The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
May 19, 2012

WEEKLY ADDRESS: Congress Must Move Forward, Not Back On Wall Street Reform

WASHINGTON, DC— In this week’s address, President Obama discussed Wall Street reform that he put in place to protect consumers, make Wall Street play by the same set of rules, and ensure that taxpayers are never again on the hook for the type of irresponsible behavior on Wall Street that nearly destroyed our financial system and cost the economy millions of jobs.  While Republicans in Congress are still trying to delay and dismantle these critical Wall Street reforms, President Obama continues to urgeCongress to finish implementing these reformsso that we can prevent excessive risk-taking and help create an economy that is built to last.

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, May 19, 2012.

Remarks of President Barack Obama
Weekly Address
The White House
May 19, 2012

For the past three and a half years, we’ve been fighting our way back from an historic economic crisis – one caused by breathtaking irresponsibility on the part of some on Wall Street who treated our financial system like a casino.  Not only did that behavior nearly destroy the financial system – it cost our economy millions of jobs, hurt middle-class families, and left taxpayers holding the bag. 

Since then, we’ve recovered taxpayer dollars that were used to stabilize troubled banks.  And we’ve put in place Wall Street reform with smarter, tougher, commonsense rules that serve one primary purpose:  to prevent a crisis like that from ever happening again.  And yet, for the past two years, too many Republicans in Congress and an army of financial industry lobbyists have actually been waging an all-out battle to delay, defund, and dismantle Wall Street reform. 

Recently, we’ve seen why we can’t let that happen.  We found out that a big mistake at one of our biggest banks resulted in a two billion dollar loss.  While that bank can handle a loss of that size, other banks may not have been able to.  And without Wall Street reform, we could have found ourselves with the taxpayers once again on the hook for Wall Street’s mistakes.

That’s why it’s so important that Members of Congress stand on the side of reform, not against it; because we can’t afford to go back to an era of weak regulation and little oversight; where excessive risk-taking on Wall Street and a lack of basic oversight in Washington nearly destroyed our economy.  We can’t afford to go back to that brand of ‘you’re-on-your-own’ economics.  Not after the American people have worked so hard to come back from this crisis. 

We’ve got to keep moving forward.

We’ve got to finish the job of implementing this reform and putting these rules in place.

These new rules say that, if you’rea big bank or financial institution, you now have to hold more cash on hand so that if you make a bad decision you pay for it, not the taxpayers. 

You have to write out a “living will” that details how you’ll be wound down if you do fail. 

The new law takes away big bonuses and paydays from failed CEOs, while giving shareholders a say on executive salaries. 

And for the first time in our nation’s history, we have in place a consumer watchdog whose sole job is to look out for working families by protecting them from deceptive and unfair practices.

So unless you run a financial institution whose business model is built on cheating consumers, or making risky bets that could damage the whole economy, you have nothing to fear from Wall Street reform.  Yes, it discourages big banks and financial institutions from making risky bets with taxpayer-insured money.  And it encourages them to do things that actually help the economy – like extending loans toentrepreneurs with good ideas, to middle-class families who want to buy a home, to students who want to pursue higher education. 

That’s what Wall Street reform is all about – making this economy stronger for you.  And we’re going to keep working – to recover every job lost to the recession; to build an economy where hard work and responsibility are once again rewarded; to restore an America where everyone has a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same rules.

I believe the free market is one of the greatest forces for progress in human history; that businesses are the engine of growth; that risk-takers and innovators should be celebrated.  But I also believe that at its best, the free market has never been a license to take whatever you want, however you can get it.  Alongside our entrepreneurial spirit and rugged individualism, America only prospers when we meet our obligations to one another; and to future generations.

If you agree with me, let your Member of Congress know.  Tell them to spend less time working to undermine rules that are there to protect the economy, and spend more time actually working to strengthen the economy.  Thanks and have a great weekend.

