Statement by the Press Secretary on House Passage of the 90-Day Surface Transportation Extension

While it is critical that we not put American jobs and safety at risk and hurt our economic recovery by allowing funding to run out, it is not enough for us to continue to patch together our nation’s infrastructure future with short-term band-aids. States and cities need certainty to plan ahead and America’s construction workers deserve the peace of mind that they won’t have to worry about their jobs every few months.

The Senate has done its part, passing a bipartisan bill with 52 Democrats and 22 Republicans that would keep American workers on the job maintaining our roads, bridges, and railways. As soon as the House gets back to work, they should do their part and pass that bill in similarly bipartisan fashion.

First Lady Michelle Obama to Address 2012 Graduating Seniors

This year, First Lady Michelle Obama will deliver commencement addresses at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (North Carolina A&T), and Oregon State University (OSU). Mrs. Obama will begin her 2012 commencement addresses at Virginia Tech where she was inspired by the resilience of the student body and community coming together to support each other during difficult times. The next day, the First Lady will travel to North Carolina to speak at North Carolina A&T, part of the rich legacy of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) that have been instrumental in educating generations of African Americans.  The President and First Lady both have recognized the important contributions of HBCUs across the country and have delivered commencement addresses to highlight their successes. Finally, Mrs. Obama will deliver the commencement address to OSU graduates.  OSU’s student body has been recognized for its efforts to promote healthy communities by organizing large scale food donation drives. OSU researchers also have worked to identify factors that lead to childhood obesity and are developing prevention programs for school districts, parents and health care providers to help improve children’s’ health. Mrs. Obama’s brother, Craig Robinson serves as the school’s head men’s basketball coach.

In 2009, Mrs. Obama spoke at the graduation of University of California Merced’s first full senior class. She also addressed the Washington Math and Science Tech Public Charter High School Graduation in Washington DC.  In 2010, Mrs. Obama addressed graduates of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, the George Washington University, and the Anacostia Senior High School. In 2011, Mrs. Obama delivered commencement addresses at the University of Northern Iowa, Spelman College, and Quantico Middle High School. The First Lady also spoke to graduates and families at West Point.

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:

• Michael Peter Huerta– Administrator, Federal Aviation Administration, Department of Transportation
• Robert James Grey, Jr.– Member, Board of Directors of the Legal Services Corporation
• John G. Levi – Member, Board of Directors of the Legal Services Corporation
• Laurie Mikva – Member, Board of Directors of the Legal Services Corporation
• Martha Minow – Member, Board of Directors of the Legal Services Corporation
• Gloria Valencia-Weber – Member, Board of Directors of the Legal Services Corporation

President Obamasaid, “I am confident that these outstanding men and women will greatly serve the American people and 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:

Michael Peter Huerta, Nominee for Administrator, Federal Aviation Administration, Department of Transportation
Michael Peter Huerta is currently Deputy Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and has been serving as Acting Administrator of the FAA since December 2011. Previously, Mr. Huerta was group president of the Transportation Solutions Group of Affiliated Computer Services, Inc., a technology services provider supporting transportation agencies worldwide, and managing director of Transportation Communication for the Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the 2002 Olympic Winter Games.  He served as Chief of Staff of the Department of Transportation (DOT) from 1997 to 1998 and as Associate Deputy Secretary in the Office of Intermodalism at DOT from 1992 to 1997. Mr. Huerta was Commissioner of the New York City Department of Ports from 1989 to 1993 and Executive Director at the Port of San Francisco from 1986 to 1989.  He earned a B.A. from University of California-Riverside and an M.P.A. from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University.

Robert James Grey, Jr., Nominee for Member, Board of Directors of the Legal Services Corporation
Robert James Grey, Jr. is currently a partner at Hunton & Williams LLP and a mediator with the McCammon Mediation Group.  He currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Legal Services Corporation, having been appointed by President Obama in March 2010.  Previously, he was a partner at both Leclair Ryan from 1995 to 2002 and Mays & Valentine from 1985 to 1995.   Earlier in his career, Mr. Grey was outside counsel to Virginia Governor Douglas L. Wilder from 1985 to 1989.   While serving as a partner at Grey & Wesley from 1978 to 1981, he was also an assistant professor at Virginia Commonwealth University School of Business. He worked for the National Labor Relations Board Appeal Court Division from 1976 to 1978. Mr. Grey has served on the Board of Trustees of Washington and Lee University since 2006 and was President of the American Bar Association from 2004 to 2005.  He received a B.S. from the Virginia Commonwealth University and a J.D. from Washington and Lee University.

