The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
January 10, 2012

President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts

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

  • Nancy E. Soderberg – Chairperson, Public Interest Declassification Board
  • Elizabeth Rindskopf Parker – Member, Public Interest Declassification Board
  • Peter H. Bell – Member, President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities
  • Jack Martin Brandt – Member, President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities

President Obama said, “I am honored that these talented individuals have decided to join this Administration and serve our country.  I look forward to working with them in the months and years to come.”

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

Ambassador Nancy E. Soderberg, Appointee for Chairperson, Public Interest Declassification Board
Ambassador Nancy E. Soderberg is the President of the Connect U.S. Fund, a non-profit organization that focuses on promoting U.S. global engagement.  In addition, she is a Distinguished Visiting Scholar at the University of North Florida and the President and CEO of Soderberg Global Solutions.  Ambassador Soderberg served as Vice President of the International Crisis Group from 2001 until 2005.  She was the U.S. Representative for Special Political Affairs at the United Nations from 1997 to 2001, with the rank of Ambassador, and Staff Director of the National Security Council and Deputy Assistant to the President from 1993 until 1997.  From 1985 to 1992, she served as a Foreign Policy Advisor to Senator Edward M. Kennedy.  Ambassador Soderberg has written The Superpower Myth: The Use and Misuse of American Might and co-authored, with Brian Katulis, The Prosperity Agenda: What the World Wants from America - and What We Need in Return.  She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.  She earned a B.A. from Vanderbilt University and an M.S. from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service.

Elizabeth Rindskopf Parker, Appointee for Member, Public Interest Declassification Board
Elizabeth Rindskopf Parker has served as the Dean of the McGeorge School of Law at the University of the Pacific since 2002.  She served as General Counsel for the University of Wisconsin system from 1999 to 2002 and General Counsel for the Central Intelligence Agency from 1990 until 1995.  Prior to joining the Central Intelligence Agency, Ms. Parker was the Principal Deputy Legal Adviser for the U.S. Department of State from 1989 to 1990 and the General Counsel for the National Security Agency from 1984 until 1989.  Earlier in her career, Ms. Parker practiced civil rights law for a decade with the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc., the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, and later was counsel to the law firms of Bryan Cave, LLP and Surrey and Morse, LLP.  Ms. Parker was first appointed to the Public Interest Declassification Board in 2004.  She received a B.A. and J.D. from the University of Michigan.

Peter H. Bell, Appointee for Member, President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities
Peter H. Bell is the Executive Vice President for Programs & Services at Autism Speaks, a position he has held since 2007.  From 2004 to 2007, Mr. Bell was the President and Chief Executive Officer of Cure Autism Now, where he helped to establish the Autism Treatment Network.  Prior to his work at Cure Autism Now, Mr. Bell held a number of marketing positions at McNeil Consumer Healthcare from 1992 to 2004.  Mr. Bell serves on numerous boards and commissions, including as Co-Founder and President of Advancing Futures for Adults with Autism and chair of the Community Advisory Committee for the International Society for Autism Research.  Previously, in 2007, he served as Chair of the Integration Panel of the Department of Defense Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs for autism research.  He is also the father of a child with autism.  Mr. Bell received a B.S. from Cornell University and an M.B.A. from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.

Jack Martin Brandt, Appointee for Member, President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities
Jack Martin Brandt is the Disability Policy Specialist for the Partnership for People with Disabilities at Virginia Commonwealth University, a position he has held since 2010.  In this role, Mr. Brandt’s work focuses on developing and promoting evidence-based and person-centered practices to improve outcomes in self-advocacy for people with intellectual and development disabilities.  Previously, Mr. Brandt was the Disability Rights Advocate at the Virginia Office for Protection & Advocacy from 2008 to 2010, a Disability Policy Consultant for the State of Virginia from 2006 to 2008, a Virginia Governor’s Fellow at the Office of Community Integration for People with Disabilities in 2006, and a Congressional Intern for the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee in 2005.  Mr. Brandt serves on the Virginia Community Integration Advisory Commission and the Virginia Statewide Independent Living Council.  In 2006, Mr. Brandt received the Jackie Crews Award for Excellence in Leadership from the Virginia Board for People with Disabilities.  Mr. Brandt received a B.A. from James Madison University and is pursuing a Master of Science degree in Rehabilitation Counseling from Virginia Commonwealth University.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
January 10, 2012

Readout of the President's Meeting with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal

President Obama met with Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prince Saud Al-Faisal today in the Oval Office.  The President and Prince Saud affirmed the strong partnership between the United States and Saudi Arabia and discussed recent developments on key regional issues of mutual interest.  The President asked Prince Saud to convey his best wishes to King Abdullah bin Abd Al-Aziz Al Saud.
 

