The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
January 10, 2014

President Obama Announces his Intent to Nominate Three to Serve on the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, President Obama announced his intent to nominate three individuals to serve on the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.  The President announced his intent to nominate Stanley Fischer to serve as Vice Chairman and Governor, Lael Brainard to serve as Governor, and announced his intent to nominate Jerome Powell for a second term as Governor. 

President Obama said, “These three distinguished individuals have the proven experience, judgment and deep knowledge of the financial system to serve at the Federal Reserve during this important time for our economy.  Stanley Fischer brings decades of leadership and expertise from various roles, including serving at the International Monetary Fund and the Bank of Israel.  He is widely acknowledged as one of the world’s leading and most experienced economic policy minds and I’m grateful he has agreed to take on this new role and I am confident that he and Janet Yellen will make a great team.  Lael Brainard has served as one of my top and most trusted international economic advisors during a challenging time not just at home, but for our global economy as well, and her knowledge of international monetary and economic issues will be an important addition to the Fed.  I’m also thankful that Jerome Powell, who has proven to be an effective and wise voice at the Fed, has agreed to serve a second term.  I’m confident that these individuals will serve their country well.”

President Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individuals today:

Stanley Fischer, Vice Chairman and Governor of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

(To represent the New York, NY region; term ending January 31, 2020)

Dr. Stanley Fischer served as the Governor of the Bank of Israel from 2005 to 2013, where he successfully navigated Israel’s economy through the global financial crisis.  Prior to joining the Bank of Israel, Dr. Fischer was Vice Chairman of Citigroup from 2002 through 2005.  From 1994 to 2001, he was the First Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), addressing the Asian, Russian, Brazilian, and other financial crises of the late 1990s.  Before he joined the IMF, Dr. Fischer was the Killian Professor and Head of the Department of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).  From 1988 to 1990, he was Vice President, Development Economics and Chief Economist at the World Bank.  From 1973 to 1994, he taught economics at MIT.  Dr. Fischer was Assistant Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Chicago.  He received a B.Sc. and an M.Sc. from the London School of Economics and a Ph.D. from MIT.

Lael Brainard, Governor of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

(To represent the Richmond, VA region; term ending January 31, 2026)

Dr. Lael Brainard most recently served as the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Under Secretary for International Affairs from 2010 to 2013, where she was responsible for currency policy as well as for coordinating with G20 central banks and finance ministries to arrest the European financial crisis and institute fundamental financial reforms.  She was awarded the Alexander Hamilton Award for her service as the Administration’s chief economic diplomat.  Prior to joining the Administration, she was Vice President and the Founding Director of the Global Economy and Development Program at the Brookings Institution.  During the Clinton Administration, she served as Deputy National Economic Adviser and Deputy Assistant to the President for International Economics, addressing challenges such as the Asian financial crisis and the Mexican financial crisis and China’s role in the global economy.  Previously, Dr. Brainard served as Associate Professor of Applied Economics at the MIT Sloan School of Management.  Dr. Brainard has also worked at McKinsey & Co. advising corporate clients on strategic challenges, and she has worked in the field of microfinance in West Africa.  She received a B.A. from Wesleyan University and an M.A. and Ph.D. from Harvard University.

Jerome H. Powell, Governor of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

(To represent the Philadelphia, PA region; term ending January 31, 2028)

Jerome H. Powell is a Member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, a position he has held since 2012.  Prior to serving on the Board of Governors, he was a visiting scholar at the Bipartisan Policy Center.  From 1997 to 2005, he was a partner at The Carlyle Group.  Mr. Powell previously served as an Assistant Secretary and an Under Secretary of the Treasury at the Department of the Treasury under President George H.W. Bush.  He worked for many years prior to that as a lawyer and investment banker in New York City.  Mr. Powell received an A.B. from Princeton University and J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
January 10, 2014

President Obama Signs West Virginia Emergency Declaration

The President today declared an emergency exists in the State of West Virginia and ordered federal aid to supplement state and local response efforts due to the emergency conditions resulting from a chemical spill beginning on January 9, 2014, and continuing.

