The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
April 09, 2014

Remarks by the President at Fort Hood Memorial Service

Fort Hood
Killeen, Texas

2:06 P.M. CDT
 
THE PRESIDENT:  In our lives -- in our joys and in our sorrows -- we’ve learned that there is “a time for every matter under heaven.”  We laugh and we weep.  We celebrate and we mourn.  We serve in war and we pray for peace.  But Scripture also teaches that, alongside the temporal, one thing is eternal. “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  Love never ends.”
 
Deputy Secretary Fox; General Dempsey; Secretary McHugh; Generals Odierno and Milley; and most of all, the families of the soldiers who have been taken from us; the wounded -- those who have returned to duty and those still recovering; and the entire community of Fort Hood, this “Great Place”:  It is love, tested by tragedy, that brings us together again.
 
It was love for country that inspired these three Americans to put on the uniform and join the greatest Army that the world has ever known.  Sergeant First Class Daniel Ferguson.  Staff Sergeant Carlos Lazaney-Rodriguez.  Sergeant Timothy Owens. 
 
And Danny and Carlos joined two decades ago, in a time of peace, and stayed as the nation went to war.  Timothy joined after 9/11, knowing he could be sent into harm’s way.  Between them, they deployed nine times.  Each served in Iraq.  Danny came home from Afghanistan just last year.  They lived those shining values -- loyalty, duty, honor -- that keep us strong and free.
 
It was love for the Army that made them the soldiers they were.  For Danny, said his fiancée, being in the Army “was his life.”  Carlos, said a friend, was “the epitome of what you would want a leader to be in the Army.”  Timothy helped counsel his fellow soldiers.  Said a friend, “He was always the person you could go talk to.”
 
And it was love for their comrades, for all of you, that defined their last moments.  As we’ve heard, when the gunman tried to push his way into that room, Danny held the door shut, saving the lives of others while sacrificing his own.  And it’s said that Timothy -- the counselor, even then -- gave his life, walking toward the gunman, trying to calm him down. 
 
For you, their families, no words are equal to your loss.  We are here on behalf of the American people to honor your loved ones and to offer whatever comfort we can.  But know this:  We also draw strength from you.  For even in your grief, even as your heart breaks, we see in you that eternal truth: “Love never ends.”
 
To the parents of these men -- as a father, I cannot begin to fathom your anguish.  But I know that you poured your love and your hopes into your sons.  I know that the men and soldiers they became -- their sense of service and their patriotism -- so much of that came from you.  You gave your sons to America, and just as you will honor them always, so, too, will the nation that they served.
 
To the loves of their lives -- Timothy’s wife Billy and Danny’s fiancée Kristen -- these soldiers cherished the Army, but their hearts belonged to you.  And that’s a bond that no earthly power can ever break.  They have slipped from your embrace, but know that you will never be alone.  Because this Army and this nation stands with you for all the days to come.
 
To their children -- we live in a dangerous world, and your fathers served to keep you safe and us safe.  They knew you have so much to give our country; that you’d make them proud.  Timothy’s daughter Lori already has.  Last Wednesday night, she posted this message online: “I just want everyone to think for a moment.”  Love your family, she said, “because you never know when [they’re] gonna be taken from you.  I love you, daddy.”
 
And to the men and women of Fort Hood -- as has already been mentioned, part of what makes this so painful is that we have been here before.  This tragedy tears at wounds still raw from five years ago.  Once more, soldiers who survived foreign warzones were struck down here at home, where they’re supposed to be safe.  We still do not yet know exactly why, but we do know this:  We must honor their lives, not “in word or talk, but in deed and in truth.”
 
We must honor these men with a renewed commitment to keep our troops safe, not just in battle but on the home front, as well.  In our open society, and at vast bases like this, we can never eliminate every risk.  But as a nation, we can do more to help counsel those with mental health issues, to keep firearms out of the hands of those who are having such deep difficulties.  As a military, we must continue to do everything in our power to secure our facilities and spare others this pain.
 
We must honor these men by doing more to care for our fellow Americans living with mental illness, civilian and military.  Today, four American soldiers are gone.  Four Army families are devastated.  As Commander-in-Chief, I’m determined that we will continue to step up our efforts -- to reach our troops and veterans who are hurting, to deliver to them the care that they need, and to make sure we never stigmatize those who have the courage to seek help.
 
And finally, we must honor these men by recognizing that they were members of a generation that has borne the burden of our security in more than a decade of war.  Now our troops are coming home, and by the end of this year our war in Afghanistan will finally be over.
 
In an era when fewer Americans know someone in uniform, every American must see these men and these women -- our 9/11 Generation -- as the extraordinary citizens that they are.  They love their families.  They excel at their jobs.  They serve their communities.  They are leaders.  And when we truly welcome our veterans home, when we show them that we need them -- not just to fight in other countries, but to build up our own -- then our schools and our businesses, our communities and our nation will be more successful, and America will be stronger and more united for decades to come. 
 
Sergeant First Class Daniel Ferguson.  Staff Sergeant Carlos Lazaney-Rodriguez.  Sergeant Timothy Owens.  Like the 576 Fort Hood soldiers who have given their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan, they were taken from us much too soon.  Like the 13 Americans we lost five years ago, their passing shakes our soul.  And in moments such as this, we summon once more what we’ve learned in these hard years of war.  We reach within our wounded hearts.  We lean on each other.  We hold each other up.  We carry on.  And with God’s amazing grace, we somehow bear what seems unbearable. 
 
“Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  Love never ends.”  May God watch over these American soldiers, may He keep strong their families whose love endures, and may God continue to bless the United States of America with patriots such as these.  

END
2:18 P.M. CDT

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
April 08, 2014

Remarks by the President on Equal Pay for Equal Work

East Room

11:58 A.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you, everybody.  (Applause.)  All right.  Well, thanks to my friend, Lilly Ledbetter, not only for that introduction but for fighting for a simple principle:  Equal pay for equal work.  It's not that complicated.  And, Lilly, I assure you, you remain the face of fair pay.  (Laughter.)  People don't want my mug on there.  (Laughter.)  They want your face.  

As Lilly mentioned, she did not set out to be a trailblazer. She was just somebody who was waking up every day, going to work, doing her job the best that she could.  And then one day, she finds out, after years, that she earned less than her male colleagues for doing the same job.  I want to make that point again.  (Laughter.)  Doing the same job.  Sometimes when you -- when we discuss this issue of fair pay, equal pay for equal work, and the pay gap between men and women, you’ll hear all sorts of excuses about, well, they’re child-bearing, and they’re choosing to do this, and they’re this and they’re that and the other.  She was doing the same job -- probably doing better.  (Laughter and applause.)  Same job.  Working just as hard, probably putting in more hours.  But she was getting systematically paid less.   

And so she set out to make sure this country lived up to its founding, the idea that all of us are created equal.  And when the courts didn’t answer her call, Congress did. 

The first time Lilly and I stood together in this room was my tenth day in office, and that's when we signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.  (Applause.)  First bill I signed into law.  And some of the leaders who helped make that happen are here today, including Leader Pelosi and Senator Mikulski and Congresswoman DeLauro.  (Applause.)  I want to thank all the members of Congress and all the state legislators who are here  and all the advocates who are here, because you all contributed to that effort.  And I want to give a special thanks to the members of the National Equal Pay Task Force, who’ve done outstanding work to make workplaces across America more fair.
We’re here because today is Equal Pay Day.  (Applause.)  Equal Pay Day.  And it's nice to have a day, but it's even better to have equal pay.  (Applause.)  And our job is not finished yet. Equal Pay Day means that a woman has to work about this far into 2014 to earn what a man earned in 2013.  Think about that.  A woman has got to work about three more months in order to get what a man got because she’s paid less.  That's not fair.  That’s like adding an extra six miles to a marathon.  (Laughter.)  It’s not right.

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Ain’t right.

THE PRESIDENT:  Ain’t right.  (Laughter.)  It's not right and it ain’t right.  (Laughter.) 

America should be a level playing field, a fair race for everybody -- a place where anybody who’s willing to work hard has a chance to get ahead.  And restoring that opportunity for every American -- men and women -- has to be a driving focus for our country. 

Now, the good news is today our economy is growing; businesses have created almost 9 million new jobs over the past four years.   More than 7 million Americans have signed up for health care coverage under the Affordable Care Act.  (Applause.)
That’s a good thing, too.  I know it’s Equal Pay Day and not Obamacare Day -- (laughter) -- but I do want to point out that the Affordable Care Act guarantees free preventive care, like mammograms and contraceptive care, for tens of millions of women, and ends the days when you could be charged more just for being a woman when it comes to your health insurance.  (Applause.)  And that’s true for everybody.  (Applause.)  That’s just one more place where things were not fair. 

We’ll talk about drycleaners next, right -- (laughter) -- because I know that -- I don’t know why it costs more for Michelle’s blouse than my shirt.  (Laughter.) 

But we’ve got to make sure that America works for everybody. Anybody who is willing to work hard, they should be able to get ahead.  And we’ve got to build an economy that works for everybody, not just those at the top.  Restoring opportunity for all has to be our priority.  That’s what America is about.  It doesn’t matter where you started off, what you look like -- you work hard, you take responsibility, you make the effort, you should be able to get ahead. 

And we’ve got to fight for an opportunity agenda, which means more good jobs that pay good wages, and training Americans to make sure that they can fill those jobs, and guaranteeing every child a world-class education, and making sure the economy rewards hard work for every single American. 

And part of that is fighting for fair pay for women -- because when women succeed, America succeeds.  (Applause.)  When women succeed, America succeeds.  It’s true.  I believe that.  (Applause.)  It’s true.  It’s true.  It's true. 

Now, here’s the challenge:  Today, the average full-time working woman earns just 77 cents for every dollar a man earns; for African American women, Latinas, it’s even less.  And in 2014, that’s an embarrassment.  It is wrong.  And this is not just an issue of fairness.  It’s also a family issue and an economic issue, because women make up about half of our workforce and they’re increasingly the breadwinners for a whole lot of families out there.  So when they make less money, it means less money for gas, less money for groceries, less money for child care, less money for college tuition, less money is going into retirement savings. 

And it’s all bad for business, because our economy depends on customers out there, and when customers have less money, when hardworking women don’t have the resources, that’s a problem.  When businesses lose terrific women talent because they’re fed up with unfair policies, that’s bad for business.  They lose out on the contributions that those women could be making.  When any of our citizens can’t fulfill their potential for reasons that have nothing to do with their talent or their character or their work ethic, we’re not living up to our founding values.  We don’t have second-class citizens in this country -- and certainly not in the workplace.

So, tomorrow, the Senate has the chance to start making this right by passing a bill that Lilly already alluded to -- the Paycheck Fairness Act.  (Applause.)  They’ve got a chance to do the right thing.  And it would put sensible rules into place, like making sure employees who discuss their salaries don’t face retaliation by their employers. 

And here’s why this is important.  There are women here today who worked in offices where it was against the rules for employees to discuss salaries with one another.  And because of that, they didn’t know they were being paid less than men -- just like Lilly didn’t know -- for doing the exact same work.  For some, it was years before they found out.  And even then, it only happened because a manager accidentally let it slip or, as in Lilly’s case, a sympathetic co-worker quietly passed a note.  She only found out she earned less than her male colleagues for doing the same work because somebody left an anonymous note. 

We can’t leave that to chance.  And over the course of Lilly’s career, she lost more than $200,000 in salary, even more in pension and Social Security benefits -- both of which are pegged to salary -- simply because she was a woman. 

