Remarks by the First Lady at a National Symposium on Veterans' Employment in Construction, A Joining Forces Event

U.S. Department of Labor
Washington, D.C.

11:35 A.M. EST

MRS. OBAMA:  Thank you all.  (Applause.)  Thank you so much.  Thank you.  You all rest yourselves.  It is a pleasure to be here with all of you.  And thank you all for joining us.

Before I begin, we have to just take a moment to acknowledge Katie and Larry.  Their remarks, they serve as shining examples of just what we’re talking about.  I don’t know what you were nervous about, Katie, but -- (laughter) -- you handled yourself.  And, Larry, your story is inspiring.  It’s the kind of story that we want to see repeated over and over and over again.  So please, let’s give both of these individuals a round of applause.  (Applause.)  Thank you so much. 

I also want to recognize our outstanding Secretary of Labor, Secretary Perez, and -- yay for our Secretary.  (Applause.)  And I want to thank him and his VETs team for the terrific work that they’re doing on hiring our veterans.  You guys are really showing up and making it easy for our veterans.  So I’m so proud of you.  Glad to be here with all of you. 

And of course, I want to recognize the construction industry leaders who are here with us today, as well as their public and private sector partners.  Now, these are some of the biggest companies in the construction industry, many of whom are direct competitors -- companies like Jacobs Engineering.  But they are here together.  They’re also regional leaders like Cianbro Construction, as well as leading organizations like NCCER, the Homebuilders Institute, the Associated General Contractors of America, and the Building Trades.

And today, I am thrilled to announce that altogether, these companies and more than 100 others have committed to hiring more than 100,000 of America’s veterans over the next five years -- 100,000.  (Applause.)  Now, that’s a number that gets me out of bed in the morning, so that’s why I’m happy to be here.  This is huge.  It’s a huge deal.  And I have to tell you that it’s days like today that remind me of why Dr. Biden and I started Joining Forces in the first place.

We did this because we wanted to inspire businesses and organizations across the country to ask themselves one simple question, and that is, what more can we do to honor and support our veterans and military families?  And today, you all answered that question with this incredibly strong commitment.  And I am so proud of all of you, and so thankful for everything that you’re doing.

And I know that you all have made this commitment not just because it is the patriotic thing to do, which it is.  You’ve done this because you know that it is the smart thing to do for your businesses, because you know that America’s military turns out some of the highest-skilled, hardest-working employees this country has ever seen.  And that’s particularly true when it comes to the construction sector. 

As the Secretary mentioned, just think about the kind of work our men and women in uniform have done every single day all across the globe.  They have built cities in the middle of deserts halfway around the world.  They’ve built schools in remote villages.  They’ve repaired complex machinery in combat zones in the middle of the night.  In short, our troops have taken on some of the most challenging projects in some of the most inhospitable places under some of the toughest deadlines and constraints.

So when it comes to the attitude and experience needed to thrive in construction jobs, our men and women in uniform are second to none.  And with the Iraq war over and the war in Afghanistan winding down, hundreds of thousands of these men and women are returning home, and they’re hanging up their uniforms, and they are looking for good civilian jobs.

Many of these veterans have technical skills that are directly relevant to the construction industry.  And plenty of veterans who don’t have those skills are eager to learn them.  And with the right training, we know they have the discipline, we know they have the determination that is necessary to succeed in all kinds of construction jobs.

And the good news, as the Secretary pointed out, is that those jobs are out there.  In fact, the construction industry is currently one of fastest-growing industries in America, and companies like those here today are desperate for highly trained workers from welders to pipefitters, to engineers, to electricians and more.  And these are good jobs with good salaries.  And they’re also good careers, as well.  And Larry’s story is a perfect example.

Now, Larry told you a little bit about what he does, but he’s still a little modest, even though he’s an ex-football player and now -- what is it, senior vice president of the world?  (Laughter.)  You’re in charge of everything now -- working on it.  But he didn’t tell you that he went straight from the Marines to some of the most exciting transportation construction projects in the country.

He has had some very challenging assignments like managing global transportation projects in San Francisco to working on the JFK Airport redevelopment program in New York.  And as you have heard, he was so good at what he did that Bechtel promoted him to a senior leadership role here in D.C., working on, as you heard, our Metro.  And with each new job, Larry climbed higher, he improved his resume, he improved his salary -- which I know made your wife happy -- (laughter) -- and took on more responsibility. 

And Larry’s story highlights the fact that these jobs don’t just give our veterans the chance to collect a good paycheck, but to build careers for decades in the future, careers that give them the ability to support their families and climb the professional ladder.  And I believe, and my husband believes, that our men and women in uniform should be able to start pursuing these careers the minute they hang up their uniforms. 

But unfortunately, what we have learned is that this transition from military to civilian life can be difficult for too many of our troops, because while they get excellent training, they don’t always know how to translate that military experience into good civilian jobs.  And that’s why, in June of 2012, my husband launched the Department of Defense Military Credentialing and Licensing Task Force.  And we’re already starting to see results. 

Today, service members across the country are participating in apprenticeships and accredited civilian training programs right near their bases, so when they leave the military, they’ll be ready to start a good job the very next day.  And the Department of Defense is also working to help service members apply their hard-earned military training toward earning civilian credentials, particularly in high-demand fields like plumbing and HVAC.  In addition, my husband has ensured that veterans can use their Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits to pay for career and technical training in industries like construction so troops who didn’t get the training they need in the military can get that training as a civilian.  And, finally, we have 2,600 American Job Centers across the country where veterans can go to find jobs and companies can go to find qualified employees.  

So make no mistake about it, in the coming years, more and more of our men and women in uniform will leave the military with the skills and opportunities they need to thrive in this growing workforce.  But, ultimately, today’s commitment isn’t just about putting high-skilled individuals into work in high-paying careers.  It’s also about providing our companies with the very best workers so that they can keep growing, and they can keep creating even more jobs and strengthening our economy for decades to come. 

And it’s also about modeling a certain set of values for our communities and for our country.  You see, by making these kind of commitments -- and this is why I’m here -- you all are sending a clear message that in this country, we honor those who’ve sacrificed for us, and when they return home we are going to have their backs. 

And that’s really my message to all of the veterans who have joined us today.  Please know that America has your back.  And if you ever need to be reminded of how thankful we are for everything you’ve done for us, take a look around this room.  You’ve got representatives from some of the leading companies in America, many of whom have traveled a very long way to be here.  And they’re all here because they want to serve you as well as you’ve served this country.

So I want to end today as I started, by once again saying thank you.  Thank you to all of the companies and organizations here today for giving more than 100,000 of America’s heroes the chance to keep serving the country they love.  And thank you to all the veterans who will soon be hard at work building the homes, schools, factories and offices that will strengthen our communities and fuel our economy for generations to come.

I look forward to working with all of you in the months and years ahead.  And I always send a message out to other businesses and other industries out there to roll up their sleeves and find a way to match this commitment.  We can keep doing more.  Thank you all.  God bless.  (Applause.)

END
11:46 A.M. EST

Remarks by the President at Signing of the Farm Bill -- MI

Michigan State University
East Lansing, Michigan

2:16 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, Spartans!  (Applause.)  Go, Green! 

AUDIENCE:  Go, White! 

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you so much.  Everybody have a seat here. 

It’s good to be at Michigan State.  Thank you, Ben, for that wonderful introduction.  Give Ben a big round of applause.  (Applause.)  He’s got his beautiful family right here.  How did dad do?  Was he pretty good?  Yes, there he is.  He did good?  I thought he did great. 

It is good to be in East Lansing.  It’s good to be with all of you here today.  I’m here because I’ve heard about all the great things that you’re doing.  And I want to thank Mayor Triplett and President Simon for hosting us. 

I am also here to do some scouting on my brackets.  (Laughter and applause.)  I just talked to Coach Izzo -- Spartans are looking pretty good.  I know things were a little wild for a while, had some injuries.  But the truth is that Coach Izzo, he always paces so that you peak right at the tournament.  (Applause.)  That’s a fact.  Then I got a chance to meet Mark Dantonio.  (Applause.)  So you’ve already got a Rose Bowl victory.  (Applause.)  You guys, you’re greedy.  (Laughter.)  You want to win everything. 

But it’s wonderful to be here.  I love coming to Michigan.  Mainly I love coming to Michigan because of the people.  But I also love coming here because there are few places in the country that better symbolize what we’ve been through together over these last four, five years. 

The American auto industry has always been the heartbeat of the Michigan economy and the heart of American manufacturing.  So when that heartbeat was flat-lining, we all pulled together, all of us -- autoworkers who punched in on the line, management who made tough decisions to restructure, elected officials like Gary Peters and Mark Schauer who believed that -- (applause) -- folks who believed that rescuing America’s most iconic industry was the right thing to do. 

And today, thanks to your grit and your ingenuity and dogged determination, the American auto industry’s engines are roaring again and we are building the best cars in the world again.  And some plants are running three shifts around the clock -- something that nobody would have imagined just a few years ago.  (Applause.) 

I just had lunch with Detroit’s new Mayor, Mike Duggan.  (Applause.)  He told me if there’s one thing that he wants everybody to know, it’s that Detroit is open for business.  And I have great confidence that he’s going to provide the leadership that we need.  (Applause.)  Really proud of him.  The point is we’ve all had to buckle down.  We’ve all had to work hard.  We’ve had to fight our way back these past five years.  And in a lot of ways, we are now better positioned for the 21st century than any other country on Earth. 

This morning, we learned that our businesses in the private sector created more than 140,000 jobs last month, adding up to about 8.5 million new jobs over the past four years.  (Applause.)  Our unemployment rate is now the lowest it’s been since before I was first elected.  Companies across the country are saying they intend to hire even more folks in the months ahead.  And that’s why I believe this can be a breakthrough year for America. 

And I’ve come here today to sign a bill that hopefully means folks in Washington feel the same way -- that instead of wasting time creating crises that impede the economy, we’re going to have a Congress that’s ready to spend some time creating new jobs and new opportunities, and positioning us for the future and making sure our young people can take advantage of that future.

And that’s important, because even though our economy has been growing for four years now, even though we’ve been adding jobs for four years now, what’s still true -- something that was true before the financial crisis, it’s still true today -- is that those at the very top of the economic pyramid are doing better than ever, but the average American’s wages, salaries, incomes haven’t risen in a very long time.  A lot of Americans are working harder and harder just to get by -- much less get ahead -- and that’s been true since long before the financial crisis and the Great Recession. 

And so we’ve got to reverse those trends.  We’ve got to build an economy that works for everybody, not just a few.  We’ve got to restore the idea of opportunity for all people -- the idea that no matter who you are, what you look like, where you came from, how you started out, what your last name is, you can make it if you’re willing to work hard and take responsibility.  That’s the idea at the heart of this country. That’s what’s at stake right now.  That’s what we’ve got to work on.  (Applause.) 

Now, the opportunity agenda I laid out in my State of the Union address is going to help us do that.  It’s an agenda built around four parts.  Number one:  More new jobs in American manufacturing, American energy, American innovation, American technology.  A lot of what you’re doing here at Michigan State helps to spur on that innovation in all sorts of areas that can then be commercialized into new industries and to create new jobs. 

Number two:  Training folks with the skills to fill those jobs -- something this institution does very well. 