The President's action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to coordinate all disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population, and to provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures, authorized under Title V of the Stafford Act, to save lives and to protect property and public health and safety, and to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe in the counties of Boone, Clay, Jackson, Kanawha, Lincoln, Logan, Putnam, and Roane.

Specifically, FEMA is authorized to identify, mobilize, and provide at its discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency.  Emergency protective measures, limited to direct federal assistance, will be provided at 75 percent federal funding. 

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

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
January 09, 2014

Statement by National Security Advisor Susan E. Rice on South Sudan

The United States strongly supports the efforts of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) mediators, Ambassador Seyoum Mesfin and General Lazaro Sumbeiywo, to secure a cessation of hostilities and to resolve the conflict in South Sudan peacefully through talks being held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.  This crisis must be ended swiftly through a negotiated settlement in order to prevent the escalation of a dangerous conflict that neither the people of South Sudan, the region or the international community can afford.

The United States calls upon rebel-leader Riek Machar and President Salva Kiir to sign immediately the cessation of hostilities agreement tabled by IGAD.  Mr. Machar, in particular, must commit to a cessation of hostilities without precondition.  His continued insistence on the release of detainees as a pre-condition for a cessation of hostilities is unacceptable and runs counter to the express will of the detainees who informed the IGAD mediators yesterday that they support talks on an unconditional cessation of hostilities and stated clearly that their status as detainees should not be an impediment to reaching an agreement on a cessation of hostilities.

At the same time, the United States is disappointed that the detainees being held by the Government of South Sudan have not yet been released.  The United States reiterates its call upon President Salva Kiir to release the detainees immediately to the custody of IGAD so that they can participate in the political negotiations.  

It is the obligation of both President Kiir and Mr. Machar to ensure that the lives of their people and future of their young country are not further marred by continued violence and atrocities. 

###

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
January 09, 2014

Presidential Nominations Sent to the Senate

NOMINATIONS SENT TO THE SENATE:

Heidi Neel Biggs, of Oregon, to be a Member of the Board of Directors of the Corporation for National and Community Service for a term expiring October 6, 2017, vice Eric J. Tanenblatt, term expired.

Deborah L. Birx, of Maryland, to be Ambassador at Large and Coordinator of United States Government Activities to Combat HIV/AIDS Globally.

Michael W. Kempner, of New Jersey, to be a Member of the Broadcasting Board of Governors for a term expiring August 13, 2015, vice Michael Lynton, resigned.

Suzette M. Kimball, of West Virginia, to be Director of the United States Geological Survey, vice Marcia K. McNutt, resigned.

Christopher P. Lu, of Virginia, to be Deputy Secretary of Labor, vice Seth David Harris.

Westley Watende Omari Moore, of Maryland, to be Member of the Board of Directors of the Corporation for National and Community Service for a term expiring October 6, 2016, vice Stan Z. Soloway, term expired.

The White House

Office of the Vice President

For Immediate Release
January 09, 2014

Readout of Vice President Biden's Call with President of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region Masoud Barzani

Vice President Biden spoke today with President of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region Masoud Barzani.  The two discussed their support for the joint efforts by local and tribal leaders and Iraqi Security Forces to combat the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.  Both reaffirmed the need for close coordination among all Iraqi leaders to isolate terrorist networks.  The Vice President encouraged President Barzani, as he has done with leaders in Baghdad and Ankara, to find a common way forward on the matter of energy exports and revenue sharing.  President Barzani agreed to continued dialogue with the Iraqi government to seek agreement on a path forward.  The Vice President emphasized the strong and enduring U.S. support for a unified and federal Iraq as defined under the Iraqi constitution.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
January 09, 2014

President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts

WASHINGTON – Today, President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to key Administration posts:

  • Deborah L. Birx – Ambassador at Large and Coordinator of United States Government Activities to Combat HIV/AIDS Globally, Department of State
  • Suzette Kimball – Director of the United States Geological Survey, Department of the Interior 

President Obama also announced his intent to appoint the following individual to a key Administration post:

  • Jerilyn Mendoza – Member, Joint Public Advisory Committee of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation 

President Obama said, “I am confident that these outstanding women will greatly serve the American people in their new roles and I look forward to working with them in the months and years to come.”

President Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to key Administration posts:

Dr. Deborah L. Birx, Nominee for Ambassador at Large and Coordinator of United States Government Activities to Combat HIV/AIDS Globally, Department of State

Dr. Deborah L. Birx is the Director of the Division of Global HIV/AIDS in the Center for Global Health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a position she has held since 2009.  From 2005 to 2009, Dr. Birx served as the Director of the CDC’s Global AIDS Programs for the National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention.  Dr. Birx served on active duty in the U.S. Army for 29 years, retiring in 2008 with the rank of Colonel.  As an Army officer, she served as Director of the U.S. Military HIV Research Program and as Director of the Division of Retrovirology at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research from 1996 to 2005.  She served as the Laboratory Director of HIV-1 Vaccine Development from 1995 to 1996, Chief of the Department of Retroviral Research from 1994 to 1995, and Assistant Chief for the Department of Retroviral Research from 1989 to 1994.  Concurrently, Dr. Birx has served as adjunct professor at the University of North Carolina since 2012, a consultant to Walter Reed Army Medical Center since 1989, and an assistant professor at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences since 1985.  Dr. Birx received a B.S. from Houghton College and an M.D. from Penn State University. 

Dr. Suzette Kimball, Nominee for Director of the United States Geological Survey, Department of the Interior

Dr. Suzette Kimball has been the Deputy Director of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) at the Department of the Interior since 2010, and has fulfilled the duties of the Director of USGS since February 2013.  Previously, she served as the Associate Director for Geology from 2008 to 2010, Director of the Eastern Region from 2004 to 2008, and Eastern Regional Executive for Biology from 1998 to 2004.  Dr. Kimball served as the South East Associate Regional Director and Regional Chief Scientist for the U.S. National Park Service from 1993 to 1998.  Previously, she was Research Coordinator in the Global Climate Change Program at the National Park Service and an Assistant Professor of Environmental Sciences at the University of Virginia.  She has served as Co-Founder and Co-Director of the Center for Coastal Management and Policy and as Associate Marine Scientist at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science at the College of William and Mary.  From 1983 to 1986, Dr. Kimball served as a Coastal Engineering Research Center Unit Chief and a Program Manager for Barrier Islands Sedimentation Studies in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.  Earlier in her career, she served as a research coordinator and a research assistant at the Department of Environmental Sciences at the University of Virginia.  Dr. Kimball received a B.A. from the College of William and Mary, an M.S. from Ball State University, and a Ph.D. from the University of Virginia.

President Obama announced his intent to appoint the following individual to a key Administration post:

Jerilyn Mendoza, Appointee for Member, Joint Public Advisory Committee of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation

Jerilyn Mendoza is the Senior Environmental Affairs Program Manager at the Southern California Gas Company, a position she has held since December 2013.  Prior to this, Ms. Mendoza served as a Commissioner of the Los Angeles Board of Public Works from 2011 to 2013.  From 2010 to 2011, Ms. Mendoza was the California Manager for ICLEI -Local Governments for Sustainability.  Previously, she served as the Vice President of the Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners from 2005 to 2010.  Ms. Mendoza served as a Policy Director and Staff Attorney at the Environmental Defense Fund of Los Angeles from 2000 to 2009.  She was a Litigation Associate at Foley & Lardner from 1998 to 2000 and was previously a Litigation Associate at McCutchen, Doyle, Brown & Enersen from 1996 to 1998.  Ms. Mendoza received a B.A. from Stanford University and a J.D. from the UCLA School of Law.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
January 09, 2014

Statement by the Press Secretary on the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities Act of 2014

Trade Promotion Authority is a key part of a comprehensive strategy to increase exports and support more American jobs at higher wages, including in a stronger manufacturing sector.  We welcome the introduction of the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities Act of 2014 as an important step towards Congress updating its important role in trade negotiations.  We look forward to working with Democrats and Republicans in Congress throughout the legislative process to pass Trade Promotion Authority legislation with as broad bipartisan support as possible. 