And Lilly, and some of the other women here, decided it was wrong, set out to fix it.  They went to their bosses; they asked for a raise.  That didn’t work.  They turned to the law; they filed suit.  And for some, for years after waiting and persisting they finally got some justice. 
Well, tomorrow, the Senate could pay tribute to their courage by voting yes for paycheck fairness.  (Applause.)  This should not be a hard proposition.  This should not be that complicated.  (Applause.) 
And so far, Republicans in Congress have been gumming up the works.  They’ve been blocking progress on this issue, and of course other issues that would help with the economic recovery and help us grow faster.  But we don’t have to accept that.  America, you don’t have to sit still.  You can make sure that you’re putting some pressure on members of Congress about this issue.  And I don’t care whether you’re a Democrat or a Republican.  If you’re a voter -- if you’ve got a daughter, you got a sister, you got a mom -- I know you got a mom -- (laughter) -- this is something you should care about. 
And I’m not going to stand still either.  So in this year of action I’ve used my executive authority whenever I could to create opportunity for more Americans.  And today, I’m going to take action -- executive action -- to make it easier for working women to earn fair pay.  So first, I’m going to sign an executive order to create more pay transparency by prohibiting federal contractors from retaliating against employees who discuss their pay with each other.  (Applause.)  Pay secrecy fosters discrimination and we should not tolerate it -- not in federal contracting or anywhere else. 

Second, I’m signing a presidential memorandum directing the Department of Labor and our outstanding Secretary of Labor, Tom Perez, to require federal contractors to provide data about their employee compensation so pay discrimination can be spotted more easily. 

Now, I want to be clear:  There are great employers out there who do the right thing.  There are plenty of employers out there who are absolutely certain that there’s no pay discrimination happening in their offices.  But then sometimes when the data is laid out, it paints a different picture.  Many times they then do everything they can to fix the problem, and so we want to encourage them to fix these problems if they exist by making sure that the data is out there.

So everybody who cares about this should pay attention to how the Senate votes tomorrow on this paycheck fairness act, because the majority of senators support this bill, but two years ago, a minority of Senate Republicans blocked it from getting a vote.  Even worse, some commentators are out there saying that the pay gap doesn’t even exist.  They say it’s a myth.  But it’s not a myth; it’s math.  (Laughter and applause.)  You can look at the paychecks.  You can look at the stubs.  (Applause.)

I mean, Lilly Ledbetter didn’t just make this up.  (Laughter.)  The court, when it looked at the documents, said, yep, you’ve been getting paid less for doing the same job.  It’s just the court then said, you know, it’s been -- as Lilly said -- it’s been happening so long, you can’t do anything about it anymore -- which made no sense and that’s why we had to sign another bill.  It’s basic math that adds up to real money.  It makes a real difference for a lot of Americans who are working hard to support their families. 

And of course, the fact that we’ve got some resistance from some folks on this issue up on Capitol Hill just fits with this larger problem, this vision that the congressional Republicans seem to be continually embracing -- this notion that, you know what, you’re just on your own, no matter how unfair things are.  You see it in their budget.  The budget the Republicans in Congress just put forward last week, it’s like a bad rerun.  It would give massive tax cuts to households making more than a million dollars a year, force deep cuts to things that actually help working families like early education and college grants and job training. 

And, of course, it includes that novel idea of repealing the Affordable Care Act.  (Laughter.)  Fiftieth time they’ve tried that -- which would mean the more than 7 million Americans who’ve done the responsible thing and signed up to buy health insurance, they’d lose their health insurance; and the 3 million young adults who’ve stayed on their parents’ plan, they’d no longer have that available; take us back to the days when insurers could charge women more just for being a woman.

On minimum wage, three out of four Americans support raising the minimum wage.  Usually when three out of four Americans support something, members of Congress are right there.  (Laughter.)  And yet here, Republicans in Congress are dead set against it, blocking a pay raise for tens of millions of Americans -- a majority of them women.  This isn’t just about treating women fairly.  This is about Republicans seemingly opposing any efforts to even the playing field for working families. 

And I was up in Michigan last week and I just asked -- I don’t understand fully the theory behind this.  I don’t know why you would resist the idea that women should be paid the same as men, and then deny that that’s not always happening out there.  If Republicans in Congress want to prove me wrong, if they want to show that they, in fact, do care about women being paid the same as men, then show me.  They can start tomorrow.  They can join us in this, the 21st century, and vote yes on the Paycheck Fairness Act.  (Applause.)  Vote yes. 

And if anybody is watching or listening, if you care about this issue, then let your senators know where you stand -- because America deserves equal pay for equal work.

This is not something we’re going to achieve in a day.  There’s going to be a lot of stuff that we’ve got to do to close the pay gap.  We got to make it possible for more women to enter high-paying fields that up until now have been dominated by men, like engineering and computer science.  Women hold less than 6 percent of our country’s commercial patents -- that’s not good enough.  We need more parents and high school teachers and college professors encouraging girls and women to study math and science.  We need more businesses to make gender diversity a priority when they hire and when they promote.  Fewer than five percent of Fortune 500 companies have women at the helm. 

I think we’d all agree that we need more women in Congress. (Applause.)  Fewer than 20 percent of congressional seats are held by women.  Clearly, Congress would get more done if the ratio was -- (laughter) -- evened out a little bit.  So we’ve got to work on that. 

And we’ve all got to do more to make our workplaces more welcoming to women.  Because the numbers show that even when men and women are in the same profession and have the same education, there’s still a wage gap, and it widens over time.  So we’re going to keep making the case for why these policies are the right ones for working families and businesses.  And this is all going to lead up to this first-ever White House Summit on Working Families on June 23rd.

So, ultimately, equal pay is not just an economic issue for millions of Americans and their families.  It’s also about whether we’re willing to build an economy that works for everybody, and whether we’re going to do our part to make sure that our daughters have the same chances to pursue their dreams as our sons, and whether or not we’re willing to restore to the heart of this country that basic idea -- you can make it, no matter who you are, if you try.  

And that’s personal for me.  I’ve said this before -- I’ve got two daughters and I expect them to be treated just like anybody’s sons.  And I think about my single mom working hard, going to school, trying to raise two kids all at the same time.  And I think about my grandmother trying to work her way up through her career and then hitting the glass ceiling.  And I’ve seen how hard they’ve worked, and I’ve seen how they’ve sucked it up.  And they put up with stuff and they don’t say anything, and they just take care of their family and they take care of themselves, and they don’t complain a lot.  But at a certain point, we have the power to do something about it for the next generation.  And this is a good place to start. 

So, for everybody out there who’s listening, ask your senator where you stand on paycheck fairness.  (Applause.)  If they tell you that there’s not a pay gap out there, you tell them to look at the data, because there is.  It’s time to get this done.  And I’m going to do my small part right now by signing this executive order and presidential memoranda.  (Applause.)

END   
12:18 P.M. EDT

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
April 07, 2014

Remarks by the President, Vice President, and SBA Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet at Swearing-In Ceremony

South Court Auditorium

3:35 P.M EDT

THE PRESIDENT:  All right, everybody please have a seat. 
I just wanted to stop by and congratulate Maria on officially being sworn in as the head of the SBA. 

I want to thank all the members of Congress who are here today, as well as the terrific staff at the SBA for helping America’s small businesses succeed, and who have been holding down the fort until we got this confirmation through.

I nominated Maria because she knows first-hand the challenges that small businesses go through -- and she has a proven track record of helping them succeed.  She was California’s Secretary of Business, Transportation and Housing, and in that role she was the driving force behind major public investments in job-creating industries.  As the founder of the ProAmerica Bank, she supported Latino entrepreneurs throughout Los Angeles. 

So Maria understands that small businesses are the lifeblood of our economy.  They represent the promise that if you work hard in this country, you can succeed and you can help your children do even better. 

And that’s why this administration has been so focused on helping small businesses succeed from day one.  We cut taxes 18 times for small businesses in my first term.  We’ve helped more than 200,000 small businesses get loans supported by the SBA.  Today, our economy is growing and our businesses have created almost 9 million jobs, and a lot of that has to do with the fact that there are small businesses out there who are making things happen every single day.

But we can always do more.  And that’s why having such a hard charger as Maria, who knows both the entrepreneurial side as well as public service, is so important.  When I announced her nomination back in January, I was absolutely confident that she was going to do a terrific job.  And I am no less confident today.

I understand she already had meetings this morning.  She didn’t really wait for the ceremony -- (laughter) -- to start meeting with some of our veterans and women-owned businesses, and Latino and African American-owned businesses.  And she’s going to be out there I know listening to small businesses, working with our other agencies that are in charge of helping businesses grow.  And I’m confident that by the end of her tenure she’s really going to have made her mark and made a difference.  And, of course, she also has a really beautiful family, which is good too.  (Applause.)

So with that, Biden is in charge of the next state of this thing.  (Laughter.)  And he always does a great job.  And it’s not that many lines -- (laughter) -- so hopefully we’ll get them right.  We had a few problems my first time out, but second time went smoothly.  And Joe has done this a lot.

So congratulations again, Maria.  (Applause.) 

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Well, Maria, you brought out the first team here.  I can see that Congress is in full array here and anchored by Secretary Jack Lew at the end of the aisle there.
Folks, Ray, thank you for being willing to do this.  And I mean that sincerely.  All the members of the House here know that no one does a job on their own, that if their spouse isn’t in on the deal, it doesn't work.  And so thank you for being willing to do this.  And, Francesca, it’s a pleasure to meet you, as well as Antonio.  And I understand your sister Anna is here?

ADMINISTRATOR CONTRERAS-SWEET:  Indeed, there she is.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Hey, sis.  How are you?  Welcome, welcome.  (Applause.)

Look, the history of the journey of this country, in my view, has been the promise that anything is possible, that anything is possible in the United States of America. 

And, Maria, I think you’re living proof of that, the vitality of that promise.  Maria came to the United States from Mexico as a young child not speaking a single word of English.  But, Maria, you worked hard.  You stayed in school, and you remembered what your grandmother -- a migrant worker -- told you that one day that you’d be able to work in an office.  You’d be a secretary.  (Laughter.)   I don't think she had this in mind.  (Laughter.)  But I tell you what, you did become a secretary -- Secretary of Business, Transportation and Housing in the state of California.  And as I said, I’m not sure your grandmom had this in mind, but I don't think she has any doubt about it, as she looks down, that you’ve become whatever you wanted to be.

You also became vice president of the 7-UP Bottling Company; co-founder of a private equity fund focusing on Hispanic businesses; founded the first Hispanic-owned business bank in California in over 30 years.  And the common thread here is you’ve never forgotten to look back.  You know that -- the business potential in the Hispanic community, and you’ve known it.  You’ve nurtured it, and you’ve helped it at every turn because you know everyone here -- what everyone here today knows, that the Hispanic business community is absolutely central -- central -- to this country’s growth.  Hispanics in this country start businesses three times as often as on the national average as any other group of Americans.

And right now there are about 3.2 million Hispanic-owned businesses across the country, contributing almost a half a trillion dollars to the American economy.  Not all of them are small businesses.  Some of them are pretty big that used to be small, and that's exactly what we want to happen.  And that's why since we took office, the Small Business Administration has helped Hispanic-owned businesses secure 16,000 loans of over $6 billion and garnered over $41 billion in prime contacts with the federal government, and in no small part because of our friends in the Congress.

