Statement by the President on rescue operation in Afghanistan

Yesterday, our special operators in Afghanistan rescued an American citizen in a mission that was characteristic of the extraordinary courage, skill and patriotism that our troops show every day. Tragically, we lost one of our special operators in this effort. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family, just as we must always honor our troops and military families. He gave his life for his fellow Americans, and he and his teammates remind us once more of the selfless service that allows our nation to stay strong, safe and free.

Statement by the President on Hanukkah

Michelle and I send our warmest wishes to all those celebrating Hanukkah around the world. 

This Hanukkah season we remember the powerful story of the Maccabees who rose up to liberate their people from oppression. Upon discovering the desecration of their Temple, the believers found only enough oil to light the lamp for one night. And yet it lasted for eight. 

Hanukkah is a time to celebrate the faith and customs of the Jewish people, but it is also an opportunity for people of all faiths to recognize the common aspirations we share. This holiday season, let us give thanks for the blessings we enjoy, and remain mindful of those who are suffering. And let us reaffirm our commitment to building a better, more complete world for all.   

From our family to the Jewish Community around the world, Chag Sameach. 

Statement by the Press Secretary on H.R. 915, H.R. 6063, H.R. 6634

On Friday, December 7, 2012, the President signed into law:

H.R. 915, the “Jaime Zapata Border Enforcement Security Task Force Act,” which establishes in statute the Department of Homeland Security’s Border Enforcement Security Task Force (BEST), which is comprised of multi-agency units established to address and reduce security threats and violence on the Nation’s southern and northern borders and at selected seaports;

H.R. 6063, the “Child Protection Act of 2012,” which makes changes to the Criminal Code related to child pornography and protection of child witnesses and Department of Justice programs related to prevention and interdiction of child exploitation and child pornography on the Internet; and

H.R. 6634, which delays, until April 15, 2013, the requirement in the STOCK Act that financial disclosure forms of certain employees of the Executive and Legislative Branches be made available on official websites. 

President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts

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

• Timothy Hyungrock Haahs – Member, Board of Directors of the National Institute of Building Sciences
• Morton H. Halperin – Member, Board of Directors of the Millennium Challenge Corporation

The President also announced his intent to appoint the following individuals to key Administration posts:

• David Christiani – Member, National Cancer Advisory Board
• Judy E. Garber – Member, National Cancer Advisory Board
• Liz Jaffee – Member, National Cancer Advisory Board
• Beth Karlan – Member, National Cancer Advisory Board
• Mack Roach III – Member, National Cancer Advisory Board
• Charles Sawyers – Member, National Cancer Advisory Board

President Obama said, “I am grateful these accomplished men and women have agreed to join this Administration, and I’m confident they will serve ably in these important roles. I look forward to working with them in the coming months and years.”

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

Timothy Hyungrock Haahs, Nominee for Member, Board of Directors of the National Institute of Building Sciences
Timothy Hyungrock Haahs is President and CEO of Timothy Haahs & Associates, an engineering and architectural design firm which he founded in 1994.  Additionally, he serves on the Advisory Committee for the Philadelphia Urban Land Institute and the Board of Directors of the International Parking Institute.  Mr. Haahs is a member of the American Institute of Architects and a fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers.  In 2010, Mr. Haahs presented to the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific on the global challenge of traffic and parking, infrastructure, and sustainable development.  In 2011, he was named the American Society of Civil Engineer’s Philadelphia Engineer of the Year and received the Korean-American Scientists and Engineers Association’s Entrepreneur of the Year award.  Mr. Haahs received a B.S. and an M.S. from the University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Morton H. Halperin, Nominee for Member, Board of Directors of the Millennium Challenge Corporation
Dr. Morton H. Halperin is a Senior Advisor for the Open Society Foundations.  From 2002 to 2008, he held several positions with the Open Society Institute, including Director of U.S. Advocacy (2005-2008).  Over the course of his career, Dr. Halperin has held several leadership positions in the Federal government, including Director of the Policy Planning Staff at the Department of State (1998-2001) and Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Democracy at the National Security Council (1994-1996). In addition, Dr. Halperin has held leadership positions with organizations such as the Center for American Progress, the Council on Foreign Relations, and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.  He received a B.A. from Columbia, and an M.A. and Ph.D. from Yale University. 

