The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
February 03, 2012

President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts

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

  • Bill Baer – Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division, Department of Justice
  • Marcilynn A. Burke – Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management, Department of the Interior
  • Joseph Jordan – Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy, Office of Management and Budget
  • John Norris – Commissioner, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
  • Heidi Shyu – Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology, Department of Defense

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

  • Milton Irvin – Member, President's Board of Advisors on Historically Black Colleges and Universities
  • George B. Walker, Jr. – Member, President's Board of Advisors on Historically Black Colleges and Universities

President Obama said, “I am proud that such experienced and committed individuals have agreed to serve the American people in these important roles.  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:

Bill Baer, Nominee for Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division, Department of Justice
Bill Baer is the chair of the Antitrust Practice Group at Arnold and Porter LLP.  He joined Arnold and Porter in 1980, becoming a partner at the firm in 1983.   In his practice, Mr. Baer represents a broad range of companies in U.S. and international cartel investigations, mergers and acquisition reviews, and in antitrust litigation.   From 1995 to 1999, he served as the Director for the Bureau of Competition at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).  Mr. Baer began his legal career in 1975 as a trial attorney for the Bureau of Consumer Protection at the FTC.  Mr. Baer holds a B.A. from Lawrence University and a J.D. from Stanford Law School.

Marcilynn A. Burke, Nominee for Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management, Department of the Interior
Marcilynn A. Burke has served as Acting Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management at the Department of the Interior (DOI) since July 2011 and as Deputy Director of the Bureau of Land Management since August 2009.   Prior to serving in these positions at DOI, Ms. Burke was a tenured Associate Professor of Law at the University of Houston Law Center where she taught natural resources, land use management, environmental, and property law.  Before she began her teaching career, Ms. Burke was an associate at the law firm of Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen, & Hamilton.  She earned her A.B. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her J.D. from Yale University.

Joseph Jordan, Nominee for Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy, Office of Management and Budget
Joseph Jordan is currently Senior Advisor to Office of Management and Budget Acting Director Jeffrey Zients, a position he has held since December 2011. Between 2009 and 2011, Mr. Jordan served as Associate Administrator for Government Contracting and Business Development at the Small Business Administration (SBA). Prior to joining SBA, Mr. Jordan was an Engagement Manager with McKinsey & Company, a global management consulting firm.  At McKinsey, he specialized in developing purchasing and supply management strategies for clients across several industries. He also worked with the firm’s public sector practice, advising state governments on how to cut costs and capture efficiencies.   In 2000, Mr. Jordan helped build and manage operations of Backwire, a web-based publisher-marketer. When the company was purchased by Leap Wireless, he transitioned to become Leap’s project manager for strategic planning and product development. From 1998 to 2000, Mr. Jordan worked as an Associate Producer on MSNBC’s Hardball with Chris Matthews.  Mr. Jordan received his B.A. from The College of the Holy Cross and an M.B.A. from the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business Administration.

John Norris, Nominee for Commissioner, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
John Norris is a Commissioner at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), a position he has held since December 2009.  Over the past 10 years, Mr. Norris has also been involved in numerous local, regional, and national energy related boards and organizations.  Before his appointment to FERC, he was Chief of Staff at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.  From 2005 to 2009, Mr. Norris served as Chairman of the Iowa Utilities Board (IUB).   Prior to joining IUB, he served as Chief of Staff and Energy Advisor to Governor Tom Vilsack, Chief of Staff to U.S. Representative Leonard Boswell, and owned and managed a restaurant in Greenfield, Iowa.  Mr. Norris received a B.A. in Political Science from Simpson College and a J.D. from the University of Iowa College of Law.

Heidi Shyu, Nominee for Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology, Department of Defense
Heidi Shyu has served as Acting Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology (ALT) since June 2011, and as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for ALT since November 2010.  Prior to joining the Administration, Ms. Shyu worked for the Raytheon Company from 1997 to 2010.  During that time, she held several leadership positions including Vice President of Technology Strategy for Space and Airborne Systems (2009-2010), Corporate Vice President of Technology and Research (2007-2009), Vice President and Technical Director for Space and Airborne Systems (2004-2007), and Vice President of Unmanned and Reconnaissance Systems (2002-2003).   Prior to working at Raytheon, Ms. Shyu worked for Hughes Aircraft Company (1992-1997), Litton (1990-1991), and Grumman Aerospace (1989-1990).  She began her career in 1978 as an Engineer for Hughes Aircraft Company.  Ms. Shyu holds a B.S. from University of New Brunswick in Canada, an M.S. from the University of Toronto, and an M.S.E.E. from University of California, Los Angeles.

