The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
March 26, 2012

Joint Statement by the United States, Chile, Poland, Nigeria, Morocco, Thailand, and the Republic of Korea on the Nuclear Security Summit Outreach Efforts

In order to promote the goals of the 2010 Nuclear Security Communique to secure nuclear material and prevent nuclear terrorism, and specifically its call to strengthen global nuclear security through dialogue and cooperation with all states, the governments of Chile, Poland, Nigeria and Thailand, and Morocco hosted regional outreach meetings as a forum to collaboratively discuss nuclear security challenges in each of their particular regions.  The United States and the Republic of Korea, as hosts of the 2010 Summit and the 2012 Summit, have convened informational meetings at the International Atomic Energy Agency and the United Nations as part of Summit Outreach efforts.

We strongly welcome and promote the continuation of these outreach efforts as we continue to implement the 2010 Communique and Work Plan, the 2012 Communique, and as we prepare for the 2014 Nuclear Security Summit.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
March 26, 2012

Readout by Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications Ben Rhodes on President Obama and President Medvedev's Bilateral Meeting

Grand Hyatt Hotel
Seoul, Republic of Korea

1:53 P.M. KST
 
MR. RHODES:  This was President Obama's final bilateral meeting with President Medvedev in his current role as President of Russia.  I think as you saw from their remarks, there was a very positive tone to it.  President Medvedev and President Obama began by recounting the things that they'd been able to achieve together -- the New START Treaty, the Russian accession to the WTO, the Northern Distribution Network, and cooperation on a number of global security issues.
 
I think President Medvedev said the same thing in the spray that he said in the meeting, which was that in his view this was the most productive three years in U.S.-Russia relations, certainly since the end of the Cold War.
 
Beyond that, they discussed a number of civic issues.  On the economic front, both leaders expressed their interest in taking advantage of the progress made on the WTO accession to further U.S.-Russian economic cooperation, and President Obama reaffirmed his commitment to make sure that U.S. businesses are able to gain access to Russian markets.  And in that vein, of course, he is pursuing addressing the Jackson-Vanik law in a way that allows U.S. businesses to gain access to Russian markets, and said that we'd be continuing to work with Congress to move forward on that priority.
 
On Syria, the two leaders discussed the differences that the United States and Russia have had on the issue of Syria over the course of the last several months.  However, they did agree that they could find common ground in support for the mission that Kofi Annan has undertaken as a U.N. and Arab League representative.  President Obama made clear his belief that part of the transition envisioned in Kofi Annan's initiative would have to involve President Assad leaving power so that there can be a government that's responsive to the Syrian people.  But the two leaders had expressed an interest in working together going forward in a way that strengthens Kofi Annan and stops the violence in Syria and enables a transition to take place that is, again, far preferable to the type of conflict that we've seen and the potential for even further civil war.
 
On Iran, the two leaders discussed the upcoming P5-plus-1 talks with the Iranian government that are being worked out.  They both agreed that there is a window of opportunity here to pursue diplomacy and that it's essential for both the world and the Iranian government to take advantage of that opportunity.  President Obama again reiterated I think many of the things he's been saying in his bilateral meetings with other leaders and that he's said publicly, which is that, again, we need to move forward with a sense of urgency as we move into these negotiations.  However we do have an opportunity here for the Iranian government to take steps to build the confidence of the international community going forward.
 
On missile defense, I think the two leaders acknowledged that there have been differences on the issue of missile defense. However, I think as was represented in their public comments, they did agree that we should continue to be working on this issue at the technical level; that there are steps that can be taken on both sides to gain better understanding of the U.S. and Russian positions.  And so they directed their respective administrations to continue that type of technical work.  I think President Medvedev cited in the public comments what he said privately, which is that the New START Treaty had indicated that a lot of technical work, a lot of consultation over time at all levels of government can allow for a better understanding and allow for resolution of difficult issues, and that that experience would be relevant for continued technical consultations on missile defense.
 
And then finally, on North Korea, the two leaders, again, agreed that the proposed missile launch that the North Koreans have indicated they are going to pursue would be in violation of existing U.N. Security Council resolutions.  President Obama made clear I think what he said in his speech today, which is that the new leadership in North Korea has to understand that only by abandoning this type of provocative behavior will they gain the respect of the international community and the future that their people deserve.  And I think there's agreement that provocative acts like this will only increase North Korea's isolation going forward.
 
