The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
January 07, 2015

Remarks by the President on the Resurgence of the American Auto Industry

Michigan Assembly Plant
Wayne, Michigan

4:22 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you, everybody!  (Applause.)  Give Mia a big round of applause for that outstanding introduction.  (Applause.)  Well, hello, Michigan!  (Applause.)  Happy New Year to everybody.

AUDIENCE:  Happy New Year!

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  I love you!

THE PRESIDENT:  I -- what was that?  I love you back.  (Laughter.) 

I want to thank all the outstanding leaders that we’ve got here today.  I want to introduce some of them.  We’ve got Secretary of Labor Tom Perez here.  (Applause.)  We’ve got Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan here.  (Applause.)  Senator Gary Peters is in the house.  (Applause.)  Congresswoman Debbie Dingell is here.  (Applause.)  Your outstanding CEO, Mark Fields, is here.  (Applause.) 

Now, I have to say I love the Secret Service, I love the Beasts that they put me in and -- that’s what we call the cars I drive in, “the Beasts.”  So I like my ride these days.  And it was made in Michigan, too.  (Applause.)  But I just had a chance to look at these new Mustangs, and I’ve got to say that the Mustangs have a little more style, a little more flavor.  (Laughter and applause.)

Bill Ford is in the house.  (Applause.)  Surprisingly enough, we talked a little bit about Sunday.  (Laughter.)  Now, listen, I’m a Bears fan.  You beat us twice.  But even a Bears fan has to admit --

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  We got hosed!

THE PRESIDENT:  -- that that was a little suspect.  (Applause.)  I have never seen anything like that before.  I would have been pretty irritated.  Were you irritated?  Oh, yes. (Laughter.)  But all I can say -- because I’m used to saying this, I’m a Bears fan -- there’s always next year.  (Laughter.)  And look, you’ve got a lot to be hopeful for.  First of all, you’ve got one of the best defenses in the league.  (Applause.)  A fine young quarterback, Megatron.  And if there’s one thing that you can take to the bank when talking about Detroit is that Detroit always comes back.  (Applause.)  Detroit always comes back.  (Applause.)

And that’s why I’m here today.  One of my New Year’s resolutions is to make sure that more Americans in Wayne, more Americans in Michigan, more Americans all across this great country -- that everybody feels like they’re coming back.  And there is no doubt, thanks to the steps that we took early on to rescue our economy and to rebuild it on a new foundation, we are entering into the New Year with new confidence that America is coming back.  (Applause.)

Now, you don’t have to take my word for it.  The facts are the facts.  And let’s face it, a lot of times the media doesn’t like reporting on good news, but every once in a while, it’s important for us to hear some good news, not to make us complacent, but to give us confidence that if we work harder, we can make even more good news. 

So here’s how we begin this year.  Last year, 2014, was the strongest year for job growth since the 1990s.  (Applause.)  Since the 1990s.  (Applause.)  We’ve now had a 57-month streak of private sector job creation.  We’ve created nearly 11 million new jobs.  That’s the longest stretch in our history of private sector, uninterrupted job creation.  (Applause.)  

Here’s another way of thinking about it.  Since 2010, we, America, have put more people back to work than Europe, Japan, and every other advanced economy combined.  (Applause.)  Combined.  (Applause.)  And let me tell you what’s leading the way:  American manufacturing.  After a decade of decline, American manufacturing is in its best stretch of job growth since the 1990s.  Here in Michigan, manufacturers have created more than 100,000 jobs, helping to cut your unemployment rate in half.

So we’re making more stuff.  We’re selling it around the world.  America is the number-one producer of oil, the number-one producer of gas.  It’s helping to save drivers about a buck-ten a gallon at the pump over this time last year.  (Applause.)  And the cars that you make help everybody go a little further on that gallon of gas.  (Applause.)

Thanks to the Affordable Care Act -- also known as Obamacare -- (applause) -- about 10 million Americans gained health insurance just over this last year.  We’ve cut our deficits by about two-thirds.  I’d like people to think about that, because when they do surveys of, like, ordinary folks on the street and they ask them, are the deficits going up or are they coming down, everybody automatically assumes, well, government spending and deficits must be going up.  Deficits have come down by two-thirds since I took office -- by two-thirds.  They’re going down.  (Applause.)  And after 13 long years, our war in Afghanistan has come to a responsible end, which means more of our brave troops have come home and spent time with their families during the holidays.  (Applause.)

So the point is we’re moving.  These six years have been tough, demanded hard work, demanded sacrifice on everybody’s part.  You guys know that more than most.  Which means that as a country, we have every right to be proud of what we’ve got to show for all that hard work. 

America’s resurgence is real.  Don’t let anybody tell you otherwise.  We’ve got the best cards and we are doing better than just about anybody else on Earth.  And now that we’ve got some calmer waters, now that the worst of the crisis is behind us, if we all do our part, if we all pitch in, then we can make sure that this rising tide is actually lifting all the boats, not just some.  We can make sure that the middle class is the engine that powers American prosperity for decades to come.  

And that’s going to be the focus of my State of the Union address in a couple of weeks -- building on the progress that we’ve already made.  But I’ve got to admit I’ve only got two years left in office -- I didn’t want to wait for the State of the Union to talk about all the things that make this country great and how we can make it better.  So I thought I’d get started this week.  (Applause.)  I figured, why wait?  It’s like opening your Christmas presents a little early.

So today I’m here in Detroit, going to talk about the incredible things that have happened in the auto industry and what more we can do with manufacturing.  Tomorrow, I’m going to visit Arizona, a state that was hit about as hard as anybody by the housing crisis, because we want to talk about how we're making homeownership a reality for more middle-class families. 

On Friday, I’m going to go to Tennessee, a state that's making big strides in education, to show how we can help every American get the education they need to get ahead in this new economy. 

But today, I wanted to come here to Michigan because this state proves no matter how tough times get Americans are tougher. (Applause.)  Plus I wanted to see the new Mustang.  (Laughter.) 

Now, let’s just take a minute and think about what you've had to fight through.  A few years ago, nearly one in five autoworkers got a punch in the gut with a pink slip.  The year before I took office, 400,000 jobs vanished in this industry -- 400,000.  Sales plunged 40 percent.  And then as the financial crisis built, we faced what once seemed unimaginable when just two of the Big Three -- GM and Chrysler -- were on the brink of failure. 

Now, this is the heartbeat of American manufacturing right here.  And it was flat-lining.  And we had a choice to make.  We could have kept giving billions of taxpayer dollars to the auto industry without asking for accountability or change in return.  But that would have just kicked the problem down the road.  We could have done nothing, which some people said we should do, and let those companies fail.  But think about what that would have meant for this country.  The suppliers, the distributors, the communities that depend on the workers who patronize the restaurants and shop at the stores, all those companies would have gone under also.

And, look, the fact is nobody was in a stronger position than Ford.  Bill and the team had done a great job steering Ford through tough times, but Bill and others are the first to admit that you could have had a cascading effect if the whole supply chain in the U.S. auto industry starts declining.  Then Ford could have gone under, too.  Plants would have shuttered.  We would have lost this iconic industry, sold for scraps.  And folks like you -- the men and women who built these companies with your hands -- would have been hung out to dry.  And the communities you depended on -- the schoolteachers, the small business owners, the servers in the diner and, let’s face it, the barkeep -- (laughter and applause.)  I’m just saying.  (Laughter.)  Are you a barkeep, or you’re just waving at me?  (Laughter.)  But everybody would have been affected.  Their jobs were at stake, too. 

And it’s more than that.  The jobs in the auto industry have always been about more than a paycheck.  They're a source of pride for generations.  It was representative of what it meant to get into the middle class.  You work hard in this job, you could afford to raise a family, buy a house, go on vacation, retire with some dignity.  You knew you were making something that people could count on.  It meant something.  Every car you sent off the line brought you that step closer to doing the right thing by your family and giving something to your kids, and having a sense of security in your life.  So plants like this one built more than just cars -- they built the middle class in this country.  And that was worth fighting for.  (Applause.)

So in exchange for the help, we demanded responsibility.  We said to the auto industry, you’ve got to change with the times.  Plants retooled.  Plants restructured.  Labor and management worked together, settled their differences.  Everybody put some skin in the game.  Everybody made some sacrifices.  It wasn’t just some, it wasn’t just the workers who gave something up --  everybody.

And that's how things work best, by the way, when everybody is in it -- when workers and businesses work together; when whoever is in the board room and folks on the floor, they both understand they’re in it together.  And we believe America is best when everybody is in it together.  And we rejected the false choice that either unions or businesses could succeed but not both.  We said, you know what, what’s going to work for the company is also going to work for that worker, and vice versa, which means when the company is doing better, then the workers have got to get their share as well.  (Applause.) 

And Ford rejected the false choice that they could either take care of their shareholder or take care of their worker -- they did both.  And the company benefited and America benefited. We believed in shared sacrifice and that shared sacrifice leads to shared prosperity.  