Number three:  Guaranteeing access to a world-class education for every child, not just some.  That has to be a priority.  (Applause.)  That means before they even start school, we’re working on pre-K that’s high quality and gets our young people prepared, and then takes them all the way through college so that they can afford it, and beyond. 

Number four:  Making sure our economy rewards honest work with wages you can live on, and savings you can retire on, and, yes, health insurance that is there for you when you need it.  (Applause.)

Now, some of this opportunity agenda that I put forward will require congressional action, it’s true.  But as I said at the State of the Union, America does not stand still; neither will I.  And that’s why, over the past two weeks, I’ve taken steps without legislation, without congressional action, to expand opportunity for more families.  We’ve created a new way for workers to start their own retirement savings.  We’ve helped to make sure all of our students have high-speed broadband and high-tech learning tools that they need for this new economy.

But I’ve also said I’m eager to work with Congress wherever I can -- because the truth of the matter is, is that America works better when we’re working together.  And Congress controls the purse strings at the federal level and a lot of the things that we need to do require congressional action. 

And that is why I could not be prouder of our leaders who are here today.  Debbie in particular, I could not be prouder of your own Debbie Stabenow, who has done just extraordinary work.  (Applause.)  We all love Debbie for a lot of reasons.  She’s been a huge champion of American manufacturing but really shepherded through this farm bill, which was a very challenging piece of business.  She worked with Republican Senator Thad Cochran, who I think was very constructive in this process.  We had Representatives Frank Lucas, a Republican, working with Collin Peterson, a Democrat.  We had a terrific contribution from our own Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, who deserves a big round of applause.  (Applause.)

And so Congress passed a bipartisan farm bill that is going to make a big difference in communities all across this country.  And just so they don’t feel left out, I want to recognize one of your congressmen, who’s doing an outstanding job -- Dan Kildee.  (Applause.)  And somebody who was just a wonderful mentor to me when I was in the Senate and has been just a great public servant, not just for your state, but for the entire country -- Carl Levin.  (Applause.)  He’s always out there, especially when it comes to our men and women in uniform.  We’re very proud of him.  (Applause.)

     And while we’re at it, we got a couple of out-of-towners -- Pat Leahy from Vermont -- there are a lot of dairy farms up there, so he had something to do with it.  (Applause.)  Amy Klobuchar from Minnesota.  (Applause.)  All that cold air is blowing from Minnesota down into -- (laughter).

Now, despite its name, the farm bill is not just about helping farmers.  Secretary Vilsack calls it a jobs bill, an innovation bill, an infrastructure bill, a research bill, a conservation bill.  It’s like a Swiss Army knife.  (Laughter.)  It’s like Mike Trout -- for those of you who know baseball.  (Laughter.)  It’s somebody who’s got a lot of tools.  It multitasks.  It’s creating more good jobs, gives more Americans a shot at opportunity.  And there are two big ways in which it does so.

First, the farm bill lifts up our rural communities.  Over the past five years, thanks to the hard work and know-how of America’s farmers, the best in the world, we’ve had the strongest stretch of farm exports in our history.  And when I’m traveling around the world, I’m promoting American agriculture.  And as a consequence, we are selling more stuff to more people than ever before.  Supports about 1 million American jobs; what we grow here and that we sell is a huge boost to the entire economy, but particularly the rural economy.  

Here at Michigan State, by the way, you are helping us to do even more.  So I just got a tour of a facility where you’re working with local businesses to produce renewable fuels.  You’re helping farmers grow crops that are healthier and more resistant to disease.  Some students are even raising their own piglets on an organic farm.  When I was in college, I lived in a pig sty -- (laughter) -- but I didn't work in one.  So I’m impressed by that.  (Laughter.)  That's no joke, by the way.  (Laughter and applause.)  Your hygiene improves as you get older.  (Laughter.) 

So we’re seeing some big advances in American agriculture.  And today, by the way, I’m directing my administration to launch a new “Made in Rural America” initiative to help more rural businesses expand and hire and sell more products stamped “Made in the USA” to the rest of the world -- because we’ve got great products here that need to be sold and we can do even more to sell around the world.  (Applause.)

But even with all this progress, too many rural Americans are still struggling.  Right now, 85 percent of counties experience what’s called “persistent poverty.”  Those are in rural areas.  Before I was elected President, I represented Illinois, home of a couple of your Big Ten rivals, but also a big farming state.  And over the years, I’ve seen how hard it can be to be a farmer.  There are a lot of big producers who are doing really well, but there are even more small farms, family farms, where folks are just scratching out a living and increasingly vulnerable to difficulties in financing and all the inputs involved -- farmers sometimes having to work off the farm, they’ve got a couple of jobs outside the farm just to get health care, just to pay the bills, trying to keep it in the family, and it’s very hard for young farmers to get started.

And in these rural communities, a lot of young people talk about how jobs are so scarce, even before the recession hit, that they feel like they’ve got to leave in order to have opportunity.  They can't stay at home, they’ve got to leave.

So that's why this farm bill includes things like crop insurance, so that when a disaster like the record drought that we’re seeing across much of the West hits our farmers, they don’t lose everything they’ve worked so hard to build.  This bill helps rural communities by investing in hospitals and schools, affordable housing, broadband infrastructure -- all the things that help attract more businesses and make life easier for working families. 

This bill supports businesses working to develop cutting-edge biofuels -- like some of the work that's being done here at Michigan State.  That has the potential to create jobs and reduce our dependence on foreign oil.  It boosts conservation efforts so that our children and grandchildren will be able to enjoy places like the Mississippi River Valley and Chesapeake Bay. 

It supports local food by investing in things like farmers markets and organic agriculture -- which is making my wife very happy.  And when Michelle is happy, I don't know about everybody being happy, but I know I'm happy.  (Laughter and applause.)  And so it's giving smaller producers, local producers, folks like Ben, the opportunity to sell more of their products directly, without a bunch of processing and distributors and middlemen that make it harder for them to achieve.  And it means that people are going to have healthier diets, which is, in turn, going to reduce incidents of childhood obesity and keep us healthier, which saves us all money.

