities.  We got to make work for all our people.
The American people have trusted their government with an unprecedented -- unprecedented level of funding to address the economic emergency we face.  In return, we have to prove to them that their dollars are making a difference in their communities.  We've already set up a website -– recovery.com [sic] -– which will show where and how the money is being spent.  The public can actually go on a web site and see how we're spending this money.
President Obama has been insistent during his campaign, and from the time we won, on accountability and transparency.  All of you know, if we don't meet that minimum threshold, the likelihood of the public trusting us to do this kind of thing is going to evaporate very rapidly.  Transparency is vital, and effectiveness is paramount.  These investments are a huge opportunity -- a huge opportunity to create jobs today, and strengthen our economy for tomorrow.
We've designed this bill to save and create -- save or create over 3 million new jobs.  And we'd like to see it do even better than that.  And that's where your efforts come in.  You are -- you're the ones who know the areas that give us the greatest return on our investment -- you know it better than we do.  You're the ones who know -- you're the ones who know which projects will crystallize private investment and even greater growth in your cities.  And the world is watching -- the world is watching to see how well this is going to work.  And we need your help -- we need your help in making it work, and work quickly and effectively.
As of today, we're one month into this administration -- although I said to the President in the past, it feels like a little longer than that.  But we are one month into this administration.  And think what the President has already done -- already signed into laws, there's a Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.  We've expanded state health insurance -- Children's Health Insurance Program to cover an additional 4 million children.  We put forward -- excuse me -- we put forward a plan to reduce preventable home foreclosures.  We've won passage of the largest economic recovery effort since World War II -- in a month -- in a month.  (Applause.)
So the results of the President's leadership and your help are already there and clear for everybody to see.  But it's been a great privilege to also see how much this President has done behind the scenes to make this happen.  I've been here for eight Presidents -- for eight Presidents -- you can tell by my look.  (Laughter.)  Well, I want to tell you something:  The hard choices the President has made, the patient outreach he's done, the firm resolve he's shown -- the results of this work I think speak for themselves.  But I'm pleased to speak about the man who made these results happen.
There is so much more to do –- so much more.  But already, President Obama has put our nation on the path toward greater recovery -- not only greater recovery, but greater decency, greater fairness, greater opportunity, along with economic recovery.  For years, many of us have hoped for such accomplishments.  And in just one month, an incredible new President has made this a reality.
So please join me in welcoming the President of the United States of America, Barack Obama.  (Applause.)
THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you, everybody.  Thank you.  Please have a seat.  Thank you so much.  Whenever I have the opportunity to meet with mayors, I think about how I got my start doing what you do each day:  working with folks at the local level and doing our best to make a real impact on the lives of ordinary Americans.  And that's just another reason why I'm so happy to welcome all of you here today.
I want to offer -- take a little personal prerogative here and welcome my own hometown mayor -- my friend, Rich Daley.  (Applause.)  His steady leadership has proven again and again that the American city can be a place of boundless opportunity and a source of solutions to our public problems; he has made a deep and lasting difference in the quality of life for millions of Chicagoans.  I'm surprised he's still talking to me because I stole Arne Duncan from him -- (laughter) -- but I am confident that he will continue to make great strides.
I see friends from all over the place; some old friends -- not old in years, but people who I've known a long time.  My other hometown mayor, Mufi, it's great to see you all the way from Honolulu.  I've got Mayor Riley and others who are in attendance; Shirley Franklin doing great work; and Mayor Villaraigosa and Mayor Dellums from -- we've got the California contingent.  So I'm grateful to all of you.
And I think all of you understand that we meet at such an urgent time.  Last night, I signed an executive order establishing the White House Office of Urban Affairs.  (Applause.)  I've chosen Adolfo Carrión to be its first director.  Adolfo wrote a real success story in the Bronx as borough president, and now he's going to be working with all of you to write our next success stories in cities across the country.
He's going to be responsible for coordinating all federal urban programs, and I've asked him to set up an advisory council with mayors and other urban leaders so that we can develop a new metropolitan strategy based on the lessons you've learned.  Now,  rebuilding our economies and renewing our cities is going to require a true partnership between mayors and the White House, and that partnership has to begin right now.
Those of you who have traveled great distances to be here come from different parties and philosophies.  You govern very different cities, they're made up of different citizenries with different demographic makeups.  But today, in the face of our common challenges, you're all hearing the same stories.  I know because I'm getting letters from constituents all across the country, in many of your cities.
But you're on the front lines in our communities.  You know what happens when folks get laid off, or they lose their homes or their health care, and they turn to the mayor's office for help.  And just as your services stretch, your classrooms get crowded, and your streets grow less safe, your budgets shrink.  You can't deficit spend, so you face impossible choices:  raising taxes; cutting essential services; laying off teachers, firefighters, police officers.
And that's why the recovery plan we put into action this week is so important.  It's a plan that will save or create 3.5 million jobs over the next two years; will help those hardest hit by our economic crisis; it will aid state and local governments in hopes you can avoid those excruciating choices.
It provides greater unemployment insurance for nearly 18 million Americans, and protects health care for 7 million who lost their health care along with their jobs.  It includes the most progressive tax cuts in our history, spurring job creation and putting money into the pockets of 95 percent of all hardworking families.  It invests in what works for our cities by funding programs like the Byrne Justice Assistance Grant and the COPS program, which boost public safety and bring down crime.  It rewards responsibility, making sure that if you work hard, you won't have to raise a child below the poverty line.
But what makes this recovery plan so important isn't just the jobs it will create or the immediate help it provides; it's that we are putting Americans to work doing the work America needs done in critical areas that have been neglected for too long.  (Applause.)  So this plan does more to lay a new foundation for our cities' growth and opportunity than anything Washington has done in generations -- and it will bring real and lasting change for generations to come.
Because we know we can't build our economic future on the transportation and information networks of the past, we're remaking our cities with the largest new investment in our nation's infrastructure since Eisenhower built an Interstate Highway System in the 1950s.  Ray LaHood is going to be busy because we're putting 400,000 men and women to work rebuilding our crumbling roads and our bridges, repairing our faulty dams and levees, replacing our aging water and sewer pipes, and rolling out broadband lines to nearly every community in America.  (Applause.)  We're going to unleash the potential of all our regions by connecting them with world-class transit systems and high-speed rail, making our metropolitan areas more livable and sustainable in the process.
Because we know education is the single best bet we can make to change the odds of our children and our cities, we are making the largest investment in education in our nation's history.  It will prevent harmful education cuts and save jobs of tens of thousands of teachers -- 14,000 just in New York City.  And it will make a historic investment in early childhood education and upgrade classrooms and libraries and labs across America, so that millions of our children are prepared to compete in the 21st century.
Because we know that spiraling health care costs are crushing families and businesses alike, and straining budgets across government, we're taking the most meaningful steps in years to modernize our health care system.  We're going to computerize America's medical records while maintaining rigorous privacy standards, saving billions of dollars and countless lives.  We'll focus on prevention, keeping millions of Americans from having to set in the doctor's office in the first place.  Taken together with the earlier enactment this month of long-delayed laws to extend health care to millions more children of working families, we've done more in 30 days to advance the cause of health care reform than this country has done in a decade.  (Applause.)
And because we know we can't power America's future on energy that's controlled by foreign dictators, we're making an investment that within three years will double the renewable energy output it's taken us 35 years to reach.  (Applause.)  We'll provide tax credits and loan guarantees to companies that create this energy, allowing them to expand rather than lay people off.  We'll fund the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant you conceived, saving our cities and our consumers money.  (Applause.)  We'll build a bigger, better, smarter electricity grid that delivers clean energy from communities that produce it to the cities that need it.
So these are the steps we're taking to help you turn this crisis into opportunity and bring our cities into the future.  Now, Washington can't solve all the problems facing our cities -- and I know you don't expect us to.  Instead of waiting for Washington, many of you have already made our cities laboratories of change, coming up with innovative new ways to solve the problems of our time.
One of the great pleasures of running for President was having a chance to see great work on renewable energy in Des Moines or, you know, seeing what kinds of wonderful companies are being created in Seattle, and hearing about some of the urban planning strategies that are taking place in Charleston.  So all of you have already taken the ball and run with it, even when you weren't getting help from here.  But it won't be bad to get some help because -- (applause.)
You know, instead of debating the existence of climate change, mayors like Greg Nickels in Seattle are leading efforts to make cities greener and more efficient.  Instead of just talking about health care, mayors like Gavin Newsom in San Francisco have been ensuring that those in need receive it.  Instead of wringing your hands over poverty, you've got Antonio in Los Angeles making relentless efforts to alleviate it.
You shouldn't have to succeed, though, despite Washington; you should be succeeding with a hand from Washington, and that's what you're going to get now.  (Applause.)
Now, what is required in return, what I will need from all of you, is unprecedented responsibility and accountability on all of our parts.  The American people are watching.  They need this plan to work.  They expect to see the money that they've earned, that they've worked so hard to earn, spent in its intended purposes without waste, without inefficiency, without fraud.
And that's why I'm assigning a team of managers to ensure that every dollar is spent wisely.  And that's why we've created recovery.gov -- so that every American can go online to see how their money is spent, and hold their federal, state, and local officials to the highest standards they expect.
So I want to be clear about this:  We cannot tolerate business as usual -- not in Washington, not in our state capitols, not in America's cities and towns.  We will use the new tools that the recovery act gives us to watch the taxpayers' money with more rigor and transparency than ever.  (Applause.)  If a federal agency proposes a project that will waste that money, I will not hesitate to call them out on it and put a stop to it.
And I want everybody here to be on notice that if a local government does the same, I will call them out on it and use the full power of my office and our administration to stop it.  We have asked for the unprecedented trust of the American people to deal boldly with the greatest economic crisis we've seen in decades and the privilege of investing unprecedented amounts of their hard-earned money to address this crisis.  And with that comes unprecedented obligations to spend that money wisely -- free from politics and free from personal agendas.
On this, I will not compromise or tolerate any shortcuts.  The American people are looking to us, each of you, as well as myself and Joe and others in our administration, for leadership, and it's up to us to reward their faith.
Now, this plan doesn't mark the end of what we'll do together.  It marks the beginning.  My administration has outlined plans to stabilize, repair and reform our banking system, to get credit flowing to families and businesses, to stem the spread of foreclosures and keep families in their homes.  Together, we will tackle the urban challenges of our time and foster diverse, creative and imaginative economies that bring opportunity to every corner of our cities.
We'll do all this because despite the different backgrounds of the mayors in this room, we all share the same vision for our cities -- vibrant places that provide our children with every chance to learn and to grow, that allow our businesses and workers the best opportunity to innovate and succeed, that let our older Americans live out their best years in the midst of all that metropolitan life can offer.
I know this change is possible.  I know because I saw it in all those years ago in neighborhoods on the South Side of Chicago, where ordinary Americans came together and worked alongside the mayor's office to forge a better future.  I know because I've seen it in cities across this country, where many of you that I had a chance to meet with, I saw how you focused on fresh ideas over stale ideology, and you moved your cities forward.  And I know it because I see it in the faces of Americans everywhere who are ready to roll up their sleeves and join in the work of remaking this nation.
So now it falls to us to seize the possibilities of this moment and convert peril into promise; see to it that our cities and our people emerge from this moment stronger than they were before.  Starting today, that's what you and I are going to do -- together.  And I'm absolutely confident that our people will benefit and people will look back and say that this was a turning point; this was a moment where, in the midst of great crisis, leadership was shown and we created a new platform for success for all Americans in the future.
Thank you so much, everybody.  Appreciate it.  (Applause.)
                               END                 10:57 A.M. EST
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
___________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release                           February 19, 2009
PRESS AVAILABILITY
BY PRESIDENT OBAMA
AND PRIME MINISTER HARPER OF CANADA
Parliament Hill
Ottawa, Canada
2:46 P.M. (Local)
PRESIDENT OBAMA:  Hello, good afternoon.
PRIME MINISTER HARPER:  Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.(In French.) 
(In English.)  Once again, it is a great pleasure to welcome President Obama to Canada.  We are deeply honored that he has chosen Canada for his first foreign visit since taking office.  His election to the presidency launches a new chapter in the rich history of Canada-U.S. relations.  It is a relationship between allies, partners, neighbors, and the closest of friends; a relationship built on our shared values -- freedom, democracy, and equality of opportunity epitomized by the President himself.
Our discussions today focused on three main priorities.  First, President Obama and I agree that Canada and the United States must work closely to counter the global economic recession by implementing mutually beneficial stimulus measures, and by supporting efforts to strengthen the international financial system.
We concur on the need for immediate, concerted action to restore economic growth and to protect workers and families hit hardest by the recession through lowering taxes, ensuring access to credit, and unleashing spending that sustains and stimulates economic activity. 
Second, President Obama and I agreed to a new initiative that will further cross-border cooperation on environmental protection and energy security.  We are establishing a U.S.-Canada clean energy dialogue which commits senior officials from both countries to collaborate on the development of clean energy science and technologies that will reduce greenhouse gases and combat climate change.
Third, the President and I had a productive discussion about our shared priorities for international peace and security -- in particular, our commitment to stability and progress in Afghanistan.
This has been a very constructive visit, revealing to both of us a strong consensus on important bilateral and international issues.  President Obama, I look forward to working with you in the months ahead to make progress on these issues and build on the long and deep friendship between our two countries and our two peoples.
PRESIDENT OBAMA:  Thank you.  Well, it is a great pleasure to be here in Ottawa.  And Prime Minister Harper and I just completed a productive and wide-ranging discussion on the many issues of common concern to the people of the United States and Canada. 
I came to Canada on my first trip as President to underscore the closeness and importance of the relationship between our two nations, and to reaffirm the commitment of the United States to work with friends and partners to meet the common challenges of our time.  As neighbors, we are so closely linked that sometimes we may have a tendency to take our relationship for granted, but the very success of our friendship throughout history demands that we renew and deepen our cooperation here in the 21st century. 
We're joined together by the world's largest trading relationship and countless daily interactions that keep our borders open and secure.  We share core democratic values and a commitment to work on behalf of peace, prosperity, and human rights around the world.  But we also know that our economy and our security are being tested in new ways.  And the Prime Minister and I focused on several of those challenges today. 