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
January 10, 2012

President Obama Announces New White House Director of Domestic Policy Council Cecilia Muñoz

Washington, DC – Today, January 10th, the White House announced that current Director of Intergovernmental Affairs Cecilia Muñoz will now serve as the Director of the Domestic Policy Council.  Ms. Munoz will coordinate the policy-making process and supervise the execution of domestic policy in the White House.

“Over the past three years, Cecilia has been a trusted advisor who has demonstrated sound judgment day in and day out,” said President Obama. “Cecilia has done an extraordinary job working on behalf of middle class families, and I’m confident she’ll bring the same unwavering dedication to her new position.”

Cecilia Muñoz currently serves as Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Intergovernmental Affairs where she oversees the Obama Administration’s relationships with state and local governments. As Director of Intergovernmental Affairs under Valerie Jarrett, Ms. Muñoz leads a partnership between federal, state, local, and tribal governments that Governing magazine described as “more prominent and responsive than it ever was,” citing praise from local and state elected officials from across the political spectrum.  Under Muñoz’s leadership, this partnership has brought the voices of local elected officials and the people they represent into the White House in the development and execution of policies to address local challenges in the economy, health care, disaster relief, and transportation infrastructure among others.

Ms. Muñoz also leads the Administration’s efforts to fix the broken immigration system so that it meets America’s 21st century economic and security needs. In addition, she serves as Co-Chair of the President’s Task Force on Puerto Rico’s Status, which has worked to not only continue to address the question of the island’s political status, but also partnered with local officials to address immediate concerns over jobs and the economy, health care, education, the environment, energy, and infrastructure.

Prior to joining the Obama Administration, Muñoz served as Senior Vice President for the Office of Research, Advocacy, and Legislation at the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the nation’s largest Latino civil rights organization.  She supervised NCLR’s policy staff covering a variety of issues of importance to Latinos, including civil rights, employment, poverty, farmworker issues, education, health, housing, and immigration.  Her particular area of expertise is immigration policy, which she covered at NCLR for twenty years. 

Ms. Muñoz is the former Chair of the Board of Center for Community Change, and served on the U.S. Programs Board of the Open Society Institute and the Board of Directors of the Atlantic Philanthropies and the National Immigration Forum.  In June 2000, she was awarded a MacArthur Foundation fellowship in recognition of her work on immigration and civil rights.

Ms. Muñoz is the daughter of immigrants from Bolivia and was born in Detroit, Michigan.  She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and her master’s degree from the University of California at Berkeley.  In 2007, she served as the Towsley Foundation Policymaker in Residence at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan.  

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
January 10, 2012

Statement by the Press Secretary on the Visit of King Abdullah II of Jordan

President Obama will host King Abdullah II of Jordan at the White House on Tuesday, January 17.  The President looks forward to discussing a broad range of bilateral and regional economic and security issues during their Oval Office meeting, including King Abdullah’s leadership in advancing our shared goal of a negotiated peace between Israel and the Palestinians.  The President also welcomes the opportunity to underscore the strong bonds of friendship between the United States and Jordan, and to demonstrate support for the political reforms that King Abdullah II is leading to produce a government that is more transparent, inclusive, and responsive to the aspirations of the Jordanian people.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
January 09, 2012

Readout of the President’s Call with Jamaican Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller

Earlier today, President Obama called Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller of Jamaica to congratulate her on her recent electoral victory and to commend the Jamaican people for their dedication to democracy. The Leaders discussed their shared responsibility for enhancing citizen security and underscored the importance of economic growth in advancing the well being of all Jamaicans. President Obama also underscored the strong bonds of friendship between the American and Jamaican people, which includes the contributions of so many Jamaican-Americans. The President said that he looked forward to working with the Prime Minister on bilateral and regional issues at the Summit of the Americas, which will occur in April 2012 in Cartagena, Colombia.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
January 08, 2012