And just as important is the growth of women-owned businesses in this country.  Over the past 40 years, women have gone from owning 5 percent of all small businesses in America, today owning 30 percent.  That's why the Small Business Administration has increased lending to women-owned businesses by 31 percent just since 2009.

And they’ve also opened new doors to 23 new businesswomen centers which have trained and counseled more than 270,000 women in America.

Small businesses represent a fundamental American promise that if you work hard, if you just get a chance, there’s nothing that can't be done.  And, Maria, I have every confidence in the world that you’ll do everything in your power to give all of America’s small businesses and entrepreneurs the chance that they dream of.

And so it’s now my pleasure, Maria, to swear you in and perform the oath of office here. 

[The oath is administered.]  (Applause.)
 
ADMINISTRATOR CONTRERAS-SWEET:  Thank you.  Thank you. 

Thank you, Mr. Vice President, for those very generous words.  I also want to thank the President for his confidence and for giving me this opportunity to be an advocate for America’s 28 million small businesses; and to Representatives Becerra, Garcia, Hinojosa, Napolitano, and Roybal-Allard, and Secretary Lew for being here today.  I want to thank the members of the Senate for their vote of confidence.  I look forward to working with all the members of Congress.

My journey from Guadalajara to this house today is one that could only happen in America.  And that journey has not been a lonely one.  Thank you to my family, my friends, my associates, who have made my entire career a prologue to the position I assume today.

I want to give special thanks to the SBA partners and stakeholders who are here today, and for your patience and support throughout this entire process.  I know how hard you worked behind the scenes so that I could be standing here before you today and I'm so grateful.

I want to thank my family -- of course, my husband, Ray, who everywhere he goes he says, I'm the one who made her sweet.  (Laughter and applause.)  To my three wonderful children, two of whom are here today -- one is in the middle of a very good case that we sure hope it was worth it and that he wins -- and of course, to Francesca Maria and to Antonio Kenneth. 

My mother worked so hard her entire life to give her six children opportunities she would never have.  And my dear grandmother who told me I could be a secretary someday, but a Cabinet Secretary?  Never in her wildest dreams.  I came to this country at the age of 5 with my mom and five siblings.  We didn’t have much, but what we did have was an abundance of hope.  We didn’t speak the language yet -- neither the business language, nor or the English language.  But my grandmother taught us to believe in the promise of America. 

This country was founded by risk-takers, resourceful pioneers who built this prosperous nation.  Entrepreneurialism is in our heritage.  The American Dream has always been about the opportunity to earn a good education and the keys to own your home.  But the expanding American Dream is also about the opportunity to start your own business.  I've lived that dream.  And as the SBA Administrator, I'm determined to help others realize theirs as well.

Some small businesses employ one out of two workers today in America.  SBA is a driving force that helps propel this economic activity.  SBA provides access to capital, contracting opportunities, and consultation through a national network of partners, and of course, disaster relief loans. 

I'm energized to begin this work on behalf of the nation’s entrepreneurs who wish so much to start new businesses and create most of our new jobs.  I've already had a busy first morning on the job.  I met with our disaster assistance team, which is on the ground in Washington State, following the presidential declaration to assist those impacted by the devastating mudslide. I also met with a group of veterans to thank them and to explore how more of our military heroes can use their skills to become successful small business owners.

I recall when John F. Kennedy said, all of us do not have equal talent, but all of us should have an equal opportunity to develop our talents.  I've come to realize that access to the American Dream means access to capital.  Entrepreneurs are the difference-makers in our economy. 

I've seen the pivotal role that SBA plays in our entrepreneurial ecosystem.  I was both a community banker and an SBA lender.  I was a small business owner whose small business helped small businesses every day.  As the bank chairwoman, I examined business plans, their viability and management’s ability to execute.  The only thing that I understood was that they strengthened my knowledge of the challenges that small businesses face.  It also strengthened my resolve to help them overcome those hurdles and succeed.

When I started my first business almost 20 years ago, I experienced the same challenges that entrepreneurs face today.  On any given day, I'd be called upon to be the company’s human resources director, the CFO, the spokesperson, or even the chief sales officer, all the while competing against larger firms in highly competitive markets.  Today’s small business owners multitask their way through similar days, relying on their determination, the courage of their convictions, and the power of their entrepreneurial spirit.

At the SBA, we're working to create the next American success story.  SBA lending has helped launch businesses on the path to the Fortune 500 -- companies like Apple, and FedEx.  SBA helped launch an iconic American ice cream brand -- Ben and Jerry’s.  SBA even helped six small businesses partner together with NASA to launch the Mars Rover Curiosity, which is exploring the surface of the planet as we speak.

As Administrator, my mission is to make the SBA an agency that's as innovative as the small businesses that we serve.  Two out of three new jobs in America are created by small businesses. Millions of middle-class families are working for folks who depend on the SBA’s ability to facilitate access to capital, counseling and contracting opportunities.  We must draw on technology to streamline the process of working with the SBA to make it easier for borrowers to access capital and easier for lenders to lend.  The SBA must be nimble, agile to keep pace with our digital age. 

Do you remember when a bank was only a tall building you walked into to do business with a teller or a loan officer?  Then ATMs came along and transformed our relationship to our banks.  Today, Americans can use their smartphone to scan their checks and make deposits out of their living room. 

The SBA must anticipate the kinds of rapid changes that are transforming how Americans access financial services so that our products are accessible and that they’re relevant to the technological age.  Demographic changes also require fresh thinking.  We know that there are more retired people who are looking to start a second career, to be their own boss.  There are more women, more minorities seeking to join the entrepreneurial class.  And the data shows that immigrants are twice as likely to file patents and twice as likely to start a new enterprise.  Think about that -- twice as likely to file patents and twice as likely to start a new enterprise.

As Administrator, I plan to embrace them all with a broad, inclusive vision.  I’m determined to get more loans into the hands of entrepreneurs who reflect the diversity of America.  We know SBA lending to African Americans, Asian Americans and Hispanic American-owned businesses, as well as women-owned businesses can lift up entire communities.  SBA must do more Main Street business -- help more Main Street businesses seeking loans.  We will do this by making it easier for community banks and micro lenders to become our partners.

Through our vast resource network, we can strengthen entrepreneurial education, which is so important to 1 million people who get game-changing SBA counseling every year.  We will seed startup businesses focused on high-growth areas like advanced manufacturing.  We must build bridges with rural communities as well as the urban centers alike.  They’re exporting more and are integrated into the global supply chain every day.  With the President’s support, I’m going to collaborate with my Cabinet colleagues to make sure more government contracts are awarded to our nation’s small businesses. 

I’m eager to get to work to help our entrepreneurs grow their companies and the American economy along with it.  At the SBA, taking care of business has been our business for 61 years. This agency has been a pivotal force in America’s economic comeback story.  But, ladies and gentlemen, we’re only getting started. 

So thank you again, Mr. Vice President, for this very special opportunity.  Ladies and gentlemen, let’s get down to business.  (Laughter.)  And I invite you to join me on Twitter at #gettingdowntobusiness -- (laughter) -- to begin that dialogue today.  God bless you and God bless the United States of America.  Thank you.  (Applause.)
 
END 
3:53 P.M. EDT

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
April 07, 2014

Remarks by the President on Opportunity for All -- Bladensburg High School

Bladensburg High School
Bladensburg, Maryland

11:35 A.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, Mustangs!  (Applause.)  Fantastic.  Well, everybody have a seat.  Have a seat.  Thank you, Leah, for the great introduction.  Give Leah a big round of applause.  Yay!  (Applause.)  Meeting young people like Leah just makes me inspired.  It’s a good way to start the week.  And all of the students here who are discovering and exploring new ideas is one of the reasons I love visiting schools like Bladensburg High.  And so I just want to congratulate all of you for the great work that you’re doing. 

I brought a couple of folks here who are helping to facilitate some of the programs here.  My new Deputy Secretary of Labor, Chris Lu, is here.  Give him a big round of applause.  (Applause.)  And some of the biggest champions for education in Prince George’s County are here, including your Governor, Martin O’Malley.  (Applause.)  County Executive Rushern Baker.  (Applause.)  Mayor Walter James.  (Applause.)  Superintendent Kevin Maxwell.  (Applause.)  Your biggest fans in Congress, Donna Edwards and Steny Hoyer.  (Applause.)  We are proud of all of them, and we’re proud of you.  

All of you remind me, all these young people here, that young people today are working on cooler stuff than they were when I was in high school.  In classrooms across the country, students just like the students here, they’re working hard, they’re setting their sights high.  And we’ve got to do everything we can to make sure that all of you have a chance to succeed.  And that’s why your outstanding principal, Aisha Mahoney, is working so hard at this school.  (Applause.)  That’s why Governor O’Malley has been working so hard to repair old schools and build new ones across the state of Maryland.  And that’s why I’m here today.  Because last year, we launched a national competition to redesign America’s high schools for the 21st century -- the 21st century economy.  And I’m proud to say that your hard work here has paid off, because one of the winners is Prince George’s County.  (Applause.)  Good job.  That’s right, you guys have done great.  (Applause.)

Now, let me tell you why this is so important.  Many of the young people here, you’ve grown up in the midst of one of the worst economic crises of our lifetimes.  And it’s been hard and it’s been painful.  There are a lot of families that lost their homes, lost jobs; a lot of families that are still hurting out there.  But the work that we’ve done, the groundwork that we’ve laid, has created a situation where we’re moving in the right direction.  Our businesses have created almost 9 million new jobs over the last four years.  Our high school graduation rate is the highest on record.  Dropout rates are going down; among Latinos, the dropout rate has been cut in half since 2000.  (Applause.)  More young people are earning college degrees than ever before.  We've been bringing troops home from two wars.  More than 7 million Americans have now signed up for health coverage through the Affordable Care Act.  (Applause.)  
So we’ve been making progress, but we've got more work to do to make sure that every one of these young people, that everybody who is willing to work hard has the chance to get ahead.  We’ve got to make sure that our economy works for everybody, not just a few.  We’ve got to make sure opportunity exists for all people.  No matter who you are, no matter where you started out, you’ve got to have confidence that if you work hard and take responsibility, you can make it.

And that’s the chance that this country gave me.  It's the chance that this country gave Michelle.  And that's why we’re working so hard for what we call an opportunity agenda -- one that gives everybody a shot.  And there are four simple goals:  We want to create new jobs.  We want to make sure that people have the skills to fill those jobs.  We want to make sure every young person has a world-class education.  And we want to make sure that we reward hard work with things like health care you can count on and wages you can live on. 

And Maryland and Governor O’Malley have been working alongside us on these issues, and I want to give a special shout-out to the Maryland legislature because, because of Governor O’Malley’s leadership, you are helping to make sure that we are raising more people’s wages with your push to raise your minimum wage right here in Maryland.  (Applause.)  We're very proud to see that happen.  And I hope Governor O’Malley is going to sign it into law soon.  Give Maryland a raise.  (Applause.)  That's good work.

But the main focus here is guaranteeing every young person has access to a world-class education.  Every single student.  Now, that starts before high school.  We've got to start at the youngest ages by making sure we've got high-quality preschool and other early learning programs for every young child in America.  (Applause.)  It makes a difference. 

We've got to make sure that every student has access to the world’s information and the world’s best technology, and that's why we’re moving forward with an initiative we call ConnectED to finally connect 99 percent of America’s students to high-speed Internet in the next few years.  (Applause.)  It means that we've got to rein in college costs -- because I want to make sure that Leah, when she goes to school, she’s not burdened with too much debt.  (Applause.)  And we've got to make it easier to repay student loans -- because none of the young people here should be denied a higher education just because your family has trouble affording it.  And a world-class education means preparing every young person with the skills they need for college, for a career, and for a lifetime of citizenship.

So what we did was we launched a new competition, backed by America’s Departments of Education and Labor, to start redesigning some of our high schools.  We call it Youth CareerConnect.  And we’re offering $100 million in new grants to help schools and local partners develop and test new curricula and models for success.  We want to invest in your future. 

You guys are all coming up in an age where you’re not going to be able to compete with people across town for good jobs -- you’re going to be competing with the rest of the world.  Young people in India and China, they’re all interested in trying to figure out how they get a foothold in this world economy.  That's who you're competing against.  Now, I'm confident you can match or exceed anything they do, but we don't do it by just resting on what we've done before.  We've got to out-work and out-innovate and out-hustle everybody else.  We've got to think about new ways of doing things.

And part of our concern has been our high schools, a lot of them were designed with curriculums based on the 1940s and ‘50s and ‘60s, and haven't been updated.  So the idea behind this competition is how do we start making high school, in particular, more interesting, more exciting, more relevant to young people.

Last year, for example, I visited a school called P-TECH --- this is in Brooklyn -- a high school that partnered with IBM and the City University of New York to offer its students not only a high school diploma, but also an associate’s degree in computer systems or electromechanical engineering.  IBM said that P-TECH graduates would be the first in line for jobs. 

Then I visited a high school in Nashville that offers “academies” where students focus on a specific subject area -- but they’re also getting hands-on experience running their own credit union, working in their own TV studios, learning 3D printing, tinkering with their own airplane -- which was pretty cool.  I never got to do that.  I did get my own airplane later in life.  (Laughter.)  Although I've got to give it back.  (Laughter.)  I don't get to keep it.

But this is stuff I didn’t get to do when I was in high school -- and I wish I had.  But it's stuff you have to know how to do today, in today’s economy.  Things are moving faster, they’re more sophisticated.  

So we challenged America’s high schools to look at what’s happening in a place like P-TECH, look at what’s happening in cities like Nashville, and then say what can you do to make sure your students learn the skills that businesses are looking for in high-demand fields.  And we asked high schools to develop partnerships with colleges and employers, and create classes that focus on real-life applications for the fields of the future -- fields like science and technology and engineering and math.  And part of the reason we have to do this now is because other countries, they’ve got a little bit of a lead on us on some of these areas. 

A country like Germany right now focuses on graduating their high school students with a technical degree equivalent that give them a head start.  So we’re asking schools to look into what places like Germany are doing. 

Now, not every school that enters into this competition for the $100 million is going to win -- because we don’t have enough money for everybody, and we want to force schools to think hard and redesign, and we want to reward the schools that are being most innovative and are actually proving some of the concepts that they’re trying out.  But the great thing is that through this competition, schools across the country that entered have changed the way they prepare their students, and have already made enormous improvements, even before they get the grant.  And, ultimately, we had to choose the top Youth CareerConnect initiatives.  Today, I’m proud to say that schools across America are putting up some pretty impressive proposals. 

The winners across the board are doing the kinds of stuff that will allow other schools to start duplicating what they’re doing.  The winners in Indianapolis are expanding their career prep programs to encourage more young women and kids from diverse backgrounds to join our science and technology workforce.  New York City likes that Brooklyn high school model, P-TECH, so much that they’re using their grant to fund two more just like it, so that students can gain two degrees at once and get the edge they need in today’s high-tech, high-speed economy.  And as I mentioned earlier, one of our 24 winners is a three-school team including your high school.  Mustangs, you guys are part of the team that won!  (Applause.)  That’s good. 

Now, in part, the reason you won is because you guys were ahead of the curve.  You were already winning.  For a couple years now, your career academies have been integrating classroom learning with ready-to-work skills, and you’re preparing students to move directly into the in-demand jobs of the future -- jobs in IT and biosciences and hospitality.  And now you’re stepping it up.  You’re taking it to another level.  So in the classroom I just visited, you had 10th graders -- although there was also a freshman -- who are studying epidemiology -- the study of disease patterns and outbreaks.  And they’re getting potentially college-level credit for it, which is good because they may be the young people who discover a cure for some disease down the line that we don’t even know about yet.

I know our brilliant scientists at the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control, they’d be proud of you.  They like looking at bacteria.  (Laughter.)  And I got a little worried when I went into the classroom -- everybody was wearing goggles and vests, and I didn’t have my goggles.  (Laughter.)  But they assured me it was safe.  But some of you Mustangs are pushing yourselves to get industry-recognized certifications in nursing, while other students on this winning team are studying cutting-edge technology and getting hands-on internship experience at local businesses.  And we know these are skills that will be in demand.  Companies will come looking to hire you because of the experiences you’ve gotten here.

If you’re focused, if you’re working hard, you now have a platform so that by the time you get out of high school you’re already ahead of the game; you’re already in a position where you’ve got some skills that make you employable.  And then you can just take it further, whether it’s a two-year college or a four-year college, or graduate school.  Or there are a couple of young ladies in there who said they want to be neurosurgeons, psychiatrists.  So you can build on these careers, but the point is you have a baseline where you know if you’re focused here at this school, doing your work, you’re going to be able to find a job. 

And the grants that you’ve won in this Youth CareerConnect competition mean that the programs you’ve started are going to expand, and you’re going to get more college and career counseling to help get you a jump on your post-high school plans.  So a little over four years from now, Bladensburg and your partner schools will graduate hundreds more students with the knowledge and skills that you’ll need to succeed.

And that’s what we want for all the young people here.  We want an education that engages you; we want an education that equips you with the rigorous and relevant skills for college and for a career.

And I'm confident -- meeting these young people, they were incredible.  And a couple of them giggled a little bit when I walked in, but after they kind of settled down -- (laughter) -- they were -- they knew their stuff, and they were enjoying it.  And that's part of the message I've got for all the young people here today, is your potential for success is so high as long as you stay focused.  As long as you're clear about your goals, you're going to succeed.

And my message to the older people here -- like me -- is we've got a collective responsibility to make sure that you're getting those opportunities.  And there are resources out there that we've got to pull into the school setting.  Businesses, foundations around the country, they want to fund more CareerConnect programs -- because it’s in their interest.  They want good employees.  They’re looking for folks with skills.

When you can say, hey, the math that I’m doing here could change the way the business operates; or, I see how this biology experiment could help develop a drug that cures a disease -- that’s a door opening in your imagination.  It’s also good for our economy.  It's good for our businesses.  That's a new career path you’re thinking about that allows you to pursue higher education in that field, or the very training you need to get a good job, or create a new business that changes the world.  That's good for our economy, it's good for business, it's good for you, it's good for America.

As a country, we’ve got to do everything we can to make sure that every single young person here can have that “aha” moment, that light bulb goes off and suddenly you're not just studying because your parents tell you to or your teacher tells you to, you're studying because you know you’ve got something to offer.

And I want to make sure every student in America has a chance to get that moment -- that realization that your education can not just unlock your future and take you places you never imagined, but you're also going to be leading this country.  That’s the chance that this country gave to me and Michelle.  And that’s the chance I want for every single one of you.  From preschool for every four-year-old in America, to higher education for everybody who wants to go, every young person deserves a fair shot.  And I’m going to keep on doing everything I can to make sure you get that shot and to keep America a place where you can make it if you try.

I'm proud of your principal.  I'm proud of your superintendent.  I'm proud of everybody who got involved in making sure that you guys were already doing the right thing before you won this new grant -- and I know it's going to be well-spent.  Most of all, I'm proud of the students. 

Thank you very much, everybody.  God bless you.  (Applause.)  Go, Mustangs! All right.  (Applause.) 

END
11:54 A.M. EDT

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
April 04, 2014

Remarks by President Obama and Prime Minister Jomaa of Tunisia Before Bilateral Meeting

Oval Office

2:10 P.M. EDT

PRESIDENT OBAMA:  Well, it's a great pleasure to welcome Prime Minister Jomaa here to the Oval Office. 

Several years ago, a fruit vendor in Tunisia essentially made a statement to the world about the need for a government that represented ordinary people, and an end to corruption, and a sense that democracy and rule of law could flourish in the Arab world.  And that action triggered a movement that spread throughout the Middle East and North Africa.

And obviously what we've seen in the years since is that some countries have had difficulty in this transition.  There has been incredible energy and interest among young people about the possibilities of the future, but there’s also been great challenges, both economically and politically, in many countries.

The good news is, is that in Tunisia, where this began, we have seen the kind of progress that I think all of us have been hoping for.  Although it has been full of challenges, as any democratic process inevitably will confront, what we’ve seen now is a coming together of various factions within Tunisia, a new constitution that not only respects the individual rights of men but also women, that speaks to tolerance and respect for religious minorities.  And it creates the bedrock, the foundation for a Tunisian society that can thrive in this new global environment.

Prime Minister Jomaa has a big job ahead of him.  He’s been tasked with making sure that during this period as Tunisia is drafting election laws, preparing for new elections for the presidency and the parliament, that the economy begins to move forward with reform and that the political changes that are taking place happen smoothly. 

Fortunately, by all accounts, the Prime Minister so far has done an outstanding job.  And we are very pleased to welcome him and his delegation.  The United States has a huge investment in making sure that Tunisia’s experiment is successful.  And we want nothing more than Tunisians to determine their own destiny, for the economic reforms to take place to allow Tunisia to be not just self-sufficient but thriving in the world economy.

For this reason, I'm pleased that we're able to provide not only the assistance we've provided over the last three years, but additional assistance in the form of loan guarantees.  We want to work with Tunisia to help on some of the border security issues that it's confronting with respect to the Libyan border.  We have seen excellent cooperation with the Tunisian government on some of our counterterrorism efforts.  And we are confident that with the Prime Minister’s guidance that, in fact, Tunisia can meet some its reform goals and lay the foundation for great success in the future.

So, Mr. Prime Minister, we're very pleased to have you here.

After our meeting, I'm going to have an opportunity to meet with some Tunisian young people who are here studying in the United States as a consequence of a U.S.-funded scholarship that's being provided.  I think the Prime Minister and I both believe that we do our work on behalf of young people, and we want to make sure that we're creating greater and greater opportunities for them.  And so to have young people here from Tunisia who are able to not only get skills, but also the values that they can take back to Tunisia to help start businesses, to promote entrepreneurship, and create jobs and opportunity is something that we're very much looking forward to.

So, Mr. Prime Minister, welcome.  And I know you’ve had a good visit so far.  I'm sure you’ll have great success in the months to come, and we want to help.

PRIME MINISTER JOMAA:  Thank you, Mr. President.  Let me first thank you for this kind invitation.  I really appreciate that, and it's a great pleasure and an honor for me to be here meeting you.  It's an opportunity as well to express Tunisia’s appreciation of all the support you are giving -- the United States’ support, but your personal commitment and engagement to see progress in this transition, democratic transition in the march of Tunisia towards stability and democracy.

So thanks again.  And allow me to switch to French.

(As interpreted.)  I would like to take this opportunity to thank the United States government and to thank President Obama for the warm welcome that has been reserved for us and as we discuss past events but also as we set the road map for the future of my country. 

Tunisia and the United States have a longstanding history.  In the 18th century, Tunisia was one of the first countries to recognize the United States’ independence, and conversely, the United States was one of the first countries to recognize Tunisia’s independence.

So I want to thank you for allowing us to set this road map for the future.  First I would like to say that we are very proud of our new constitution, of our shared values in democracy and rights.  As we set this road map, we need to think about economic and social aspects, but, as you were saying, we also need to think about teaching and learning, because we are eager to develop our youth and to develop new technologies.

So we have this new hard-won freedom that we have obtained, and the gestation -- the birth of our new constitution was somewhat difficult but we have overcome those periods.  And now we need to focus on the future, on creating a new future for our youth. 

Mr. President, (speaks in French.)  And what I'm saying, just believe in it.  Just take the risk.  Invest in it.  So I prefer to formulate it like this -- I believe that it’s one of the best ways.

PRESIDENT OBAMA:  Fantastic.  Thank you. 

Thank you so much. 

And I would do my statement in French also -- (laughter) -- but my seventh-grade French isn’t quite up to it. 

Thank you, everybody. 

END
2:21 P.M. EDT

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
April 03, 2014

Remarks by the President and the First Lady at Visit of the 2014 Sochi Olympic and Paralympic Athletes

East Room

2:55 P.M. EDT

MRS. OBAMA:  Hey, everybody.  (Laughter.)  Welcome to the White House!  (Applause.)  I know you guys have been standing for a while, but you're athletes, you can handle it.  (Laughter.) 

We are so excited to have Team USA here with us today.  But before we begin, I just want to take a moment to acknowledge the Fort Hood community that, as many of you know, has experienced yet another devastating tragedy.  And we just want to make sure that folks there know that our thoughts and prayers are with all of those who lost loved ones and friends, as well as those that were injured. 

Because I know that many of the athletes here today are veterans themselves, and when something like this happens, it touches all of us.  I know that the President and I are just torn apart when things like this happen.  So today, as we celebrate the Olympic spirit, we remember that the same spirit -- the spirit of hard work and team work -- is shared by our military men and women, and we stand with them today and every day.  

So, now, let’s get into the you-guys thing.  (Laughter.)  After watching you guys all over TV all these couple of months, I have to say that I am truly amazed.  I shared some of this with you guys in the receiving line.  You all are so talented.  You’re dedicated, and honestly, sometimes I don’t know how you do it.  I really don’t. 

I’ve watched you guys do some of the craziest stuff.  That’s the thing with the Winter Olympics.  You guys do crazy things -- careening down the face of mountains -- craziness.  (Laughter.)  Throwing each other up in the air, it’s like -- the mixed-pair skaters, the women, they’re teeny.  The big guys take them and throw them, just throw them across the ice.  I’m like, are you kidding me?  (Laughter.)  You threw her so hard and she lands on one foot on a blade.  And those of you jumping on those cookie sheet things and just sliding down a mountain -- (laughter) -- 80 miles an hour -- I mean, who thinks of that?  (Laughter.)  

So I am really in awe of everything you do, as so many people here in America and across the globe are.  Again and again, you all showed us that being an Olympian is about heart; it’s about guts; and it’s about giving it your all no matter what stands in your way.  And that’s a message that I try to convey to young people all the time -- the idea that if you work hard and commit yourselves to a goal, and then pick yourself up when you fall, that there is nothing that you can’t achieve. 

And as Olympic and Paralympic athletes, you also know that a big part of reaching your full potential is making sure that you’re putting the right fuel in your body.  You all know that better than anyone in this country, that what you eat absolutely makes a difference in how you perform. 

And that’s another message that I try to spread to our young people, the importance of healthy eating and staying active.  So I want to thank all of you who taped a video for our Let’s Move campaign earlier today.  Thank you so much for making that happen.  And I want to give a special thank you to the USOC for their work to give over 2 million young people opportunities to get active in their communities.  We are so grateful for that, work, and we’re grateful for the example you all set for our young people.  

In so many different ways, you all are inspiring folks across the country not just every four years but every single day.  And nowhere have I seen that more clearly than in the story of someone that I met here at the White House four years ago under far different circumstances. 

Lt. Commander Dan Cnossen was seated next to me at a dinner with leaders of our military.  And I just got to see Dan, and we were remarking -- because we were in the Dip Room, the same room we had dinner in together, but just a few months earlier, Dan had been in Afghanistan.  He was leading a platoon of Navy SEALs when he stepped on an IED.  Dan lost both of his legs in the explosion, but he never lost that fighting spirit. 

I will always remember Dan, because just four months after that explosion, he finished a half marathon in a wheelchair -- four months after the explosion.  On the one-year anniversary of his injury, he ran a mile on his prosthetics.  Over the next few years, Dan stayed on active duty while in the Navy, earning medals in swimming and running events at the Warrior Games, and completing the New York City Marathon.

And today, four and a half years after his injury, Dan is proud to wear another one of our nation’s uniforms, and that is of Team USA.  (Applause.)  There’s Dan. 

THE PRESIDENT:  Dan is in the back there.

MRS. OBAMA:  Dan is in the back.

THE PRESIDENT:  Wave again, Dan.  There’s Dan.  (Applause.)

MRS. OBAMA:  And I also got to meet Dan’s sister, who stayed by his side every single minute of his recovery and she was an important part of that recovery.  And she’s a terrific woman, a nurse herself.  And I’m glad to hear she’s doing well.

In Sochi, Dan inspired us all again by competing in the 15K biathlon and the 1 kilometer sitting cross-country spring.  So Dan has come a long way in the four years that we met, and I know that his story and the stories of all our Olympians and Paralympians are nowhere near finished. 

So keep it up.  This is only the beginning.  Many of you were here four years ago, and you told us you’d be back -- and you’re back.  So I know you’re already getting ready for that next four years.  But in the meantime, we look forward to all that you’re going to do in this country and around the world to keep inspiring particularly young people to just live a little more like you all live and to show them that spirit of persistence.

So thank you all, again, for everything that you do.  And I can’t wait to hear about everything that you will do in the years to come.

And with that, I’m going to turn it over to this guy next to me -- (laughter) -- who happens to be my husband, but, more importantly, is the President of the United States, Barack Obama. (Applause.) 

THE PRESIDENT:  Let’s, first of all, be clear:  It is more important that I’m Michelle’s husband than that I’m President of the United States.  (Laughter and applause.)  I just want you to -- I don’t want anybody to be confused.  Many of you young people out there aren’t married yet, so I just want you to know -- giving you some tips in terms of how to prioritize.  (Laughter.) 

Obviously, as Michelle mentioned, our thoughts right now in many ways are with the families at Fort Hood.  These are folks who make such extraordinary sacrifices for us each and every day for our freedom.  During the course of a decade of war, many of them have been on multiple tours of duty.  To see unspeakable, senseless violence happen in a place where they’re supposed to feel safe, home base, is tragic.  And obviously this is the second time that the Fort Hood community has been affected this way.

So we join that entire community in honoring those who lost their lives.  Every single one of them was an American patriot.  We stand with their families and their loved ones as they grieve. We are thinking about those who are wounded.  We’re there to support them. 

And as we learn more about what happened and why, we’re going to make sure that we’re doing everything in our power to keep our troops safe and to keep our troops strong, not just on the battlefield but also when they come home.  They’ve done their duty, and they’re an inspiration.  They’ve made us proud.  They put on the uniform and then they take care of us, and we’ve got to make sure that when they come home we take care of them.

And that spirit of unity is what brings us here today -- because we could not be prouder of Team USA.  (Applause.)  Team USA.  I hope all of you made yourself at home.  We double-checked to make sure that all the bathroom locks were working in case Johnny Quinn -- (laughter) -- tried to bust down one of these antique doors.  We didn’t want that to happen.  (Laughter.)

I want to recognize the members of Congress we have here with us, as well as Scott Blackmun and Larry Probst from the USOC, our fantastic delegations that represent the diversity and the values of our country so well.  But most of all, we’re here just to celebrate all of you -- our Olympians and Paralympians who brought home a total of 46 medals for the Red, White and Blue.  (Applause.) 

I understand that freestyle skier Gus Kenworthy also brought home a few stray dogs that he adopted.  (Laughter.)  That doesn’t count in the medal standings, but it tells you something about the freestyle skiers.  (Applause.)  

Over the past couple of months, we saw some dominating performances by Team USA.  American women won more medals in the Olympics than women of any other nation.  (Applause.)  Way to go, women!  (Applause.)  Good job.  The men swept the podium in slopestyle skiing and Paralympic snowboarding.  (Applause.)  There you go.  Our women’s hockey team brought home the silver.  (Applause.)  Our men’s hockey team played a game for the ages with an epic shootout victory over the Russians.  (Applause.) 

I would personally like to thank all of our snowboarders and freestyle skiers for making newscasters across America say things like “air to fakie,” and the “back-to-back double cork 1260.”  (Laughter.)  I don’t know what that means, really, but I just wanted to say it.  (Laughter.)  I’m pretty sure I’m the first President to ever say that.  (Applause.)  I’m pretty sure that’s true.  The back-to-back double cork 1260.  (Laughter.) 

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  It feels good.

THE PRESIDENT:  Does it feel good?  (Laughter.) 

In Sochi, these athletes made plenty of history.  You had 16-year-old Declan Farmer scoring three goals to help our sled hockey team become the first nation ever to win back-to-back gold medals.  (Applause.)  Hey!  There he is.  There he is.  Hey!  (Applause.) 

Our men’s bobsled team became the first Americans in 62 years to medal in both the two-man and the four-man competition. (Applause.)  Bobsledders -- those are some tough guys, those bobsledders.  Don’t mess with them.  (Laughter.) 

And then, Mikaela Shiffrin became the youngest Olympian ever to win gold in the slalom, at just 18 years old.  (Applause.)  Where’s Mikaela?  She’s back here somewhere.  Wave a little bit. (Applause.)  

MRS. OBAMA:  She’s a little -- she’s down low.

THE PRESIDENT:  She’s down low.  There she is.  I knew she was here.  I saw her.  (Laughter.)  Afterwards, she said she wants to win five gold in 2018.  I do have to say, though, Mikaela, as somebody who was once told “you’re young but you should set your sights high,” I just got three words of advice:  Go for it.  (Applause.)  We are confident you are going to be bringing back some more gold.

Thanks to years of lobbying from Team USA, women’s ski jumping was added as an Olympic sport, and they did outstanding. (Applause.)  So women can fly just like men.  Jessica Jerome said, “We have arrived.  We are good at what we do.  And we are a lot prettier than the boy jumpers.”  (Laughter.)  Which I can attest to -- I’ve seen them.  (Laughter.)  She wasn’t lying.

So from our ski jumpers who fought for equality to the athletes and coaches who have served our country in uniform, like Dan, who we’re so proud of, these athletes all send a message that resonates far beyond the Olympic Village.  And that’s always been the power of the Olympics -- in going for the gold and pushing yourselves to be the best, you inspire the rest of us to try to, if not be the best, at least be a little better.

MRS. OBAMA:  Get off the couch.

THE PRESIDENT:  Just get off the couch.  (Laughter.)  That’s what Michelle said. 

All of you remind us, just like the Olympic creed states, the most important thing in life is not the triumph, but the fight.  And I want to take the example of somebody who couldn’t be here today, but her story I think is typical of so many of yours.  And this is Noelle Pikus-Pace.  Noelle was hoping to be here, but she’s been on the road a lot, wanted to get back to her husband and her kids -- and they may be watching us now.

But almost a decade ago, Noelle was on top of the world after winning the women’s skeleton World Cup.  She was injured in a freak accident that cost her chances in 2006.  In 2010, she missed the podium by one-tenth of a second.  And after all of those Olympics, she retired to spend more time with her family.  But then two years, ago her husband convinced her to go back on that sled, because raising a family and racing down the track don’t have to be mutually exclusive.