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The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
May 18, 2012

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:

• Joseph B. Donovan – Member, Board of Directors of the National Institute of Building Sciences
• Bruce R. Sievers – Member, National Council on the Humanities

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

• Miaohong Hsiangju Liu – Member, President’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships
• Barbara Williams-Skinner – Member, President’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships

President Obama said, “I am grateful that these impressive individuals have chosen to dedicate their talents to serving the American people at this important time for our country.  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:

Joseph B. Donovan, Nominee for Member, Board of Directors of the National Institute of Building Sciences
Joseph B. Donovan is Senior Vice President at Beacon Capital Partners (Beacon), a privately held real estate investment firm, where he has overseen and directed the emergency response for Beacon’s portfolio since 2004.  From 1997 to 2003, he was at CarrAmerica, serving first as Vice President and Director of Operations and then as Senior Vice President of Facilities Management.  He worked at LaSalle Partners from 1986 to 1997 in several positions including Regional Vice President.  Currently, Mr. Donovan oversees the Building Owners and Managers Association’s National Preparedness Committee.  He is also Vice Chair of the Real Estate Roundtable’s Homeland Security Task Force and Co-Chair of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Commercial Facilities Sector Coordinating Council.  Mr. Donovan received a B.A. in Accounting from the University of Dayton.

Bruce R. Sievers, Nominee for Member, National Council on the Humanities
Bruce R. Sievers is a visiting scholar and lecturer at the Haas Center for Public Service and the Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society, which he helped found in 2006, at Stanford University.  Previously,  he served as the Executive Director of the Walter and Elise Haas Fund from 1983 to 2002.  He was the founding Chief Executive Officer of both California Council for the Humanities, now known as Cal Humanities, from 1974 to 1983, and Montana Committee for the Humanities, now known as Humanities Montana, from 1972 to 1974.   In addition, Mr. Sievers is a Consulting Director of the Skirball Foundation and a Senior Fellow Emeritus with Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors.  He is a past Treasurer of the Fulbright Association.  He has written widely on topics of civil society and philanthropy, and in 2010, published his book Civil Society, Philanthropy and the Fate of the Commons.  Mr. Sievers was a Fulbright Scholar and received a B.A. in International Relations, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Political Science from Stanford University.

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

The Venerable Miaohong Hsiangju Liu, Appointee for Member, President’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships
The Venerable Miaohong Hsiangju Liu is a Humanitarian Project Liaison for both the International Buddhist Progress Society and Buddha's Light International Association (BLIA) in the United States and Australia, a position she has held since 1990. She has served as a special assistant to the Board of Trustees of the University of the West since 2011 and as a BLIA representative to the United Nations since 2009. She is a graduate of FoGuangShan Buddhist College, having studied Mahayana Tradition in Taiwan. She received a B.A. in International Marketing from Curtin University and a M.A. in International Marketing from Swinburne University.

Dr. Barbara Williams-Skinner, Appointee for Member, President’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships
Dr. Barbara Williams-Skinner is President of Skinner Leadership Institute, which she co-founded in 1992.  The Skinner Leadership Institute was formerly known as Tom Skinner Associates, where she was Vice President from 1981 to 1992. Previously, she was Executive Director of the Congressional Black Caucus from 1974 to 1981, where she helped to found the annual Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Prayer Breakfast.  Dr. Williams-Skinner received a B.A. from San Francisco State University, an M.S.W. and J.D. from the University of California at Los Angeles, and a M.Div. and D.Min. from Howard University School of Divinity.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
May 18, 2012

Message -- Continuation of the National Emergency with Respect to the Stabilization of Iraq

TO THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES:

Section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622(d)) provides for the automatic termination of a national emergency unless, within 90 days prior to the anniversary date of its declaration, the President publishes in the Federal Register and transmits to the Congress a notice stating that the emergency is to continue in effect beyond the anniversary date. In accordance with this provision, I have sent the enclosed notice to the Federal Register for publication continuing the national emergency with respect to the stabilization of Iraq. This notice states that the national emergency with respect to the stabilization of Iraq declared in Executive Order 13303 of May 22, 2003, as modified in scope and relied upon for additional steps taken in Executive Order 13315 of August 28, 2003, Executive Order 13350 of July 29, 2004, Executive Order 13364 of November 29, 2004, and Executive Order 13438 of July 17, 2007, is to continue in effect beyond May 22, 2012.

Obstacles to the orderly reconstruction of Iraq, the restoration and maintenance of peace and security in the country, and the development of political, administrative, and economic institutions in Iraq continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States. Accordingly, I have determined that it is necessary to continue the national emergency with respect to this threat and maintain in force the measures taken to deal with that national emergency.