So those were the main topics.  I'd be happy to take any questions.
 
Q    What was the invitation and how did that go down?
 
MR. RHODES:  Well, President Medvedev has for some time indicated to President Obama that he'd like him to visit, particularly visit his hometown of St. Petersburg.  So I think he was simply reiterating that invitation.  President Obama has said that he very much would like to visit St. Petersburg and go to Russia again.  Obviously our travel schedule is going to be fairly light between -- over the course of the next several months, so I think it's something he looks forward to doing after November.
 
Q    Was Medvedev referring to anything in particular from the meeting when he said something about he knows agreement would be hard in an election year?
 
MR. RHODES:  Well, I think we -- look, we acknowledge the fact that they, too -- the Russians are going through a transition from the Medvedev government to the Putin government, just as we're going to be undergoing an election year here in the United States.  However, I think their point was that that shouldn’t disrupt work that can be done at the technical level to build confidence, to gain understanding over a period of time so that we can continue to pursue some type of agreement on this in the future. 
 
So that they very much both wanted to signal that they want to keep the door open to potential cooperation on missile defense and agree on missile defense -- I think President Obama said, for instance, in his speech today very clearly that he is interested in pursuing additional reductions in nuclear stockpiles.  We would very much like those discussions about future reductions to include tactical nuclear weapons and non-deployed nuclear weapons.  Whenever we have that discussion with the Russians they obviously want to talk about missile defense because they see it as related to strategic stability even though we don’t.
 
So, again, I think the general view of both leaders was let’s keep the door open here and let’s continue to work at this problem because it’s tied to many other priorities that we have and it’s worth the effort.
 
Q    Were there any messages either to or from Mr. Putin that were conveyed during the meeting, and what were they?
 
MR. RHODES:  Both leaders at the beginning of the bilateral meeting underscored that the call between President Obama and President-elect Putin had gone well.  President Obama said that he looked forward to continuing the type of cooperation we’ve had with Russia under President Medvedev with President-elect Putin. 
 
And I think it is -- I’m confident saying that President Medvedev very much indicated that that was President-elect Putin’s view as well, and that Russia was committed to continuing to pursue the type of cooperation that we’ve had on areas of mutual interest, even as we’re going to have differences along the way. 
 
So it was discussed briefly, and I think the view of both leaders was there's no reason that the cooperation we’ve had shouldn’t continue under President Putin as well.
 
Q    And can you put any meat on the bone in terms of what the President talked about in his speech today about tactical, as well as strategic, and that that was something that he would continue pressing the Russians to do, that it would be -- that that would be something that hadn’t happened before?  Is that something he and Medvedev talked about, or have they agreed to postpone that until Putin?
 
MR. RHODES:  They’ve had some discussion about that over the course of their relationship.  President Obama and President Medvedev agreed on the New START Treaty, which, again, set historic lows in terms of the deployed weapons and launchers that the United States and Russia have levels that we haven’t been at since the 1950s.  However, as he said in his speech, even with those reductions, President Obama very much believes that we can go further, that --
 
Q    The Russians don't?
 
MR. RHODES:  Well, the Russians -- when we've have that conversation with the Russians, when we’ve had those types of preliminary discussions with them, we are very much -- in order to achieve future reductions you have to address things like non-deployed nuclear weapons and tactical nuclear weapons, which were not part of the New START Treaty and had not been part of those negotiations over the previous couple of decades.  So in terms of pursuing our interest in future nuclear stockpile reductions -- which we believe is important to U.S. national security but also to the global non-proliferation regime, because it’s a foundation of the NPT that we’d be moving in the direction, reducing our weapons -- we believe we have to get after those categories of weapons as well.
 
The Russians consistently raise the issue of missile defense because they believe that in the absence of a discussion on missile defense -- just to step back here -- you all know this, but basically our position to them is, our missile defense system is not aimed at you, it’s aimed at threats like North Korea and Iran.  However, the Russians have been skeptical of that, and have said that if there's a missile defense system that upsets strategic stability they’re going to have a difficult time moving forward on a range of issues, including these sets of discussions.
 