John G. Levi, Nominee for Member, Board of Directors of the Legal Services Corporation
John G. Levi is a partner in the Chicago office of Sidley Austin, LLP.  His practice focuses on employment litigation, executive compensation matters, and labor management relations.  Mr. Levi was first appointed to the Board of Directors of the Legal Services Corporation by President Obama in March 2010, and was later elected Chairman of the Board by his fellow members. Mr. Levi also serves on the Advisory Board for the Northwestern University Law School Center on Wrongful Convictions, and the Board of the Jane Addams Juvenile Court Foundation. From 1988 to 1998, Mr. Levi served on the Cook County Citizens' Committee for the Juvenile Courts. He is a trustee and past president of the Francis W. Parker School in Chicago, and was awarded an Honorary Diploma by the Parker School in 2003. Mr. Levi received a B.A. from the University of Rochester, and a J.D. and LL.M. from Harvard Law School.

Laurie Mikva, Nominee for Member, Board of Directors of the Legal Services Corporation
Laurie Mikva is a Commissioner on the Illinois Court of Claims and teaches a civil litigation clinic at Northwestern University Law School.  She has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Legal Services Corporation since she was appointed by President Obama in June 2009.  Ms. Mikva served as an attorney at the Illinois Department of Employment Security from 2008 to 2011, and at Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation from 1993 to 2008, where she specialized in family law and domestic violence.  Previously, she was an Assistant Public Defender in Illinois (1988-1991) and Maryland (1985-1988).  Ms. Mikva was a law clerk for Judge Luther M. Swygert of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and was a fellow in the Women's Law and Public Policy Fellowship Program at Georgetown University Law Center.  She received a B.A. in Philosophy from Beloit College and a J.D. from New York University School of Law.

Martha Minow, Nominee for Member, Board of Directors of the Legal Services Corporation
Martha Minow is the Jeremiah Smith, Jr. Professor of Law and Dean of Harvard Law School.  President Obama appointed Ms. Minow as a member of the Board of Directors of the Legal Services Corporation in March 2010.  During her tenure at Harvard, she previously served as the William Henry Bloomberg Professor of Law and as the Acting Director of the University’s Program on Ethics and the Professions. Her five-year partnership with the U.S. Department of Education and the Center for Applied Special Technology worked to increase access to the curriculum for students with disabilities. Ms. Minow is a member and prior Chair of the Board of Directors of the Revson Foundation in New York City.  Previously, she served on the boards of the American Bar Foundation, the W.T. Grant Foundation, the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, and the Independent International Commission on Kosovo. She began her legal career as a law clerk to Judge David Bazelton of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia and then Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall.  Ms. Minow received a B.A. from the University of Michigan, an Ed.M. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and a J.D. from Yale Law School.

Gloria Valenica-Weber, Nominee for Member, Board of Directors of the Legal Services Corporation
Gloria Valencia-Weber is a professor at the University of New Mexico School of Law, specializing in Native American/American Indian Law.  In 1992, she founded the law school’s Indian Law Certificate Program.  She established a similar program at the University of Tulsa College of Law, where she was an assistant professor from 1989 to 1993.  In addition, she currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Legal Services Corporation, having been appointed by President Obama in October 2010.  Ms. Valencia-Weber also serves as a Judge for the American Indian Law Center’s Southwest Intertribal Court of Appeals.  She received a B.A. and M.A. from Oklahoma State University and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.

Statement by the Press Secretary on Clashes along the Border of Sudan and South Sudan

The United States is alarmed by the fighting in Southern Kordofan, Sudan, and along a disputed area of the border between Sudan and South Sudan. Both sides must exert the greatest restraint in this situation.

It is critical that the two countries proceed with plans for meetings of the Joint Political Security Mechanism and the Abyei Joint Operations Committee in late March and the presidential summit on April 3. Only through direct contact and negotiations over fundamental issues of security and border management in Southern Kordofan, Blue Nile, and Abyei can Sudan and South Sudan avoid further fighting, achieve vitally needed economic cooperation, and coexist in peace. We also urge Darfur armed movements and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement–North to exercise restraint and cooperate fully with restoration of peace.

Achieving humanitarian access and protection of the civilian population must be the priority of all those concerned for the people of Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile.