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:
 
• Dorothy Kosinski – Member, National Council on the Humanities
• Dawn M. Liberi – Ambassador to the Republic of Burundi, Department of State
• Stephen D. Mull – Ambassador to the Republic of Poland, Department of State
• Walter North – Ambassador to Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and the Republic of Vanuatu, Department of State
 
President Obama said, “I am honored that these talented individuals have decided to join this Administration and serve our country.  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. Dorothy Kosinski, Nominee for Member, National Council on the Humanities
Dr. Dorothy Kosinski has served as Director of The Phillips Collection since 2008.  Prior to joining The Phillips Collection, Dr. Kosinski worked at the Dallas Museum of Art, where she served in a number of capacities from 1995 to 2008, last as Senior Curator of Painting and Sculpture.  From 1985 to 1997, she worked with the Douglas Cooper Collection of cubist art in Basel, Switzerland.  She also served as an independent curator of major exhibitions at the Royal Academy of Arts, London; The Kunstmuseum Basel; The Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg; and The National Gallery in Prague. Dr. Kosinski has written and edited many books and catalogs on a variety of art topics including 19th Century Symbolism, Dada, Surrealism, 20th Century sculpture and contemporary art.  She currently serves on the Board of the Association of Art Museum Directors and the Advisory Board of The Musée Rodin, Paris. Dr. Kosinski received a B.A. from Yale University and an M.A. and Ph.D. from the Institute of Fine Arts at New York University.
 
Dawn M. Liberi, Nominee for Ambassador to the Republic of Burundi, Department of State
Dawn M. Liberi, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, class of Career Minister, most recently served as the Senior Assistance Coordinator at the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli.  From 2009 to 2011, she served as Coordinator for the Interagency Provincial Affairs Office at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul and as Senior Civilian Representative for the Combined Joint Task-Force 82 with the International Security Assistance Force Regional Command-East at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan.  From 2006 to 2009, she was an Executive Civil-Military Counselor with USAID.  From 2005 to 2006, Ms. Liberi was the USAID Mission Director in Iraq.  She previously served as the USAID Mission Director in Nigeria (2002-2005) and Uganda (1998-2002).  Other assignments have included: USAID Associate Assistant Administrator in the Global Bureau, Population, Health and Nutrition Office (1994-1998); USAID Deputy Mission Director in Ghana (1992-1994); and Population, Health and Nutrition Technical Officer for USAID's missions in Senegal and Niger from (1981-1987).  Ms. Liberi received a Bachelor's Degree from Hampshire College and an M.P.H. from the University of California at Berkeley.  
 
Ambassador Stephen D. Mull, Nominee for Ambassador to the Republic of Poland, Department of State
Ambassador Stephen D. Mull, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Career-Minister, is Executive Secretary at the Department of State, a position he has held since June 2010.  Prior to this position, he was Senior Advisor to the Under Secretary for Political Affairs from 2008 to 2010, and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Political Military Affairs from 2006 to 2008.  From 2007 to 2008, he served concurrently as Acting Assistant Secretary for Political-Military Affairs.  Ambassador Mull served as U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Lithuania from 2003 to 2006, and as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Indonesia from 2000 to 2003.  With over 30 years of service at the State Department, Ambassador Mull’s previous positions include: Deputy Executive Secretary (1998-2000); Director of the Office of Southern European Affairs (1997-1998); Political Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Poland (1993-1997); and Deputy Director of the State Department Operations Center (1991-1993).  Ambassador Mull received a B.S. from Georgetown University.
 
Walter North, Nominee for Ambassador to Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and the Republic of Vanuatu, Department of State
Walter North, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, class of Career-Minister, is currently the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission Director in Egypt.  Mr. North previously served as USAID Mission Director in Indonesia (2007-2011); India (2000-2004); and Zambia (1996-2000), as well as Deputy Mission Director in Ethiopia (1992-1996).  Posts at USAID’s Washington headquarters have included: Interim Assistant Administrator for the Bureau for Africa (2006-2007); Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Bureau for Policy and Program Coordination (2005-2006); and Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Bureau for Asia and the Near East (2004-2005).   Before joining USAID in 1980, Mr. North was a project manager for the non-profit, humanitarian organization, CARE in India and Bangladesh, and a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ethiopia. He received a B.A. from Lawrence University, a J.D. from George Washington University Law School, and an M.P.A. from Harvard University.
 

Statement by the Press Secretary on H.R. 33, H.R. 2297, and S. 3187

On Monday, July 9, 2012, the President signed into law:

H.R. 33, the "Church Plan Investment Clarification Act," which amends the Securities Act of 1933 to provide specifically for an exemption from SEC requirements in connection with church pension plans participating in collective trust funds;

H.R. 2297, which makes technical amendments to the District of Columbia Code to facilitate development of the Southwest Waterfront in the District of Columbia; and

S. 3187, the "Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act," which reauthorizes a number of FDA user fee programs, including the Prescription Drug User Fee Act and Medical Device User Fee and Modernization Act, and increases FDA's ability to provide timely and expedited review and approval of applications for prescription drugs and medical devices; authorizes new user fee programs for generic drugs and biosimilar biological products; extends and modifies FDA authorities related to drugs intended for use by children; and improves the drug approval process and helps to reduce drug shortages.

WEEKLY ADDRESS: Pushing Congress to Create Jobs, Keep College in Reach for Middle Class

WASHINGTON, DC—In this week’s address, President Obama spoke to the American people from Ohio about a bill signed on Friday that does two important things: it keeps thousands of construction workers on the job rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure, and it stops interest rates on federal loans from doubling this year for more than seven million students.  The President urges Congress to do more to help our economic recovery and create jobs, including taking half the money we’re no longer spending on war and using it to build roads, bridges and wireless networks at home, and expanding financial aid to two million students while giving them the opportunity to learn the skills that businesses need right now.  It’s time for our elected officials to come together to help strengthen the middle class.

The audio of the address and video of the address will be available online at www.whitehouse.gov at 6:00 a.m. ET, Saturday, July 7, 2012.

Remarks of President Barack Obama
As Prepared for Delivery
Boardman, OH
Saturday, July 7, 2012

Hi, everybody.  I’m here in Ohio, where I’ve spent the past couple days talking with folks about our central challenge as a country – not just reclaiming all the jobs lost to the recession, but reclaiming the economic security that so many Americans have lost over the last decade.

Our mission isn’t just to put people back to work – it’s to rebuild an economy where that work pays; an economy in which everyone who works hard has the chance to get ahead.

For months, I’ve been pushing Congress to pass several common-sense ideas that will help us do that.  And on Friday, I signed into law a bill that will do two things for the American people.

First, it will keep thousands of construction workers on the job rebuilding our nation’s infrastructure. 

Second, it will keep interest rates on federal student loans from doubling this year – which would have hit more than seven million students with about a thousand dollars more on their loan payments. 

Those steps will make a real difference in the lives of millions of Americans.  But make no mistake: we’ve got more to do. 

The construction industry was hit brutally hard when the housing bubble burst.  So it’s not enough to just keep construction workers on the job doing projects that were already underway.

For months, I’ve been calling on Congress to take half the money we’re no longer spending on war and use it to do some nation-building here at home.  There’s work to be done building roads and bridges and wireless networks.  And there are hundreds of thousands of construction workers ready to do it.

The same thing is true for our students.  The bill I’m about to sign is vital for millions of students and their families.  But it’s not enough to just keep their student loan rates from doubling. 

For months, I’ve been calling on Congress to reform and expand the financial aid that’s offered to students.  I’ve been asking them to help us give two million Americans the opportunity to learn the skills that businesses in their area are looking for – right now – through partnerships between community colleges and employers. In America, a higher education cannot be a luxury reserved for just a privileged few.  It’s an economic necessity that every American family should be able to afford.    

Finally, I want to thank every American who took the time to sit down and write a letter, type out an e-mail, make a phone call or send a tweet hoping your voice would make a difference.  I promise you – your voice made all the difference.  And as long as I have the privilege of being your President, your voice will be heard in the White House.

Thanks and have a great weekend.

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President Obama Signs Minnesota Disaster Declaration

The President today declared a major disaster exists in the State of Minnesota and ordered Federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the area affected by severe storms and flooding during the period of June 14-21, 2012. 

Federal funding 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 and flooding in the counties of Aitkin, Carlton, Cook, Crow Wing, Dakota, Goodhue,  Kandiyohi, Lake, Meeker, Pine, Rice, Sibley, St. Louis, and the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, and the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe.

Federal funding is also available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures for all counties and Indian Tribes within the State.

W. Craig Fugate, Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Department of Homeland Security, named Mark A. Neveau 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.