So, inevitably, missile defense becomes a part of that discussion.  But I think what the President was signaling in his speech and in his meeting today is that we want to move forward on these; we don’t want to stop where we are.  We want to move forward with reductions.  We want to move forward with cooperation with the Russians.  And we want to move forward in discussing missile defense cooperation in a way that will allow us to continue to make progress.
 
Q    On Iran, did they talk about a specific date for the P5-plus-1?  And can you get into a little bit more into the tone? Because I think the Russians have sort of expressed concern that these talks not be viewed as a last chance that would then sort of lead to an escalation.  Was there a discussion about what might follow additional sanctions?
 
MR. RHODES:  In terms of date, I think that the P5-plus-1 and in particular Cathy Ashton has been working within the
P5-plus-1 and with the Iranians to structure talks going forward, and that would include finalizing the date and location of the first round of those talks.  So that’s not done yet, but I think there’s a sense that we believe we’ll be moving into discussions with the Iranians in the near future.
 
In terms of the tone in the meeting, I think the point that President Obama made very clear to President Medvedev is that there are a range of factors that heighten the sense of urgency around the Iranian nuclear program right now, both in terms of the fact that they are enriching uranium up to 20 percent, that they are moving forward in going with their enrichment program.  There’s obviously tensions in the region between Israel and Iran. But in particular, the fact that Iran has continued to enrich and has continued to enrich up to 20 percent, all of that adds to the sense urgency around talks. 
 
We made clear that there is time and space for diplomacy, but people also have to understand that that time is not unlimited, and therefore this particular round of talks that we’re entering into needs to make progress.  And I think the Russians understand that.  And frankly, they very much want to see diplomatic resolution to this as well, and they expressed their interest in doing that.
 
Q    Just to follow on that, did Medvedev ask about the conversations that Obama -- the President had with Prime Minister Netanyahu?  Did he seek some sense of where the Israelis were on a strike?
 
MR. RHODES:  No.  I think he -- no, I think that there was an understanding, though, of Israel’s position, that the Russians certainly understand Israel’s position.
 
Q    Thanks.
 
Q    Oh, I did want to ask you about Syria.  But I know there are still differences.  Did you move the ball at all beyond the --
 
MR. RHODES:  We think we did, because the focus has been very much on the differences, but what Annan does is it provides a framework for cooperation with the Russians.
 
END   
2:09 P.M. KST
 

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
March 26, 2012

Trilateral Announcement Between Mexico, the United States, and Canada on Nuclear Security

At the March 2012 Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul, South Korea, the Governments of Mexico, the United States, and Canada announced the completion of an important joint nuclear security project to convert the fuel in Mexico’s research reactor from highly enriched uranium (HEU) to low enriched uranium (LEU).  The project was initiated at the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, D.C. in April 2010, and was carried out by the three countries, working closely with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). 
 
The full conversion of the reactor from the use of HEU to LEU fuel supports the goal of minimizing the use of HEU for civilian purposes. By converting its research nuclear reactor, Mexico contributes to non-proliferation.
 
President Calderón stated, “With this decision, Mexico reaffirms its commitment to building a world free of the nuclear threat. Each country must do its share to reach a safer North America and a safer planet. This is a clear example of the significant work we can do together in the North American region.”
 
This effort, which was conducted and completed under the auspices of the IAEA, benefited from the hard work and dedication of hundreds of individuals from all three countries and the IAEA, and it further strengthens nuclear security in North America.
 
President Obama stated, “I would like to thank Mexico, Canada and the IAEA for their support of our joint nuclear security efforts.  Our strong trilateral partnership, supported by the IAEA, has made our people safer and advanced our international nuclear security effort leading into the Seoul Summit.” 
 
Prime Minister Harper added that “The successful completion of this project demonstrates the concrete steps countries can collectively take in the context of the Nuclear Security Summit. We will continue to work with the United States and Mexico to enhance nuclear security in our region and worldwide.”
 