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

Dr. David Christiani, Appointee for Member, National Cancer Advisory Board
Dr. David Christiani is the Elkan Blout Professor of Environmental Genetics at the Harvard School of Public Health, a position he has held since 2009.  In addition, Dr. Christiani has been a physician at the Pulmonary and Critical Care Unit of Massachusetts General Hospital since 2000, and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School since 1996.  He is a recipient of the 2007 Robert S. Kehoe Award for Scientific Achievement from the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine and the 2004 Harriet Hardy Award from the New England College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.  Dr. Christiani received a B.S. from Fairfield University, an M.D. from Tufts University, and an M.S. and M.P.H. from Harvard University.

Dr. Judy E. Garber, Appointee for Member, National Cancer Advisory Board
Dr. Judy E. Garber is the Director of the Center for Cancer Genetics and Prevention at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, a position she has held since 2010.  She has been a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School since 2011.  Dr. Garber has served as Associate Physician at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital since 1988.  She is the immediate past President of the American Association for Cancer Research and serves on its Board of Directors.  In addition, she is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation and a Fellow of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.  From 2007 to 2012, Dr. Garber served on the Board of Scientific Counselors of the National Cancer Institute.  She received a B.A. from the University of Virginia and an M.D. and M.P.H. from Yale University School of Medicine.

Dr. Liz Jaffee, Appointee for Member, National Cancer Advisory Board
Dr. Liz Jaffee is Co-Director of the Gastrointestinal Cancers Program in the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University.  She has been a member of the Johns Hopkins faculty since 1992.  Dr. Jaffee has been Associate Director for Translational Research and the Co-Director of the Skip Viragh Pancreatic Cancer Center since 2010. She is the Deputy Director of the Institute for Clinical and Translational Research at Johns Hopkins and serves on the National Cancer Institute’s Experimental Therapeutics Program Panel on Investigational Drugs Committee.  She served as a member of the National Cancer Institute’s Rapid Access to Investigational Drugs Committee from 2006 to 2011, the National Cancer Institute’s Board of Scientific Counselors from 2005 to 2010, and the National Institutes of Health Experimental Immunology Study Section from 1996 to 2000.  Dr. Jaffee received a B.A. from Brandeis University and an M.D. from New York Medical College.

Dr. Beth Karlan, Appointee for Member, National Cancer Advisory Board
Dr. Beth Karlan is the Board of Governors’ Endowed Chair in Gynecologic Oncology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, a position she has held since 1995.  She has been Associate Director of Women’s Cancer Programs at the Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute since 2010 and Editor-in-Chief of Gynecologic Oncology since 2008.  In addition, she has served as Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California at Los Angeles since 2001 and as the Director of the Division of Gynecologic Oncology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center since 1995.  She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Conquer Cancer Foundation.  She served as President of the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists in 2005 and Chair of the Department of Defense Ovarian Cancer Research Program Integration Panel in 2002.  Dr. Karlan received a B.A. from Harvard College and an M.D. from Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Mack Roach III, Appointee for Member, National Cancer Advisory Board
Dr. Mack Roach III currently serves as a Professor of Radiation Oncology and Urology at the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF), a position he has held since 2000.  In addition, Dr. Roach has served as the Chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology at UCSF since 2007.  His previous positions at UCSF’s Department of Radiation Oncology include Associate Professor in Residence from 1994 to 2000 and Assistant Professor in Residence from 1990 to 1994.  He served on the National Cancer Institute Board of Scientific Advisors and currently serves on the National Comprehensive Cancer Guidelines Committee for Prostate Cancer.  In 2008, he joined the Board of Directors for the California Division of the American Cancer Society.  Dr. Roach is a Fellow of the American College of Radiology.  He is a recipient of the American Cancer Society Career Development Award, the UCSF Health Net Wellness Award, and the First Community Service Award.  Dr. Roach received a B.S. from Morehouse College and an M.D. from Stanford University. 

Dr. Charles Sawyers, Appointee for Member, National Cancer Advisory Board
Dr. Charles Sawyers is the Chair of the Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, a position he has held since 2006.  In addition, he has served as Professor of Medicine at Weill-Cornell Medical College and as an Investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute since 2008.  Dr. Sawyers has served as the Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology at Weill-Cornell Medical College since 2011.  He was the Associate Chief of the Division of Hematology-Oncology at the University of California at Los Angeles School of Medicine from 1996 to 2006.  Dr. Sawyers received the Stanley J. Korsmeyer Award from the American Society for Clinical Investigation in 2011 and the Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award in 2009.  He received an A.B. from Princeton University and an M.D. from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.