As he already mentioned, first we shared a commitment to economic recovery.  The people of North America are hurting, and that is why our governments are acting.  This week I signed the most sweeping economic recovery plan in our nation's history.  Today the Prime Minister and I discussed our respective plans to create jobs and lay a foundation for growth.  The work that's being done by this government to stimulate the economy on this side of the border is welcomed, and we expect that we can take actions in concert to strengthen the auto industry, as well.
We know that the financial crisis is global, and so our response must be global.  The United States and Canada are working closely on a bilateral basis and within the G8 and G20 to restore confidence in our financial markets.  I discussed this with Prime Minister Harper, and we look forward to carrying that collaboration to London this spring.
Second, we are launching, as was mentioned, a new initiative to make progress on one of the most pressing challenges of our time:  the development and use of clean energy.  How we produce and use energy is fundamental to our economic recovery, but also our security and our planet.  And we know that we can't afford to tackle these issues in isolation.  And that's why we're updating our collaboration on energy to meet the needs of the 21st century.
The clean energy dialogue that we've established today will strengthen our joint research and development.  It will advance carbon reduction technologies and it will support the development of an electric grid that can help deliver the clean and renewable energy of the future to homes and businesses, both in Canada and the United States.  And through this example, and through continued international negotiations, the United States and Canada are committed to confronting the threat posed by climate change.
In addition to climate change, Prime Minister Harper and I discussed the need for strong bilateral cooperation on a range of global challenges -- one of the most pressing being Afghanistan.  The people of Canada have an enormous burden there that they have borne.  As I mentioned in an interview prior to this visit, those of us in the United States are extraordinarily grateful for the sacrifices of the families here in Canada of troops that have been deployed and have carried on their missions with extraordinary valor.  You've put at risk your most precious resource:  your brave men and women in uniform.  And so we are very grateful for that.
There is an enduring military mission against al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan and along the border regions between Afghanistan and Pakistan, but we also have to enhance our diplomacy and our development efforts.  And we discussed this in our private meetings.  My administration is undertaking a review of our policy so that we forge a comprehensive strategy in pursuit of clear and achievable goals.  And as we move forward, we intend to consult very closely with the government here in Canada to make certain that all our partners are working in the same direction.
In April, we'll have a broader dialogue with our NATO allies on how to strengthen the alliance to meet the evolving security challenges around the world.
And finally, we look forward to the Summit of the Americas.  My administration is fully committed to active and sustained engagement to advance the common security and prosperity of our hemisphere.  We will work closely with Canada in advancing these goals and look forward to a meaningful dialogue in Trinidad.
As I've said, the United States is once again ready to lead.  But strong leadership depends on strong alliances, and strong alliances depend on constant renewal.  Even the closest of neighbors need to make that effort to listen to one another, to keep open the lines of communication, and to structure our cooperation at home and around the world. 
That's the work that we've begun here today.  I'm extraordinarily grateful to Prime Minister Harper for his hospitality, his graciousness, and his leadership.  And I'm looking forward to this being the start of a continued extraordinary relationship between our two countries.
Q    Thank you, Mr. President, Mr. Prime Minister.  I have Afghanistan questions for you both.  Mr. President, General McKiernan requested 30,000 extra troops; your new order calls for 17,000.  How likely is it that you will make up that difference after the review you've mentioned?  And more importantly, how long can we expect all U.S. combat troops to be in Afghanistan?
And, Mr. Prime Minister, based on your discussions today, are you reconsidering the 2011 deadline for troop withdrawal, and are you also thinking about increasing economic aid to Afghanistan?
PRESIDENT OBAMA:  Well, David, the precise reason that we're doing a review is because I think that over the last several  years we took our eye off the ball, and there is a consensus of a deteriorating -- that there is a deteriorating situation in Afghanistan.  I don't want to prejudge that review.  I ordered the additional troops because I felt it was necessary to stabilize the situation there in advance of the elections that are coming up.  But we have 60 days of work to do.  They -- that review, which will be wide-ranging, will then result in a report that's presented to me.  And from -- at that point, we will be able to, I think, provide you with some clearer direction in terms of how we -- how we intend to approach Afghanistan.
In terms of length, how long we might be there, obviously that's going to be contingent on the strategy we develop out of this review.  And I'm not prejudging that, as well.
I should mention, just to preempt, or to anticipate Prime Minister Harper's -- the question directed at him, that I certainly did not press the Prime Minister on any additional commitments beyond the ones that have already been made.  All I did was to compliment Canada on not only the troops that are there, the 108 that have fallen as a consequence of engagement in Afghanistan, but also the fact that Canada's largest foreign aid recipient is Afghanistan.  There has been extraordinary effort there, and we just wanted to make sure that we were saying thank you.
PRIME MINISTER HARPER:  Just very quickly, as you probably know, it was just last year that we were able to get through Parliament a bipartisan resolution extending our military engagement in Afghanistan for an additional close to four years at that point.  As we move forward, we anticipate an even greater engagement on economic development.  That was part of the strategy that we adopted. 
I would just say this -- you know, obviously we're operating within a parliamentary resolution -- I would just say this in terms of the United States looking at its own future engagement.  We are highly appreciative of the fact the United States is going to be a partner with us on the ground in Kandahar.  The goal of our military engagement, its principal goal right now, beyond day-to-day security, is the training of the Afghan army so the Afghans themselves can become responsible for their day-to-day security in that country.
I'm strongly of the view, having led -- you know, as a government leader, having been responsible now for a military mission in Kandahar province, that we are not, in the long term through our own efforts, going to establish peace and security in Afghanistan; that that job ultimately can be done only by the Afghans themselves.  So I would hope that all strategies that come forward have the idea of an end date, of a transition to Afghan responsibility for security, and to greater Western partnership for economic development.
Q    (As translated.)  Good day.  In French for you, Mr. Harper.  With regard to the environment, going beyond green technology, how far are your two countries prepared to harmonize your strategy to reduce greenhouse gases?  And how will you reconcile your approaches?  They seem different when it comes to the tar sands, for instance.
For you, Mr. President, I can repeat in English.  On the part of the -- of the environment, beyond research, technology and science, how far are your two countries willing to go to harmonize your strategies in terms of greenhouse gas reductions?  And how can you reconcile your two approaches when they seem so different, especially considering the fact that Canada refuses to have hard caps, in part because of the oil sands?
PRIME MINISTER HARPER:  (In French.)
(In English.)  Briefly, first of all, really premature to talk about anything like that, anything like harmonization with the United States.  The United States has not had a national dialogue and debate on its own detailed approach.  Obviously that's something the President's administration will be doing.
What we have agreed to today is a dialogue on clean energy, and particularly on the development of clean energy technology.  Both of our governments are making large investments in things such as carbon capture and storage and other new technologies designed to fight climate change.  We share our -- our document on this clean energy dialogue talks about things we can do together to improve the electricity grid in North America.  There are all kinds of things we can do together, independent of any American regulatory approach, on climate change.
We will be watching what the United States does very -- with a lot of -- with a lot of interest for the obvious reasons that, as we all know, Canada has had great difficulty developing an effective regulatory regime alone in the context of a integrated continental economy.  It's very hard to have a tough regulatory system here when we are competed with -- competing with an unregulated economy south of the border. 
So we'll be watching what the United States does.  We'll be looking ourselves, for our own sake, at opportunities for harmonization to make our policies as effective as they can.  And I don't think the differences are near as stark as you would suggest.  When I look at the President's platform, the kind of targets that his administration has laid out for the reduction of greenhouse gases are very similar to ours.  You say we have intensity, they have absolute -- but the truth is these are just two different ways of measuring the same thing.  You can convert one to the other, if that's what you want to do. 
So I'm -- I'm quite optimistic.  I'll be watching -- I'll be watching what's done in the United States with great interest.  But I'm quite optimistic that we now have a partner on the North American continent that -- that will provide leadership to the world on the climate change issue, and I think that's an important development.
PRESIDENT OBAMA:  Well, this is not just a U.S. or a Canadian issue; this is a worldwide issue that we're going to have to confront.  There are good, sound economic reasons for us to address this issue.  You know, to the extent that, on both sides of the border, we can make our economies more energy efficient, that saves consumers money; that saves businesses money; it has the added advantage of enhancing our energy security.  And we are very grateful for the relationship that we have with Canada, Canada being one of -- being our largest energy supplier.
But I think increasingly we have to take into account that the issue of climate change and greenhouse gases is something that's going to have an impact on all of us.  And as two relatively wealthy countries, it's important for us to show leadership in this area.  I think the clean energy dialogue is an extraordinary beginning because right now there are no silver bullets to solve all of our energy problems.  We're going to have to try a whole range of things, and that's why sharing technology, sharing ideas, sharing research and development is so important. 
Here in Canada you have the issue of the oil sands.  In -- in the United States, we have issues around coal, for example, which is extraordinarily plentiful and runs a lot of our power plants.  And if we can figure out how to capture the carbon, that would make an enormous difference in how we operate.  Right now the technologies are at least not cost-effective.
So my expectation is, is that this clean energy dialogue will move us in the right direction.  We're not going to solve these problems overnight, as Prime Minister Harper indicated.  We have to complete our domestic debate and discussion around these issues.  My hope is, is that we can show leadership so that by the time the international conference takes place in Copenhagen that the United States has shown itself committed and ready to do its part.
I think the more that we can coordinate in -- with Canada, as well as Mexico, a country that has already shown interest in leadership on this issue -- and when I spoke to President Calderón, he indicated this is an area of interest to him -- the more that, within this hemisphere, we can show leadership, I think the more likely it is that we can draw in countries like China and India, whose participation is absolutely critical for us to be able to solve this problem over the long term.
And, as Prime Minister Harper suggested, there are going to be a number of different ways to go after this problem.  You know, we've suggested a cap and trade system.  There are other countries who've discussed the possibilities of a carbon tax.  I think there's no country on Earth that is not concerned about balancing dealing with this issue on the environmental side and making sure that, in the midst of a severe recession, that it's not having too much of an adverse impact on economic growth and employment.
So we think that we can benefit by listening and sharing ideas, and my hope is, is that we emerge from this process firmly committed to dealing with an issue that, ultimately, the Prime Minister's children and my children are going to have to live with for many years.
Q    Thank you, to both of you.  I've got a question for both of you.  Mr. President, on Tuesday you said that now is not the time to reopen NAFTA.  But your aides said that you would be trying to convince our friends in Canada and in Mexico of the rightness of your position.  So, first, did you convince our friends in Canada?  And when is the right time to incorporate labor and environmental standards into the main body of NAFTA?
Second, for Prime Minister Harper.  Mr. Prime Minister, is there a way for a "Buy American" provision to be compliant with the U.S. obligations under the World Trade Organization?
PRESIDENT OBAMA:  Well, first of all, Jonathan, I'm not sure that was my exact quote.  I always get a little nervous about responding to quotes without me actually seeing it.  I think what I said was, is that now is a time where we've got to be very careful about any signals of protectionism, because, as the economy of the world contracts, I think there's going to be a strong impulse on the part of constituencies in all countries to see if we -- they can engage in "beggar thy neighbor" policies.  And as obviously one of the largest economies in the world, it's important for us to make sure that we are showing leadership in the belief that trade ultimately is beneficial to all countries.
Having said that, what I also indicated was that with a NAFTA agreement that has labor provisions and environmental provisions as side agreements, it strikes me if those side agreements mean anything then they might as well be incorporated into the main body of the agreement so that they can be effectively enforced.  And I think it is important, whether we're talking about our relationships with Canada or our relationships with Mexico, that all countries concerned are thinking about how workers are being treated and all countries concerned are thinking about environmental issues of the sort that Emmanuelle just raised earlier.
So, you know, I raised this issue with Prime Minister Harper.  My hope is, is that as our advisors and staffs and economic teams work this through, that there's a way of doing this that is not disruptive to the extraordinarily important trade relationships that exist between the United States and Canada.
Now you didn't ask me about the "Buy American" provisions, but since it relates to our recovery package, let me just reiterate -- and I said this very clearly before the bill was passed and before I signed it -- that I think it was very important to make sure that any provisions that were there were consonant with our obligations under WTO and NAFTA. 
And I think that is what we achieved.  I recognize the concerns of Canada, given how significant trade with the United States is to the Canadian economy.  I provided Prime Minister Harper an assurance that I want to grow trade and not contract it.  And I don't think that there was anything in the recovery package that is adverse to that goal.
PRIME MINISTER HARPER:  I'll answer both questions, as well.  First of all, I just think it's important to reiterate that since NAFTA came into force, and more importantly since Canada signed its free trade agreement with the United States in 1988, trade agreements between our two countries have been nothing but beneficial for these two countries.  There has been a massive explosion of trade.  It was already the biggest trading relationship in the world; it's so much bigger now.  And that trade supports, you know, countless millions of jobs. 
And I don't think we should also forget the leadership that was established in that.  You know, this was about the end of the Cold War, and Canada and the U.S. signed the first modern generation trade agreement that really started -- started the proliferation of these types of agreements, which really gave us the growth of the global economy.
Now, you know, I know some aspects of trade invariably cause political concerns, but nobody should think for a minute that trade between Canada and the United States is anything but a benefit between the two of us.  And quite frankly, the trade challenges we face are common trade challenges.  The trade challenges we face in North America are common trade challenges; they're not problems between our countries. 
So I just think it's always important to keep this in mind.  The President and I did have a good discussion of his concerns.  You know, our position is that we're -- we're perfectly willing to look at ways we can -- we can address some of these concerns, which I understand, without, you know, opening the whole NAFTA and unraveling what is a very complex agreement.  But we had a good discussion on that and I think -- I'm hopeful we'll be able to make some progress.
On -- on the "Buy American" provisions -- and let's also be very clear, as well, that in both WTO and NAFTA, there are -- there are industries and there are ways in which and there are levels of government at which one can have domestic preferences and purchasing policies.  These things are allowed, in some cases, but they are certainly not allowed without limit.  We expect the United States to adhere to its -- to its international obligations.  I have every expectation, based on what the President has told me and what he's said publicly many times in the past, that the United States will do just that. 