So since then, Noelle, her husband, her two young children traveled from competition to competition, living out of suitcases, seeing the world together.  And in Sochi, it all paid off, and she took home the silver in the skeleton -- jumping over the wall to celebrate with her family on the final run.  And here’s what Noelle said afterwards:  “Life is never going to go as planned.  You have to decide, when you’re bumped off course, if it’s going to hold you back or move you forward.” 

That’s the spirit we celebrate today.  That’s something Dan understands.  That’s something that all of you at some stages in your life have understood or will understand.  Things aren’t always going to go perfect -- and Michelle and I always remark, watching our Olympians, that you work hard for four years and then just a little something can happen.  And you’re just that close, and the courage and the stick-to-itness, and the confidence, and the joy in competition that keeps you moving -- that’s going to help you throughout life.  It helps our country. It’s what America is all about.  It’s why we are so proud to have you all here today. 

And four years from now, I won’t be here to greet you but some President is going to.  And I suspect that a lot of you may come back even four years after that.  You guys have done a great job, and what an extraordinary achievement it is for all of you to have represented the United States of America at our Olympic and Paralympic Games. 

Congratulations.  Good job.  (Applause.) 

END
3:15 P.M. EDT   

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
April 02, 2014

Remarks by the President at DNC Dinner

Private Residence
Chicago, Illinois

7:34 P.M. CDT

THE PRESIDENT:  So, first of all, Grace and Craig have been just incredible friends and supporters for a really long time.  And I just want to say thank you.  And thanks, guys, for letting us crash your house.  (Laughter.) 

I do think that the story Grace told is partly about roots and family, and where do you start off.  And I have to tell you, as I look around this room, I’m reminded of all the pieces of myself that are connected to individuals in this room.  There are people who have been friends of mine for a couple of decades now.  There are folks here who have been with me when nobody gave me a chance to even get to the U.S. Senate, much less the presidency.  There are people here who have been to Michelle and my wedding, and have been at Mom N Tots watching our kids waddle around.  (Laughter.) 

And so to have friends like this, to be home like this, even when the weather is like this -- (laughter) -- is invigorating and it reminds you of why you got into this business in the first place.  Because you got a lot of people here who have taught me a lot about community and friendship and family, and for that reason I’m just really grateful and I just want to say thank you to all of you.

I want to acknowledge our outstanding Governor of the great state of Illinois, Pat Quinn.  (Applause.)  I want to thank Henry Muñoz, who, although stuffed in a corner at the moment -- (laughter) -- actually has been working tirelessly on behalf of Democrats.  It is a thankless job, but he does it with good humor and grace, and he is a great friend, so we’re so glad that he came up here.

I was a little bit late.  Some of you may have heard there was another shooting at Fort Hood.  We don’t know the details, but we’re monitoring the situation carefully.  So I’m not going to give a long speech.  I want to spend most of the time that I’m here answering questions and hearing from all of you.

Let me just say a couple of general points.  First of all, the economy has bounced back in a way that is not only there yet, but, when you compare it to what’s happened in other countries around the world, is pretty significant.  We have seen 8.7 million new jobs created since I took office.  We have seen a creation -- the recovery of trillions of dollars of wealth because people’s 401(k)s have bounced back, and housing prices have begun to bounce back.  The unemployment rate is lower than at any time since 2007.  Health care costs are rising at a slower rate.  Our energy production is up.  Our exports are on pace potentially to double.  There’s a lot of good stuff going on.  Our manufacturing base has, after a couple of decades of sloughing off jobs, is now actually hiring folks back again.  And obviously the auto industry has come roaring back.

So there’s a good story to tell.  But, as I said at the State of the Union, there’s some long-term trends in our economy that we have not yet fixed.  And what it comes down to is the fact that, in part because of globalization, in part because of technology, but also in part because of some long-term government policies, we have an economy now in which folks at the very top are doing very, very well, but folks in the middle haven’t seen their incomes or wages go up in a very long time.  And folks who are fighting to get into the middle class find that there are fewer and fewer ladders of opportunity.

And that is a problem for all us, even if you’re doing well -- because the premise in this country has always been that we grow best when our growth is broad-based, when everybody has got a shot; when Grace’s parents come here and they’re able to, through hard work and responsibility and transmitting values to their kids, they’re able to succeed.  And one of the great things about Chicago is, is that although folks usually didn’t come here right first -- they tended to go through one of the coasts typically -- this is a city of immigrants.  And the story of Chicago has been starting off with nothing and building something.  And when I look throughout this room, it’s filled with people who lived out that story.

And I want to make sure that story is true for the next generation and the generation after that, and the generation after that -- because that is what makes America great.  Obviously in the news lately has been the whole situation in Ukraine and Russia.  And I’ve had to explain to people, Russia’s  moving troops into Ukraine wasn’t a sign of strength; it was a sign of weakness.  Because you’ve got a country that isn’t attracting people from the outside; a population that’s shrinking.  It feels surrounded, in part because people look at the West and they look at Europe and they look at America and they say this is a place where, if we put in effort, without connections, without being born to the right place, without having to pay a bribe, we might be able to succeed.  Whether it’s setting up a cheesecake business -- (laughter) -- or it is going into the helping professions, we can succeed.  And we have to make sure that that continues for the next generation.

Now, the good news is we know how to do it.  It’s not as if there’s a mystery here.  We know that if we invest in early childhood education then every kid can succeed.  We know that if we make college affordable then this could be the best-trained workforce in the country.  We know that if we rebuild our infrastructure, we can put people to work right now rebuilding our roads, our bridges, our sewer systems, our airports, our ports, setting up smart grids.  There are a bunch of folks that right away could get to work and suddenly they’ve got money in their pockets and they’d be spending that money on businesses all across Chicago, all across the country.

We know that we have to invest in research and development.  We know that immigration reform isn’t just good for the families but it keeps on bringing dynamic, energized folks to our country.  It’s one of our biggest comparative advantages to other countries, including Europe and Asia, is that we’ve got a relatively young population, because folks who are hungry keep on wanting to come here and it keeps our economy vibrant.

And we know that when we pay workers a living wage, when we make sure that women are getting paid the same as men, when they’ve got decent benefits, when they have the financial security of having health insurance so they don’t go bankrupt when they get sick, we know all those things make people more productive and the entire economy grows.

So we know what to do.  The problem is right now Congress isn’t willing or capable of doing it.  And that’s why you being here tonight is so important and why even though I promised Michelle that 2012 was going to be my last campaign, actually this one is my last campaign.  (Laughter.)

We need to hang on to the Senate.  We need to pick up seats in the House.  We need to make sure that the public knows very clearly what is at stake in this election.  And it’s hard during midterms, because Democrats have a tendency to get really excited during presidential years and then during the midterms we go into hibernation. 

And that’s why you being here tonight is so important. That’s why what’s Henry is doing is so important.  And that’s why we’re so grateful for what Grace and Craig are doing is so important.  Because our agenda, our values, the things that we care about -- things, by the way, that the majority of Americans by and large agree with up and down the line -- can only happen if we’ve got a Congress that is prepared to work, to engage constructively in debate and have some differences, but also say there are some things that go beyond politics.  That’s what we’re fighting for.  And that’s why all of you being here tonight is something I truly, truly appreciate -- in addition to just seeing some old friends. 

Thank you, everybody.  (Applause.)

END
7:45 P.M. CDT

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
April 02, 2014

Remarks by the President on the Shooting at Fort Hood

Chicago Cut Steakhouse Chicago, Illinois

6:46 P.M. CDT

THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, everybody.  I just got off the phone with Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Sandy Winnefeld to get the latest report on the situation in Fort Hood.  Obviously we’re following it closely.  The situation is fluid right now.  But my national security team is in close contact with not just the Defense Department but the FBI.  They are working with folks on the ground to determine exactly what happened to make sure that everybody is secure.  And I want to just assure all of us that we're going to get to the bottom of exactly what happened. 

Any shooting is troubling.  Obviously this reopens the pain of what happened at Fort Hood five years ago.  We know these families.  We know their incredible service to our country and the sacrifices that they make.  Obviously our thoughts and prayers were -- are with the entire community.  And we are going to do everything we can to make sure that the community at Fort Hood has what it needs to deal with the current situation, but also any potential aftermath.

We're heartbroken that something like this might have happened again.  And I don't want to comment on the facts until I know exactly what has happened, but for now, I would just hope that everybody across the country is keeping the families and the community at Fort Hood in our thoughts and in our prayers.  The folks there have sacrificed so much on behalf of our freedom.  Many of the people there have been on multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.  They serve with valor; they serve with distinction. And when they’re at their home base they need to feel safe.  We don't yet know what happened tonight, but obviously that sense of safety has been broken once again.  And we're going to have to find out exactly what happened.

The Pentagon will undoubtedly have further briefings for you as we get more details [about what happened.]

Thanks, everybody.

 

The White House

Office of the First Lady

For Immediate Release
April 02, 2014

Remarks by the First Lady at Sixth Annual Kitchen Garden Planting

White House Kitchen Garden

3:37 P.M. EDT

MRS. OBAMA:  Hey, people!  Little people and big people.  How are you guys?  This is the sixth annual planting of the White House kitchen garden -- six times we’ve done this over six years.  Pretty amazing, huh?

STUDENTS:  Yes.

MRS. OBAMA:  So guess what we’re doing differently this year?  We are going to plant something called a pollinator garden.  Did you hear about this?

STUDENTS:  Yes.

MRS. OBAMA:  So just for the folks at home who have not heard about a pollinator, but a pollinator garden helps to encourage the production of bees and monarch butterflies.  And why do we need to do that?  You guys -- just yell it out.

STUDENT:  Because they pollinate the plants.

MRS. OBAMA:  They pollinate the plants, they help the plants grow.  But why do we need to help bees and butterflies -- what’s happening to them?  Yell it out.  They’re dying because of disease -- we don’t even know why some beehives are just totally disappearing.  But that could be a problem for the planet because if you don’t have insects and great pollinators to pollinate the plants, it could affect our food source, it could affect our ability to continue to grow things.  And that would be a problem.

So this garden is going to help to contribute to improving that problem.  So we’re going to plant all kinds of flowers that attract bees and butterflies, which is not going to make the Obama girls happy because they don’t really like bees.  But bees are good.  Bees are a good thing.  So you guys are going to help do that, and that’s the first time we’ve done a pollinator garden.  Pretty cool, huh? 

All right, well, let me welcome you guys who are here so we get good shoutouts from all the schools that are participating, okay.  So when I say your school name, I want to hear it.  All right?  If you really love your school, then you’ll hear it -- we’ve got schools that have been here every single year. 

We’ve got Bancroft.  (Applause.)  Bancroft!  (Laughter.)  Another longstanding school partner, we have Harriet Tubman.  (Applause.)  Tubman, yes!  And we’ve got Kimball Elementary School.  (Applause.)  Now, the teachers, you all could help, too.  Where are the -- you guys, come on. 

And we have a couple of new schools this year.  We’ve got the Cleveland Elementary School.  (Applause.)

STUDENT:  Yeah!

MRS. OBAMA:  All right!  (Applause.)  See, that’s new.  They've never been here before, so they’re still excited.  And then we’ve got Friendship Public Charter School.  (Applause.)  Yay!  Very exciting. 

But we also have some special friends from the FoodCorps -- let’s hear it for the FoodCorps.  (Applause.)  Now, the FoodCorps are near and dear to my heart because they’re an AmeriCorps national service program.  And before I became First Lady, I ran an AmeriCorps program called Public Allies. 