It does all this while reforming our agricultural programs, so this bill helps to clamp down on loopholes that allowed people to receive benefits year after year, whether they were planting crops or not.  And it saves taxpayers hard-earned dollars by making sure that we only support farmers when disaster strikes or prices drop.  It's not just automatic.

So that’s the first thing this farm bill does -- it helps rural communities grow; it gives farmers some certainty; it puts in place important reforms.

The second thing this farm bill does -- that is huge -- is help make sure America’s children don’t go hungry.  (Applause.)   And this is where Debbie’s work was really important.  One study shows that more than half of all Americans will experience poverty at some point during their adult lives.  Now, for most folks that's when you're young and you're eating ramen all the time.  But for a lot of families, a crisis hits, you lose your job, somebody gets sick, strains on your budget -- you have a strong work ethic, but it might take you six months, nine months, a year to find a job.  And in the meantime, you’ve got families to feed. 

That’s why, for more than half a century, this country has helped Americans put food on the table when they hit a rough patch, or when they’re working hard but aren’t making enough money to feed their kids.  They’re not looking for a handout, these folks, they’re looking for a hand up -- (applause) -- a bridge to help get them through some tough times.  (Applause.) 

And we sure don't believe that children should be punished when parents are having a tough time.  As a country, we’re stronger when we help hardworking Americans get back on their feet, make sure that children are getting the nutrition that they need so that they can learn what they need in order to be contributing members of our society.

That’s the idea behind what’s known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.  A large majority of SNAP recipients are children, or the elderly, or Americans with disabilities.  A lot of others are hardworking Americans who need just a little help feeding their families while they look for a job or they’re trying to find a better one.  And in 2012, the SNAP program kept nearly 5 million people -- including more than 2 million children -- out of poverty.  (Applause.)  Think about that -- 5 million people.

That’s why my position has always been that any farm bill I sign must include protections for vulnerable Americans, and thanks to the good work of Debbie and others, this bill does that.  (Applause.)  And by giving Americans more bang for their buck at places like farmers markets, we’re making it easier for working families to eat healthy foods and we're supporting farmers like Ben who make their living growing it.  So it’s creating new markets for produce farmers, and it means that people have a chance to directly buy from their farmers the kind of food that’s going to keep them healthy.

And the truth is a lot of folks go through tough times at some points in their lives.  That doesn’t mean they should go hungry.  Not in a country like America.  So investing in the communities that grow our food, helping hardworking Americans put that food on the table -- that’s what this farm bill does, all while reducing our deficits through smart reforms. 

It doesn’t include everything that I’d like to see.  And I know leaders on both sides of the aisle feel the same way.  But it’s a good sign that Democrats and Republicans in Congress were able to come through with this bill, break the cycle of short-sighted, crisis-driven partisan decision-making, and actually get this stuff done.  (Applause.)  That's a good sign.

And that’s the way you should expect Washington to work.  That’s the way Washington should continue to work.  Because we’ve got more work to do.  We’ve got more work to do to potentially make sure that unemployment insurance is put in place for a lot of folks out there who need it.  (Applause.)  We’ve got more work to do to pass a minimum wage.  We’ve got more work to do to do immigration reform, which will help farmers like Ben.  (Applause.) 

So let’s keep the momentum going here.  And in the weeks ahead, while Congress is deciding what’s next, I’m going to keep doing everything I can to strengthen the middle class, build ladders of opportunity in the middle class.  And I sure hope Congress will join me because I know that’s what you’re looking for out of your elected officials at every level.  (Applause.)

So thank you, everybody.  God bless you.  I’m now going to sign this farm bill.  (Applause.)

Hold on a second, I forgot to mention Marcia Fudge is here.  I wasn’t sure whether she came to the event.  I knew she flew in with me.  She does great work -- (applause) -- out of the great state of Ohio. 

(The bill is signed.)  (Applause.)  

END
2:39 P.M. EST

Remarks by the President at National Prayer Breakfast

Washington Hilton
Washington, D.C.

9:11 A.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  Please, everyone have a seat. Giving all praise and honor to God, who brought us here this morning. 

Thank you so much for our two outstanding co-chairs, Louie and Jan.  And I have to say, I would have enjoyed a behind-the-scenes look at the two of these folks getting this breakfast organized this morning.  (Laughter.)  But there does seem to be that sibling thing a little bit, Louie.  (Laughter.)  They love each other, but they’ve got to go at each other a little bit.  I, by the way, have always found Louie to be unbelievably gracious every time I’ve seen him.  Now, I don’t watch TV, I’ve got to admit.  (Laughter.)  But he is a good man and a great storyteller, and Janice was just reminding me the first time we saw each other was at one of my first events when I first ran for office. 

It’s wonderful to see all of the dignitaries and friends who are here today.  To the Presidents, and Prime Ministers, the leaders of business and the nonprofit community; to my incredible friend and Vice President, Joe Biden; to my Cabinet members who are here and members of the administration who do such great work every single day; to my fellow Hawaiian, it is wonderful to see you.  I should tell you that my surfing is not that good.  (Laughter.)  I just want to be clear.  But my bodysurfing is pretty good.

HAMILTON:  Bodysurfing is fun.  (Laughter.) 

