Readout of the Panel Discussion with the U.S. Conference of Mayors

Today, Senior Advisor to the President Valerie Jarrett, Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan, Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx, and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan participated in a panel discussion with over 250 mayors to discuss the President’s commitment to partnering with local communities and cities to promote opportunity for hardworking Americans across the nation.

During the discussion, the Cabinet Secretaries reiterated the Administration’s commitment to working hand in hand with mayors to identify ways to deliver the services in their cities to help people succeed. The Administration Officials said they looked forward to working with mayors this year on expanding educational and economic opportunity and investing in infrastructure.  The Administration continues to work with mayors across the nation to explore new ideas, identify best practices, and develop ways forward to build upon these partnerships at the federal level.

As part of President Obama’s commitment to making 2014 a year of action, Cabinet Secretaries and senior administration officials will be traveling across the country in the coming weeks to advance the President’s priorities of strengthening our economy, creating jobs, rewarding hard work, and building a strong middle class. Mayors throughout the nation have been invaluable partners in creating platforms for success in their communities, and the Obama Administration is committed to ensuring that the Federal government remains an active partner in supporting local priorities for communities across America.

President Obama Signs Alaska Disaster Declaration

The President today declared a major disaster exists in the State of Alaska and ordered federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by severe storms, straight-line winds, and flooding during the period of November 5-14, 2013.

Federal funding also is available to state and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and the repair or replacement of facilities damaged by the severe storms, straight-line winds, and flooding in the areas of the Bering Strait Regional Education Attendance Area (REAA), Fairbanks North Star Borough, Lower Kuskokwim REAA, and the Lower Yukon REAA. 

Federal funding is also available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures statewide.

W. Craig Fugate, Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Department of Homeland Security, named Dolph A. Diemont as the Federal Coordinating Officer for federal recovery operations in the affected area.

FEMA said additional designations may be made at a later date if requested by the state and warranted by the results of further damage assessments.

First Lady Michelle Obama Announces Commitment by Subway® Restaurants to Promote Healthier Choices to Kids

Following First-Ever White House Convening on Food Marketing to Children, SUBWAY® Announces Strongest Effort Yet to Encourage Kids to Pile on the Veggies

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, First Lady Michelle Obama joined the Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA) and SUBWAY® along with SUBWAY® Famous Fans Michael Phelps, Nastia Liukin, and Justin Tuck at a local Washington, DC, SUBWAY® Restaurant, to announce a three-year commitment by the chain in support of her Let’s Move! initiative to promote healthier choices to kids, including launching its largest targeted marketing effort to date.  In addition to strengthening its already nutritious menu offerings to kids, SUBWAY® will launch a new series of campaigns for kids aimed at increasing fruit and vegetable consumption and will set new standards for marketing products to families.

“I’m excited about these initiatives not just as a First Lady, but also as a mom,” said First Lady Michelle Obama.   “Subway's kids' menu makes life easier for parents, because they know that no matter what their kids order, it’s going to be a healthy choice.”

Let’s Move!, the First Lady’s initiative to ensure that all children grow up healthy and have the opportunity to pursue their dreams, works to make the healthy choice the easy choice for American families.  SUBWAY® Restaurants’ commitment answers the First Lady’s call last fall at the first ever White House Convening on Food Marketing to Children, where she urged the private sector to leverage the power of marketing to promote healthier products and decrease the marketing of unhealthy products to kids.

“SUBWAY® restaurant’s commitment today builds on the brand’s already strong track record of offering healthier choices to kids, for which it has been lauded by families and health advocates alike,” said PHA Board Chair James R. Gavin, III, MD, PhD. “The new and significant investment it is making today will not only help make fruits and vegetables fun for kids, it will also offer busy moms and dads easy, healthy choices for their families when they're on the go.”

“Ending childhood obesity is a cause that has been near and dear to SUBWAY® since we introduced the Fresh Fit for Kids Meals in 2007,” said Suzanne Greco, vice president of R&D and Operations for the SUBWAY® brand. “With this partnership with PHA, we will now reach millions of kids as part of a healthier eating education campaign, making it our largest outreach campaign to date. From a sign on each restaurant’s door that says ‘Playtime Powered by Veggies’ to a video collaboration with Disney’s The Muppets, we will build upon our ongoing efforts to create even better choices for families. We hold ourselves to the highest standards in the industry when it comes to speaking to children and their families. Now we are letting everyone else know what that standard is.”

As part of its commitment, the SUBWAY® restaurant chain will:

• only offer items on its kids menus that meet strong nutritional guidelines informed by federal standards for the national school lunch program, including offering apples as a side and low-fat or non-fat milk or water as a default beverage.

• deliver $41 million in media value in the next three years to market healthier options to children and families, with a specific focus on increasing consumption of fruits and vegetables. This is the brand’s largest kid-focused marketing campaign to date, and includes general marketing, in-store merchandising, television, social and digital media and public relations.

• focus all kid-focused in-store merchandising and marketing on only the healthier options available in its restaurants.  This includes training materials which will be updated to teach Sandwich Artists to encourage kids to choose apples.  

For complete information about this PHA commitment, visit AHealthierAmerica.org.

Readout of Vice President Biden's Meeting with Iraqi Council of Representatives Speaker Osama al-Nujaifi

This afternoon, President Obama joined Vice President Joe Biden’s meeting with Iraqi Council of Representatives Speaker Osama al-Nujaifi and a delegation of Iraqi parliamentarians. Both sides reaffirmed the importance of the strategic partnership between the United States and Iraq.   The President encouraged Iraq’s leaders to continue dialogue to address the legitimate grievances of all communities through the political process. Both sides agreed on the need for both security and political measures to combat terrorism, and discussed efforts to formally integrate local and tribal forces into the state security structures consistent with the Government of Iraq’s public commitments in recent days.  President Obama and Vice President Biden also expressed the United States’ strong support for continued cooperation between local and tribal leaders and the Iraqi Government against al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI)/the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).  The President and Vice President underscored that the United States stands with Iraq and its people in the fight against AQI/ISIL and other extremist groups.

A photograph of President Obama greeting Speaker Osama al-Nujaifi at today's meeting is available HERE