But I can't emphasize how important it is that we do that.  We have agreed in Canada and, you know, all the major countries of the world through the G20, we agreed to pursue economic stimulus measures -- not just to stimulate our own economies, but to recognize that we have a synchronized global recession that requires policies that will not just benefit ourselves but benefit our trading partners at the same time.  If we pursue stimulus packages, the goal of which is only to benefit ourselves or to benefit ourselves, worse, at the expense of others, we will deepen the world recession, not solve it. 
So I think it's critical that the United States has been a leader for a long time in the goals of an open global economy.  I think it's critical that that -- that that leadership continue.  And I'm -- I'm quite confident that the United States will respect those obligations and continue to be a leader on the need for globalized trade.
If I could just comment on our stimulus package, one of the things we did in our stimulus package was actually remove duties on some imported goods.  Part of the reason we did that, it's in our own economic interest, but also, as well, it will help stimulate continental and global trade.  And this is important for our recovery.  We know as a small economy we can't recover without recovery in the United States and recovery around the world.  But that's true for all of us these days.
Q    I have a question for both of you.  Mr. President, during your meetings today, did you discuss the possibility of Canada stepping up its stimulus plans?  And secondly, for both of you, what do you think the Canada-U.S. relationship will look like in four years?  What will the auto sector look like?  Will the border be thicker or thinner?  And will you have a carbon market?
PRESIDENT OBAMA:  You stuffed about six questions in there.  (Laughter.)  Were you talking to Jonathan?  Is that -- (laughter.) 
Q    I have more.
PRESIDENT OBAMA:  Yes, I'll bet.  Well, first of all, I'll answer your last question first.  I expect that, four years from now, the U.S.-Canadian relationship will be even stronger than it is today.  I expect that you will see increased trade.  I think we will see continued integration of efforts on -- on energy in various industries, and I think that's to be welcomed. 
I'm a little biased here because I've got a brother-in-law who's Canadian and I have two of my key staff people who hail from Canada.  And I love this country and think that we could not have a better friend and ally.  And so I'm going to do everything that I can to make sure that our relationship is strengthened.
You mentioned a couple of specific issues -- the idea of thickening of borders.  One of the things that I would like to see is -- and we -- Prime Minister Harper and I discussed this -- how we can use some of our stimulus and infrastructure spending that is already being planned around potentially easing some of these bottlenecks in our border.  Now, we've got very real security concerns, as does Canada.  But I think that it is possible for us to balance our security concerns with an open border that continues to encourage this extraordinary trade relationship in which we have $1.5 billion worth of trade going back and forth every single day.
With respect to the auto industry, obviously we are concerned -- we're deeply concerned about the current state of the North American auto industry.  It is an integrated industry.  When we provided our initial federal help to the auto industry, Prime Minister Harper stepped up and provided assistance that was commensurate with the -- the stake that Canada has in the auto industry. 
We have just received the report back from GM and Chrysler in terms of how they intend to move forward.  My economic team is in the process of evaluating it.  One thing we know for certain is that there's going to have to be a significant restructuring of that industry.  And as that restructuring takes place, one in which all parties involved -- shareholders, creditors, workers, management, suppliers, dealers -- as all of those parties come together to figure out what is a sustainable and vibrant auto -- North American auto industry, it's going to be very important for our government to coordinate closely with the Canadian government in whatever approach that we decide to take.  And we are committed to doing that.
And finally, with respect to stimulus, I think that, as Prime Minister Harper mentioned, Canada has put in place its own stimulus package.  We obviously are very proud of the recovery act that I recently signed, not only because it provides a short-term boost to the economy and provides relief to families that really need help, but I think it also will lay the groundwork for long-term growth and prosperity.
We were talking earlier about the issue of the electric grid.  The potential that exists for creating ways of delivering energy from wind and solar across vast plains to get to urban areas and populated areas is enormously promising.  That's why we are investing billions of dollars to help jumpstart that process.
And so we think we've taken the right approach to not only get the economy moving again and to fill domestic demand as well as global demand, but also I think Prime Minister Harper is taking the same approach.  And to the extent that as we go to the G20 summit, that we are saying -- the most significant economies in the world all taking these steps in concert, then more -- the more likely we are that we're going to be able to slow the recessionary trends, reverse them, and start growing the economy again, which ultimately is the bottom line for both the Prime Minister and myself -- making sure that Americans, Canadians have good jobs that pay good wages, allow them to support a family and send their kids to college, and let their children aspire to new heights.
So I think we're going to continue to coordinate as closely as possible to make sure that we are helping families on both sides of the border.
PRIME MINISTER HARPER:  You did ask several questions.  I'll try and touch on a few of them.  On stimulus, first of all, it's important to understand that Canada's economic stimulus package is very large.  It's certainly larger than the kind of numbers the IMF was talking about in the fall with the provincial action that we will bring in to our stimulus spending -- will be close to 2 percent of GDP for this year, a percent and a half for next year.  This is not as large as the stimulus package in the United States.  But the issues in the United States are different, and in fairness, they are bigger than in Canada.
Let me just give you a concrete example of the difference -- I could talk about housing, or the banking sector.  But the American stimulus package contains a significant money -- a significant pot of money being transferred to lower levels of government to deal with health care.  Well, in Canada, as you know, we already have permanent health care transfer arrangements with our provinces before this economic crisis.  So not all of these things are directly transferable to the Canadian experience.  But by any measure, ours is a very large stimulus program.
As the President mentioned, we talked about today how we can use our investments in infrastructure to focus specifically on border infrastructure that we share.  We know well at Detroit/Windsor and elsewhere in Canada that the growth of our trade is straining our border infrastructure that's independent even of security demands.  So there may be things we can do there jointly in the name of economic stimulus that are beneficial for the long term. 
The statement lays out today a whole bunch of initiatives we're undertaking, and I think President Obama mentioned them.  Beyond border infrastructure, we have joint action going on on the auto sector.  We were working closely with the outcoming administration.  We will be continuing to work with President Obama's administration on what is an integrated industry needs an integrated solution.
We are engaged in Afghanistan.  We talked about that at length.  We are launching a clean energy dialogue on one of the most important challenges of the next decade, and that is climate change.  So, you know, I see a range of initiatives that will carry us forward for many years.
I do want to address two specific things, though, you raised -- one is border thickening, and one is kind of four years from now.  On -- on the thickening of the border, I just want to make this clear -- and I want to make this clear to our American friends -- not only have we since 9/11 made significant investments in security and security along our border, the view of this government is unequivocal:  threats to the United States are threats to Canada. 
There is no such thing as a threat to the national security of the United States which does not represent a direct threat to this country.  We as Canadians have every incentive to be as cooperative and alarmed about the threats that exist to the North American continent in the modern age as do the governant people of the United States.  That's the -- that's the approach with which we treat the border.  Obviously we've been concerned about the thickening of the border. 
You know, in our judgment -- and we'll have some time to talk about this as -- as we move along in our respective governments -- we're looking at -- the key is to look at how we can deal with security in a way that does not inhibit commerce and social interaction.  That is the real challenge.  But let there be no -- and that's where thickening of the border concerns us -- but let there be no illusion about the fact that we take these security concerns as seriously as our American friends.
In terms of big picture, you know, I think this would be the safest prediction in the world, that today Canada and the United States are closer economically, socially, culturally, in terms of our international partnerships than any two nations on the face of the Earth -- closer friends than any two nations on the face of the Earth.  And I think we can safely predict that in four years' time we will be in exactly the same spot. 
What we can do with that in the meantime -- and what I'm sure President Obama will want to do with that -- is to take that close relationship that is so deeply integrated when it comes to things like trade and military -- military and defense considerations, things where we have not only established a close friendship, but where we have established models that others who want to pursue close friendships have used around the world -- that we can take those things and we can continue to lead in the future.  We can continue to show how two countries can work together in ways that pursue global cooperation and integration to mutual benefit.
And as we all know, one of President Obama's big missions is to continue world leadership by the United States of America, but in a way that is more collaborative.  And I'm convinced that by working with our country, he will have no greater opportunity than to demonstrate exactly how that model can operate over the next four years.
PRESIDENT OBAMA:  And let me just say that, to echo what the Prime Minister said, we have no doubt about Canada's commitment to security in the United States as well as Canada.  Obviously we've got long-lasting relationships around NORAD, for example, and the same is true with respect to border security; there's been extraordinary cooperation and we expect that that will continue.
And Prime Minister Harper is right.  It's a safe bet that the United States and Canada will continue to enjoy an extraordinary friendship, and together I think we've got an opportunity to show the world that the values that we care about -- of democracy, of human rights, of economic growth and prosperity -- that these are values that the world can embrace, and that we can show leadership.  And I'm very much looking forward to working with -- with this government and -- and all Canadians in order to promote these -- these values.
I want to also, by the way, thank some of the Canadians who came over the border to campaign for me during the -- during the election.  (Laughter.)  It was much appreciated.  And I'm looking forward to coming back to Canada as soon as it warms up.  (Laughter.) 
PRIME MINISTER HARPER:  This brings an end to the press conference.  Thank you very much, everybody. 
END           3:31 P.M. (Local)
REMARKS BY THE VICE PRESIDENT
AT THE CEREMONIAL SWEARING-IN
OF LEON E. PANETTA AS DIRECTOR OF THE CIA
CIA Headquarters
McLean, Virginia
2:02 P.M. EST
THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Thank you very much, Director Kappes.  (Applause.)  I was a senator for 36 years before this job, and I knew the CIA always stands -- (laughter) -- they always stand.  And I appreciate it.  (Applause.) 
Well, thank you, Steve, for your introduction.  And, Director Panetta -- or soon to be officially Director Panetta; Admiral Blair; distinguished guests:  My name is Joe Biden, and I'm proud to be one of your leading customers.  (Laughter and applause.)
Folks, many years ago, before -- looking at the faces over there -- before many of you came to work in the agency -- (laughter) -- I served as one of the original members that was then called the Select Committee on Intelligence.  And I had the privilege of serving on that committee for 10 years.  And I'm deeply familiar with the workings of this agency.  And I continue to admire, as I did then, the dedication and commitment for all of you, every one of you here who continue to serve this country. 
It's an honor to be here in the George Bush Center for Intelligence, named for a former director of this agency, and I believe one of the great public servants of our time.
And I'm proud to swear in another exceptional public servant, a man I've known a long time -- Leon Panetta -- a close friend, a former colleague in the Congress, a man who also served as chief of staff to President Clinton.  And the most important thing for this job, in my view, as Leon knows, that the job of chief of staff, like the intelligence chief, is to give the President of the United States the unvarnished truth, not what he thinks the President may want to hear.
Leon, the President has absolute confidence that you have the experience, the independence and the judgment to lead this agency.  Together with Steve Kappes -- who I am literally so thankful and appreciative that he's willing to stay as Deputy Director -- with you both, and the man I'm about to talk about in a second -- we have a first-rate team. 
Although the intelligence community is now a broad constellation of 16 agencies, this agency remains America's premier national security agency.  And we deeply appreciate the risks and the sacrifices that so many in the past and in the present continue to take for this country.  The 89 stars on the wall behind me are a testament to the ultimate sacrifice made by truly courageous, patriotic CIA officers, many of whom are still anonymous.
After 9/11, thousands -- thousands of young women and men stepped forward to serve their country, inspired many of you to join this agency.  We were talking upstairs in the Director's office about how many of you, after 9/11, with a sense of purpose, idealism and patriotism, joined this great agency.  You were inspired to join and serve, the same kind of inspiration that existed six decades ago -- six decades ago when this agency was formed.
Leon, it's going to be your challenge -- but great opportunity -- to harness the energy and idealism and capacity of a whole new generation of intelligence professionals.  This new generation comes in the intelligence community has experienced considerable change in the last few years.  A law enacted in 2004 established the Office of National Director -- Director of National Intelligence, and requires greater cooperation among all intelligence agencies.
We all know that bureaucratic conflicts, when they occur, distract us from the core mission that we have as a nation or as an agency.  And I'm confident -- I'm confident that Director Panetta and Admiral Blair will make this work, because in those  -- these two men, you have me of exceptional capacity and exceptional capability, and who are on -- as I was saying upstairs -- the same page.
Ladies and gentleman, I believe this cooperation that's about to take place with these two newly appointed members of -- the director of our intelligence community and the Director of the CIA, I hope is going to set a standard of cooperation within the intelligence community that all of the agencies in our government will observe.
Ladies and gentlemen, the next four years will be a time of great challenge -- I need not tell any of you this.  Al Qaeda continues to pose a serious threat to the United States and to our friends.  We remain at war in two faraway countries.  The global economic situation, as the agency has pointed out, could make the world considerably more unstable.  The proliferation of dangerous weapons and technologies threatens our security.  New challenges to the established order, such as climate change and other not yet known to us challenges, will emerge.
In his first few weeks in office, the President has begun to meet these challenges head on.  He ordered the deployment of additional troops to Afghanistan.  He ordered a review of the down -- of the drawdown options in Iraq.  Our strategy in Afghanistan and Pakistan is also under review -- and our strategy for a cybersecurity network, a cybersecurity capacity -- all three of which have been recently ordered.  He named a special envoy to the Middle East, a special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, and an envoy for climate change.  He issued an executive order to reverse the policies that -- in my view and the view of many in this agency -- caused America to fall short of its founding principles, and which gave al Qaeda a powerful recruiting tool.
As a result of these orders, we will close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay.  We will have a single standard across the government for interrogation in armed conflict.  And we'll ensure the Red Cross access to all those who are detained in armed conflict.
The President has made it clear that he wants to hit the 'reset' button on our relations with Russia, and will seek diplomatic engagement with Iran.  This administration -- this administration's national security strategy will use all the elements of our national power -– our military, which is absolutely essential but not sufficient; our economic; our political; and our cultural and diplomatic tools that exist in the toolbox of any President.
We will use force if necessary.  But we will engage in aggressive and active diplomacy.  And we'll be true to our own values, because America is more secure when the example of our power is matched by the power of our example.