The conversion will not only extend the length of time the Mexican reactor can operate with LEU fuel, it also makes the reactor eligible for further program engagement under the IAEA.  With the provided fuel, Mexico’s National Institute for Nuclear Research (ININ) also has the potential to increase the reactor power output, which would greatly improve its capabilities for medical and industrial isotope production, silicon doping, neutron radiography, and nuclear physics research such as neutron activation analysis.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
March 25, 2012

Statement by the Press Secretary on John Brennan's Call with President Hadi of Yemen

Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism John Brennan called Yemeni President Abdo Rabo Mansour Hadi today to discuss the ongoing political transition in Yemen. Mr. Brennan commended President Hadi’s continued leadership and reiterated that the U.S. Government strongly supports full implementation of the National Dialogue. He noted that it is essential that all Yemeni political actors, especially those from the previous government, play a constructive role in the transition process, and he expressed concern over recent reports that some former government officials are being disruptive.  President Hadi thanked the United States for its strong support and affirmed his commitment to restore stability to Yemen through a political transition. Mr. Brennan and President Hadi both emphasized the strong partnership between the United States and Yemen and pledged that the two countries, together with Yemen's other international partners, will work closely together to confront Yemen’s security and economic challenges.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
March 24, 2012

WEEKLY ADDRESS: President Obama Says House Must Pass Bipartisan Transportation Bill

WASHINGTON, DC—In this week’s address, President Obama called on the House of Representatives to pass a bipartisan transportation bill that would repair crumbling roads and bridges and support construction jobs in communities all across America.  According to a new report, 90 percent of these construction jobs are middle class jobs. The Senate passed the bill with the support of Democrats and Republicans because if the bill stalls in Congress then constructions sites will go idle, workers will have to go home, and our economy will take a hit.  The President calls on everyone to tell their elected officials to pass a long-term transportation bill that will support American construction workers and our economy.

Remarks of President Barack Obama
Weekly Address
The White House
Saturday March 24, 2012

Hello.  This week, I traveled across the country to talk about my all-of-the-above energy strategy for America – a strategy where we produce more oil and gas here at home, but also more biofuels and fuel-efficient cars; more solar power and wind power and other sources of clean, renewable energy. 

Now, you wouldn’t know it by listening to some of the folks running for office today, but producing more oil at home has been, and will continue to be, a key part of my energy strategy.  Under my Administration, we’re producing more oil than at any other time in the last eight years.  We’ve quadrupled the number of operating oil rigs to a record high.  And we’ve added enough oil and gas pipeline to circle the entire Earth and then some.  Those are the facts. 

But as I’ve been saying all week, even though America uses around 20 percent of the world’s oil, we only have around 2 percent of the world’s known oil reserves.  So even if we drilled everywhere, we’d still be relying on other countries for oil.

That’s why we’re pursuing an all-of-the-above strategy.  We’re producing more biofuels.  More fuel-efficient cars.  More solar power.  More wind power.  This week, I was in Boulder City, Nevada, where they’ve got the largest solar plant of its kind anywhere in the country.  That’s the future.  I was at Ohio State University, where they’ve developed the fastest electric car in the world.  That’s the future.  I don’t want to cede these clean energy industries to China or Germany or any other country.  I want to see solar panels and wind turbines and fuel-efficient cars manufactured right here in America, by American workers. 

Now, getting these clean energy industries to locate here requires us to maintain a national commitment to new research and development.  But it also requires us to build world-class transportation and communications networks, so that any company can move goods and sell products all around the world as quickly and efficiently as possible. 
So much of America needs to be rebuilt right now.  We’ve got crumbling roads and bridges.  A power grid that wastes too much energy.  An incomplete high-speed broadband network.  And we’ve got thousands of unemployed construction workers who’ve been looking for a job ever since the housing market collapsed. 

But once again, we’re waiting on Congress.  You see, in a matter of days, funding will stop for all sorts of transportation projects.  Construction sites will go idle.  Workers will have to go home.  And our economy will take a hit. 

This Congress cannot let that happen.  Not at a time when we should be doing everything in our power – Democrats and Republicans – to keep this recovery moving forward.  The Senate did their part.  They passed a bipartisan transportation bill.  It had the support of 52 Democrats and 22 Republicans.  Now it’s up to the House to follow suit; to put aside partisan posturing, end the gridlock, and do what’s right for the American people.  

This is common sense.  Right now, all across this country, we’ve got contractors and construction workers who have never been more eager to get back on the job.  A long term transportation bill would put them to work.  And those are good jobs.  We just released a report that shows nearly 90 percent of the construction, manufacturing and trade jobs created through investments in transportation projects are middle class jobs.  Those are exactly the jobs we need right now, and they’ll make the economy stronger for everybody. 