THE PRESIDENT:  It is.  (Laughter.)  And to Raj Shah, who is just such an incredible young leader and is out there every single day, I could not be more proud of his outstanding leadership at USAID.  And it’s a good reminder -- (applause) -- it’s a good reminder of the dedicated public servants that I have the chance to interact with every single day.  And they do great work, don’t always get a lot of credit, sometimes get subject to the sort of criticism that you do when you’re in public life, but Raj is single-minded in terms of trying to help as many people as possible all around the world and is an extraordinary representative for our country.  So I’m very, very proud of him -- although he does always make me feel like an underachiever whenever I listen to him.  (Laughter.)  I’m thinking, I should have been working harder and not slouching.  (Laughter.) 

Dale Jones and everyone else who worked on this breakfast this morning, thank you, and obviously I’m thrilled to be joined by my extraordinary wife and she does a great job every single day keeping me in line.  (Applause.)

Just two other thank-yous.  To our men and women in uniform all around the world, we pray for them.  (Applause.)  Many of them doing such great work to keep us safe.  And then there is one colleague of mine who is missing today.  A great friend of mine who I came into the Senate with, Senator Tom Coburn.  Tom is going through some tough times right now but I love him dearly even though we’re from different parties.  He’s a little closer to Louie’s political perspective than mine but he is a good man and I’m keeping him and his family in my prayers all the time.  So just a shout-out to my good friend, Tom Coburn.  (Applause.) 

So each time we gather, it’s a chance to set aside the rush of our daily lives; to pause with humility before an Almighty God; to seek His grace; and, mindful of our own imperfections, to remember the admonition from the Book of Romans, which is especially fitting for those of us in Washington:  “Do not claim to be wiser than you are.” 

So here we put aside labels of party and ideology, and recall what we are first:  all children of a loving God; brothers and sisters called to make His work our own.  But in this work, as Lincoln said, our concern should not be whether God is on our side, but whether we are on God’s side.

And here we give thanks for His guidance in our own individual faith journeys.  In my life, He directed my path to Chicago and my work with churches who were intent on breaking the cycle of poverty in hard-hit communities there.  And I’m grateful not only because I was broke and the church fed me, but because it led to everything else.  It led me to embrace Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior.  It led me to Michelle -- the love of my life -- and it blessed us with two extraordinary daughters.  It led me to public service.  And the longer I serve, especially in moments of trial or doubt, the more thankful I am of God’s guiding hand.

Now, here, as Americans, we affirm the freedoms endowed by our Creator, among them freedom of religion.  And, yes, this freedom safeguards religion, allowing us to flourish as one of the most religious countries on Earth, but it works the other way, too -- because religion strengthens America.  Brave men and women of faith have challenged our conscience and brought us closer to our founding ideals, from the abolition of slavery to civil rights, workers’ rights. 

So many of you carry on this good work today -- for the child who deserves a school worthy of his dreams; for the parents working overtime to pull themselves out of poverty; for the immigrants who want to step out of the shadows and become a full member of our American family; for the young girl who prays for rescue from the modern slavery of human trafficking, an outrage that we must all join together to end. 

Through our Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, led by Melissa Rogers, we’re proud to work with you on this and many other issues.  And I invite you to join us in a new initiative that I announced in my State of the Union address -- an effort to help more young men of color overcome the odds, because so many boys in this country need that mentor to help them become a man and a good father.

I’ve felt the love that faith can instill in our lives during my visits to the Holy Land and Jerusalem -- sacred to Jews and Christians and Muslims.  I’ve felt it in houses of worship -- whether paying my respects at the tomb of Archbishop Romero in San Salvador, or visiting a synagogue on the eve of Rosh Hashanah, the Blue Mosque in Istanbul or a Buddhist temple in Bangkok.  And I’ve felt the compassion of so many faith leaders around the world, and I am especially looking forward to returning to the Vatican next month to meet His Holiness, Pope Francis, whose message about caring for the “least of these” is one that I hope all of us heed.  Like Matthew, he has answered the call of Jesus, who said “follow me,” and he inspires us with his words and deeds, his humility, his mercy and his missionary impulse to serve the cause of social justice.

Yet even as our faith sustains us, it’s also clear that around the world freedom of religion is under threat.  And that is what I want to reflect on this morning.  We see governments engaging in discrimination and violence against the faithful.  We sometimes see religion twisted in an attempt to justify hatred and persecution against other people just because of who they are, or how they pray or who they love.  Old tensions are stoked, fueling conflicts along religious lines, as we’ve seen in the Central African Republic recently, even though to harm anyone in the name of faith is to diminish our own relationship with God.  Extremists succumb to an ignorant nihilism that shows they don’t understand the faiths they claim to profess -- for the killing of the innocent is never fulfilling God’s will; in fact, it’s the ultimate betrayal of God’s will.

Today, we profess the principles we know to be true.  We believe that each of us is “wonderfully made” in the image of God.  We, therefore, believe in the inherent dignity of every human being -- dignity that no earthly power can take away.  And central to that dignity is freedom of religion -- the right of every person to practice their faith how they choose, to change their faith if they choose, or to practice no faith at all, and to do this free from persecution and fear.

Our faith teaches us that in the face of suffering, we can’t stand idly by and that we must be that Good Samaritan.  In Isaiah, we’re told “to do right.  Seek justice.  Defend the oppressed.”  The Torah commands:  “Know the feelings of the stranger, having yourselves been strangers in the land of Egypt.” The Koran instructs:  “Stand out firmly for justice.”   So history shows that nations that uphold the rights of their people -- including the freedom of religion -- are ultimately more just and more peaceful and more successful.  Nations that do not uphold these rights sow the bitter seeds of instability and violence and extremism.  So freedom of religion matters to our national security.  (Applause.) 

As I’ve said before, there are times when we work with governments that don’t always meet our highest standards, but they’re working with us on core interests such as the security of the American people.  At the same time, we also deeply believe that it’s in our interest, even with our partners, sometimes with our friends, to stand up for universal human rights.  So promoting religious freedom is a key objective of U.S. foreign policy.  And I’m proud that no nation on Earth does more to stand up for the freedom of religion around the world than the United States of America.  (Applause.)

It is not always comfortable to do, but it is right.  When I meet with Chinese leaders -- and we do a lot of business with the Chinese, and that relationship is extraordinarily important not just to our two countries but to the world -- but I stress that realizing China’s potential rests on upholding universal rights, including for Christians, and Tibetan Buddhists, and Uighur Muslims.  (Applause.) 

When I meet with the President of Burma, a country that is trying to emerge out of a long darkness into the light of a representative government, I’ve said that Burma’s return to the international community depends on respecting basic freedoms, including for Christians and Muslims.  I’ve pledged our support to the people of Nigeria, who deserve to worship in their churches and mosques in peace, free from terror.  I’ve put the weight of my office behind the efforts to protect the people of Sudan and South Sudan, including religious minorities.

As we support Israelis and Palestinians as they engage in direct talks, we’ve made clear that lasting peace will require freedom of worship and access to holy sites for all faiths.  I want to take this opportunity to thank Secretary Kerry for his extraordinary passion and principled diplomacy that he’s brought to the cause of peace in the Middle East.  Thank you, John.  (Applause.) 

More broadly, I’ve made the case that no society can truly succeed unless it guarantees the rights of all its peoples, including religious minorities, whether they’re Ahmadiyya Muslims in Pakistan, or Baha’i in Iran, or Coptic Christians in Egypt.  And in Syria, it means ensuring a place for all people -- Alawites and Sunni, Shia and Christian.

Going forward, we will keep standing for religious freedom around the world.  And that includes, by the way, opposing blasphemy and defamation of religion measures, which are promoted sometimes as an expression of religion, but, in fact, all too often can be used to suppress religious minorities.  (Applause.) We continue to stand for the rights of all people to practice their faiths in peace and in freedom.  And we will continue to stand against the ugly tide of anti-Semitism that rears it's ugly head all too often. 

I look forward to nominating our next ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom to help lead these efforts.  And we’re moving ahead with our new strategy to partner more closely with religious leaders and faith communities as we carry out our foreign policy.  And I want to thank Shaun Casey, from the Wesley Theological Seminary, for leading this work at the State Department.  Shaun I think is here today and we want to thank him for the outstanding work that he’s doing.  (Applause.) Thank you, Shaun.  (Applause.)

So around the world we’re elevating our engagement with faith leaders and making it a regular part of our diplomacy.  And today, I invite you to join us in focusing on several pressing challenges.  Let’s do more together to advance human rights, including religious freedom.  Let’s do more to promote the development that Raj describes -- from ending extreme poverty to saving lives, from HIV/AIDS to combating climate change so that we can preserve God’s incredible creation.  On all these issues, faith leaders and faith organizations here in the United States and around the world are incredible partners, and we're grateful to them.

And in contrast to those who wield religion to divide us, let’s do more to nurture the dialogue between faiths that can break cycles of conflict and build true peace, including in the Holy Land. 

And finally, as we build the future we seek, let us never forget those who are persecuted today, among them Americans of faith.  We pray for Kenneth Bae, a Christian missionary who’s been held in North Korea for 15 months, sentenced to 15 years of hard labor.  His family wants him home.  And the United States will continue to do everything in our power to secure his release because Kenneth Bae deserves to be free.  (Applause.) 

We pray for Pastor Saeed Abedini.  He’s been held in Iran for more than 18 months, sentenced to eight years in prison on charges relating to his Christian beliefs.  And as we continue to work for his freedom, today, again, we call on the Iranian government to release Pastor Abedini so he can return to the loving arms of his wife and children in Idaho.  (Applause.)

And as we pray for all prisoners of conscience, whatever their faiths, wherever they’re held, let’s imagine what it must be like for them.  We may not know their names, but all around the world there are people who are waking up in cold cells, facing another day of confinement, another day of unspeakable treatment, simply because they are affirming God.  Despite all they’ve endured, despite all the awful punishments if caught, they will wait for that moment when the guards aren’t looking, and when they can close their eyes and bring their hands together and pray. 

In those moments of peace, of grace, those moments when their faith is tested in ways that those of us who are more comfortable never experience; in those far-away cells, I believe their unbroken souls are made stronger.  And I hope that somehow they hear our prayers for them, that they know that, along with the spirit of God, they have our spirit with them as well, and that they are not alone. 

Today we give humble thanks for the freedoms we cherish in this country.  And I join you in seeking God’s grace in all of our lives.  I pray that His wisdom will give us the capacity to do right and to seek justice, and defend the oppressed wherever they may dwell.

I want to thank all of you for the extraordinary privilege of being here this morning.  I want to ask you for your prayers as I continue in this awesome privilege and responsibility as President of the United States.  May God bless the United States of America, and God bless all those who seek peace and justice.  Thank you very much.  (Applause.)

END  
9:51 A.M. EST

Remarks by the President on ConnectED

Buck Lodge Middle School
Adelphi, Maryland

11:37 A.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, everybody.  (Applause.)  Thank you so much.  Well, can everybody please give Nelson a big round of applause for the outstanding job that he did?  (Applause.)  So Nelson just told me backstage he plans on being a Navy SEAL.  So I was really nice to him now so he doesn’t mess with me later.  (Laughter.)  We are very proud of him, proud of all the students who are here today.

I want to thank Principal Richardson for the great job that he’s doing.  (Applause.)  And I want to thank all the wonderful teachers who are here at Buck Lodge Middle School.  Go, Vikings!  (Applause.) 

I brought along some people who very much care about the future of these young people.  We've got America’s Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, in the house.  (Applause.)  We've got the FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler and two of his fellow commissioners who are here, doing great work.  (Applause.)  Congressman Steny Hoyer is in the house.  (Applause.)  County Executive Rushern Baker is here.  (Applause.)  And we've got some business leaders who’ve made some very big commitments today -- because they know that your education is the very best investment that all of us can make in America.