This strategy cannot succeed, though, without timely, credible and accurate intelligence -- it's the foundation of all we're about to do.  It will remain your paramount duty, in my view, to provide such intelligence to the President, the Congress and the military; to protect our fighting men and women and our fellow citizens, who -- to inform -- who are able to make the informed choices about the decisions that we make.
That's why, in my view, this agency was established in 1947.  And that's why it remains the premier intelligence agency for our government –- for that matter, I believe the premier intelligence agency in the entire world.
We're going to ask a lot of you.  And it's only fair to tell you what we expect of you, because we're going to ask a lot.  We expect you to be able to look around corners occasionally, to imagine the unexpected.  We expect you to provide independent analysis, and not engage in group-think.  And we expect you to tell us the facts as you know them, wherever they may lead –- not what you think we want to hear.  And we expect you to give us the -- your best judgment.  We will ask no more –- but we will ask no less.
On the wall facing me there is a quotation from the New Testament, put there by -- at the request of Director Allen Dulles when this building was constructed.  It has become your motto.  It reads:  "And Ye Shall Know the Truth and the Truth Shall Make You Free."
For the President and me, the truth is this:  Your mission is more important than any time in all of our history.  The country needs you more than we ever, ever have.  And we're profoundly -- profoundly grateful for your service.
Director Panetta, are you ready to have me take a crack at administering this oath?  Are you ready?  (Laughter and applause.) 
Well, ladies and gentleman -- (applause) -- if you'll step forward, we'll administer the oath. 
                            (The oath is administered.)
Pool report
Michelle Obama USDA,
Thursday at 2 p.m.
Michelle Obama paid a visit to employees of the U.S. Department of Agriculture today in the auditorium of the agency's 14th Street building. She was introduced by newly appointed Sec. Tom Vilsack, who pronounced her holder of "probably the most difficult job of all."
She has to be someone the president can rely on so he can do his job, he said, and "That is an important job." The first lady thanked Vilsack for the "moving introduction."
The event was televised and the transcript is forthcoming, but here are some highlights: She recommended Vilsack to the employees who now work for him, saying "You all are blessed to have him." She praised the concept of "community gardens," and presented the agency with a seedling from the magnolia at the south portico of the White House, planted by President Andrew Jackson in honor of his wife Rachel. She also praised the veteran employees of the USDA who joined her on stage, all of whom have worked at least 38 years with the department. She thanked the workers in the audience for their service and told them "We're going to need you working hard for the next several years."
Mrs. Obama made brief reference to her husband's economic stimulus plan, which she said will help pay for clean energy technology, and also to the housing plan he unveiled yesterday, which she predicted will help homeowners deal with the home mortgage crisis. She shook hands with everyone on stage and then worked the crowd for a while.
From Larry Quinn, an agronomist who is acting as director of communications for the agency: The magnolia tree will be planted somewhere in the landscaping at the agency"s Whitten building facing the national mall, but they won"t decide where until they see exactly what species the plant belongs to. "We certainly want it to survive," said Quinn.
Christi Parsons
Chicago Tribune
cparsons@tribune.com
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the First Lady
_________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release                  February 19, 2009
REMARKS BY THE FIRST LADY
AT THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Washington, D.C.
2:19 P.M. EST
MRS. OBAMA: Thank you so much. Thank you. You all take a load off your feet. (Laughter.)
First of all, I want to thank Secretary Vilsack for that very moving introduction for me. It is an honor for me to serve in this capacity, and coming to these departments, like I've been doing, is probably one of the -- next to hanging out with Malia and Sasha -- (laughter) -- is probably one of the most valuable things that I think that I can do.
We're so lucky to have Secretary Vilsack. I got to know him on the campaign trail; spent a lot of time in Iowa. He brings to this job a lifetime of public service in one of the greatest states in this country, which has become one of my favorite states, Iowa. (Laughter.) You get to know Iowa. When you're running for President, you spend a lot of time in Iowa. And it is a good place with decent, hardworking people with some strong values.
And getting to know the state, as I've done, and getting to know Secretary Vilsack, as I have, over the past several years, I know that we are lucky and you all are blessed to have someone who is so committed and knows so much about so many things regarding agriculture. Working with family farms and rural communities, he's going to bring all of that experience to his work here at the Department of Agriculture. And we are grateful to have him onboard. So let's give him a round of applause. (Applause.)
I was also particularly pleased to hear that he's working on creating these wonderful gardens here at the USDA. Did you know that?
AUDIENCE: Yes.
MRS. OBAMA: That's a very good thing -- (laughter) -- and kicking off this effort to build these gardens all over the world in all of the facilities of the USDA, because I'm a big believer in community gardens, both because of their beauty and for their access to providing fresh fruits and vegetables to so many communities across this nation and the world.
So to help kick this effort off, I brought a little gift to get this garden going. It's right here in this pot. (Laughter.) It is a seedling. It will be beautiful one day. (Laughter.) But right now it's a seedling. And it's a special seedling because it comes from the Jackson magnolia tree. And the Jackson magnolia tree sits on the South Portico of the White House. And it's a special tree because it was planted by President Jackson in honor of his wife, Rachel, who passed right before they moved into the White House. So I hope that this seedling brings years of joy and beauty to the garden that will be planted here, in the same way it has brought beauty to the White House for 180 years. So please accept this gift from the White House. (Applause.)
So as you probably heard, I've been running around the District visiting departments. And as I've said, it's been one of the most fun things that I've done. My purpose is simple: It's to say thank you. You know, that's something that Barack and I talked about; talked about all the folks who have dedicated their lives, as the people on this stage have done for -- did I hear the youngest worker on here has worked for 38 years? See, I have staff on the back who gulp every time they hear that -- (laughter) -- because they're like 20. (Laughter.) So they can't imagine doing anything for longer than four years. (Laughter.)
But what is true and what America needs to remember is that this nation is built on the backs of you, workers who have dedicated their lifetimes to working on behalf of the issues that are so important to this nation. And before we do anything here in this town, in this country, we thought it is important to say thank you for the work that you've done, thank you for the work that you're going to do, because we're going to need you working so very hard over the next several years. So thank you.
It's important for people to know what happens here at the Department of Agriculture. As you begin moving the policies and programs of this administration forward, I wanted to come by and just remind people of the work that you do.
From supporting the farmers that produce the food that we eat, to managing the school meal programs that give students the energy and the nutrition they need to get through the day, to providing greater access to fresh fruits and vegetables, to giving struggling families the assistance they need to put food on their table, and to protecting our food supply, the work of this department touches the lives of all Americans on a daily basis in ways that sometimes we can't even imagine.
And like many parts of this country, rural America is hurting economically. The President is taking steps to turn our economy around and help struggling families. And the expansion of the Children's Health Insurance Program will insure more children, including those in rural communities, so that they get the health care that they need.
The new investments that will double the nation's renewable energy capacity is going to bring new jobs and economic opportunity to rural communities who will play a central role in creating America's clean energy future.
And the President's plan to address the home mortgage crisis is going to help rural families refinance their mortgages, modify loans and secure loans with more affordable monthly payments. And this effort is not going to just help keep families in their homes, it's going to help strengthen rural neighborhoods and communities across this country.
So there's a lot of work to do. And we have great leaders in Secretary Vilsack and President Obama that we can count on through the next several years. But it's, again, important to remember that these great leaders are only as great as the people who hold them up. And, again, that's where you all come in. They can only do the work that they do because there are thousands and thousands of dedicated federal workers like you who are willing to make the sacrifices in their own lives, with their own families, to devote the time and energy that is so needed to get the work done.
So, again, we are going to need you in the months and years to come. The challenges that we face are serious and real. And it's going to take quite a long time to get this country back on track. So your contributions are more important now than they have ever been.
So, again, on behalf of my husband, on behalf of the administration and the Obama family, I want to thank you for your energy, for your passion, and for your commitment. And let's get this thing planted. (Laughter.) Thank you. (Applause.)
END
2:27 P.M. EST
For Immediate Release                           February 18, 2009

REMARKS BY THE FIRST LADY AT
SWEET HONEY IN THE ROCK EVENT
East Room
4:20 P.M. EST

MRS. OBAMA:  Well, hello.  Welcome to the White House.  How are you guys doing?
AUDIENCE:  Fine.
MRS. OBAMA:  That's good.  It's good to see you all.  I've heard you all have been just quiet as mice.  Have you been behaving in here?  Is it exciting?
AUDIENCE:  Yes.
MRS. OBAMA:  Come on, it's exciting.  Isn't this a beautiful house?
AUDIENCE:  Yes.
MRS. OBAMA:  Well, we are so, so very proud and happy to have you here. 
First, I want to thank the Admiral for sharing his story with us.  I hope you all were listening, because this is a very wise man who is a very amazing professional in his own right, and he has made our transition to this place just fun and welcoming.  He is our friend.  So let's give another round of applause.  (Applause.)
I wanted you to hear from the Admiral because he plays a very important role in making the White House a wonderful place for the President and his family, and that goes for any President who comes through these doors.  What the Admiral does for us he would do for any family who lived here.  And he makes this a very special place for people to visit, not just here in this country but from around the world. 
Like Barack and I, the Admiral didn't rise to his position because of wealth or because he had a lot of material resources.  See, we were all very much kids like you guys.  We just figured out that one day that our fate was in our own hands.  We made decisions to listen to our parents and to our teachers, and to work very, very hard for everything in life.  And then we worked even harder any time anybody doubted us. 
Each and every day the Admiral and his staff, who run this beautiful house, demonstrate the highest level of professionalism.  It's amazing to watch them.  They do their jobs with pride and grace.  And that's one thing I hope that you all pick up, is the level of pride and grace that you put into anything you do.  They work very hard to make the White House a warm family home and a great presidential residence commanding pride and respect throughout this country and around the world.  
As President and First Lady, Barack and I are just the caretakers of this house.  We're just borrowing it for a little bit.  But while we live here, we're your neighbors, okay?  And we want you to feel welcome here at the White House, which really is, as the Admiral said, it's the people's house that belongs to all of us.  So just remember that, okay?
And as the people's house, we believe the White House should be a place for learning and for sharing new and different ideas, sharing new forms of art and culture, and history and different perspectives.  We want you to visit and we want you to take advantage of these opportunities and maybe see something for yourselves that maybe you never thought you could do or be.
So I'm happy to welcome you here for our little Black History Month celebration.  I'm glad you guys are here. 
So many milestones in black history have touched this very house.  Just to name a few, did you know that African American slaves helped to build this house?
AUDIENCE:  Yes.
MRS. OBAMA:  You knew that?  Did you know that right upstairs in a bedroom called the Lincoln Bedroom, President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation that marked an important step forward in ending slavery?  Did you know that happened right here? 
AUDIENCE:  Yes.
MRS. OBAMA:  You knew that?  Well, did you know that in 1878, Rutherford B. Hayes was President at the time, and Marie Seilka became the first soprano, the first African American artist, to perform right here in the White House?  That was in 1878.  Did you know that?  Because I didn't know that.
AUDIENCE:  No.
MRS. OBAMA:  And in the 1960s, did you know that Dr. Martin Luther King and other civil rights leaders met here with Presidents Kennedy and Johnson to debate and discuss the end of segregation?  Did you know that?
AUDIENCE:  Yes.
MRS. OBAMA:  Pretty cool, huh?
AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Yes.
MRS. OBAMA:  Yes.  Well, you're yawning.  Wake up!  (Laughter.)  I'm just kidding.  (Laughter.) 
And of course, who lives here now?  President Obama.  And he's making history every single day.  Why?  Why?
AUDIENCE MEMBER:  He is the first African American President of the United States.
MRS. OBAMA:  That's correct.  (Laughter.)  Would you like to stand?  (Laughter.)  You want to say that one more time?
AUDIENCE MEMBER:  The first African American President of the United States of America.
MRS. OBAMA:  Very good.  (Applause.)  So you guys know your history.  That's a good thing.  That means your parents and teachers are doing their jobs. 
But I encourage you not only to focus on the famous names that you read in the history books or that you see on TV, but I want you to also think about the extraordinary people who live in your own world, the folks in your own lives -- parents, grandparents, yes, teachers -- all those folks who play important roles in black history and American history every single day. 
You're living right among them -- people like Admiral Rochon, who has his grandchildren here today.  Where are Alex and Olivia?  Where are you, guys?  Where are they?  Hello, welcome.  It's good to see you all.  That's the Admiral's grandchildren.  Let's give them a welcome.  (Applause.)
All of these folks who are in your world right now are writing a chapter in history of their own.  But the truth is, is that the next chapter in history will be written by all of you.  Did you realize that?  The next chapter in history is written by you. 
So you have to ask yourselves, what will you do in life to help someone else in need?  You have to ask yourselves, what are you going to do to make your own community stronger?  What are you going to do to make sure that this nation is even greater?  And what are you doing right now in school and in your neighborhoods to prepare yourselves to assume a level of responsibility and to be good citizens?  Those are the questions that you can ask yourselves right now, even at your age. 
And think about, as the Admiral says, getting up every single day and working hard, as hard as you can; putting your best foot forward all the time, not just when somebody is looking, but every single moment; and supporting your family, the folks in your own households; making your beds, putting the dishes up, cleaning your rooms.  That's part of the preparation.  How do you help your neighbor?  And how are you going to build a better life and a future for yourselves?
That's not just a story that Barack Obama is writing, or Admiral Rochon is writing.  Those are the stories that we're all writing together.  And you're an important part of that.
So we are so excited about the future that you are going to take hold of in just a few years.  So I welcome you again to the White House, and I hope you enjoy what is going to be a phenomenal performance.  We've got some special guests with us today who are also national treasurers, a group -- one of my favorite groups in the whole wide world, Sweet Honey In The Rock.  Doesn't that name sound good?
AUDIENCE:  Yes.
MRS. OBAMA:  Well, their voices sound even better.  This group was founded in 1973 by Bernice Johnson Reagon.  Sweet Honey In The Rock has continued the African American tradition of using music and song to advance freedom and social justice.  So will you guys now help me welcome them?  (Applause.)  Give a big round of applause to Sweet Honey In The Rock.  (Applause.)