We’ve done this before.  During the Great Depression, America built the Hoover Dam and the Golden Gate Bridge.  After World War II, we connected our states with a system of highways.  Democratic and Republican administrations invested in great projects that benefited everybody, from the workers who built them to the businesses that still use them today. 

So tell Congress that if we invest in new technology and new energy; in new roads and bridges and construction projects, we can keep growing our economy, put our people back to work, and remind the world why the United States is the greatest nation on Earth.

Thanks and have a great weekend.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
March 23, 2012

Statement by the Press Secretary on President Obama’s Meeting with Prime Minister Gilani of Pakistan

President Obama will meet with Prime Minister Gilani of Pakistan on Tuesday, March 27, after the Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul. The meeting will be an opportunity for the United States and Pakistan to continue high-level consultations on areas of mutual interest. In particular, the President looks forward to reviewing our efforts to support an Afghan-led reconciliation process, and to pursue an end-state in the region that advances security and prosperity.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
March 23, 2012

Early Reactions to the Nomination of Jim Yong Kim as President of the World Bank

Secretary of the Treasury Timothy F. Geithner
“Jim Yong Kim is exceptionally well qualified to serve as President of the World Bank. He is an innovative leader whose groundbreaking work to fight disease and combat poverty has saved lives around the globe. But Jim will bring more to the role than an impressive record of designing new ways to solve entrenched problems. Development is his lifetime commitment, and it is his passion. And in a world with so much potential to improve living standards, we have a unique opportunity to harness that passion and experience at the helm of the World Bank.”

Former President Bill Clinton
"Jim Kim is an inspired and outstanding choice to lead the World Bank based on his years of commitment and leadership to development and particularly health care and AIDS treatment across the world.  Among his many accomplishments, his work with my good friend Paul Farmer to bring hope and health care to nations from Haiti to Peru to Malawi through Partners in Health has been pioneering, exceptional and effective.  He will be the most experienced development expert to ever take the helm of the World Bank and I compliment President Obama for putting that type of proven commitment to global development at the top of his criteria for choosing the World Bank’s next leader."

Rwandan President Paul Kagame
“I was delighted to learn that Jim Kim has been nominated for this post, as he is a true friend of Africa and well known for his decade of work to support us in developing an efficient health system in Rwanda. He’s not only a physician and a leader who knows what it takes to address poverty, but also a genuinely good person. President Obama’s nomination of Dr. Kim as President of the World Bank is a welcome one, and should resonate well with the many men and women who are working to transform lives around the world."

Paul Farmer, MD, PhD
“Jim Yong Kim is an outstanding choice for the presidency of the World Bank. Having had the good fortune to train with Jim at Harvard, and to see him work in settings from inner-city Boston to the slums of Peru, from Haiti to Rwanda to the prisons of Siberia, I know that for three decades Jim has committed himself to breaking the cycle of poverty and disease.  This has been his goal as a physician, a teacher, a policy maker, and a university president; it was ever his goal as a founder and director of Partners In Health, which now operates in more than a dozen countries and informs his teaching and writing. He has worked in rural villages and squatter settlements just as he has worked in the halls of power and privilege. Again and again, we his friends and colleagues have seen Jim imagine a better future, one that harnesses new technologies and older but sound notions of justice and equity, and links this vision to much more than talk and reports and studies. Jim is all about delivery and about delivering on promises often made but too seldom kept. I can think of no one more able to help families, communities, and entire nations break out of poverty, which is the stated goal of the World Bank. As poverty continues to claim lives, and as inequality deepens, the Bank--and other institutions charged with lessening poverty--need bold and experienced thinkers and implementers like Jim Kim. Alas, he's one of a kind.”

Jeffrey Sachs
“Jim Kim is a superb nominee for WB. I support him 100%. I thank all who supported me and know they'll be very pleased with today's news.” – via Twitter

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
March 23, 2012

President Obama Announces U.S. Nomination of Dr. Jim Yong Kim to Lead World Bank

Today, President Obama announced that the United States is nominating Dr. Jim Yong Kim, a leader who has devoted his career to improving the lives of people in developing countries and championing the cause of global health, to be President of the World Bank.  The World Bank’s mission is to reduce poverty and support development, serving as a vital source of financial and technical assistance to developing countries across the globe.