But what these young people do -- young people.  You guys are getting old compared to these guys.  (Laughter.)  Young compared to me.  But you guys take a year, right, and spend a year either after college, during college, after college, and they spend it in a community, in a school helping you guys understand the importance of healthy eating and knowing what good food is and helping you plant gardens in your schools and in your communities, right?  You’re helping to spread that knowledge about why eating fresh fruits and vegetables is so important -- so important that they have dedicated a year of their life to making that happen.  They’re going to be helping out today.  Thank you guys so much.  Thanks for your service and your efforts.  It really makes a difference.  The whole notion of getting out there and teaching healthy habits for our kids is brilliant, and we’re grateful.  And welcome here to the White House.  (Applause.)  Yay! 

And we’ve got our White House team, our crew who is here.  (Applause.)  Our crew, our chefs who -- they are so invested in this garden, because they use the garden every day.  They pull things out of that garden every day, they put it on our plates and we eat it for dinner and they serve it at big state dinners.  So the garden is very important to them, which is why they always come down and make sure that you guys do it right. 

Yes?

Q    Where are you from?

MRS. OBAMA:  Where am I from?  Chicago.  Good question.  (Laughter.)  All right, you guys.  So I think we’re ready.  Sam -- and then we have Sam Kass.  Have you guys met Sam? 

All right, so you guys have your jobs.  You’ve got your assignments.  All right, well, let’s get to work.  Let’s move!  Let’s move!  (Applause.) 

END
3:43 P.M. EDT

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
April 02, 2014

Remarks by the President on Minimum Wage -- Ann Arbor, MI

University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan

2:52 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, Michigan!  (Applause.)  Go Blue!  (Applause.)  This is a good-looking crowd.  (Applause.)  Just happy to be out of class.  (Applause.)  I'm sure that's not true. I'm sure these are all outstanding students.  (Applause.)  Good to see you.

First of all, give Mira a big round of applause for the great introduction.  (Applause.)  I want to say thanks to your president, Mary Sue Coleman, for her years of outstanding leadership here at Michigan.  (Applause.)  We’ve got a few other Michigan leaders who are here today.  We've got Congressman John Conyers.  (Applause.)  We've got Congressman Gary Peters.  (Applause.)  We've got your mayor, John Hieftje.  (Applause.)   Former Congressman Mark Schauer.  (Applause.)  Your Congressman, the legendary John Dingell, could not make it, but his wife Debbie is here.  Give her a big round of applause.  (Applause.)
  
Now, most importantly I know to all of you, we’ve got some Wolverines in the house here.  (Applause.)  We've got Greg Robinson III.  (Applause.)  We've got Jordan Morgan.  (Applause.) We've got Big Ten Player of the Year, Nik Stauskas.  (Applause.) And we've got quarterback, Devin Gardner.  (Applause.)  These guys were outstanding this year.  Give them a bigger round of applause than that.  (Applause.)

You guys had a great run.  That last game was as good of a game as we've seen the entire season.  I know you wish that that turned out a little bit later -- if you’d had five more seconds, it would have been helpful.  (Laughter.)  But I wanted to congratulate the coach, Coach Beilein, and the team for a great season.  (Applause.) 

And I understand that Jordan wanted me to talk about my bracket.  (Laughter.)  My bracket is a mess.  (Laughter.)  I've learned my lesson -- I will not pick against the Wolverines.  (Applause.)  It's not going to happen.  This is the problem with doing these brackets -- people just trash-talk you non-stop.  (Laughter.)  It's terrible. 

And I think it's worth mentioning, I want to congratulate Jordan for playing more games at Michigan than any other player in history -- not only earning an undergraduate degree in engineering -- (applause) -- pursuing a graduate degree in engineering as well.  That's the kind of student athlete we're talking about.  (Applause.)

Now, do some of you guys have chairs?  Because if you’ve got chairs, feel free to sit down.  But if you don't, don't sit down, because I don't want you getting hurt. 

Before I came here today, I stopped at Zingerman’s, which is the -- (applause) -- which is the right thing to do when you're in Ann Arbor.  (Laughter.)  I stopped for two reasons.  The first is the Reuben is killer.  (Laughter.)  So I ordered like the small -- (laughter) -- and it didn’t look that small.  So I gave half to Valerie Jarrett, who’s traveling with us.  And then after I finished the half, I wanted the half back.  (Laughter.)  But it was too late.  All she had left was the pickle.  (Laughter.)  So I took the pickle.  (Laughter.)

So one of the reasons I went was because the sandwiches are outstanding.  The second reason, though, is Zingerman’s is a business that treats its workers well, and rewards honest work with honest wages.  (Applause.)  And that’s worth celebrating.  And that’s what I’m here to talk about today:   How do we rebuild an economy that creates jobs and opportunities for every American?  And I want to focus on something a lot of people in Michigan are working very hard to accomplish right now, and that is raising the minimum wage to help more folks get ahead.  (Applause.) 

Now, here’s the context.  Our economy is doing better.  It’s growing.  Our businesses are creating jobs -- 8.7 million new jobs over the past four years.  (Applause.)  Our manufacturing sector, which had been losing jobs throughout the ‘90s and throughout the -- what do you call it -- aughts?  (Laughter.)  You know, the 2000 to 2010, whatever you call that.  (Laughter.)
But manufacturing had been losing jobs -- about a third of manufacturing had lost -- and obviously that hit Michigan really hard.  But we’re now seeing the manufacturing sector add jobs for the first time since the 1990s.  So that is good news.  (Applause.) 

The housing market is recovering.  Obviously the stock market has recovered, which means people’s 401(k)s, if they have them, are doing a lot better. 

Troops that were fighting two wars, they’re coming home.  (Applause.)   We just went through the first month since 2003 where no U.S. soldier was killed in either Afghanistan or Iraq.  (Applause.)

Today you’ve got companies looking to invest in the U.S. instead of sending jobs overseas.  They want to create more jobs and invest right here in the United States.  We’re more competitive.  We’re more productive. 

Oh, and by the way, 7.1 million Americans have now signed up for coverage through the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare.  (Applause.)  That’s a lot of people -- 7.1.  That’s enough to fill up The Big House 65 times.  (Applause.)  And by the way, that doesn’t count the more than 3 million young people who have been able to stay on their parents’ plans.  (Applause.) So we have seniors here who graduate and then it may take a couple months to find a job, or you’re doing an internship or something that does not provide health care, you’re going to be covered until you get that job that actually provides health insurance.  So it provides you the kind of protection you need.  (Applause.) 

So that’s the good news.  We fought back from the worst economic crisis in our lifetimes.  We’ve laid the foundation for America’s future growth.  But here’s the problem:  There’s been a long-term trend that has really been hitting middle-class folks and folks trying to get into the middle class, and that’s been going on since before most of you were born.  The economy increasingly has folks at the top doing really well, but then middle-class families, people who are struggling to get into the middle class, they’re working harder, but their wages, their incomes aren’t going up. 

And we’re a better country than that.  In America, we do not believe in opportunity just for the few.  We believe that everybody should have a chance at success.  Everybody.  (Applause.)  And we believe our economy grows best not from the top down, but from the middle out, and from the bottom up.  (Applause.)  And we want to make sure that no matter where you’re born, what circumstances, how you started out, what you look like, what your last name is, who you love -- it doesn’t matter, you can succeed.  That’s what we believe.  (Applause.)

We believe that what matters is the strength of our work ethic and the scope of our dreams and our willingness to take responsibility for ourselves, but also for ourselves.  That's what America is about.  That’s the promise that this country is built on.  And for the sake of your generation, we got to make sure that that continues to be the case; that that’s not just something we’re nostalgic about; that that’s something that we project out into the future. 

So I had a State of the Union a while back and I laid out a four-part Opportunity Agenda to make sure everybody has a shot.  And that starts with something I know graduating seniors are thinking about:  More good jobs paying good wages; jobs in high-tech and manufacturing and energy and innovation.  And there are things we can do to create jobs -- rebuilding our infrastructure in this country, investing in R&D, closing wasteful loopholes that don't create jobs.  So we’re providing tax breaks to companies that are creating jobs right here in the United States. Those are things we can do right now.

Opportunity means training more Americans for the skills needed to fill those jobs.  We got to make sure everybody is ready with the skills they need.  Not everybody is going to be lucky enough to be a Wolverine and graduate from Michigan.  (Applause.)  But everybody can get a good, solid base so that they can have a job and a career.

Opportunity means guaranteeing every young people access to a world-class education, and that's got to start with pre-K, all the way through higher education.  (Applause.)  And it means making college more affordable.  (Applause.) 

Some of you may not know this, but before a lot of you even entered college, we took on the student loan system.  It was giving billions of taxpayer dollars to big banks to serve as middlemen in the student loan process.  We said, why do we need the banks?  We cut them out.  We used the savings that were generated, billions of dollars, to expand the grants that help millions of low-income students pay for college.  And we’re offering millions of students who are graduating the chance to cap monthly student loan payments at 10 percent of your income.  (Applause.)

This is something you need to talk to your counselors about, especially if you’re going into teaching or social work, or other professions where it’s a passion but you’re not going to be an investment banker salary situation.  So make sure you find out about this.  You can cap -- I mean, I know Stauskas has got the contract coming up, so he’ll -- (laughter) -- he doesn't have to worry about these things.  But I’m saying later -- I’m not telling him to leave.  (Laughter.)  I wasn’t editorializing on that.  (Laughter.)

My point is we got to make sure that everybody can afford to do things that may not pay huge sums of money but are really valuable to society.

And the good news is more young people are earning college degrees than ever before.  But we’ve still got to do more work to rein in tuition costs.  I talked to your president about this. And we got to help more students who are trapped by student loan debt -- because this country cannot afford striving young people to be priced out of a higher education.  Everybody has got to be able to afford it.  (Applause.)

Finally, opportunity means rewarding the hard work of every American -- not just some Americans, every American.  That means making sure that folks are paid equal for doing equal work.  (Applause.)  I do not want my daughters paid less than somebody else’s sons for doing the same job.  (Applause.)

It means making sure that there are decent benefits and, at minimum, that every American has access to quality, affordable health insurance.  It means paychecks and wages that allow you to support a family. 

All of which brings me back to this issue of the minimum wage, giving America a raise.  Now, raising the minimum wage is not going to solve all of our economic challenges.  The majority of folks who are working get paid more than the minimum wage.  As Americans we understand that some people will earn more than others.  But here’s one thing we do believe:  Nobody who works full-time should be raising their family in poverty, right?  (Applause.)  If you’re working, if you’re responsible, you should be able to pay the rent, pay the bills.  (Applause.)

But that's what’s happening right now.  All across the country, you can work full-time on the minimum wage and still be in poverty.  And that’s why, in the year since I first asked Congress to raise the minimum wage, we’ve seen six states on their own pass laws to raise their minimum wage.  Last week, Connecticut became the first state in the country to raise its minimum wage to $10.10 an hour.  (Applause.)  Congratulations, Connecticut. 

You’ve got more states and counties and cities that are working to raise their minimum wage as we speak.  That includes your state legislators from Ann Arbor -- Adam Zemke and Jeff Irwin -- who are trying to raise it here in Michigan.  (Applause.)  We’re proud of them.  Stand up, guys.  Come on.  There they are.  (Applause.)  See, I used to be in the state legislature, so I was kind of partial to -- (laughter.)