For Immediate Release                                                        February 18, 2009

REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
ON THE HOME MORTGAGE CRISIS
Dobson High School
Mesa, Arizona
10:25 A.M. MST

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you very much.  (Applause.)  Please, everybody have a seat.  Thank you.  Well, it is good to be back in Arizona.  (Applause.)  Thank you.  Are you excited?  (Applause.)  Thank you, thank you.  And thank you for arranging for such a beautiful day.  I want to stick around, but I got to go back to work.  But it is wonderful to be here.  And to all of you, I know that attending these kinds of events, oftentimes you have to wait in line and there's all kinds of stuff going on.  But I appreciate you being here very much.  And to all the officials here at the school, the principal and the student body, everybody who helped make this possible, thank you so much to all of you.  (Applause.)   
     I'm here today to talk about a crisis unlike we've ever known -- but one that you know very well here in Mesa, and throughout the Valley.  In Phoenix and its surrounding suburbs, the American Dream is being tested by a home mortgage crisis that not only threatens the stability of our economy, but also the stability of families and neighborhoods.  It's a crisis that strikes at the heart of the middle class:  the homes in which we invest our savings and build our lives, raise our families and plant roots in our communities.
     So many Americans have shared with me their personal experiences of this crisis.  Many have written letters or emails or shared their stories with me at rallies and along rope lines. Their hardship and heartbreak are a reminder that while this crisis is vast, it begins just one house -- and one family -- at a time. 
     It begins with a young family -- maybe in Mesa, or Glendale, or Tempe -- or just as likely in a suburban area of Las Vegas, or Cleveland, or Miami.  They save up.  They search.  They choose a home that feels like the perfect place to start a life.  They secure a fixed-rate mortgage at a reasonable rate, and they make a down payment, and they make their mortgage payments each month.  They are as responsible as anyone could ask them to be.
     But then they learn that acting responsibly often isn't enough to escape this crisis.  Perhaps somebody loses a job in the latest round of layoffs, one of more than 3.5 million jobs lost since this recession began -- or maybe a child gets sick, or a spouse has his or her hours cut.
     In the past, if you found yourself in a situation like this, you could have sold your home and bought a smaller one with more affordable payments, or you could have refinanced your home at a lower rate.  But today, home values have fallen so sharply that even if you make a large down payment, the current value of your mortgage may still be higher than the current value of your house.  So no bank will return your calls, and no sale will return your investment.
     You can't afford to leave, you can't afford to stay.  So you start cutting back on luxuries.  Then you start cutting back on necessities.  You spend down your savings to keep up with your payments.  Then you open the retirement fund.  Then you use the credit cards.  And when you've gone through everything you have, and done everything you can, you have no choice but to default on your loan.  And so your home joins the nearly 6 million others in foreclosure or at risk of foreclosure across the country, including roughly 150,000 right here in Arizona.
     But the foreclosures which are uprooting families and upending lives across America are only part of the housing crisis.  For while there are millions of families who face foreclosure, there are millions more who are in no danger of losing their homes, but who have still seen their dreams endangered.  They're the families who see the "For Sale" signs lining the streets; who see neighbors leave, and homes standing vacant, and lawns slowly turning brown.  They see their own homes -- their single largest asset -- plummeting in value.  One study in Chicago found that a foreclosed home reduces the price of nearby homes by as much as 9 percent.  Home prices in cities across the country have fallen by more than 25 percent since 2006.  And in Phoenix, they've fallen by 43 percent. 
     Even if your neighborhood hasn't been hit by foreclosures, you're likely feeling the effects of this crisis in other ways. Companies in your community that depend on the housing market -- construction companies and home furnishing stores and painters and landscapers -- they're all cutting back and laying people off.  The number of residential construction jobs has fallen by more than a quarter million since mid-2006.  As businesses lose revenue and people lose income, the tax base shrinks, which means less money for schools and police and fire departments.  And on top of this, the costs to local government associated with a single foreclosure can be as high as $20,000.
     So the effects of this crisis have also reverberated across the financial markets.  When the housing market collapsed, so did the availability of credit on which our economy depends.  And as that credit has dried up, it's been harder for families to find affordable loans to purchase a car or pay tuition, and harder for businesses to secure the capital they need to expand and create jobs.
     In the end, all of us are paying a price for this home mortgage crisis.  And all of us will pay an even steeper price if we allow this crisis to continue to deepen -- a crisis which is unraveling home ownership, the middle class, and the American Dream itself.  But if we act boldly and swiftly to arrest this downward spiral, then every American will benefit.  And that's what I want to talk about today.
     The plan I'm announcing focuses on rescuing families who've played by the rules and acted responsibly, by refinancing loans for millions of families in traditional mortgages who are underwater or close to it, by modifying loans for families stuck in sub-prime mortgages they can't afford as a result of skyrocketing interest rates or personal misfortune, and by taking broader steps to keep mortgage rates low so that families can secure loans with affordable monthly payments.
     At the same time, this plan must be viewed in a larger context.  A lost home often begins with a lost job.  Many businesses have laid off workers for a lack of revenue and available capital.  Credit has become scarce as markets have been overwhelmed by the collapse of security backed -- securities backed by failing mortgages.  In the end, the home mortgage crisis, the financial crisis, and this broader economic crisis are all interconnected, and we can't successfully address any one of them without addressing them all.
     So yesterday, in Denver, I signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which will create or save -- (applause.)  The act will create or save 3.5 million jobs over the next two years -- including 70,000 right here in Arizona, right here -- (applause) -- doing the work America needs done.  And we're also going to work to stabilize, repair and reform our financial system to get credit flowing again to families and businesses. 
     And we will pursue the housing plan I'm outlining today.  And through this plan, we will help between 7 and 9 million families restructure or refinance their mortgages so they can afford -- avoid foreclosure.  And we're not just helping homeowners at risk of falling over the edge; we're preventing their neighbors from being pulled over that edge, too -- as defaults and foreclosures contribute to sinking home values, and failing local businesses, and lost jobs.
     But I want to be very clear about what this plan will not do:  It will not rescue the unscrupulous or irresponsible by throwing good taxpayer money after bad loans.  It will not help speculators -- (applause) -- it will not help speculators who took risky bets on a rising market and bought homes not to live in but to sell.  (Applause.)  It will not help dishonest lenders who acted irresponsibly, distorting the facts -- (applause)  -- distorting the facts and dismissing the fine print at the expense of buyers who didn't know better.  And it will not reward folks who bought homes they knew from the beginning they would never be able to afford.  (Applause.)  So I just want to make this clear:  This plan will not save every home. 
     But it will give millions of families resigned to financial ruin a chance to rebuild.  It will prevent the worst consequences of this crisis from wreaking even greater havoc on the economy. And by bringing down the foreclosure rate, it will help to shore up housing prices for everybody.  According to estimates by the Treasury Department, this plan could stop the slide in home prices due to neighboring foreclosures by up to $6,000 per home.
     So here's how my plan works:  First, we will make it possible for an estimated 4 to 5 million currently ineligible homeowners who receive their mortgages through Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac to refinance their mortgages at a lower rate.  (Applause.)
     Today, as a result of declining home values, millions of families are what's called "underwater," which simply means that they owe more on their mortgages than their homes are currently worth.  These families are unable to sell their homes, but they're also unable to refinance them.  So in the event of a job loss or another emergency, their options are limited.
     Also right now, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- the institutions that guarantee home loans for millions of middle-class families -- are generally not permitted to guarantee refinancing for mortgages valued at more than 80 percent of the home's worth.  So families who are underwater or close to being underwater can't turn to these lending institutions for help. 
My plan changes that by removing this restriction on Fannie and Freddie so that they can refinance mortgages they already own or guarantee.  (Applause.) 
     And what this will do is it will allow millions of families stuck with loans at a higher rate to refinance.  And the estimated cost to taxpayers would be roughly zero.  While Fannie and Freddie would receive less money in payments, this would be balanced out by a reduction in defaults and foreclosures.  (Applause.)
     I also want to point out that millions of other households could benefit from historically low interest rates if they refinance, though many don't know that this opportunity is available to them -- meaning some of you -- an opportunity that could save your families hundreds of dollars each month.  And the efforts we are taking to stabilize mortgage markets will help you, borrowers, secure more affordable terms, too. 
     A second thing we're going to do under this plan is we will create new incentives so that lenders work with borrowers to modify the terms of sub-prime loans at risk of default and foreclosure. 
     Sub-prime loans -- loans with high rates and complex terms that often conceal their costs -- make up only 12 percent of all mortgages, but account for roughly half of all foreclosures.  Right now, when families with these mortgages seek to modify a loan to avoid this fate, they often find themselves navigating a maze of rules and regulations, but they’re rarely finding answers.  Some sub-prime lenders are willing to renegotiate; but many aren't.  And your ability to restructure your loan depends on where you live, the company that owns or manages your loan, or even the agent who happens to answer the phone on the day that you call.
     So here's what my plan does:  establishes clear guidelines for the entire mortgage industry that will encourage lenders to modify mortgages on primary residences.  Any institution that wishes to receive financial assistance from the government, from taxpayers, and to modify home mortgages, will have to do so according to these guidelines -- which will be in place two weeks from today.  (Applause.)
     Here's what this means:  If lenders and home buyers work together, and the lender agrees to offer rates that the borrower can afford, then we'll make up part of the gap between what the old payments were and what the new payments will be.  Under this plan, lenders who participate will be required to reduce those payments to no more than 31 percent of a borrower's income.  And this will enable as many as 3 to 4 million homeowners to modify the terms of their mortgages to avoid foreclosure.
     So this part of the plan will require both buyers and lenders to step up and do their part, to take on some responsibility.  Lenders will need to lower interest rates and share in the costs of reducing monthly payments in order to prevent another wave of foreclosures.  Borrowers will be required to make payments on time in return for this opportunity to reduce those payments.
     And I also want to be clear that there will be a cost associated with this plan.  But by making these investments in foreclosure prevention today, we will save ourselves the costs of foreclosure tomorrow -- costs that are borne not just by families with troubled loans, but by their neighbors and communities and by our economy as a whole.  Given the magnitude of these crises, it is a price well worth paying.  (Applause.)
     There's a third part of the plan:  We will take major steps to keep mortgage rates low for millions of middle-class families looking to secure new mortgages.
     Today, most new home loans are backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which guarantee loans and set standards to keep mortgage rates low and to keep mortgage financing available and predictable for middle-class families.  Now, this function is profoundly important, especially now as we grapple with a crisis that would only worsen if we were to allow further disruptions in our mortgage markets.
     Therefore, using the funds already approved by Congress for this purpose, the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve will continue to purchase Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage-backed securities so that there is stability and liquidity in the marketplace.  Through its existing authority, Treasury will provide up to $200 billion in capital to ensure that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can continue to stabilize markets and hold mortgage rates down.
     And we're also going to work with Fannie and Freddie on other strategies to bolster the mortgage markets, like working with state housing finance agencies to increase their liquidity.  And as we seek to ensure that these institutions continue to perform what is a vital function on behalf of middle-class families, we also need to maintain transparency and strong oversight so that they do so in responsible and effective ways.
     Fourth, we will pursue a wide range of reforms designed to help families stay in their homes and avoid foreclosures.
     And my administration will continue to support reforming our bankruptcy rules so that we allow judges to reduce home mortgages on primary residences to their fair market value -- as long as borrowers pay their debts under court-ordered plans.  (Applause.) I just want everybody to understand, that's the rule for investors who own two, three, and four homes.  So it should be the rule for folks who just own one home -- (applause) -- as an alternative to foreclosure. 
     In addition, as part of the recovery plan I signed into law yesterday, we are going to award $2 billion in competitive grants to communities that are bringing together stakeholders and testing new and innovative ways to limit the effects of foreclosures.    Communities have shown a lot of initiative, taking responsibility for this crisis when many others have not.  And supporting these neighborhood efforts is exactly what we should be doing.     
     So taken together, the provisions of this plan will help us end this crisis and preserve for millions of families their stake in the American Dream.  But we also have to acknowledge the limits of this plan. 
     Our housing crisis was born of eroding home values, but it was also an erosion of our common values, and in some case, common sense.  It was brought about by big banks that traded in risky mortgages in return for profits that were literally too good to be true; by lenders who knowingly took advantage of homebuyers; by homebuyers who knowingly borrowed too much from lenders; by speculators who gambled on ever-rising prices; and by leaders in our nation's capital who failed to act amidst a deepening crisis.  (Applause.) 
     So solving this crisis will require more than resources; it will require all of us to step back and take responsibility.  Government has to take responsibility for setting rules of the road that are fair and fairly enforced.  Banks and lenders must be held accountable for ending the practices that got us into this crisis in the first place.  And each of us, as individuals, have to take responsibility for their own actions.  That means all of us have to learn to live within our means again and not assume that -- (applause) -- and not assume that housing prices are going to go up 20, 30, 40 percent every year. 
     Those core values of common sense and responsibility, those are the values that have defined this nation.  Those are the values that have given substance to our faith in the American Dream.  Those are the values we have to restore now at this defining moment.
     It will not be easy.  But if we move forward with purpose and resolve -- with a deepened appreciation of how fundamental the American Dream is and how fragile it can be when we fail to live up to our collective responsibilities, if we go back to our roots, our core values, I am absolutely confident we will overcome this crisis and once again secure that dream not just for ourselves but for generations to come.
     Thank you.  God bless you.  God bless the United States of America.  (Applause.)
For Immediate Release                                                                      February 17, 2009
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
AND THE VICE PRESIDENT 
AT SIGNING OF
THE AMERICAN RECOVERY AND REINVESTMENT ACT
Denver Museum of Nature and Science
Denver, Colorado
12:50 P.M. MST        
THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Governor, thank you.   Governor, thank you very much.  It's a genuine honor.  It's an honor to be here with the President.  And my name is Joe Biden.  I used to work for -- I used to work for Ken Salazar -- (laughter) -- in the United States Senate.  And it's good to see you here, Ken.  I guess you got -- you're going to hitch a ride home with me, right?
