Readout of Vice President Biden’s Meeting with Bahrain’s Crown Prince and First Deputy Prime Minister Prince Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa

The Vice President met with His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, Crown Prince and First Deputy Prime Minister of Bahrain, this afternoon in the Roosevelt Room of the White House. The Vice President emphasized U.S. support for Bahrain and America’s shared interest in Bahrain’s security, stability and reform.  The Crown Prince and the Vice President agreed that timely and tangible progress on reform is essential.  The Vice President underscored that the United States condemns violence inside Bahrain and continues to stand by Bahrain and our partners in the Gulf.

President Obama Unveils ConnectED Initiative to Bring America’s Students into Digital Age

Calls on FCC to leverage E-Rate program to have 99 percent of students connected within 5 years

WASHINGTON, DC — President Obama today unveiled a bold, new initiative called ConnectED to connect 99 percent of America’s students to the internet through high-speed broadband and high-speed wireless within 5 years, calling on the FCC to modernize and leverage its existing E-Rate program to meet that goal. The President also directed the federal government to make better use of existing funds to get Internet connectivity and educational technology into classrooms, and into the hands of teachers trained on its advantages.  And he called on businesses, states, districts, schools and communities to support this vision. This ambitious initiative does not require Congressional action.

“We are living in a digital age, and to help our students get ahead, we must make sure they have access to cutting-edge technology,” said President Obama. “So today, I’m issuing a new challenge for America – one that families, businesses, school districts and the federal government can rally around together – to connect virtually every student in America’s classrooms to high-speed broadband internet within five years, and equip them with the tools to make the most of it.”

Preparing America’s students with the skills they need to get good jobs and compete with countries around the world will rely increasingly on interactive, individualized learning experiences driven by new technology. But today, millions of students lack high-speed broadband access and fewer than 20 percent of educators say their school’s Internet connection meets their teaching needs. ConnectED will bring high-speed Internet within their reach, with a particular benefit for rural communities that have lagged behind in connectivity.

In addition to connecting America’s students, ConnectED harnesses the ingenuity of the American private sector get new technologies into students’ hands and support digital learning content.

ConnectED also better invests existing federal funds to ensure that every educator in America receives support and training in using education technology tools to improve student learning. For more details on the ConnectED initiative, click HERE.

The ambitious new vision for digital, connected learning builds on work the Administration has done over the past four years to increase broadband access across the country.

Statement by the Press Secretary on the Situation in Qusayr

The United States condemns in the strongest possible terms the Assad regime’s assault on Qusayr, which has killed untold numbers of civilians and is causing tremendous humanitarian suffering.  The Syrian Arab Republic Government and other parties to this conflict have an obligation under international human rights and humanitarian law to immediately allow neutral, impartial humanitarian organizations, including UN agencies, safe access to evacuate the wounded and provide life-saving medical supplies and treatment. 

It is clear that the regime could not contest the opposition’s control of Qusayr on its own, and is depending upon Hizballah and Iran to do its work for it in Qusayr.  Hizballah’s involvement in Syria and the Syrian regime’s cross border attack today on Arsal represent blatant violations of Lebanon’s sovereignty and a deliberate threat to Lebanese stability.  The United States firmly supports Lebanon’s security, stability and sovereignty.  We commend and support recent statements by Lebanon’s leaders calling for adherence to Lebanon’s policy of disassociation from the Syrian conflict.  Hizballah and Iran should immediately withdraw their fighters from Syria.  We also urge all parties to avoid actions that could exacerbate the already devastating toll of this crisis on civilians and increase the risks of spillover of violence. 

The United States stands firmly on the side of the Syrian people in their fight for freedom and dignity.  We will continue to provide support to the moderate political and military opposition to help them shift the balance on the ground to advance a political transition based on the principles of the Geneva Communiqué.  Assad’s refusal to step aside is only prolonging the suffering of the Syrian people and postponing the inevitable.  Assad’s reign will end, and the Syrian people will build a new, democratic Syria without him.  Those who have committed these heinous crimes against the Syrian people will be held accountable.

President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts

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

• Thomas Carper – Director, Amtrak Board of Directors
• Avi Garbow – General Counsel, Environmental Protection Agency

President Obama said, “These dedicated and accomplished individuals will be valued additions to my Administration as we tackle the important challenges facing America. I look forward to working with them in the months and years ahead.”

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

Thomas Carper, Nominee for Director, Amtrak Board of Directors

Thomas Carper served as a Director of the Amtrak Board of Directors, from March 2008 to March 2013.  In 2009, he was elected Chairman of the Board.  From 2003 to 2010, Mr. Carper served as Regional Director of the West Central Region for Opportunity Returns, an Illinois economic development program. From 1991 to 2003, he served three terms as the Mayor of Macomb, Illinois. From 2000 to 2001, Mr. Carper was appointed by the Amtrak Board of Directors to serve as Chair of the Amtrak Mayors’ Advisory Council.  Prior to his first election in 1991, he was a bar and nightclub owner in Macomb, and he served in the U.S. Army in Vietnam and Thailand from 1967 to 1970.  Mr. Carper received a B.A. from Western Illinois University.

Avi Garbow, Nominee for General Counsel, Environmental Protection Agency

Avi Garbow is currently the Deputy General Counsel at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a role he has held since September 2009.  Prior to this, he worked at Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC from 2005 to 2009, most recently as a partner, and from 2002 to 2005 he served at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, most recently as a junior partner.  Prior to that, Mr. Garbow was a trial attorney with the Department of Justice from 1995 to 2002, where he worked in both the Environmental Crimes and Wildlife and Marine Resources Sections.  From 1992 to 1995, he was an attorney and Special Assistant to the Assistant Administrator for Enforcement and Compliance Assurance at EPA.  Mr. Garbow received a B.A. from the University of Michigan, and a M.A. and J.D. from the University of Virginia.