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

Milton Irvin, Appointee for Member, President's Board of Advisors on Historically Black Colleges and Universities
Milton Irvin is currently Chair of the Advisory Board for Castle Oak Securities, L.P.  In January 2012, Mr. Irvin retired from UBS AG where he had been a Managing Director and the Americas’ Head of Diversity and Inclusion since 2002.  Before working at UBS, Mr. Irvin served as President and COO of Imbot.com, from 2000 to 2002, and Blaylock & Partners L.P., from 1998 to 1999.  Mr. Irvin began his career as a corporate lending officer at Chase Manhattan Bank, and then spent 20 years at Salomon Brothers, holding numerous positions including Managing Director and Head of Generalist Sales.  Mr. Irvin currently serves on the Wharton Graduate Advisory Board, the Board of the Harlem School of the Arts, and LEAD, a non-profit that unites colleges and universities with corporations to encourage minority high school students to explore careers in business, science, engineering, and technology.  In 1994, President Clinton appointed Mr. Irvin to the Advisory Committee of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation for which he served as chairman from 1995 to 1997.  Mr. Irvin earned his B.S. from the United States Merchant Marine Academy and his M.B.A. from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.

The Reverend George B. Walker, Jr., Appointee for Member, President's Board of Advisors on Historically Black Colleges and Universities
The Reverend George B. Walker, Jr. is the Vice President of Strategic Partnerships at the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund and Victory Institute (“Victory”), a position he has held since October 2011. From 2008 to 2011, Reverend Walker was the Vice President of Leadership Initiatives at Victory.  Before joining Victory, Reverend Walker worked at the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy as the Development Director from 2006 to 2008; the Human Rights Campaign as Major Gifts Officer from 2004 to 2006; and the Center for Community Change, where he was Deputy Operations Director from 2003 to 2004 and Director of Evaluation from 2001 to 2003.  From 1994 to 1996, Reverend Walker worked as a volunteer for the U.S. Peace Corps.  He later served as Associate Director of the Peace Development Fund from 1998 to 2001.  Reverend Walker is the recipient of the U.S. Peace Corps’ Franklin H. Williams Award, the German Marshall Memorial Fellowship, and the Pipeline Project’s 21st Century Leadership Fellowship.  Reverend Walker holds a B.A. from Morehouse College and an M.Div. from the Divinity School at Duke University.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
February 03, 2012

President Obama Announces Another Key Administration Post

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

  • Jeremiah O. Norton – Member, Board of Directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

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

Jeremiah O. Norton, Nominee for Member, Board of Directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Jeremiah O. Norton is currently an Executive Director of J.P. Morgan Securities, LLC.  In this role, Mr. Norton advises financial institutions on mergers and acquisitions and other corporate finance transactions.  Prior to joining J.P. Morgan, Mr. Norton served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions Policy at the Department of the Treasury from 2007 to 2009.  In that role, he led the Department’s office that developed, analyzed, and coordinated policies on legislative and regulatory issues affecting financial institutions.  Additionally, he oversaw the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program. Prior to his time at the U.S. Treasury, Mr. Norton served on the legislative staff of Representative Edward R. Royce as the primary advisor on banking and insurance issues.  Prior to joining Representative Royce, Mr. Norton worked in the Financial Institutions and Governments investment banking group at J.P. Morgan.  Mr. Norton received an A.B. in Economics from Duke University, and a J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
February 03, 2012

NEW DETAILS: President Obama to Host White House Science Fair

Event Will Highlight Winners of National Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Competitions

WASHINGTON, DC -- On Tuesday, February 7th, President Obama will host the second White House Science Fair celebrating the student winners of a broad range of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) competitions from across the country. The President will also announce key steps that the Administration and its partners are taking to help more students excel in math and science, and earn degrees in these subjects.

At the fair, the President will view exhibits of student work, ranging from breakthrough research to new inventions, followed by remarks to an audience of students, science educators and business leaders on the importance of STEM education to the country’s economic future.