Now, last week, in my State of the Union address, I spent some time talking about opportunity for everybody, which is at the heart of this country -- the idea that no matter who you are, no matter what you look like -- if you have a chair feel free to sit down.  (Laughter.)  That wasn’t actually my line, but I thought -- (laughter.)  But at the core of America, the essence of it, what makes us exceptional is this idea, no matter what you look like, where you come from, what your last name is, if you're willing to work hard, if you're willing to live up to your responsibilities, you can make it here in America.

But each generation has to work hard to make sure that dream of opportunity stays alive for the next generation.  And the opportunity agenda that I laid out last week will help us do that.  It’s focused on four areas:  Number one, more new jobs; number two, training folks with the skills to fill those jobs;  number three, making sure our economy rewards hard work with decent wages and economic security; and number four, the piece I’m here to talk about today -- guaranteeing every child access to a world-class education.  Every child.  Not just some, but everybody.  (Applause.)

Now, I’m only standing here today because my education gave me a chance.  I’m not so different than a lot of these young people.  I was raised by a single mom, with the help of my grandma and my grandpa.  We didn’t have a lot of money, and for a while my mother was working and going to school at the same time as she was raising a couple of kids.  And there were times where times were tight.  But with a family who loved me, and with some hard work on my part -- although it wasn’t always consistent -- as my mother and my grandparents would point out.  And then, ultimately, with the help of scholarships and student loans, I was able to go to college.  I was able to go to law school.  And entire worlds of opportunity opened up to me that might not otherwise have been available. 

So the country invested in me.  My parents invested in me, my grandparents invested in me, but my country invested in me.  And I want America to now invest in you -- because in the faces of these students, these are future doctors and lawyers and engineers, scientists, business leaders.  We don’t know what kinds of products, services, good work that any of these students may do.  But I’m betting on them, and all of us have to bet on them.

So five years ago, we set out to change the odds on all of our kids.  Our Race to the Top challenge has helped raise expectations and performance in states all across the country.  Our high school graduation rate is the highest that it’s been in more than 30 years.  (Applause.)  That’s an achievement.  The dropout rate among Latino students has been cut in half since 2000 -- a really big deal.  (Applause.)  We reformed our student loan programs, so that more young people are able to afford to go to college, and now we’ve got more young people earning a college degree than ever before. 

Teachers and principals across the country are working hard to prepare students like you with the skills you need for a new economy -- not just the basics of reading and writing and arithmetic, but skills like science and technology, engineering, critical thinking, creativity -- asking, what do you think about that idea, and how would you do things differently.

Now, we still have more work to do to reach more kids and reach them faster.  And some of the ideas that I’ve presented will require Congress to act.  But while Congress decides what it’s going to do, I said at the State of the Union -- and I want to repeat here today -- I will act on my own.  Wherever I have the opportunity to expand opportunity for more young people, wherever I have a chance to make a difference in their lives, I’m going to act.  I’m going to act.  (Applause.) 

So in this Year of Action, we’re going to work with states and communities to help them make high-quality pre-K available to more young children.  We know it’s a good investment.  (Applause.)  We want to keep working to partner high schools with colleges and employers to offer real-world education experiences that can lead directly to jobs and careers.  And we want to do more to make sure no middle-class kid is priced out of a college education and, obviously, no poor kid is priced out of a college education.  That’s got to be a priority for us.  (Applause.)  

But today, we’re here to announce some big strides that we’re making to put the world and outer space at every child’s fingertips -- whether they live in a big city or a quiet suburb or in rural America.

Last year, I launched something called ConnectED -- a new initiative to close the technology gap in our schools and connect 99 percent of America’s students to high-speed broadband Internet within five years.  Now, this is something we can do without waiting for Congress.  We do need some help, though.  So we picked up the phone and we started asking some outstanding business leaders to help bring our schools and libraries into the 21st century.  Today, thanks to the leadership of some of these companies, we’ve got some big announcements to make.

But first, I want you to know why it matters that we make sure technology is available to every child.  Technology is not the entire answer, by the way, when it comes to educational excellence.  We’ve got to make sure we’ve got outstanding teachers.  (Applause.)  We’ve got to make sure that parents are doing what they need to do.  (Applause.)  We need young people to make the effort and to have high expectations for themselves.  (Applause.)  But technology can help; t’s a tool, it’s just one more tool.

So today, the average American school has about the same Internet bandwidth as the average American home, but it serves 200 times as many people.  Think about it.  So you’ve got the same bandwidth, but it’s a school -- it’s not your house.  Only around 30 percent of our students have true high-speed Internet in the classroom.  In countries like South Korea, that’s 100 percent.  We shouldn’t give that kind of competitive advantage over to other countries.  We want to make sure our young people have the same advantages that some child in South Korea has right now.  In a country where we expect free Wi-Fi with our coffee, we should definitely demand it in our schools.  (Applause.) 

Now, here at Buck Lodge, you are showing how we can use technology to teach our young people in innovative ways.  And by the way, the principal told me that part of how this got started was some of the stimulus dollars that we put in place almost five years ago now.  But every student here has access to their own iPad.  And you don’t just write papers or take tests; they’re animating movies, they’re designing blogs, they’re collaborating on multimedia projects.  In the word of an 8th grader, Annie Gomez, she says, “You can learn even more, you can take in more, and then you know more about the world.”

