Statement from the President on the 50th anniversary of the 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing in Birmingham, Al

Today, we remember Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, and Cynthia Wesley who were killed 50 years ago in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing. That horrific day in Birmingham, Alabama quickly became a defining moment for the Civil Rights Movement. It galvanized Americans all across the country to stand up for equality and broadened support for a movement that would eventually lead to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Earlier this year, I was honored to meet with family members of those four precious little girls as America posthumously awarded them the Congressional Gold Medal, one of our nation's highest civilian honors.

Statement by the President on U.S.-Russian Agreement on Framework for Elimination of Syrian Chemical Weapons

I welcome the progress made between the United States and Russia through our talks in Geneva, which represents an important, concrete step toward the goal of moving Syria's chemical weapons under international control so that they may ultimately be destroyed. This framework provides the opportunity for the elimination of Syrian chemical weapons in a transparent, expeditious, and verifiable manner, which could end the threat these weapons pose not only to the Syrian people but to the region and the world. The international community expects the Assad regime to live up to its public commitments.

While we have made important progress, much more work remains to be done. The United States will continue working with Russia, the United Kingdom, France, the United Nations and others to ensure that this process is verifiable, and that there are consequences should the Assad regime not comply with the framework agreed today. And, if diplomacy fails, the United States remains prepared to act.

Following the Assad regime’s use of chemical weapons to kill more than 1,000 men, women, and children on August 21, I decided that the United States must take action to deter the Syrian regime from using chemical weapons, degrade their ability to use them, and make clear to the world that we will not tolerate their use. In part because of the credible threat of U.S. military force, we now have the opportunity to achieve our objectives through diplomacy. I spoke to Secretary Kerry earlier today and thanked him for his tireless and effective efforts on behalf of our nation. I also spoke to Ambassador Samantha Power who will ably lead our follow-on negotiations at the UN Security Council in New York.

The use of chemical weapons anywhere in the world is an affront to human dignity and a threat to the security of people everywhere. We have a duty to preserve a world free from the fear of chemical weapons for our children. Today marks an important step towards achieving this goal.

Statement by the President

WASHINGTON, DC – After more than four years working for the Administration, Gene B. Sperling, Director of the National Economic Council and Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, will be departing the White House on January 1, 2014.  The President announced today that he will appoint Jeffrey Zients, former Acting Director of the Office of Management and Budget, to serve as Director of the National Economic Council.  

President Obama said, “Over the past four and a half years, Gene has been one of my closest advisors and a close friend.  Gene understands better than anybody that our top priority as a nation is making sure that our economy once again works for working Americans.  Gene’s impact in this Administration began at Treasury, where he helped us avoid a second Great Depression and led efforts to pass a Small Business Jobs Act to help entrepreneurs grow. He has been a tireless proponent of efforts to strengthen the recovery and make our tax code more fair, whether in helping to design the payroll tax cut, fighting for job-creating tax credits for tens of millions of hardworking Americans or developing the American Jobs Act. He was central to designing policies to help support the housing recovery and was a driving force behind our manufacturing agenda and our efforts to attract jobs and investment to the United States.
 
“Gene’s relentless work ethic, sharp intellect and ability to work across the aisle have been instrumental in our efforts to build a better bargain for the middle class and reduce the deficit while also protecting the most vulnerable. I want to thank Gene and his family for their service and I look forward to having his counsel for the rest of the year. 
 
“Today, I’m also proud to name Jeff Zients as the next Director of the National Economic Council.  Before heading up the Office of Management and Budget, Jeff spent decades as a successful entrepreneur in the private sector.  Jeff has a sterling reputation as a business leader, and he earned the admiration and respect of everyone he worked with during his four years in leadership positions at the Office of Management and Budget.   I am certain that in Jeff’s hands we will continue to have strong leadership of our economic policy team and his advice will be critical as we keep moving this country forward and building an economy where everyone who works hard can get ahead.”

Biography for Jeffrey Zients

Jeffrey Zients served as the Acting Director of the Office of Management and Budget from January 2012 to April 2013, and from July 2010 to November 2010, after being confirmed by the United States Senate in 2009 as the Deputy Director for Management and the nation’s first Federal Chief Performance Officer. Zients has twenty years of business experience as a CEO, management consultant and entrepreneur.  In the private sector, Zients served as CEO and Chairman of The Advisory Board Company and as Chairman of the Corporate Executive Board, two high growth, publicly traded firms that are leading providers of performance benchmarking and best practices across a wide range of industries. Zients also founded an investment firm, and served as a member of a number of Boards of Directors including Sirius XM Radio, Timbuk2 Designs, and Children’s National Medical Center.  Zients is a co-founder of The Urban Alliance Foundation, a non-profit organization that partners with corporations to provide economically disadvantaged youth with year-round paid internships, adult mentors and job training. Zients graduated from Duke University and lives with his wife Mary and four children in Washington, D.C.

Presidential Determination -- Continuation of the Exercise of Certain Authorities Under the Trading With the Enemy Act

MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF STATE

THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY

SUBJECT: Continuation of the Exercise of Certain Authorities Under the Trading With the Enemy Act

Under section 101(b) of Public Law 95-223 (91 Stat. 1625; 50 U.S.C. App. 5(b) note) and a previous determination on September 10, 2012 (77 FR 56753, September 13, 2012), the exercise of certain authorities under the Trading With the Enemy Act is scheduled to terminate on September 14, 2013.

I hereby determine that the continuation for 1 year of the exercise of those authorities with respect to Cuba is in the national interest of the United States.

Therefore, consistent with the authority vested in me by section 101(b) of Public Law 95-223, I continue for 1 year, until September 14, 2014, the exercise of those authorities with respect to Cuba, as implemented by the Cuban Assets Control Regulations, 31 C.F.R. Part 515.

The Secretary of the Treasury is authorized and directed to publish this determination in the Federal Register.

BARACK OBAMA