The United States has the most open markets in the world, but our products and services still face barriers abroad.  That’s why we need to use every tool we have to knock down trade barriers that prevent American goods and services from being exported.  If we don’t seize these opportunities, our competitors surely will.  And if we don’t take the leadership to set high standards around the world, we will face a race to the bottom which is not in the interest of our workers and firms.

As this process moves ahead, we stand ready to work with Congress to renew the Generalized System of Preferences Program and protect and strengthen Trade Adjustment Assistance for America’s workers.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
January 09, 2014

Obama Administration Launches Quadrennial Energy Review

First QER Will Focus on Transmission and Distribution Infrastructure

Today, President Obama signed a Memorandum directing his Administration to conduct a Quadrennial Energy Review (QER).  This first QER will focus on the development of a comprehensive strategy for the infrastructure involved in transporting, transmitting, and delivering energy. The QER will be developed through robust interagency dialogue and engagement of external stakeholders and will help to build on the Nation’s progress toward greater energy and climate security. 

Building on the foundation provided in the President’s Blueprint for a Secure Energy Future and his Climate Action Plan, this QER will study the opportunities and challenges that our energy infrastructure faces as a result of transformations in energy supply, markets, and use; issues of aging and capacity; impacts of climate change; and cyber and physical threats.  The QER will provide rigorous analysis in a focused, actionable document for policymakers across all sectors.

The development of the QER will include broad outreach, including to the private sector; state, local and tribal governments; labor and other non-governmental organizations; and the academic community.  The QER will be conducted by an interagency task force that is co-chaired by the leaders of the White House Domestic Policy Council and Office of Science and Technology Policy, and includes representation from all relevant executive departments and agencies.  The Department of Energy will play a key role in providing analytical support to the QER.

As the Presidential Memorandum outlines, the QER will provide an integrated view of, and recommendations for, Federal energy policy in the context of economic, environmental, occupational, security, and health and safety priorities; review the adequacy of existing executive and legislative activities and recommend additional executive and legislative actions as appropriate; assess and recommend priorities for research, development, and demonstration programs to support key goals; and identify analytical tools and data needed to support further policy development and implementation.

Since President Obama took office, domestic oil production has increased more than 50 percent and natural gas production is now the highest it has ever been. Today, America is not just leading the world in energy production but it is also leading the world in energy innovation: Investments in research, development, and deployment have more than doubled the renewable electricity that we generate from wind and solar, even as the prices of those technologies continue to drop, and advances in energy efficiency are making our energy system cleaner, cheaper, and more reliable.  All this change tests an aging infrastructure that must keep pace both with the transformations in energy supply, climate change and security.  In this context, the QER will help U.S. policymakers across all sectors make decisions based on unbiased data and rigorous analysis.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
January 09, 2014

Readout of the President's Meeting with Members of Congress

Today President Obama met with Members of Congress to discuss the Administration’s ongoing review of signals intelligence programs, including our study of the Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technologies report. In August, the President committed his Administration to working with Congress to pursue reforms to our nation’s surveillance programs and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. This meeting was an opportunity for the President to hear from the Members about the work they have been doing on these issues since they last met and solicit their input as we near the end of our internal review. The President thanked the Members for their ongoing work on these challenging issues.