The President hosted the first-ever White House Science Fair in late 2010, fulfilling a commitment he made at the launch of his Educate to Innovate campaign to inspire students to excel in math and science.  As the President noted then, “If you win the NCAA championship, you come to the White House. Well, if you're a young person and you produce the best experiment or design, the best hardware or software, you ought to be recognized for that achievement, too.” In addition, over the past year, the President met with the three young women who won the Google Science Fair, met a student robotics team on his bus tour through North Carolina and Virginia, and made a surprise appearance at the New York City Science Fair.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
February 03, 2012

Message -- Continuation of the National Emergency with Respect to the Situation in or in Relation to Côte d'Ivoire

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 to the Federal Register for publication the enclosed notice stating that the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13396 of February 7, 2006, with respect to the situation in or in relation to Côte d'Ivoire is to continue in effect beyond February 7, 2012.

The situation in or in relation to Côte d'Ivoire, which has been addressed by the United Nations Security Council in Resolution 1572 of November 15, 2004, and subsequent resolutions, has resulted in the massacre of large numbers of civilians, widespread human rights abuses, significant political violence and unrest, and fatal attacks against international peacekeeping forces. Since the inauguration of President Alassane Ouattara in May 2011, the Government of Côte d'Ivoire and its people have made significant advances in the promotion of democratic, social, and economic development. Although considerable progress has been made, the situation in or in relation to Côte d'Ivoire continues to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States. For these reasons, I have determined that it is necessary to continue the national emergency and related measures under Executive Order 13396 of February 7, 2006, Blocking Property of Certain Persons Contributing to the Conflict in Côte d'Ivoire.

BARACK OBAMA

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
February 03, 2012

Notice -- Continuation of the National Emergency with Respect to the Situation in or in Relation to Côte d'Ivoire

NOTICE

- - - - - - -

CONTINUATION OF THE NATIONAL EMERGENCY WITH RESPECT TO
THE SITUATION IN OR IN RELATION TO CÔTE D'IVOIRE

On February 7, 2006, by Executive Order 13396, the President declared a national emergency, pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701-1706), to deal with the unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States constituted by the situation in or in relation to Côte d'Ivoire and ordered related measures blocking the property of certain persons contributing to the conflict in Côte d'Ivoire. The situation in or in relation to Côte d'Ivoire, which has been addressed by the United Nations Security Council in Resolution 1572 of November 15, 2004, and subsequent resolutions, has resulted in the massacre of large numbers of civilians, widespread human rights abuses, significant political violence and unrest, and fatal attacks against international peacekeeping forces.

While the Government of Côte d'Ivoire and its people continue to make significant progress, the situation in or in relation to Côte d'Ivoire continues to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States, the national emergency declared on February 7, 2006, and the measures adopted on that date to deal with that emergency, must continue in effect beyond February 7, 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 declared in Executive Order 13396.

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

BARACK OBAMA

The White House

Office of the First Lady

For Immediate Release
February 03, 2012

First Lady Michelle Obama to embark on three day national tour celebrating the second anniversary of Let's Move!

February 9th – 11th, First Lady to make stops in Des Moines, Iowa; Little Rock, Arkansas; Fort Worth, Texas; Dallas, Texas; Homestead, Florida; Longwood, Florida & Orlando, Florida

WASHINGTON – On February 9, 2012, First Lady Michelle Obama will kick off a three day, nation-wide tour celebrating the second anniversary of Let’s Move!, her initiative to solve the problem of childhood obesity within a generation. Since launching Let’s Move! on February 9, 2010, significant progress has been made to solve the problem of childhood obesity. Parents, businesses, educators, elected officials, members of the military, chefs, physicians, athletes, childcare providers, community and faith leaders and kids themselves have made substantial commitments to improve the health of our nation’s children. Through working together with Let’s Move!,  these groups have provided children with healthier food and greater opportunities for physical activity in schools and communities, helped get families the information they need to make healthier decisions, supported a healthy start in early childhood, and have worked to ensure more people have access to healthy, affordable food.  The Let’s Move! tour will highlight examples of people making changes across the country, from a single family to an entire state.

A fact sheet on a few of the many accomplishments of Let’s Move! is attached and can be found HERE.