But raising wages is not just a job for organizers, it’s not just a job for elected officials, it’s also a job for business.  It was here in Michigan 100 years ago that Henry Ford announced he was doubling his workers’ wages.  And at the time, some of his fellow business leaders thought he had lost his mind.  But Henry Ford understood it was going to be good for business.  Not only did it boost productivity, not only did it reduce turnover, not only did it make employees more loyal to the company, but it meant that the workers could afford to buy the cars that they were building.  (Applause.)  So you were building -- so by paying your workers more, you were building your own market for your products. 

And hugely successful companies today, like Costco, they take the same approach.  And it’s not just big businesses; small businesses, too.  In my State of the Union address, I called on more business leaders to boost their employees’ wages, give them a fair wage.  And since then, you’ve seen businesses across the country -- small ones, like an ice cream parlor in Florida, to a marketing agency in Georgia, to a pizzeria in St. Louis -- they’ve all said, you know what, this is the right thing to do. 

Recently, the Gap decided to raise its base wages, and that benefited about 65,000 workers in the United States -- and it led me to go shopping at Gap.  (Laughter and applause.)  Some of you may have seen the very attractive sweaters that I purchased for my daughters.  (Laughter.)  They have not worn them yet, so if they’re listening, make me feel good, just wear it one time.  (Laughter.) 

Now, Zingerman’s does not have as many workers as the Gap, obviously, but they try to do right by each and every one of them.  You’ve got some big businesses who go to Washington to lobby for special treatment for themselves.  So one of Zingerman’s owners, Paul Saginaw, flew to D.C. to lobby for his workers, to lobby for better treatment for workers through a higher minimum wage.  (Applause.)  That’s the kind of folks who are running Zingerman’s. 

Then afterwards, he held a sandwich summit here in Ann Arbor to help build support for Michigan’s minimum wage going up.  And Paul’s point is simple:  Fair wages and higher profits are not mutually exclusive; they can go hand-in-hand.  That’s what Henry Ford understood.  And Paul opened Zingerman’s doors 32 years ago last month so he knows a little bit about business.  But he and business owners like him believe higher wages are good for the bottom line. 

I happen to believe the same thing.  So I decided several months ago that the federal government should follow their lead. And so I issued an executive order that requires federal contractors, folks who are doing business with the government, to pay their employees on new contracts a fair wage of at least $10.10 an hour.  It’s the right thing to do.  (Applause.) 

And I’m determined to do my part to lift wages, improve take-home pay any way I can.  My attitude is if you cook our troops’ meals, you wash their dishes, your country should pay you a living wage.  (Applause.)

Now, here’s the challenge.  What Zingerman’s can do on its own, what even I can do as the head of the executive branch of the federal government, that doesn’t reach everybody.  If we’re going to do right by our fellow Americans, we need Congress to get onboard.  (Applause.)  We’ve got to have Congress to get onboard.  We’ve got to have state legislators to get onboard.  (Applause.)  Because even though we’re bringing manufacturing jobs back to America, we’re creating more good-paying jobs in education and health care and business services, there are always going to be folks who do critical work, who bust their tails every day -- airport workers, restaurant workers, and hospital workers, and retail salespeople -- who deserve an honest day’s pay for an honest day’s work.  They’re doing necessary jobs -- they should be able to make a living.

So right now there is a bill before Congress that would boost America’s minimum wage to $10.10 an hour.  It’s easy to remember:  10-10.  10-10.  Passing this bill would not just raise wages for minimum-wage workers; it would help lift wages for nearly 28 million Americans, including nearly a million people right here in Michigan.  It would lift millions of people out of poverty right away.  It would help millions more work their way out of poverty right away.  (Applause.)

It wouldn’t require any new taxes.  It doesn’t require new spending.  It doesn’t require new bureaucracy.  But what it would do is help those families and give businesses more customers with more money to spend.  And it would help grow the economy for everybody.

So you would think this would be a no-brainer.  Politically, you’d think that folks would be rushing to do this.  Nearly three in four Americans support raising the minimum wage -- nearly three in four.  Here’s the problem.  Republicans in Congress -- not Republicans out in America, because some of them get paid the minimum wage, so they want to see it raised -- Republicans in Congress don’t want to vote to raise it at all.  In fact, some want to just scrap the minimum wage.  One House Republican said, “It’s outlived its usefulness.”

AUDIENCE:  Booo --

THE PRESIDENT:  No, that’s what he said. 

AUDIENCE PARTICIPANT:  Booo --

THE PRESIDENT:  Don’t boo, organize.  (Applause.)  That’s what you need to do, because they may not hear the boos, but they can read a petition and they can see votes.  (Applause.)

You’ve got some Republicans saying we shouldn’t raise the minimum wage because -- they said this -- because, well, it just helps young people.  Now, first of all, I think it’s pretty good to help young people.  (Applause.)  I don’t know what’s wrong with helping young people.  Folks who say that, next thing you know they’ll say, “Get off my lawn.”  (Laughter.)  I think it’s okay to help young people.  

But the fact is most people who would benefit from a higher minimum wage are not teenagers taking on their first job.  The average age of folks getting paid the minimum wage is 35.  A majority of lower-wage jobs are held by women.  Many of them work full-time, often to support a family. 

And, by the way, what’s wrong with helping young people get ahead?  (Laughter.)  Mira puts herself through college on a base wage of less than $3 an hour, because she’s working in a restaurant.  She works hard -- she does.  So we should be making it easier for your generation to gain a foothold on the ladder of opportunity.  We shouldn’t be making it harder.

Now, the truth is the Republicans’ refusal so far to raise the minimum wage is pretty consistent with their general worldview -- (laughter) -- which says -- it says basically you’re on your own; government doesn’t have a role to play in making sure that the marketplace is working for everybody. 
 
Just yesterday, Republicans in Congress put forward a budget for the country that I believe would shrink opportunity for your generation.  It starts by giving a massive tax cut to households making more than $1 million a year, the very folks who’ve benefited the most over the last 20 years from this economy that is benefiting people at the top.  Then, so they don’t blow a hole in the deficit, they’d have to raise taxes on middle-class families with kids.  Then they’d force deep cuts to the investments that help our economy grow, like research and clean energy, and investments in middle-class families, like education and job training.

When they put these budgets together, usually they don’t tell you exactly what they’d cut because they know you wouldn’t like it, so you have to kind of do the math.  But compared to my budget, if they cut everything evenly in the amount that they’re talking about, within a few years about 170,000 kids would get cut from early childhood education.  About 200,000 new moms and children would get cut off from the programs that help them to get healthy food.  Funding for 21,000 special education teachers would be cut off.  And if they wanted to make smaller cuts in any of these -- in any one of these areas, they’d have to make bigger cuts in others.  It even cuts Pell grants, which makes it harder for students to pay for a college education. 

Now, to give them credit, they do have one original idea, which is to repeal Obamacare -- (laughter) -- because they haven’t tried that 50 times.  (Applause.)  Fifty times they’ve tried to do that.  (Laughter.)  So that means they would take away health coverage not only for more than 7 million Americans who’ve done the responsible thing, signed up, bought health care for themselves and their families, but for the 3 million young adults who’ve been able to stay on their parents’ plan under this law.  What I just told you about being able to stay on your parent’s plan -- the Republicans don’t like that. 

And their budget guts the rules we put in place to protect middle-class families from another financial crisis like the one that we’ve endured.  So if this all sounds familiar, it should be familiar because it was their economic plan in the 2012 campaign, it was their economic plan in 2010.  It’s like that movie Groundhog Day -- (laughter) -- except it’s not funny.  (Applause.)  If they tried to sell this sandwich at Zingerman’s, they’d have to call it the Stinkburger, or the Meanwich.  (Laughter and applause.)

 Look, here’s the truth.  They’re not necessarily cold-hearted, they just sincerely believe that if we give more tax breaks to a fortunate few and we invest less in the middle class, and we reduce or eliminate the safety net for the poor and the sick, and we cut food stamps, and we cut Medicaid, and we let banks and polluters and credit card companies and insurers do only what’s best for their bottom line without the responsibility to the rest of us, then somehow the economy will boom, and jobs and prosperity will trickle down to everybody. 

And when I say it that way, I know it sounds like I’m exaggerating -- except I’m not.  This is their theory.  They’re pretty unabashed about it.  And it’s not a new theory.  They’ve held it for decades, through good times and bad.  They were making the same argument against FDR when he was setting up Social Security.

 And, look, it does create opportunity for a handful of people who are already doing really, really well.  But we believe in opportunity for everybody.  More good jobs for everybody.  More workers to fill those jobs.  (Applause.)  A world-class education for everybody.  Hard work that pays off with wages you can live on and savings you can retire on and health care you can count on.  That’s what “opportunity for all” means.  (Applause.) That’s what it means.  

 Now, next week, members of Congress have a fresh chance to show which side they’re on.  They’re going to get a yes or no vote on raising the minimum wage all across this country.  And they’ve got to make a clear choice:  Talk the talk about valuing hardworking families, or walk the walk and actually value hardworking families.  (Applause.)  You’ve got a choice.  You can give America the shaft, or you can give it a raise.  (Applause.)

 Here in Michigan, your Senators, Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow -- (applause) -- your Representatives, John Dingell and John Conyers and Gary Peters, they are already onboard.  But every American deserves to know where their elected representatives stand on this choice.  So those of you -- if you’re going back home for spring break or something or -- did that already happen, spring break? 

 AUDIENCE:  Yes!

 THE PRESIDENT:  I’m sorry.  (Laughter.)  Everybody is all, aw, yeah.  (Laughter.)  Well, I hope you had a good time.  (Laughter.)  But if you have the chance to talk to a congressman who’s not supporting it, you need to ask him, do you support raising the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour?  If they say yes, then you should say thank you -- (laughter) -- because elected officials do not hear that very often.  When they do the right thing, you should reward them. 

 AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Thank you, President Obama!

 THE PRESIDENT:  You’re welcome.  Thank you.  Thank you.  (Applause.)

 Now, if they say no, you shouldn’t yell at them.  Be polite.  Ask them why not.  Ask them to reconsider.  Tell them to join the rest of the country.  For once, instead of just saying no, say yes.  It’s time for $10.10.  It’s time to give America a raise.

 And as I’m looking out at all of you I’m reminded, four years ago I had the privilege of delivering the commencement address at the university, over in the big stadium.  (Applause.) And I said our democracy, it's always been noisy, it’s always been messy.  We have big arguments.  But in the end, we’ve always had the ability to look past our differences and our disagreements and forge a common future.  And we’ve got common values -- hard work, responsibility, pursuing your individual dreams. 

 What the argument is right now about is whether we also affirm the values that make sure we’ve giving everybody a chance; making sure our fellow citizens can also pursue their dreams; that we’re not just looking out for ourselves all the time, but we’re also looking out for the person next to you.  That's also what America is about.  That's what we have to do again.

 We’ve got more jobs to create.  We’ve got more kids to educate.  We’ve got more clean energy to create.  (Applause.)  We’ve got more troops to bring home.  We got more veterans to care for.  We got an immigration system we got to fix.  (Applause.)  We got to build a middle class.  We got to give opportunity for everybody who strives for it.  We got to make sure everybody -- black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, with or without a disability, folks in the inner city, folks outside the borders of the city -- everybody has got a chance.  (Applause.)   America is a place for everybody.  That's what we’re fighting for.  That's what I need you to go out there and talk about.  (Applause.)

 Thank you.  God bless you.  God bless America.  (Applause.)

END
3:26 P.M. EDT