Readout of the President's call to Representative Gabrielle Giffords

Today, President Obama called Representative Gabrielle Giffords to offer his support in advance of the candlelight vigil commemorating the anniversary of the tragic shooting in Tucson.  The President told Rep. Giffords that he and the First Lady keep her, the families of the fallen, and the whole Tucson community in their daily thoughts and prayers and, along with the entire nation, continue to join her in mourning those lost. The President expressed amazement at the courage and determination Rep. Giffords has shown along her incredible road to recovery, calling her an inspiration to his family and Americans across the country.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
January 07, 2012

President Obama Hosts "Insourcing American Jobs" Forum at the White House

On Wednesday, January 11, 2012, President Obama and Vice President Biden will host an “Insourcing American Jobs” forum at the White House focused on the increasing trend of companies choosing to “insource” jobs and invest in growing in the United States.

As part of the “Insourcing American Jobs” forum, the President will meet with business leaders, as well as experts on the topic, to discuss why it’s competitive to locate in the United States and what more can be done to work with companies to take similar steps to insource American jobs. Following the meeting, the President will deliver remarks to a group that will include leaders from the government and the private sector that are taking steps to encourage companies to insource and invest in America. In the afternoon, Cabinet officials will host panel discussions with both small and large businesses and experts on insourcing and investing in America.

Over a dozen large and small businesses that have made decisions to bring jobs to the United States and to increase their investments here will attend the forum.  Attendees include:

• Master Lock: Master Lock is the world's largest manufacturer of padlocks and related security products. Since mid-2010, Master Lock has returned approximately 100 jobs back to Milwaukee, WI that had previously been off-shored. The decision to bring these jobs back was partially motivated by economic reasons related to increasingly higher labor and logistics costs in Asia, and further, ongoing labor availability challenges especially in the coastal areas of China, which have negatively impacted continuity in supply to its key customers. Master Lock plans to continue bringing jobs back to Wisconsin, citing a more competitive overall cost structure, greater control, and the ability to provide better service to its customers.

• Lincolnton Furniture: Lincolnton Furniture, a small specialty furniture maker opening in North Carolina, is adding 130 new jobs and re-starting operations at a once vacant plant.  Bruce Cochrane, the current owner and CEO, comes from a family that manufactured furniture in North Carolina.  The family business was sold and eventually the new owners moved manufacturing to China.  Bruce worked as a consultant in Asia for twelve years, importing furniture to the US.  Two years ago, he decided the time was right to start his own furniture company back in the US, in North Carolina, in the same plant his family once ran.  He recently opened operations and is adding 130 jobs to the area.

• GalaxE Solutions: GalaxE.Solutions was established in 1990 and specializes in custom software application development for Fortune 50 corporations, with a particular focus on health care. A little over a year ago the company created the "Outsource To Detroit" program that is a model for repatriating jobs back to the United States. Key benefits include complex, quality solutions, geographic proximity to U.S. customers, cost efficiencies, and elimination of linguistic issues. GalaxE.Solutions opened operations in Detroit in 2010 and, with 150 professionals on board, is well on its way to its goal of hiring 500 IT specialists. The firm is also working with the area's universities and community colleges to train and retrain IT professionals for the future. 

• DuPont: As part of broad investments the company is making across its portfolio, DuPont started up a new $500 million plant last year to produce Kevlar anti-ballistic fiber near Charleston, South Carolina, that created over 500 construction and 135 full time jobs.  The company has made a recent $150 million investment in an expansion of its photovoltaic film production in Circleville, Ohio creating over 70 jobs, and is investing some $150 million to expand agricultural research in Iowa, Pennsylvania and Delaware creating over 500 jobs.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
January 07, 2012

WEEKLY ADDRESS: Continuing to Grow the Economy in the New Year

WASHINGTON, DC—In this week’s address, President Obama shared his New Year’s resolution with the American people: to do whatever it takes to move the economy forward and make sure that middle class families regain the security they’ve lost in the last decade.  This is why the President appointed Richard Cordray this week to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to protect American consumers. And while we learned that the United States economy continues to add private sector jobs – with over 1.9 million created in 2011 – more needs to be done to move the economy forward. The President will also announce in this week’s address that he will host an “Insourcing American Jobs” forum at the White House on Wednesday to hear from business leaders who are bringing jobs back home and see how we can get others to follow their lead.