And new technologies are helping teachers.  So in Mr. Jeter’s science class, students take quizzes on their tablets; he then can check the answers in real time and he can figure out who needs extra help. In Ms. Galinat’s language arts class, students learn vocabulary not just with flashcards, but with online video. In Ms. Stover’s math class -- I was just over with Ms. Stover -- students bring their tablets home to watch lectures about concepts like ratios and rational numbers, and then use the next day’s classroom time applying those concepts to the real world.  So technology allows teachers here to spend more time being creative, less time teaching to the test, giving continual feedback, being able to pinpoint where a young person is having trouble because they’re able to see their work right away in a pretty efficient way. 

And I will say, I was just in a classroom -- there was a lesson plan that was organized around the Curiosity Rover on Mars.  And the young people there were doing some amazing stuff  -- making their own iBooks with video and multimedia.  And as I was walking out, I was talking to Steny Hoyer about how I remember using gluesticks -- (laughter) -- and scissors to cut stuff out and it didn’t look very good.  (Laughter.)  These guys were making books you could publish.  (Laughter.) 

But it makes learning exciting, it makes it interesting.  If you’re studying science and you are actually seeing the engineers who built Rover talk about what it is -- or the Curiosity Rover  -- talking about what they’re doing and how they did it, and being able to see the Rover on the Martian landscape, it makes vivid and real math and science in a way that is more interesting to students, which means that they’re more likely to be engaged and can potentially do better.

And this is how it should be for every student and every teacher at every school and library in the country.  That’s how it should be for everbody, not just some.  (Applause.)

Today, almost eight months after we launched ConnectED, we can announce some very big commitments that are going to go a long way towards realizing that vision where every child has the access to the technology that they can use to help them learn.  So, under Tom Wheeler’s leadership, the FCC is announcing a down payment of $2 billion to connect more than 15,000 schools and 20 million students to high-speed broadband over the next two years -- (applause) -- 15,000 schools, 20 million students.  (Applause.)  It won’t require a single piece of legislation from Congress.  It won’t add a single dime to the deficit.

And even better, some of America’s biggest tech companies have decided to join this effort, with commitments worth more than three-quarters of a billion dollars.  So let me just give you some examples. 

Apple will donate $100 million worth of iPads, MacBooks, and other products to schools across the country.  (Applause.)  That’s an enormous commitment.
Sprint will provide free wireless service for up to 50,000 low-income high school students over the next four years, so their 21st century education isn’t confined to the classroom.  (Applause.)

AT&T will donate over $100 million worth of wireless service to middle-school students, so that they can continue to do homework when they get home.  (Applause.)

Autodesk will make its 3D-design software available for free to every high school in the country.  (Applause.)

Microsoft will offer products like Windows to students and teachers at a deep discount, and provide 12 million free copies of Office to our schools.  (Applause.)

O’Reilly Media and Safari Books Online will donate more than $100 million worth of eBooks that will help students learn technology skills like coding and web design.  (Applause.)

And finally, because no technology will ever be as important as a great teacher, Verizon will expand a program to help train educators to use all these new tools in all 50 states.  (Applause.)

So I want to thank all the business leaders who are here today for stepping up.  Why don’t you stand up?  Let’s give them a big round of applause.  (Applause.)  We’re very proud of them. Thank you.  (Applause.)

Now, this is an extraordinary commitment by these business leaders, but they’re business leaders, so they’re not just doing it out of the goodness of their heart.  They want the country to do well, but they also understand that they want educated customers.  They want customers who are able to get good jobs, who are going to be using these tools in the future.  They want that next young architect coming out of here to be familiar with using that iPad so that they’re designing buildings and using their products. 

They know that the entire economy will be lifted if more of our young people are doing better.  So they’re doing good, but it will also help them succeed from a bottom-line perspective by this kind of participation.  They are united in their support of young people like you, even though sometimes they compete against each other -- because all of us have a stake in your education and in your future.

And that’s why we have to build on this progress together.  Later this year, I’m going to ask Congress to do its part and give teachers using cutting-edge technologies the training they deserve.  (Applause.)  Because it’s important -- as I said before, technology is not a silver bullet.  It’s only as good as the teachers who are there using it as one more tool to help inspire and teach and work through problems. 

And although I’ve noticed that these days when I visit schools, most teachers are much younger than I am -- (laughter)  -- I’m getting on in years, obviously, which means that I’m not always as familiar with iPads and technology as I need to be.  We want every teacher in every school to understand from soup to nuts how you can potentially use this technology.  And that oftentimes requires a training component that makes sure that the technology is not just sitting there, but is actually used and incorporated in the best way possible.

So I’m going to ask every business leader across America to join us in this effort.  Ask yourself what you can do to help us connect our students to the 21st century.  Ask yourselves what you can do to support our teachers and our parents and give every young people every shot at success. 

And we can make this happen.  And just imagine what it will mean for our country when we do.  Imagine what it could mean for a girl growing up on a farm to be able to take AP Biology or AP Physics even if her school is too small to offer it, because she’s got the access to technology that allows her to take those classes online.  Imagine what it means for a boy with an illness that confines him sometimes to home where he can join his classmates for every lesson with FaceTime or Skype.  Imagine what it means for educators to spend less time grading tests and papers, more time helping young people learn.  Imagine more businesses starting here and hiring here, because they know for a fact that the young people here are going to be equipped with the skills that are better than anybody else on Earth. 

That’s the future we’re building.  That’s what these companies are investing in.  And if America pulls together now -- if we do our part to make sure every young person can go as far as their passion and their hard work will take them, whether it’s to Mars or to the bottom of the ocean or to anywhere on this planet where you’ve got an Internet connection -- if we commit ourselves to restoring opportunity for everybody, then we can keep the American Dream alive for generations to come. 

That’s our main project.  That’s our main obligation.  That’s why I ran for President.  That’s what I’m going to be working on for the next three years.  (Applause.)  

Thank you for all the work that you’re doing here at this outstanding school.  God bless you.  God bless America.  Thank you.  (Applause.)

END
12:04 P.M. EST