The First Lady’s Let’s Move! tour schedule is below:

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2012

Des Moines, Iowa * 11:00 AM CT/ 12:00 PM ET * Let’s Move! Day in Iowa

First Lady Michelle Obama will kick off her three day national tour in Des Moines, Iowa, to highlight Iowa’s Healthiest State Initiative, a private-public partnership launched in August by Governor Terry Branstad and other government and business leaders to make Iowa the healthiest state in the nation by 2016. More than 10,000 children grades 6 - 9 from Iowa schools will fill Wells Fargo Arena in downtown Des Moines to participate in a high-energy, interactive celebration of the Let’s Move! anniversary, hosted by Iowa’s Healthiest State Initiative.

Mrs. Obama will be joined by former Iowa Governor and current Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and Iowa Governor Branstad, as well as NASCAR racing champion and member of the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition Carl Edwards, Olympic figure skating champion and member of the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition Michelle Kwan (who was recently inducted into the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame), Olympic champion gymnast Shawn Johnson, 2011 WNBA MVP Tamika Catchings, Health and Fitness Expert Bob Harper, Iowa State University Basketball coach and former NBA player Fred Hoiberg – who are all committed to helping kids embrace good health, nutrition and physical fitness.  Governor Branstad will sign a proclamation establishing February 9 as “Let’s Move! Day in Iowa” to celebrate the second anniversary.

Little Rock, Arkansas * 2:15 PM CT / 3:15 PM ET * Military Improving Nutrition for Servicemembers

First Lady Michelle Obama will visit the Little Rock Air Force Base to make an announcement about the military’s efforts to improve the nutrition of food served throughout military bases. Little Rock Air Force Base is part of a special pilot program that has enhanced food service quality, variety and availability through new acquisition processes and redesign efforts.  Mrs. Obama will receive a briefing on the Air Force’s healthy eating efforts from leadership and then visit the dining facility with cooks and airmen to discuss the changes. Childhood obesity has become a national security issue - more than one-quarter of our nation’s 17-24 year- olds are too overweight to serve in the U.S. military. Additionally, the Department of Defense spends an estimated $1.1 billion per year on medical care associated with excess weight and obesity.

Fort Worth, Texas * 5:30 PM CT / 6:30 PM ET * Parents and Businesses Making a Difference

First Lady Michelle Obama will hold a roundtable dinner discussion at a local Olive Garden with parents who are changing habits in their homes and communities. Mrs. Obama will have a conversation with the parents about their efforts and get their ideas on how Let’s Move! can continue to support families across the country. In September 2011, Darden, the world’s largest full service restaurant company which owns Olive Garden, Red Lobster, Longhorn Steakhouse and others, made a commitment to improve their kids menus by offering a fruit or vegetable and low-fat milk with every meal, as well as reduce total calories and sodium across their menus.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2012

Dallas, Texas * 9:00 AM CT / 10:00 AM ET * Schools and Chefs Working Together

First Lady Michelle Obama will join chef'testants from past seasons of Bravo’s hit series “Top Chef” and members of the Dallas Cowboys to highlight the work being done in schools across America to provide healthier food to students. The chefs will compete in a healthy cooking competition with students from Nancy Moseley Elementary School, a Gold school in the HealthierUS School Challenge program. The Dallas Independent School District is a leader in making healthy changes for its students – it has the most Gold schools of any district in the country. Chefs have played an important role in the Let’s Move! initiative, teaming up with schools all across the country to work with school chefs on healthy school meals and teach kids about the importance of a nutritious diet. Approximately 3,400 chefs and 3,350 schools have signed up for Chefs Move to Schools, and the First Lady will announce a coalition that is working together to expand the program.

Homestead, Florida * 3:30 PM * WebMD Town Hall: Simple Tips For Healthy Families

First Lady Michelle Obama will join experts from WebMD, a leading source of health information for consumers and professionals and a free source of trusted information on children’s health and wellness, to answer questions from a live local audience and a national online audience about how families can implement healthy changes in their daily lives.  The WebMD town hall style discussion will be held at a Miami-area YMCA. In November 2011, the YMCA, a leading nonprofit dedicated to youth development and healthy living and one of the nation’s largest child-care providers, announced that it is adopting a set of standards to ensure its programs offer children fruits, vegetables and water as snacks and adequate physical activity while children are in their care. The panel will include a WebMD pediatrician and nutritionist and a health and well-being expert from the YMCA. Parents can submit questions for the First Lady and the panel at www.webmd.com/townhall.