He rode out on the big plane.  He's going back on the little one.  And I also want to acknowledge Senator Michael Bennett, who I had an opportunity to meet.  (Applause.)  And Congresswoman DeGette is here, as well.  There she is.  And Mayor Hickenlooper, I want you to know how much we appreciate the hospitality.  And also, I believe Congressman Perlmutter was at the -- there you are, Congressman.  I wasn't sure you were -- he greeted us when we got off the plane.  (Applause.)
Mr. President, it's a slight diversion, but I think we got to be nice to him.  The Chairman of the Finance Committee, Max Baucus, is here.  (Laughter.)  And so we got to make sure -- Max, just remember, when we call, I call, just say "Yes, Joe," okay?  (Laughter.)  All kidding aside, thanks for your great help in this, Max.
You know, you don't need to be an economist to know that jobs are the engine of our economy.  And without jobs, people can't earn.  And when people can't earn, they can't spend.  And if they don't spend, it means more jobs get lost.  It's a vicious cycle.  And that's the vicious cycle we're in today.  And it's one of the reasons that this bill is so desperately needed.  We have to reverse that cycle.
But everyone knows that jobs are more than just about a job.  They're about dignity.  They're about respect.  They're about being able to get up in the morning, look your child in the eye and say, "Everything is going to be okay; everything is going to be okay."
Last year -- last year our economy lost 3 million jobs; 600,000 more just this last month.  There are an awful lot of mothers and father who had to walk up those stairs to the bedroom of their children and tell them that, "I'm out of work, honey.  We may not be able to stay here.  You may not be able to stay in this school.  It's a tough, tough conversation.  And many -- too many times it's already occurred in this country.  We're here today -- we're here today to start to turn that around. (Applause.)
But folks, we're not just going to help the economy recover.  We're going to start building the economy for the future.  I'm particularly pleased that this bill includes investments in areas I've worked my whole political career.  Thanks to the Recovery Act, thousands of additional police officers will go on the streets of America, and hundreds and hundreds of fire stations will be built, making the people of Denver and every other city in America safer.
Thanks to this act, we're going to see an unprecedented investment in improving America's rail system coast to coast.  (Applause.)  In Denver -- right here in Denver, your light rail will be affected all the way to the Northeast Corridor where I come from.  We should have the best transportation system in the world.  (Applause.)  And we don't.
But ladies and gentleman, it's not only that this will help create jobs in the rail sector -- it's also good for the environment.  So there's a double bang for the buck in a number of the investments we're making in this legislation.
Starting today, our administration will be working day and night to provide more aid for the unemployed, create immediate jobs, building our roads and our bridges, make long-term investments in a smarter energy grid, and so much more.  And as we turn the economy around, we've got to make sure of one more thing.  Last time an economic recovery occurred after a deep recession, the middle class got left behind -- the middle class got left behind.  And that's why the President has set up a White House Council on the Task Force on the Middle Class, which he's asking me to chair.
So as we go through this process, we're also going to make sure that America is -- as we recover, that American middle class is not left behind.  But before we start on the way, there is much more to be done in the weeks to come.  I want to say something about what got us to this point.  I remember having the meetings of the transition team with President-Elect Obama and Vice President-Elect Biden in Chicago, and meeting in those offices knowing we were about to inherit a very, very bad economic situation.
And we started to put together the President's leadership, the blueprint for our recovery.  Faced with a swirl of options and uncertainties, then-President-Elect Obama was as clear and as firm then as he is today about what is needed.  He said, and I quote:  "We have to be bold… we have to act fast… and we have to think of the future that we wish to build."  Well, I believe that's what the President delivered.  He never lost sight of those goals that he set back in November and December of last year.
Over the weeks that followed, I watched him reach out, asking senator and congressmen from both parties to put the good of the nation above the disagreement over one particular of this significant package.
The President showed a willingness to compromise on specifics, but he never compromised on the principles he set out in that room in Chicago back in November.  And so, folks, he showed a willingness to work with others to get things done, but he never bent in his determination to put us on a road to recovery and reinvestment.
So today, less than a month -- think of this, less than a month into his presidency, the President is about to sign into law what is I believe a landmark achievement.  Because of what he did, America can take a first, very strong step leading us out of this very difficult road to recovery we find ourselves on.
So on behalf of our country and its people, Mr. President, let me presume to say, thank you.  We owe you a great deal.  (Applause.)
 To introduce the President, it's my pleasure to introduce Blake Jones, President of, now, Namaste -- I told him if I didn't say it right, he could call me "Biddin" -- (laughter) -- but Namaste Solar.  In four years, this company has grown from three people to 60 owner-employees, and have become one of the leading installers of photoelectric panels here in the state of Colorado.  And I expect they have ambitions to go beyond that, and I hope they succeed.
In fact, Bill Ritter isn't just the governor, he's a customer.  Namaste installed, as he mentioned, the solar panels on the governor's mansion.  And despite Namaste's success, without the Recovery and Reinvestment Bill that the President is about to sign, I think your President would tell you he was a little worried he might have to take other action in spite of all the progress that had been made -- that may have included layoffs.
But with this bill -- with this bill, he's going to be looking to hire -- not fire, hire.  And that's the difference between -- that this investment is going to make and why we're so happy to be here today.
                             * * * *    
THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you, everybody.  Please have a seat.  You guys can sit down, too.  (Laughter.) 
Let me begin by saying thank you to a few people -- first of all, your outstanding Governor, Bill Ritter.  Please give Bill a big round of applause.  (Applause.)  Lieutenant Governor Barbara O'Brien.  (Applause.)  Secretary of State Bernie Buescher.  (Applause.)  Your outstanding Mayor, John Hickenlooper.  (Applause.)  Your new Senator, Michael Bennett.  (Applause.)  Your old senator, now my Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar.  (Applause.)  Mark Udall is not here, but give him a round of applause anyway.  (Applause.) 
One of the outstanding leaders who helped shepherd this process through in record time -- please give Max Baucus of Montana a big round of applause.  Thank you, Max.  (Applause.)  To Secretary Federico Pena, one of my national co-chairs -- I would not be here if it were not for Federico.  Thank you.  (Applause.)  To Representative Diana DeGette, who is a -- we are in her district.  So, thank you so much.  (Applause.)  Representative Betsy Markey.  (Applause.)  Representative Jared Polis.  (Applause.)  Representative Ed Perlmutter.  (Applause.) 
To all the other elected officials and outstanding leaders who are here.  And to the whole Namaste family and Mr. Jones for outstanding work, congratulations.  Give them a big round of applause.  (Applause.)  And to the best Vice President that we've had in a long time -- Joe Biden.  (Applause.)
It is great to be back in Denver.  (Applause.)  I was here last summer -- we had a good time -- (laughter) -- to accept the nomination of my party and to make a promise to people of all parties that I would do all that I could to give every American the chance to make of their lives what they will; to see their children climb higher than they did.  And I'm back today to say that we have begun the difficult work of keeping that promise.  We have begun the essential work of keeping the American Dream alive in our time.  And that's why we're here today.  (Applause.)
Now, I don't want to pretend that today marks the end of our economic problems.  Nor does it constitute all of what we're going to have to do to turn our economy around.  But today does mark the beginning of the end -- the beginning of what we need to do to create jobs for Americans scrambling in the wake of layoffs; the beginning of what we need to do to provide relief for families worried they won't be able to pay next month's bills; the beginning of the first steps to set our economy on a firmer foundation, paving the way to long-term growth and prosperity.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that I will sign today -- a plan that meets the principles I laid out in January -- is the most sweeping economic recovery package in our history. It's the product of broad consultation and the recipient of broad support -- from business leaders, unions, public interest groups, from the Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers, as well as the AFL-CIO.  (Applause.)  From Democrats and Republicans, mayors as well as governors.  It's a rare thing in Washington for people with such diverse and different viewpoints to come together and support the same bill.   And on behalf of our nation, I want to thank all of them for it, including your two outstanding Senators, Michael Bennett and Mark Udall, as well as all the members of your congressional delegation.  They did an outstanding job and they deserve a big round of applause.  (Applause.) 
I also want to thank Joe Biden for working behind the scenes from the very start to make this recovery act possible.  I want to thank Speaker Pelosi and Harry Reid for acting so quickly and for proving that Congress could step up to this challenge. 
I have special thanks to Max Baucus, who's the Chairman of the Finance Committee.  Without Max, none of this would have happened.  He had to work overtime, and push his committee to work overtime.  And I want to thank all the committee chairs and members of Congress for coming up with a plan that is both bold and balanced enough to meet the demands of this moment.  The American people were looking to them for leadership, and that's what they provided.
Now, what makes this recovery plan so important is not just that it will create or save 3.5 million jobs over the next two years, including 60,000-plus here in Colorado.  It's that we're putting Americans to work doing the work that America needs done –- (applause) -- in critical areas that have been neglected for too long; work that will bring real and lasting change for generations to come.
Because we know we can't build our economic future on the transportation and information networks of the past, we are remaking the American landscape with the largest new investment in our nation's infrastructure since Eisenhower built an Interstate Highway System in the 1950s.  (Applause.)  Because of this investment, nearly 400,000 men and women will go to work rebuilding our crumbling roads and bridges, repairing our faulty dams and levees, bringing critical broadband connections to businesses and homes in nearly every community in America, upgrading mass transit, building high-speed rail lines that will improve travel and commerce throughout our nation.
Because we know America can't out-compete the world tomorrow if our children are being out-educated today, we're making the largest investment in education in our nation's history.  (Applause.)  It's an investment that will create jobs building 21st century classrooms and libraries and labs for millions of children across America.  It will provide funds to train a new generation of math and science teachers, while giving aid to states and school districts to stop teachers from being laid off and education programs from being cut. 
In a place like New York City, 14,000 teachers who were set to be let go may now be able to continue pursuing their critical mission.  It's an investment that will create a new $2,500 annual tax credit to put the dream of a college degree within reach for middle-class families and make college affordable for 7 million students -- (applause) -- helping more of our sons and daughters aim higher, reach further, fulfill their God-given potential.  (Applause.)
Because we know that spiraling health care costs are crushing families and businesses alike, we're taking the most meaningful steps in years towards modernizing our health care system.  It's an investment that will take the long overdue step of computerizing America's medical records to reduce the duplication and waste that costs billions of health care dollars, and medical errors that cost thousands of lives each year.
Further, thanks to the actions we've taken, 7 million Americans who lost their health care along the way will continue to get the coverage they need, and roughly 20 million more Americans can breathe a little easier knowing that their health care won't be cut due to a state budget shortfall.  And a historic commitment to wellness initiatives will keep millions of Americans from setting foot in the doctor's office in the first place -- because these are preventable diseases and we're going to invest in prevention.  (Applause.)
So taken together with the enactment earlier this month of a long-delayed law to extend health care to millions more children of working families -- (applause) -- we have done more in 30 days to advance the cause of health care reform than this country has done in an entire decade.  And that's something we should be proud of.  (Applause.)
Because we know we can't power America's future on energy that's controlled by foreign dictators, we are taking big steps down the road to energy independence, laying the groundwork for new green energy economies that can create countless well-paying jobs.  It's an investment that will double the amount of renewable energy produced over the next three years.  Think about that -- double the amount of renewable energy in three years.  (Applause.)  Provide tax credits and loan guarantees to companies like Namaste, a company that will be expanding, instead of laying people off, as a result of the plan that I'm about to sign.
And in the process, we will transform the way we use energy. Today, the electricity we use is carried along a grid of lines and wires that date back to Thomas Edison -- a grid that can't support the demands of this economy.  This means we're using 19th and 20th century technologies to battle 21st century problems like climate change and energy security.  It also means that places like North Dakota can -- that can produce a lot of wind energy can't deliver it to communities that want it, leading to a gap between how much clean energy we are using and how much we could be using.
The investment we're making today will create a newer, smarter electric grid that will allow for broader use of alternative energy.  We will build on the work that's being done in places like Boulder -- a community that's on its -- that's on pace to be the world's first Smart Grid city.  (Applause.)  This investment will place Smart Meters in homes to make our energy bills lower, make outages less likely, and make it easier to use clean energy.  It's an investment that will save taxpayers over $1 billion by slashing energy costs in our federal buildings by 25 percent; save working families hundreds of dollars a year on their energy bills by weatherizing over 1 million homes.  And it's an investment that takes the important first step towards a national transmission superhighway that will connect our cities to the windy plains of the Dakotas and the sunny deserts of the Southwest.
Even beyond energy, from the National Institutes of Health to the National Science Foundation, this recovery act represents the biggest increase in basic research funding in the long history of America's noble endeavor to better understand our world.  And just as President Kennedy sparked an explosion of innovation when he set America's sights on the moon, I hope this investment will ignite our imagination once more, spurring new discoveries and breakthroughs in science, in medicine, in energy, to make our economy stronger and our nation more secure and our planet safer for our children.
Now, while this package is composed mostly of critical investments, it also includes aid to state and local governments to prevent layoffs of firefighters or police recruits in -- (applause) -- recruits like the ones in Columbus, Ohio, who were told that instead of being sworn in as officers, they were about to be let go.  It includes help for those hardest hit by our economic crisis like the nearly 18 million Americans who will get larger unemployment checks in the mail.  About a third of this package comes in the forms of tax cuts -- by the way, the most progressive in our history -- (applause) -- not only spurring job creation, but putting money in the pockets of 95 percent of hardworking families in America.  (Applause.)  So unlike the tax cuts that we've seen in recent years, the vast majority of these tax benefits will go not to the wealthiest Americans, but to the middle class -- (applause) -- with those workers who make the least benefiting the most. 
And it's a plan that rewards responsibility, lifting two million Americans from poverty by ensuring that anyone who works hard does not have to raise a child below the poverty line.  So as a whole, this plan will help poor and working Americans pull themselves into the middle class in a way we haven't seen in nearly 50 years.
What I'm signing, then, is a balanced plan with a mix of tax cuts and investments.  It's a plan that's been put together without earmarks or the usual pork barrel spending.  It's a plan that will be implemented with an unprecedented level of transparency and accountability. 