Remarks of President Barack Obama
Weekly Address
The White House
Saturday, January 7, 2012

Hello, everybody.

This week, I traveled to Cleveland, Ohio, to talk with folks about the biggest challenge we face as a country – rebuilding our economy so that, once again, hard work pays off, responsibility is rewarded, and anyone, regardless of who they are or where they come from, can make it if they try.  That’s the economy America deserves.  That’s the economy I’m fighting every day to build.

Now, to get there, the most important thing we need to do is get more Americans back to work.  And over the past three years, we’ve made steady progress.  We just learned that our economy added 212,000 private sector jobs in December.  After losing more than 8 million jobs in the recession, we’ve added more than 3 million private sector jobs over the past 22 months.  And we’re starting 2012 with manufacturing on the rise and the American auto industry on the mend.

We’re heading in the rightdirection.  And we’re not going to let up.  On Wednesday the White House will host a forum called “Insourcing American Jobs.”  We’ll hear from business leaders who are bringing jobs back home and see how we can help other businesses follow their lead.

Because this is a make or break moment for the middle class and all those working to get there.  We’ve got to keep at it. We’ve got to keep creating jobs.  And we’ve got to keep rebuilding our economy so that everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share – and everyone plays by the same rules.  We can’t go back to the days when the financial system was stacking the deck against ordinary Americans.  To me, that’s not an option. Not after all we’ve been through.

That’s why I appointed Richard Cordray as our nation’s new consumer watchdog this week.  Richard’s job is simple: to look out for you.  Every day, his sole mission is to protect consumers from potential abuses by the financial industry and to make sure that you’ve got all the transparent information you need to make the important financial decisions in your lives.

I nominated Richard for this job last summer.  And yet, Republicans in the Senate kept blocking his confirmation – not because they objected to him, but because they wanted to weaken his agency.  That made no sense. Every day we waited was a day you and consumers all across the country were at greater financial risk.

So this year, I’m going to keep doing whatever it takes to move this economy forward and to make sure that middle class families regain the security they’ve lost over the past decade.  That’s my New Year’s resolution to all of you.  Thank you, and have a great weekend.

###

The White House

Office of the Vice President

For Immediate Release
January 06, 2012

Readout of the Vice President’s Call with the Prime Minister of Kuwait

Vice President Biden spoke by phone today with His Excellency Prime Minister Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah of Kuwait. The Vice President congratulated the Prime Minister on his recent appointment to that office. The leaders affirmed the close bilateral relations between the two countries and discussed a range of regional issues. The Vice President reaffirmed the strong U.S. commitment to the security of the region and of our partners.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
January 06, 2012

President Obama Signs Massachusetts Disaster Declaration

The President today declared a major disaster exists in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and ordered Federal aid to supplement commonwealth and local recovery efforts in the area affected by a severe storm and snowstorm during the period of October 29-30, 2011.

Federal funding is available to commonwealth and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and the repair or replacement of facilities damaged by the severe storm and snowstorm in the counties of Berkshire, Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire, Middlesex, and Worcester.

Federal funding also is available to commonwealth and eligible local governments on a cost-sharing basis for snow assistance for a continuous 48-hour period during or proximate to the incident period in Berkshire, Franklin, Hampden, and Hampshire Counties.

Federal funding is also available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures for all counties in the commonwealth.

W. Craig Fugate, Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Department of Homeland Security, named Mark H. Landry as the Federal Coordinating Officer for federal recovery operations in the affected area.

FEMA said additional designations may be made at a later date if requested by the commonwealth and warranted by the results of further damage assessments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION MEDIA SHOULD CONTACT: FEMA NEWS DESK AT (202) 646-3272 OR FEMA-NEWS-DESK@DHS.GOV