Orlando, Florida * 7:00 PM ET * Change Begins at Home

First Lady Michelle Obama will visit the home of an Orlando-area family who has made changes to become healthier. Mrs. Obama will have dinner with the family in their home and discuss the everyday changes families can make. This event will have a pool spray at the top.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012

Longwood, Florida * 10:00 AM ET * Faith and Community Groups Leading the Way

First Lady Michelle Obama will speak to a gathering of 3,000 people from diverse faiths at Northland, A Church Distributed, about the work of faith and community organizations across America to support healthy lifestyles. Mrs. Obama launched Let’s Move! Faith and Communities in November 2010 and since then, these organizations have initiated a broad range of activities including logging over 1,500,000 miles walked and working to provide healthy food to their congregations.  Saturday’s program will include choirs, performers and speakers from local and national congregations. Tickets are being distributed by local faith and community organizations.

Orlando, Florida * Afternoon * Getting Active Is Fun!

Following the event at Northland, First Lady Michelle Obama will travel to ESPN Wide World of Sports at the Walt Disney World Resort to participate in a physical activity event for hundreds of local kids and their families, including participants in the morning’s faith event. Disney Channel and Disney XD stars and professional athletes will be on hand as families participate in fun, physical activity stations. Tickets are being distributed by local faith and community organizations.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
February 03, 2012

President Obama’s Plan to Put Veterans Back to Work

In his State of the Union address, President Obama called for a new Veterans Job Corps initiative to help our returning veterans find pathways to civilian employment. The Administration’s new veteran employment initiatives, coupled with the work that President Obama has already accomplished in creating employment opportunities for veterans, will help put tens of thousands of veterans back to work.  

The President’s Commitment to Veteran Employment

Today the President will announce new details of his Veterans Jobs Corps initiative which will help put veterans back to work on a range of projects that leverage skills developed in the military:

• New incentives to hire veterans as first responders: The President will announce $166 million in 2012 Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Hiring Grant funding and $320 million in 2012 Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grants. The President will also announce that preference for these grants will now be given to communities that recruit and hire post-9/11 veterans to serve as police officers and firefighters. The COPS funding preserves law enforcement jobs and spurs new ones by making grant awards to communities across the country.  SAFER grants provide funding directly to fire departments and volunteer firefighter interest organizations in order to help them increase and retain the number of trained firefighters available in their communities, enhancing the local fire departments' abilities to comply with staffing, response, and operational standards.

• Hiring veterans to protect Americans as first responders and law enforcement officers:  Today, the President announced he will include in his FY13 Budget the $4 billion in COPS funding first proposed in the American Jobs Act to spur police officer hiring in 2012. The Budget will also include $1 billion for SAFER grants, as proposed in the American Jobs Act, to encourage firefighter hiring.  Preference for these grants will also be given to communities that hire post-9/11 veterans.

• Putting veterans to work preserving and restoring America’s land and resources: The President will propose $1 billion to develop a Veterans Job Corps conservation program that will put up to 20,000 veterans back to work over the next five years protecting and rebuilding America. Veterans will restore our great outdoors by providing visitor programs, restoring habitat, protecting cultural resources, eradicating invasive species, and operating facilities. Additionally, our veterans will help make a significant dent in the deferred maintenance of our Federal, State, local, and tribal lands including jobs that will repair and rehabilitate trails, roads, levees, recreation facilities and other assets.  The program will serve all veterans, but will have a particular focus on post-9/11 veterans.

• Supporting veteran entrepreneurship by building our next generation of small business leaders:  The President will propose an expansion of entrepreneurship training opportunities for separating service members and veterans. As part of the VA-DOD Task Force for a Career Ready Military that the President established in August of last year, the Departments of Defense and Veteran Affairs, working with the Small Business Administration, are developing a two-day entrepreneurship program as part of the Transition Assistance Program that will be available to all service members.  In addition, once service members separate, SBA will offer veterans more in-depth entrepreneurial training through an 8-week online training program that will teach the fundamentals of small business ownership to over 10,000 veterans annually, as well as an expansion of the existing suite of programs and public-private partnerships supporting entrepreneurship and small business development opportunities for veterans and veterans’ families, including an intensive entrepreneurship boot camp.

Building on Progress

Since taking office, President Obama has taken key steps to support veterans in developing skills and finding work, including by:

• Creating two new veterans’ tax credits:  In November 2011, the President signed into law two new tax credits for hiring veterans, both of which were included as part of the American Jobs Act. The Returning Heroes Tax Credit provides an incentive of up to $5,600 for firms to hire unemployed veterans and the Wounded Warrior Tax Credit doubled the existing tax credit for long-term unemployed veterans with service-connected disabilities to $9,600.