With a recovery package of this size comes a responsibility to assure every taxpayer that we are being careful with the money they work so hard to earn.  And that's why I'm assigning a team of managers to ensure that the precious dollars we've invested are being spent wisely and well.  We will -- (applause) -- Governor Ritter, Mayor Hickenlooper, we're going to hold governors and local officials who receive the money to the same high standard.  And we expect you, the American people, to hold us accountable for the results.  And that's why we've created Recovery.gov -- a web site so that every American can go online and see how this money is being spent and what kind of job is being created, where those jobs are being created.  We want transparency and accountability throughout this process.  (Applause.)
Now, as important as the step we take today is, this legislation represents only the first part of the broad strategy we need to address our economic crisis.  In the coming days and weeks, I'll be launching other aspects of the plan.  We will need to stabilize, repair, and reform our banking system, and get credit flowing again to families and businesses.  We will need to end the culture where we ignore problems until they become full-blown crises instead of recognizing that the only way to build a thriving economy is to set and enforce firm rules of the road. 
We must stem the spread of foreclosures and falling home values for all Americans, and do everything we can to help responsible homeowners stay in their homes -- something I'll talk more about tomorrow.  And we will need to do everything in the short term to get our economy moving again, while at the same time recognizing that we have inherited a trillion-dollar deficit, and we need to begin restoring fiscal discipline and taming our exploding deficits over the long term.
None of this will be easy.  The road to recovery will not be straight.  We will make progress and there may be some slippage along the way.  It will demand courage and discipline.  It will demand a new sense of responsibility that's been missing from Wall Street all the way to Washington.  There will be hazards and reverses.  But I have every confidence that if we are willing to continue doing the critical work that must be done -- by each of us, by all of us -- then we will leave this struggling economy behind us, and come out on the other side, more prosperous as a people.
For our American story is not -- and has never been -- about things coming easy.  It's about rising to the moment when the moment is hard, and converting crisis into opportunity, and seeing to it that we emerge from whatever trials we face stronger than we were before.  It's about rejecting the notion that our fate is somehow written for us, and instead laying claim to a destiny of our own making.  That's what earlier generations of Americans have done, that's what we owe our children, that's what we are doing today.
Thank you, Colorado.  Let's get to work.  Thank you.  (Applause.)
                            END                                1:23 P.M. MST
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
_________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release                  February 13, 2009
     East Room
10:35 A.M. EST
THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  Please, have a seat.  Thank you.  Well, thank you all for being here.
Before I begin, I want to say a brief word about the terrible tragedy that took place outside of Buffalo last night.  Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends who lost loved ones, and as always, our thanks go out to the brave first responders who arrived immediately to try and save lives, and who are still on the scene keeping people safe.
Tragic events such as these remind us of the fragility of life and the value of every single day.  One person who understood that well was Beverly Eckert, who was on that flight and who I met with just a few days ago.  You see, Beverly lost her husband on 9/11, and became a tireless advocate for the families, those whose lives were forever changed on that September day.  And in keeping with that passionate commitment, she was on her way to Buffalo to mark what would have been her husband's birthday and launch a scholarship in his memory.  So she was an inspiration to me and to so many others, and I pray that her family finds peace and comfort in the hard days ahead.
Welcome to the White House.  Every President since Franklin Delano Roosevelt has sought the advice of the Business Council. Every President since Lyndon Johnson has sought your audience. And while this is a partnership that is important during periods of relative peace and prosperity, it is a essential partnership during tough economic times.
I don't need to tell you that we are in tough economic times.  The challenges we face today we have not seen in a very long time.  Each of you and every American sees them in very specific ways.  We've lost 3.6 million jobs since this recession began, nearly 600,000 just last month.  Many of your businesses are under tremendous pressure, with revenues falling and credit drying up.  You're feeling directly or indirectly the reverberations of a financial crisis which has upended the economy.
But I'm not here to repeat a litany of our challenges.  We know what they are, we know they are vast and we know that they are varied.  Instead I'm here to enlist your help, because we have a once in a generation chance to act boldly and turn adversity into opportunity, and use this crisis as a chance to transform our economy for the 21st century.
That's the driving purpose of the Recovery and Reinvestment Plan that I've put before Congress -- it's a plan that will ignite spending by businesses and consumers, make the investments necessary for lasting economic growth and prosperity, and save or create more than 3.5 million jobs over the next two years.  Ninety percent of those jobs are in the private sector.
We've had a spirited debate about this plan over the last few weeks.  Not everybody has shared the same view of how we should move forward, and at times our discussion was contentious.  But that's a good thing, from my perspective.  Diverse viewpoints are the lifeblood of a democracy, and debating these viewpoints is how we learn from each other's perspective and refine our approaches.
But as we meet, Congress is now poised to act.  It's passed the House, it's passed the Senate.  We expect a vote on the final version today.  And one of the reasons we've come so far is because so many of you have recognized the urgency and necessity of taking action.  This plan has won the support of groups such as the Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers, but also the AFL-CIO.
And the goal at the heart of this plan is to create jobs -- not just any jobs, but jobs doing the work America needs done:  repairing our infrastructure, modernizing our schools and our hospitals, promoting the clean, alternative energy sources that will help us finally declare our independence from foreign oil.
It's a plan that will put people to work building wind turbines and solar panels and fuel-efficient cars.
We'll upgrade our schools, creating 21st-century classrooms and libraries and labs for millions of children across America.
We'll computerize our health care system, at last, to save billions of dollars and countless lives as we reduce medical errors.
We'll lay down broadband Internet lines to connect rural schools and small businesses, so they can compete with their counterparts anywhere in the world.  And we will rebuild our crumbling roads and bridges, and repair our dangerously deficient dams and levees so we don't face another Katrina.
In addition to saving and creating jobs, we'll also ensure that folks who've lost jobs through no fault of their own can receive greater unemployment benefits and continue their health care coverage.  It'll provide badly needed middle-class tax relief, putting money in the pockets of workers and their families at a time when many of them are experiencing greater distress.  It'll also provide sensible tax relief to businesses that are trying to make payroll and create jobs.  And our focus is not only on large businesses, but also small businesses that are probably feeling the credit crunch most acutely.
Now, passing this plan is a critical step, but as important as it is, it's only the beginning of what I think all of you understand is going to be a long and difficult process of turning our economy around.  To truly address this crisis, we will also need to address the crisis in our financial sector to get credit flowing again to families and businesses.  And we need to confront the crisis in the housing sector that's been one of the sources of our economic challenges.  I'll be discussing that extensively soon.  We're going to need comprehensive financial reform in the way government relates to the financial markets in order to deal with the complex challenges of the 21st century –- both as a way to restore trust and also ensure that a crisis like this can never happen again.
And finally, we have to approach our budget in a responsible way.  It's my strong belief that we're going to have to invest in the short term to get our economy moving again and that we would be foolish to ignore our current perils.  But I also think that it's important for us to think in the midterm and long term.  And over that midterm and long term, we're going to have to have fiscal discipline.  We are not going to be able to perpetually finance the levels of debt that the federal government occur and carry.
And that means investing in priorities like energy and health care and education that will grow our economy again.  But it also means eliminating those programs that are wasteful and duplicative, and that we simply cannot afford.  We have to once again live within our means.  We're going to have to make some tough decisions that many of you are already making in your companies, but the federal government has not made with respect to our operations.
It will take all of these steps to not only lead to an economic recovery, but to lead to a long-term path to economic prosperity. And this work will not be easy.  Our recovery will likely be measured in years and not months.  All of us -- government, business, labor, and citizens -- will have responsibilities to meet.  And I will be looking to all of you for your ideas and innovations, for your help not only crafting the policies of the 21st century, but crafting a government for the 21st century that can be a partner with you.  Your best practices should be our best practices.
And as we consider the work ahead, we'd all be well served to reflect on the significance of the partnership that we see here today:  how it was forged and why it's been so fruitful.
Back in the spring of 1933, in the early days of a new administration, President Roosevelt's Commerce Secretary gathered in Washington the leaders of some of the nation's largest corporations, many of which continue to be represented in this room.  These executives, hailing from General Electric, and General Motors, and AT&T, and DuPont and others, formed an advisory panel to assist in the crafting of New Deal policies that in the coming years would transform the American economy amidst brutal and unyielding Depression.  And the work of these volunteers would inform the inception and implementation of the Securities and Exchange Act, the Banking Act, the Social Security Act, and other policies that have served us ever since.
That's how the Business Council was born.  It was at a moment when economic turmoil threatened the foundations on which our society was painstakingly built -- at a moment when other nations were giving up, as President Roosevelt said, "[selling] their heritage of freedom for the illusion of a living."
That's not what we did.  We adapted.  We changed.  We boldly defended our system of free enterprise even as we enacted policies to transform the ways that it would function.  We did not give in to ideologies that dismissed or derided the role of government –- nor those that denied the role of the marketplace.
And so even as our President was leading unprecedented public interventions into the private sector, he did so in concert with private sector's leaders.  Even as government built new regulatory structures and weaved a social safety net, these efforts were designed not to confine private industry, but to allow it once again to succeed while ensuring that success was broadly shared.
And President Roosevelt understood the new role of government in this new world –- that while extraordinary actions on its part might be the source of recovery, no action on the part of government, no matter how extraordinary, would alone be a source of our prosperity.
Now, conversely, these corporate citizens understood their new role as well –- that we all had responsibilities to fulfill; that our survival depended on how well we worked together; that in a more interdependent economy, our fates -- and were –- were and are more interconnected.
Our growth –- our success as a nation –- depended on what we did together.  And so the government could lay the groundwork for an economy in which innovation is prized and hard work rewarded, in which rules are clear and clearly enforced.  And the rest would be up to people like you and the people who work for you to create the incredible products and services that today we enjoy.
That's how we've led the global economy.  That's how we've ushered in massive gains in wealth not just for the few but for the many.  That is how we've been –- and will continue to be -– a nation that draws on the talents of all our people; a place where generation after generation of bold thinkers and bright minds, innovators and inventors, have taken the chance to invest in an idea, to build a new product, to test a new theory, to do their small part to change our world.  That's what's attracted some of the best talent around the world to our shores.
That's our promise.  And that's the promise that must always be at the heart of our partnership.
So I hope this is the beginning of many conversations.  Many of you I know.  Many of you I've had long conversations with in the past.  My door will always be open to you.  And I'm absolutely confident that if we're smart and if we are bold, if we work together, if we're willing to cast aside some of the theories that have already failed us and we remain open to new approaches and new ideas, and we think about the problems of our economy the way you think about your businesses -- in practical, hard-headed, clear-eyed terms unclouded by dogmas -- then I'm absolutely confident that we can lead our nation through this transformative moment and come out stronger and more prosperous than ever before.
I thank you for your leadership.  I thank you for being here.  And I look forward to having a series of conversations with all of you in the near future.  Thank you very much.  (Applause.)
                            END                    10:49 A.M. EST
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
_________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release                  February 12, 2009
As Prepared for Delivery:
It is wonderful to be back in Springfield, the city where I got my start in elected office, where I served for nearly a decade, and where I launched my candidacy for President two years ago, this week – on the steps of the Old State Capitol where Abraham Lincoln served and prepared for the presidency.

It was here, nearly one hundred and fifty years ago, that the man whose life we are celebrating today bid farewell to this city he had come to call his own. On a platform at a train station not far from where we’re gathered, Lincoln turned to the crowd that had come to see him off, and said, "To this place, and the kindness of these people, I owe everything." Being here tonight, surrounded by all of you, I share his sentiments.

But looking out at this room, full of so many who did so much for me, I’m also reminded of what Lincoln once said to a favor-seeker who claimed it was his efforts that made the difference in the election. Lincoln asked him, "So you think you made me President?" "Yes," the man replied, "under Providence, I think I did." "Well," said Lincoln, "it’s a pretty mess you’ve got me into. But I forgive you."

It is a humbling task, marking the bicentennial of our 16th President’s birth – humbling for me in particular, I think, for the presidency of this singular figure in so many ways made my own story possible.

Here in Springfield, it is easier, perhaps, to reflect on Lincoln the man rather than the marble giant, before Gettysburg and Antietam, Fredericksburg and Bull Run, before emancipation was proclaimed and the captives were set free. In 1854, Lincoln was simply a Springfield lawyer, who’d served just a single term in Congress. Possibly in his law office, his feet on a cluttered desk, his sons playing around him, his clothes a bit too small to fit his uncommon frame, he put some thoughts on paper for what purpose we do not know:

"The legitimate object of government," he wrote, "is to do for the people what needs to be done, but which they can not, by individual effort, do at all, or do so well, by themselves."

To do for the people what needs to be done but which they cannot do on their own. It is a simple statement. But it answers a central question of Abraham Lincoln’s life. Why did he land on the side of union? What was it that made him so unrelenting in pursuit of victory that he was willing to test the Constitution he ultimately preserved? What was it that led this man to give his last full measure of devotion so that our nation might endure?
These are not easy questions to answer, and I cannot know if I am right. But I suspect that his devotion to union came not from a belief that government always had the answer. It came not from a failure to understand our individual rights and responsibilities. This rugged rail-splitter, born in a log cabin of pioneer stock; who cleared a path through the woods as a boy; who lost a mother and a sister to the rigors of frontier life; who taught himself all he knew – this man, our first Republican President, knew, better than anyone, what it meant to pull yourself up by your bootstraps. He understood that strain of personal liberty and self-reliance at the heart of the American experience.
But he also understood something else. He recognized that while each of us must do our part, work as hard as we can, and be as responsible as we can – in the end, there are certain things we cannot do on our own. There are certain things we can only do together. There are certain things only a union can do.
Only a union could harness the courage of our pioneers to settle the American west, which is why he passed a Homestead Act giving a tract of land to anyone seeking a stake in our growing economy.
Only a union could foster the ingenuity of our farmers, which is why he set up land-grant colleges that taught them how to make the most of their land while giving their children an education that let them dream the American dream.
Only a union could speed our expansion and connect our coasts with a transcontinental railroad, and so, even in the midst of civil war, he built one. He fueled new enterprises with a national currency, spurred innovation, and ignited America’s imagination with a national academy of sciences, believing we must, as he put it, add "the fuel of interest to the fire of genius in the discovery…of new and useful things."  And on this day, that is also the bicentennial of Charles Darwin’s birth, let us renew that commitment to science and innovation once more
Only a union could serve the hopes of every citizen – to knock down the barriers to opportunity and give each and every person the chance to pursue the American dream. Lincoln understood what Washington understood when he led farmers, craftsmen, and shopkeepers to rise up against an empire. What Roosevelt understood when he lifted us from Depression, built an arsenal of democracy, and created the largest middle-class in history with the GI Bill. It’s what Kennedy understood when he sent us to the moon.
All these presidents recognized that America is – and always has been – more than a band of thirteen colonies, more than a bunch of Yankees and Confederates, more than a collection of Red States and Blue States. We are the United States of America and there isn’t any dream beyond our reach, any obstacle that can stand in our way, when we recognize that our individual liberty is served, not negated, by a recognition of the common good.
That is the spirit we are called to show once more. The challenges we face are very different now. Two wars, and an economic crisis unlike any we have seen in our lifetime. Jobs have been lost. Pensions are gone. Families’ dreams have been endangered. Health care costs are exploding. Schools are falling short. And we have an energy crisis that is hampering our economy, threatening our planet, and enriching our adversaries.
And yet, while our challenges may be new, they did not come about overnight. Ultimately, they result from a failure to meet the test that Lincoln set. To be sure, there have been times in our history when our government has misjudged what we can do by individual effort alone, and what we can only do together; when it has done things that people can – or should – do for themselves. Our welfare system, for example, too often dampened individual initiative, discouraging people from taking responsibility for their own upward mobility. With respect to education, we have all too frequently lost sight of the role of parents, rather than government, in cultivating a thirst for knowledge and instilling those qualities of a good character – hard work, discipline, and integrity – that are so important to educational achievement and professional success.
But in recent years, we’ve seen the pendulum swing too far in the opposite direction. It’s a philosophy that says every problem can be solved if only government would step out of the way; that if government were just dismantled, divvied up into tax breaks, and handed out to the wealthiest among us, it would somehow benefit us all. Such knee-jerk disdain for government – this constant rejection of any common endeavor – cannot rebuild our levees or our roads or our bridges. It cannot refurbish our schools or modernize our health care system; lead to the next medical discovery or yield the research and technology that will spark a clean energy economy.
Only a nation can do these things. Only by coming together, all of us, and expressing that sense of shared sacrifice and responsibility – for ourselves and one another – can we do the work that must be done in this country. That is the very definition of being American.
It is only by rebuilding our economy and fostering the conditions of growth that willing workers can find a job, companies can find capital, and the entrepreneurial spirit that is the key to our competitiveness can flourish. It is only by unleashing the potential of alternative fuels that we will lower our energy bills and raise our industries’ sights, make our nation safer and our planet cleaner. It is only by remaking our schools for the 21st century that our children will get those good jobs so they can make of their lives what they will. It is only by coming together to do what people need done that we will, in Lincoln’s words, "lift artificial weights from all shoulders [and give] all an unfettered start, and a fair chance, in the race of life."
That is what is required of us – now and in the years ahead. We will be remembered for what we choose to make of this moment. And when posterity looks back on our time, as we are looking back on Lincoln’s, I do not want it said that we saw an economic crisis, but did not stem it. That we saw our schools decline and our bridges crumble, but did not rebuild them. That the world changed in the 21st century, but America did not lead it. That we were consumed with small things when we were called to do great things. Instead, let them say that this generation – our generation – of Americans rose to the moment and gave America a new birth of freedom and opportunity in our time.
These are trying days and they will grow tougher in the months to come. There will be moments when our doubts rise and our hopes recede. But let’s always remember that we, as a people, have been here before. There were times when our revolution itself seemed altogether improbable, when the union was all but lost, and fascism seemed set to prevail. And yet, what earlier generations discovered – what we must rediscover right now – is that it is precisely when we are in the deepest valley, precisely when the climb is steepest, that Americans relearn how to take the mountaintop. Together. As one nation. As one people. That is how we will beat back our present dangers.  That is how we will surpass what trials may come.  And that is how we will do what Lincoln called on us to do, and "nobly save…the last best hope of earth."  Thank you, God Bless you, and may God Bless America.
THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary
________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release                  February 12, 2009
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT AT THE 102ND ABRAHAM LINCOLN ASSOCIATION ANNUAL BANQUET
Crowne Plaza Hotel
Springfield, Illinois
7:32 P.M. CST
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. Well, it is wonderful to be back in Springfield, and I see so many familiar faces -- to Mr. Hart, to Marilyn, to my Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood -- (applause) -- to two of the finest governors that we've had in the past, Jim Thompson and Jim Edgar -- (applause) -- to Laura Lynn Ryan and to our new governor, who's going to be doing outstanding work for us in the future, Pat Quinn -- (applause) -- to Reverend McCants and to my dear friend, Loretta Durbin.
I do feel guilty because Dick was the one who brought this event to my attention. (Laughter.) I'm here and he's there. (Laughter.) But part of the reason that Dick Durbin has been such a great friend, not just to me but to the people of Illinois, is because his work always comes first, and he has been unbelievable in providing leadership in the Senate, through thick and through thin. I'm very, very grateful to him. He is one of my greatest friends, and I would not be standing here if it were not for Dick Durbin. So please give Dick Durbin a big round of applause. (Applause.)
So it is wonderful to be back in Springfield, the city where I got my start in elective office, where I served for nearly a decade. I see some of my colleagues, your Attorney General, Lisa Madigan, in the house. (Applause.) You've got some constitutional officers there. I think that's Alexi, your Treasurer, who's going to be playing basketball with me at some point -- (laughter) -- Dan Hynes, Comptroller, and just an incredible supporter during this past race; and your new Senate President, John Cullerton, one of the sharpest legislators that we've ever had. Is the Speaker around? He's over there? Mr. Speaker, it's good to see you. (Applause.) Thank you.
So I've got a lot of friends here. I've got to stop there, otherwise I'm going to be using up all my time.
I served here for nearly a decade and, as has already been mentioned, this is where I launched my candidacy for President two years ago this week -- on the steps -- (applause) -- on the steps of the Old State Capitol where Abraham Lincoln served and prepared for the presidency.
It was here, nearly 150 years ago, that the man whose life we are celebrating today, who you've been celebrating all week, bid farewell to this city that he had come to call his own. And as has already been mentioned, on a platform at a train station not far from where we're gathered, Lincoln turned to the crowd that had come to see him off and said, "To this place, and the kindness of these people, I owe everything." And being here tonight, surrounded by all of you, I share his sentiment. But looking out at this room, full of so many who did so much for me, I'm also reminded of what Lincoln once said to a favor-seeker who claimed it was his efforts that made the difference in the election. (Laughter.) Lincoln asked him, "So you think you made me President?" "Yes," the man replied, "under Providence, I think I did." "Well," said Lincoln, "it's a pretty mess you've got me into." (Laughter.) "But I forgive you." (Applause.)
So whoever of you think you are responsible for this -- (laughter) -- we're taking names. (Laughter.)
It's a humbling task, marking the bicentennial of our 16th President's birth -- humbling for me in particular because it's fair to say that the presidency of this singular figure who we celebrate in so many ways made my own story possible.
Here in Springfield, it's easier, though, to reflect on Lincoln the man rather than the marble giant -- before Gettysburg, before Antietam, before Fredericksburg and Bull Run, before emancipation was proclaimed and the captives were set free. In 1854, Lincoln was simply a Springfield lawyer who'd served just a single term in Congress. Possibly in his law office, his feet on a cluttered desk, his sons playing around him, his clothes a bit too small to fit his uncommon frame, maybe wondering if somebody might call him up and ask him to be Commerce Secretary -- (laughter) -- he put some thoughts on paper, and for what purpose we do not know: "The legitimate object of government," he wrote, "is to do for the people what needs to be done, but which they cannot, by individual effort, do at all, or do so well, by themselves."
To do for the people what needs to be done but which they cannot do on their own. It's a simple statement. But it answers a central question of Abraham Lincoln's life. Why did he land on the side of union? What was it that made him so unrelenting in pursuit of victory that he was willing to test the Constitution he ultimately preserved? What was it that led this man to give his last full measure of devotion so that our nation might endure?
These are not easy questions to answer, and I cannot know if I'm right. But I suspect that his devotion to the idea of union came not from a belief that government always had the answer. It came not from a failure to understand our individual rights and responsibilities. This rugged rail-splitter, born in a log cabin of pioneer stock; who cleared a path through the woods as a boy; who lost a mother and a sister to the rigors of frontier life; who taught himself all that he knew; and everything that he had was because of his hard work -- this man, our first Republican President, knew better than anybody what it meant to pull yourself up by your bootstraps. He understood that strain of personal liberty and self-reliance, that fierce independence at the heart of the American experience.
But he also understood something else. He recognized that while each of us must do our part, work as hard as we can, be as responsible as we can, although we are responsible for our own fates, in the end, there are certain things we cannot do on our own. There are certain things we can only do together. There are certain things only a union can do.
Only a union could harness the courage of our pioneers to settle the American West, which is why Lincoln passed a Homestead Act giving a tract of land to anyone seeking a stake in our growing economy.
Only a union could foster the ingenuity of our framers -- the ingenuity of our farmers, which is why he set up land-grant colleges that taught them how to make the most of their land while giving their children an education that let them dream the American Dream.
Only a union could speed our expansion and connect our coasts with a transcontinental railroad, and so, even in the midst of civil war, Lincoln built one. He fueled new enterprises with a national currency, spurred innovation, and ignited America's imagination with a national academy of sciences, believing we must, as he put it, add "the fuel of interest to the fire of genius in the discovery ¼ of new and useful things." And on this day, that is also the bicentennial of Charles Darwin's birth, it's worth a moment to pause and renew that commitment to science and innovation and discovery that Lincoln understood so well.
Only a union could serve the hopes of every citizen to knock down the barriers to opportunity and give each and every person the chance to pursue the American Dream. Lincoln understood what Washington understood when he led farmers and craftsmen and shopkeepers to rise up against an empire; what Roosevelt understood when he lifted us from Depression, built an arsenal of democracy, created the largest middle class in history with the GI bill. It's what Kennedy understood when he sent us to the moon.
All these Presidents recognized that America is -- and always has been -- more than a band of 13 colonies, or 50 states -- more than a bunch of Yankees and Confederates, more than a collection of Red States and Blue States. But we are the United States. There isn't any dream beyond our reach -- (applause) -- there is no dream beyond our reach, any obstacle that can stand in our way when we recognize that our individual liberty is served, not negated, by a recognition of the common good.
That is the spirit we are called to show once more. The challenges we face are very different now: two wars; an economic crisis unlike any we've seen in our lifetime. Jobs have been lost. Pensions are gone. Families' dreams have been endangered. Health care costs are exploding. Schools are falling short. We have an energy crisis that's hampering our economy and threatening our planet and enriching our adversaries.
And yet, while our challenges may be new, they did not come about overnight. Ultimately they result from a failure to meet the test that Lincoln set. I understand there have been times in our history when our government has misjudged what we can do by individual effort alone, and what we can only do together; when we didn't draw the line as effectively as we should have; when government has done things that people can -- and should -- do for themselves.
Our welfare system, before reform, too often dampened individual initiative, discouraging people from taking responsibility for their own upward mobility. In education, sometimes we've lost sight of the role of parents, rather than government, in cultivating a thirst for knowledge and instilling those qualities of good character, hard work and discipline and integrity -- (applause) -- that are so important to educational achievement and professional success.
But in recent years, we've seen the pendulum swing too far in the opposite direction. What's dominated is a philosophy that says every problem can be solved if only government would step out of the way; that if government were just dismantled and divvied up into tax breaks, that it would somehow benefit us all. Such knee-jerk disdain for government -- this constant rejection of any common endeavor -- cannot rebuild our levees or our roads or our bridges. It can't refurbish our schools or modernize our health care system. It can't lead to the next medical discovery or yield the research and technology that will spark a clean energy economy.
Only a nation can do those things. Only by coming together, all of us, in union, and expressing that sense of shared sacrifice and responsibility -- for ourselves, yes, but also for one another -- can we do the work that must be done in this country. (Applause.) That is -- that is part of the definition of being American.
It's only by rebuilding our economy and fostering the conditions of growth that willing workers can find a job, and companies can find capital, and the entrepreneurial spirit that is the key to our competitiveness can flourish. It's only by unleashing the potential of alternative fuels that will lower our energy bills and raise our industries' sights, make our nation safer and our planet cleaner. It's only by remaking our schools for the 21st century that our children will get those good jobs so they can make of their lives what they will. It's only by coming together to do what people need done that we will, in Lincoln's words, "lift artificial weights from all shoulders [and give] an unfettered start, and a fair chance, in the race of life." That's all people are looking for, fair chance in the race of life.
That's what's required of us -- now and in the years ahead. We will be remembered for what we choose to make of this moment. And when posterity looks back on our time, as we are looking back on Lincoln's, I don't want it said that we saw an economic crisis but did not stem it; that we saw our schools decline and our bridges crumble but we did not rebuild them; that the world changed in the 21st century but America did not lead it; that we were consumed with small things, petty things, when we were called to do great things. Instead, let them say that this generation -- our generation -- of Americans rose to the moment and gave America a new birth of freedom and opportunity in our time.
These are trying days and they will grow tougher in the months to come. And there will be moments when our doubts rise and our hopes recede. But let's always remember that we, as a people, have been here before. There were times when our revolution itself seemed altogether improbable, when the union was all but lost, when fascism seemed set to prevail around the world. And yet, what earlier generations discovered -- and what we must rediscover right now -- is that it is precisely when we are in the deepest valley, when the climb is steepest, that Americans relearn how to take the mountaintop. Together. As one nation. As one people. (Applause.) As one nation. As one people. That's how we will beat back our present dangers. That is how we will surpass what trials may come. That's how we will do what Lincoln called on us all to do, and "nobly save ¼ the last best hope on earth." That's what this is, the last best hope on earth. Lincoln has passed that legacy onto us. It is now our responsibility to pass it on to the next generation.
Thank you, God bless you, and may God bless the United States of America. (Applause.)
END                  7:48 P.M. CST