The following Members of Congress attended:

  • Senator Dianne Feinstein, D-CA, Chairman, Select Committee on Intelligence 

  • Senator Saxby Chambliss, R-GA, Vice Chairman, Select Committee on Intelligence 

  • Senator Patrick Leahy, D-VT, Chairman, Judiciary Committee 

  • Senator Chuck Grassley, R-IA, Ranking Member, Judiciary Committee 

  • Senator Dick Durbin, D-IL, Assistant Majority Leader and Chairman, Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense 

  • Senator Thad Cochran, R-MS, Ranking Member, Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense 

  • Senator Richard Blumenthal, D-CT 

  • Senator Mark Udall, D-CO 

  • Senator Ron Wyden, D-OR 

  • Representative Mike Rogers, R-MI, Chairman, Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence 

  • Representative Bob Goodlatte, R-VA, Chairman, Judiciary Committee 

  • Representative John Conyers, D-MI, Ranking Member, Judiciary Committee 

  • Representative Rodney Frelinghuysen, R-NJ, Chairman, Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense 

  • Representative Peter Visclosky, D-IN, Ranking Member, Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense 

  • Representative Adam Schiff, D-CA 

Representative Jim Sensenbrenner, R-WI

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
January 08, 2014

Fact Sheet: President Obama’s Promise Zones Initiative

For decades before the economic crisis, local communities were transformed as jobs were sent overseas and middle class Americans worked harder and harder but found it more difficult to get ahead.  Announced in last year’s State of the Union Address, the Promise Zone Initiative is part of the President’s plan to create a better bargain for the middle-class by partnering with local communities and businesses to create jobs, increase economic security, expand educational opportunities, increase access to quality, affordable housing and improve public safety.  Today, the President announced the next step in those efforts by naming the first five “Promise Zones”. 

The first five Zones, located in San Antonio, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Southeastern Kentucky, and the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, have each put forward a plan on how they will partner with local business and community leaders to make investments that reward hard work and expand opportunity.  In exchange, these designees will receive the resources and flexibility they need to achieve their goals.

Each of these designees knows and has demonstrated that it takes a collaborative effort – between private business and federal, state, tribal and local officials; faith-based and non-profit organizations; children and parents – to ensure that hard work leads to a decent living for every American, in every community.

THE FIRST 5 PROMISE ZONES AND THEIR PLANS:

San Antonio, TX (Eastside Neighborhood)

The City of San Antonio’s key strategies include:

  • Focusing on job creation and training, including through a partnership with St. Philip’s College, in key growth areas including energy, health care, business support, aerospace/advanced manufacturing, and construction.

  • Empowering every child with the skills they need by increasing enrollment in high quality pre-K programs; installing a STEM focus in the local school district; expanding enrollment in Early College Programs; and improving adult education opportunities.

  • Expanding public safety activities to facilitate neighborhood revitalization; improved street lighting and demolishing abandoned buildings; and integrated public safety activities with social resources.  

Los Angeles, CA (Neighborhoods of Pico Union, Westlake, Koreatown, Hollywood, and East Hollywood)

The City of Los Angeles’s key strategies include:

  • Increasing housing affordability by preserving existing affordable housing and partnering with housing developers to increase the supply of affordable new housing to prevent displacement.

  • Ensuring all youth have access to a high-quality education, and are prepared for college and careers through its Promise Neighborhoods initiative, by partnering with the Youth Policy Institute and L.A. Unified School District to expand its Full Service Community Schools model from 7 schools to all 45 Promise Zone schools by 2019.

  • Ensuring youth and adult residents have access to high-quality career and technical training opportunities that prepare them for careers in high-growth industries through partnerships with career and technical training schools and the Los Angeles Community College District.

  • Investing in transit infrastructure including bus rapid transit lines and bike lanes, and promoting transit-oriented development (TOD) that attracts new businesses and creates jobs.

  • Charging its Promise Zone Director and Advisory Board with eliminating wasteful and duplicative government programs. 

Philadelphia, PA (West Philadelphia)

The City of Philadelphia’s key strategies include:

  • Putting people back to work through skills training and adult education; classes on small business development to support entrepreneurs; loans and technical assistance for small resident-owned businesses; and the development of a supermarket providing both jobs and access to healthy food.

  • Improving high-quality education to prepare children for careers, in partnership with Drexel University and the William Penn Foundation, through increasing data-driven instruction that informs teacher professional development; developing school cultures that are conducive to teaching and learning; mentoring middle and high school youth with focus on college access and readiness; and increasing parent engagement.