• Challenging the private sector to hire or train 100,000 veterans and their spouses by 2013:  Since the President issued his challenge to the private sector in August 2011, already more than 40,000 veterans and the spouses have been hired and 1,500 companies have committed to hire or train 135,000 veterans and their spouses by the end of 2013 through the leadership of the First Lady Michelle Obama, Dr. Jill Biden and their Joining Forces initiative.
• Increasing access to intensive reemployment services:  Post-9/11 veterans are now able to download the Veteran Gold Card, which entitles them to enhanced reemployment services including six months of personalized case management, assessments and counseling at the roughly 3,000 One-Stop Career Centers located across the country. This will help serve the 250,000 unemployed Post-9/11 veterans.

• Developing online tools to boost veteran employment:  The Administration launched the Veterans Jobs Bank, an easy to use tool to help veterans find job postings from companies looking to hire them. It already searches over one million job postings and is growing. Additionally, the Department of Labor launched My Next Move for Veterans, a new online resource that allows veterans to enter their military occupation code and discover civilian occupations for which they are well qualified.

• Increasing hiring of veterans in healthcare-related fields:  The President challenged Community Health Centers to hire 8,000 veterans – approximately one veteran per health center site – over the next three years and the Health Resources and Services Administration pledged to open up career-paths beyond nursing and expand opportunities for veterans to become physician assistants.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
February 02, 2012

Presidential Nominations Sent to the Senate

NOMINATIONS SENT TO THE SENATE:

Jamie A. Hainsworth, of Rhode Island, to be United States Marshal for the District of Rhode Island for the term of four years, vice Steven Gerard O'Donnell, resigned.

Louise W. Kelton, of Tennessee, to be United States Marshal for the Middle District of Tennessee for the term of four years, vice Denny Wade King, term expired.

Stephanie Marie Rose, of Iowa, to be United States District Judge for the Southern District of Iowa, vice Robert W. Pratt, retiring.

Michael P. Shea, of Connecticut, to be United States District Judge for the District of Connecticut, vice Christopher Droney, elevated.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
February 02, 2012

Statement by the Press Secretary on Aerial Bombardments in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile States

The United States strongly condemns the bombing by the Sudanese Armed Forces of civilian populations in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile States in Sudan.  Aerial attacks on civilian targets are unjustified and unacceptable.  Such attacks are a violation of international law and compound the ongoing crisis in these areas. 

We continue to be deeply concerned by the ongoing fighting and lack of humanitarian access in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile States in Sudan, which is causing tremendous human suffering, death, and displacement.  In particular, we urge the Sudanese government to grant immediate and unconditional humanitarian access to civilian populations in need in these areas.  More than 500,000 people are affected by this conflict, and without humanitarian access by March, the situation in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile will reach Stage 4 of a humanitarian emergency, one step short of full-scale famine.  We believe that this conflict can only be resolved by dialogue, not through violence, and we encourage all parties to negotiate a peaceful settlement.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
February 02, 2012

President Obama Nominates Two to Serve as US Marshals

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, President Obama nominated Jamie A. Hainsworth and Louise W. Kelton to serve as United States Marshals.

"These dedicated law enforcement officials have devoted their careers to serving and protecting the American people, distinguishing themselves as the best and brightest at every turn," President Obama said. "I am grateful for their service and honored to nominate them as United States Marshals."

Jamie A. Hainsworth: Nominee for United States Marshal for the District of Rhode Island
Jamie A. Hainsworth serves as the law enforcement liaison and victim advocate for Mothers Against Drunk Driving Rhode Island. Prior to his service with MADD, he spent his law enforcement career with the Gloucester Police Department.  He joined the force in 1979 and rose through the ranks to the Chief of Police position in 1999, a position he held until 2010.  He received his undergraduate degree from Roger Williams University in Rhode Island. 

Louise W. Kelton: Nominee for United States Marshal for the Middle District of Tennessee
Louise W. Kelton has spent her entire law enforcement career with the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department in Nashville, Tennessee.  She joined the force in 1980, and has risen through the ranks to her current position as a Deputy Chief.  She received her undergraduate degree from Tennessee State University and earned a Master of Science degree in Public Service Management from Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tennessee.