“Jim has spent more than two decades working to improve conditions in developing countries around the world,” said President Obama. “The World Bank is one of the most powerful tools we have to reduce poverty and raise standards of living around the globe, and Jim’s personal experience and years of service make him an ideal candidate for this job.”

Dr. Jim Yong Kim, Nominee for President, The World Bank
Jim Yong Kim has served as the President of Dartmouth College since 2009. During this time, Dr. Kim has launched the Dartmouth Center for Health Care Delivery Science, which is the first of its kind in establishing an international network of researchers and practitioners to design, implement, and scale new models of high-quality low-cost care. He has also instituted the National College Health Improvement Project.  Prior to that, he held professorships in medicine and social medicine at Harvard Medical School and served as the director of the Francois-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights. He is a co-founder of Partners In Health and a pioneer in the treatment of multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis.

As Director of the World Health Organization’s Department of HIV/AIDS, Dr. Kim launched the “3 by 5” initiative, which sought to treat 3 million patients living with HIV and is regarded today as one of the most successful modern global health initiatives. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Medicine in 2004, and his work in the field of global health has earned him widespread recognition, including a MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship, selection as one of TIME Magazine’s “100 Most Influential People in the World,” and numerous other awards.

He has published extensively over the past two decades, authoring and co-authoring articles for leading academic and scientific journals and contributing to many books on public health issues. Born in Seoul, Korea, President Kim moved to the United States at the age of five. He graduated magna cum laude from Brown University, earned a medical degree from Harvard Medical School and a doctorate in anthropology from Harvard University.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
March 23, 2012

New Report: Affordable Care Act Gives Americans More Security, Better Benefits

The White House today released a new report highlighting the benefits of the Affordable Care Act. The report discusses how the Affordable Care Act has improved the health care system for millions of Americans and includes stories of Americans who have been helped by the law.

“Today, two years after we passed health care reform, more young adults have insurance, more seniors are saving money on their prescription drugs, and more Americans can rest easy knowing they won’t be dropped from their insurance plans if they get sick,” said President Obama.  “The law has made a difference for millions of Americans, and over time, it will help give even more working and middle-class families the security they deserve.”

Thanks to the Affordable Care Act:

• 2.5 million more young adults have health insurance on their parent’s plan.
• 5.1 million people with Medicare saved an average of $635 on the cost of their prescription drugs. And everyone on Medicare can get preventive services like mammograms for free.
• Insurance companies must spend at least 80 percent of your premium dollars on health care and not overhead and cannot raise your premiums by 10 percent or more with no accountability.
• It is illegal for insurance companies to deny coverage to children because of a pre-existing condition. And in 2014, discriminating against anyone with a pre-existing condition will be illegal.

The report spotlights examples of Americans from across the country who have benefitted from the law including:

• Devon Grochowski graduated from Pennsylvania State University in May of 2010 but she doesn’t get benefits, including health insurance, at work. Without the provision in the Affordable Care Act that allows her to stay on her parent’s plan until she is 26, Devon would have had to consider leaving her job to get one that offers benefits, even if that meant leaving the field where she’s hoping to build her career.
• Michael and Margaret Novak own a grocery store in a small rural town in Montana. They were able to receive a small business tax credit worth $10,500 to help them continue to offer health insurance to their more than two dozen employees.
• Amy Ward of West Des Moines, Iowa came down with a rare infection that nearly cost her life. Without the Affordable Care Act, Amy and her husband may not have been able to afford all the care she needed to recover. Before the new health care law, Amy's health insurance policy had a lifetime dollar limit.
The report released today also discusses how the new law is investing in public health and improving the quality of health care for all Americans. New health policies that cut red tape will save providers and health plans an estimated $12 billion. Additionally, investments in public health will expand the number of health care providers in underserved areas by supporting the National Health Service Corps and strengthening community health centers.

For additional information on your State and stories from Americans already benefitting from the law, visit www.whitehouse.gov/healthreform.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
March 23, 2012

Statement by the President on the Passing of John Payton

Michelle and I were saddened to hear about the passing of our dear friend John Payton. As president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, John led the organization’s involvement in five Supreme Court cases. A true champion of equality, he helped protect civil rights in the classroom and at the ballot box.  The legal community has lost a legend, and while we mourn John's passing, we will never forget his courage and fierce opposition to discrimination in all its forms. 

Our thoughts and prayers go out to John’s family, the many students he taught, and those who love him.