Recognizing positive developments in Iraq, my Administration will continue to evaluate Iraq's progress in resolving outstanding debts and claims arising from actions of the previous regime, so that I may determine whether to further continue the prohibitions contained in Executive Order 13303 of May 22, 2003, as amended by Executive Order 13364 of November 29, 2004, on any attachment, judgment, decree, lien, execution, garnishment, or other judicial process with respect to the Development Fund for Iraq, the accounts, assets, and property held by the Central Bank of Iraq, and Iraqi petroleum-related products, which are in addition to the sovereign immunity accorded Iraq under otherwise applicable law.

BARACK OBAMA

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
May 18, 2012

Notice -- Continuation of the National Emergency with Respect to the Stabilization of Iraq

NOTICE
- - - - - - -
CONTINUATION OF THE NATIONAL EMERGENCY WITH RESPECT

TO THE STABILIZATION OF IRAQ

On May 22, 2003, by Executive Order 13303, the President declared a national emergency protecting the Development Fund for Iraq and certain other property in which Iraq has an interest, pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701-1706). The President took this action to deal with the unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States posed by obstacles to the orderly reconstruction of Iraq, the restoration and maintenance of peace and security in the country, and the development of political, administrative, and economic institutions in Iraq.

In Executive Order 13315 of August 28, 2003, Executive Order 13350 of July 29, 2004, Executive Order 13364 of November 29, 2004, and Executive Order 13438 of July 17, 2007, the President modified the scope of the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13303 and took additional steps in response to this national emergency.

Because the obstacles to the orderly reconstruction of Iraq, the restoration and maintenance of peace and security in the country, and the development of political, administrative, and economic institutions in Iraq continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States, the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13303, as modified in scope and relied upon for additional steps taken in Executive Orders 13315, 13350, 13364, and 13438, must continue in effect beyond May 22, 2012. Therefore, in accordance with section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622(d)), I am continuing for 1 year the national emergency with respect to the stabilization of Iraq.

This notice shall be published in the Federal Register and transmitted to the Congress.

BARACK OBAMA

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
May 18, 2012

President Obama to Deliver Commencement Address at Joplin High School’s Graduation Ceremony

WASHINGTON, DC – On Monday, May 21, the President will travel to Joplin, Missouri, where he will deliver the commencement address at Joplin High School’s 2011-2012 graduation ceremony.  After devastating tornadoes ravaged the Joplin area nearly a year ago, the Joplin community’s resilience and selflessness in the face of tragedy continues to inspire our nation.  The President looks forward to joining Missouri Governor Jay Nixon at Joplin High School’s graduation ceremony and addressing this year‘s graduating seniors and their families. 

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
May 18, 2012

Fact Sheet: G-8 Action on Food Security and Nutrition

At the Camp David Summit, G-8 and African leaders will commit to the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition, the next phase of our shared commitment to achieving global food security.  In partnership with Africa’s people and leaders, our goals are to increase responsible domestic and foreign private investments in African agriculture, take innovations that can enhance agricultural productivity to scale, and reduce the risk borne by vulnerable economies and communities.  We recognize and will act upon the critical role played by smallholder farmers, especially women, in transforming agriculture and building thriving economies.

The New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition is a shared commitment to achieve sustained and inclusive agricultural growth and raise 50 million people out of poverty over the next 10 years by aligning the commitments of Africa’s leadership to drive effective country plans and policies for food security; the commitments of private sector partners to increase investments where the conditions are right; and the commitments of the G-8 to expand Africa’s potential for rapid and sustainable agricultural growth. 

We welcome the support of the World Bank and African Development Bank, and of the United Nations’ World Food Program, International Fund for Agricultural Development, and Food and Agriculture Organization for the New Alliance.  We also welcome the successful conclusion of the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the context of National Food Security and support the broad-based consultation process and pilot use of the Principles of Responsible Agricultural Investment. 

The New Alliance Will Build on and Help Realize the Promise of L’Aquila

Since the L’Aquila Summit, where we committed to “act with the scale and urgency needed to achieve sustainable global food security,” we have increased our bilateral and multilateral investments in food security and changed the way we do business, consistent with core principles of aid effectiveness.  Based on the findings of the 2012 G-8 Accountability Report and consistent with the Rome Principles on Sustainable Global Food Security, the G-8 will agree to:

  •  Promptly fulfill outstanding L’Aquila financial pledges and seek to maintain strong support to address current and future global food security challenges, including through bilateral and multilateral assistance;
  • Ensure that our assistance is directly aligned behind country plans; 
  • Strengthen the coordination of G-8 strategies, assistance and programs in-country and with partner countries to increase efficiencies, reduce transaction burdens, and eliminate redundancies and gaps.

 The New Alliance will be rooted in partnership

To accelerate national progress in African partner countries, the G-8 will launch New Alliance Cooperation Frameworks that align with priority activities within each partner’s Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) national investment plan and include predictable funding commitments, specific policy actions, and statements of intent from the private sector. 

The G-8 will partner with the African Union, New Partnership for Africa's Development and CAADP to implement the New Alliance, and leverage in particular the Grow Africa Partnership, in order to ensure our efforts build on African ownership, yield significant outcomes, and can be replicated across Africa.  The G-8 will work together to advance the objectives of the New Alliance and G-8 members will support its individual elements on a complementary basis.

To mobilize private capital for food security, the New Alliance will:

  • Support the preparation and financing of bankable agricultural infrastructure projects, through multilateral initiatives including the development of a new Fast Track Facility for Agriculture Infrastructure. 
  • Support the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP), with the goal of securing commitments of $1.2 billion over three years from existing and new donors, scaling up and strengthening the operations of its public and private sector windows and support other mechanisms that improve country ownership and align behind CAADP national investment plans. 
  • Report on the progress of G-8 development finance institutions in catalyzing additional private investment in African agriculture and increasing the range of financing options and innovative risk mitigation tools available to smallholder farmers and medium-sized agribusinesses. 
  • Call on the World Bank, in collaboration with other relevant partners, to develop options for generating a Doing Business in Agriculture Index. 
  • Announce the signing of Letters of Intent from over 45 local and multinational companies to invest over $3 billion across the agricultural value chain in Grow Africa countries, and the signing by over 60 companies of the Private Sector Declaration of Support for African Agricultural Development outlining their commitment to support African agriculture and public-private partnerships in a responsible manner.

To take innovation to scale, the New Alliance will:

  • Determine 10-year targets in partner countries for sustainable agricultural yield improvements, adoption of improved production technologies, including improved seed varieties, as well as post-harvest management practices as part of a value-chain approach, and measures to ensure ecological sustainability and safeguard agro-biodiversity. 
  • Launch a Technology Platform with the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa and other partners in consultation with the Tropical Agriculture Platform and the Coalition for African Rice Development (CARD) initiative that will assess the availability of improved technologies for food commodities critical to achieve sustainable yield, resilience, and nutrition impacts, identify current constraints to adoption, and create a roadmap to accelerate adoption of technologies. 
  • Launch the Scaling Seeds and Other Technologies Partnership, housed at the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa to strengthen the seed sector and promote the commercialization, distribution and adoption of key technologies improved seed varieties, and other technologies prioritized by the Technology Platform to meet established goals in partner countries. 
  • Share relevant agricultural data available from G-8 countries with African partners and convene an international conference on Open Data for Agriculture, to develop options for the establishment of a global platform to make reliable agricultural and related information available to African farmers, researchers and policymakers, taking into account existing agricultural data systems. 
  • Launch an information and communications technology innovation challenge on extension services at the African Union Summit in July 2012. 
  • Explore opportunities for applying the non-profit model licensing approach that could expand African access to food and nutritional technologies developed by national research institutions. 

To reduce and manage risk, the New Alliance will:

  • Support the Platform for Agricultural Risk Management (PARM) to complete national agricultural risk assessment strategies, to be conducted by the World Bank and other international institutions in close partnership with New Alliance countries, with the mandate of identifying key risks to food and nutrition security and agricultural development and recommending options for managing these risks. 
  • Create a global action network to accelerate the availability and adoption of agricultural index insurance, in order to mitigate risks to farmers, especially smallholder and women farmers, and increase income and nutritional security.  This network will pool data and findings; identify constraints; support regional training and capacity-building; and accelerate the development of instruments appropriate for smallholders and pastoralists. 
  • Recognize the need for Africa-based sovereign risk management instruments, recognizing the progress by the African Union and its member governments toward creating the African Risk Capacity, a regional risk-pooling facility for drought management. 

To improve nutritional outcomes and reduce child stunting, the G-8 will:

  • Actively support the Scaling Up Nutrition movement and welcome the commitment of African partners to improve the nutritional well-being of their populations, especially during the critical 1,000 days window from pregnancy to a child’s second birthday.  We pledge that the G-8 members will maintain robust programs to further reduce child stunting. 
  • Commit to improve tracking and disbursements for nutrition across sectors and ensure coordination of nutrition activities across sectors. 
  • Support the accelerated release, adoption and consumption of bio-fortified crop varieties, crop diversification, and related technologies to improve the nutritional quality of food in Africa. 
  • Develop a nutrition policy research agenda and support the efforts of African institutions, civil society and private sector partners to establish regional nutritional learning centers. 

To ensure accountability for results, the New Alliance will:

  • Convene a Leadership Council to drive and track implementation, which will report to the G-8 and African Union on progress towards achieving the commitments under the New Alliance, including commitments made by the private sector. 
  • Report to the 2013 G-8 Summit on the implementation of the New Alliance, including the actions of the private sector, in collaboration with the African Union.

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The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
May 17, 2012

Statement by the President on the Passing of Donna Summer

Michelle and I were saddened to hear about the passing of Donna Summer.  A five-time Grammy Award winner, Donna truly was the “Queen of Disco.”  Her voice was unforgettable, and the music industry has lost a legend far too soon.  Our thoughts and prayers go out to Donna's family and her dedicated fans.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
May 17, 2012

President Obama Nominates Two to Serve on the US District Court

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, President Obama nominated Matthew W. Brann and Judge Malachy Edward Mannion to serve on the United States District Court.

“I am pleased to nominate these distinguished individuals to serve on the United States District Court bench,” said President Obama.  “I am confident they will serve the American people with integrity and a steadfast commitment to justice.”


Matthew W. Brann:  Nominee for the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
Matthew W. Brann has been a partner at the law firm of Brann, Williams, Caldwell & Sheetz since 1995, where he concentrates his practice in the area of tort, contract, commercial, and real property litigation.  Prior to joining the firm as an associate in 1991, Brann served as a law clerk with the Court of Common Pleas in Bradford County, Pennsylvania.  Brann received his J.D. in 1990 from the Dickinson School of Law and his B.A. in 1987 from the University of Notre Dame.

Judge Malachy Edward Mannion:  Nominee for the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
Judge Malachy Edward Mannion has been a United States Magistrate Judge for the Middle District of Pennsylvania since 2001.  Apart from a four-year stint as a partner at the law firm of Hourigan, Kluger, Spohrer & Quinn PC in the mid-90s, Judge Mannion spent the fifteen years prior to his appointment to the bench serving as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Middle District of Pennsylvania.  While a federal prosecutor, he served as Chief of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force from 1989 to 1993.  From 1980 to 1986, Judge Mannion was an Assistant District Attorney in the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office.  He began his legal career as an associate at the law firm of Bartels, Pykett & Aronwald.  Judge Mannion received his J.D. in 1979 from Pace University School of Law and his B.S. in 1976 from the University of Scranton.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
May 17, 2012

President Obama Nominates Gary Blankinship to Serve as US Marshal

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, President Obama nominated Gary Blankinship to serve as United States Marshal for the Southern District of Texas.

"Throughout his distinguished career, Gary Blankinship has served his country with great courage and commitment," said President Obama. "It is my honor to nominate him to continue protecting the American people as a United States Marshal."

Gary Blankinship: Nominee for United States Marshal for the Southern District of Texas
Gary Blankinship was employed by the Houston Police Department from 1982-2012 where he worked his way through the ranks to the position of Senior Police Officer.  Prior to his service with the Houston Police Department, Mr. Blankinship was employed by the Harris County Sheriff’s Department.  He has also served as Vice President for the National Association of Police Organizations.  Mr. Blankinship currently resides in Pasadena, Texas with his wife, Lisa.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
May 17, 2012

Message to the Senate from the President Regarding the Convention on the Law Applicable to Certain Rights in Respect of Securities Held with an Intermediary

Attached is a message from the President to the Senate regarding the Convention on the Law Applicable to Certain Rights in Respect of Securities Held with an Intermediary.