  • Preventing and reducing crime in order to attract new residents and long-term investments, through strategies such as focused deterrence, hot spots policing, and foot patrol. 

Southeastern Kentucky (Kentucky Highlands)

In Southeastern Kentucky, the Kentucky Highland’s Investment Corps’ key strategies include:

  • Implementing a sustainable economic effort across eight counties in the Kentucky Highlands region, focused on diversifying Southeastern Kentucky’s economy to make it more resilient.

  • Creating jobs and growing small businesses by leveraging $1.3 million of private sector funds in a revolving loan fund targeted within the Promise Zone.

  • Creating leadership and entrepreneur training for youth and industry-specific re-training opportunities for local skilled workforce, through the University of Kentucky Economic Development Initiative, the East Kentucky Concentrated Employment Program, and the Kentucky Highlands Investment Corporation.

  • In order to ensure all youth have access to a high-quality education Berea College will run evidence-based college and career readiness programs for high school students in the Zone, while Eastern Kentucky University will expand technical education programs. 

Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma

The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma’s key strategies include:

  • Improving skills for tomorrow’s jobs, through workforce training for skilled trades and professionals and more rigorous summer and after-school programs.

  • Leveraging its role as the largest employer in southeastern Oklahoma to create a strong base for economic revitalization by working with partners, like Oklahoma State University, Eastern Oklahoma State College, and the Kiamichi Technology Center to improve workforce training for skilled trades and professionals, with a focus on providing nationally-recognized STEM certifications.

  • Investing in infrastructure that lays the foundation for economic growth, including water and sewer infrastructure; these infrastructure challenges have been identified as impediments to investment in an area with otherwise strong growth potential.

  • Improving educational outcomes by working across 85 school districts throughout the region to share data for continuous improvement, and bolster early literacy and parent support programs.

  • Pursuing economic diversification by utilizing natural, historic, and cultural resources to support growth, including evaluation of market capacity for local farmers’ markets, as well as implementation of technology-enhanced “traditional” farming and ranching, and large-scale greenhouses and specialized training in business plan development, marketing, and financing to support the development of women-owned businesses in the Promise Zone. 

THE PROMISE ZONES INITIATIVE

The five Promise Zones announced today are part of the 20 that will be announced over the next three years. These unique partnerships support local goals and strategies with:

  • Accountability for Clear Goals: Each Promise Zone has identified clear outcomes they will pursue to revitalize their community, with a focus on creating jobs, increasing economic activity, improving educational opportunities, increasingaccess to quality, affordable housing and reducing violent crime.  All Promise Zones will continuously track those outcomes, and have committed to sharing data across their community partners (private-sector, non-profits, federal, state, and local agencies, etc.)  so that each partner can work towards improvement and accountability.  The Administration will work with the Promise Zones and third party experts to track progress and evaluate results. 

  • Intensive Federal Partnership: Modeled after the Administration’s successful Strong Cities Strong Communities and Strike Force for Rural Growth and Opportunity initiatives, which have created unique partnerships between local stakeholders and the federal government, these first five Promise Zones will benefit from intensive federal support at the local level to help them implement their economic and community development goals.   

  • Help Accessing Resources: Where necessary to achieve their goals, Promise Zones will get priority and be able to access federal investments that further the goals of job creation, additional private investment, increased economic activity, improved educational opportunity, and reduction in violent crime.

  • National Service:  Each Promise Zone will be provided five full-time AmeriCorps VISTA members to support their strategic plan.  These VISTAs will recruit and manage volunteers, and strengthen the capacity of Promise Zones to expand economic opportunity.

  • Investing in What Works: In order to be designated as a Promise Zone, these five communities have already demonstrated that they are pursuing strategies that have data proving their effectiveness. This same data will also help direct future federal investments to these Zones. 

Cutting Taxes for Businesses: Finally, President Obama has proposed, and called on Congress to act, to cut taxes on hiring and investment in areas designated as Promise Zones – based upon the proven model of Empowerment Zones tax credits – to attract businesses and create jobs.