Now, I’ve got to tell you, I was talking to the Detroit News -- they were asking, what was it like when you were making this decision?  I just want everybody to be clear.  It was not popular.  Even in Michigan, it wasn’t popular.  I remember they did a poll and, like, in Michigan, it was like only 10 percent were in favor.  (Laughter.)   And you don’t have to be a genius political analyst to say, 10 percent is not very high.  (Laughter.) 

And, look -- and it wasn’t on my to-do list when I ran for President.  I wasn’t expecting to have to do this.  But I ran not to be just doing the popular things, I ran not just to do the easy things, I ran to do the right thing.  And saving the American auto industry was the right thing to do.  (Applause.)   Betting on you was the right thing to do.  (Applause.)  It was the right thing to do.  And that bet has paid off for America, because the American auto industry is back.  (Applause.)   

Now, part of the reason that we wanted to start this trip here is not just because I wanted to see the new Mustang, not just because the American auto industry is back, but because last month we actually marked a milestone.  Last month, the rescue of the auto industry officially came to an end.  The auto companies have now repaid taxpayers every dime and more of what my administration invested in you.  (Applause.)  You paid the taxpayers back with your hard work, with your dedication.  (Applause.) 

And over the past five years, this industry created about 500,000 new jobs.  Last year, American autoworkers churned out cars faster than any year since 2005.  Ford has brought jobs back from Mexico, created nearly 24,000 new jobs across this country, including 1,800 new jobs right here in this plant.  (Applause.)  And after more than a century since Henry Ford introduced the moving assembly line, you’re reinventing it -- one production line for gas, electric, hybrid, plug-in vehicles.  That’s the first in the world, right here in Wayne, Michigan.  (Applause.)  First in the world.  (Applause.)  That’s always cool when you do something first.  

And you’re helping rebuild the middle class for the 21st century.  Just down the road in Lincoln Park, UAW-Ford Joint Apprenticeship Program is providing workers with hands-on training in the skills that employers need for the jobs of tomorrow.  And nationally, by the way, 87 percent of all apprentices are employed after they complete their apprenticeship program, with an average starting wage of $50,000.  So the more folks we get into apprenticeships, the more folks are getting middle-class jobs.

And that’s why I called on last year for businesses across the country to create more and expand more apprenticeship programs.  And since then, we’ve seen the largest increase in apprenticeships in nearly a decade.  And now my administration is investing $100 million in an American Apprenticeship Grant competition.  We’re going to build on this momentum.  We’re going to expand successful programs.  We want young people to see that they have opportunities.  They don’t all have to go to a four-year college.  They can get an apprenticeship, save some money, start working -- (applause) -- build a family, buy a home, get some Lions tickets.  (Laughter and applause.)  

Because everybody came together here and worked together, folks are better off.  And some of the most high-tech, fuel-efficient, high-powered, heart-pounding, good-looking, well-designed, fuel-efficient cars in the world are once again designed, engineered, forged and built not in Europe, not in Asia, right here in the United States of America.  (Applause.)  Right here in America.  (Applause.) 

So because of you -- because of you, manufacturing has a future in this country.  Management has actually grown faster than other parts of the economy.  And companies are now saying, you know what, we got to get back to America.  We got to relocate.  We were offshore, and now they're saying, oh, oh, America is back.  We better get back in there.  And that means because of you, the middle class has a future in this country.

And the auto industry has proved that any comeback is possible -- and by the way, so has Motor City.  (Applause.)  So has a Motor City.  (Applause.)  A year and a half ago, Detroit became the largest city ever to file for bankruptcy.  Today, under the leadership of Mayor Duggan, Detroit is charting a new course.  Businesses and private investors are making big investments, including Ford, which is helping to launch a tech startup incubator downtown.  New restaurants and stores are popping up.  Residents are fighting blight, securing abandoned homes, cleaning up neglected neighborhoods. 

We’re seeing stories of young people who left town for other opportunities, didn't think they could make it here, and suddenly they're saying, you know what, maybe I want to get back to Detroit -- hoping to be part of the rebirth of this city.

Now, this city still faces big challenges, but you’re coming back.  Just like the auto industry is going to have to continue to come up with new ideas and new designs and address competition.  It never stops.  We got to stay hungry.  We can't be complacent.  Just like America has got to still keep on working.  Just like the Lions got to still come up with a little more work.  (Applause.)  But we're coming back. 

And one thing is for sure -- we may not all root for the Lions, but America is rooting for Detroit.  (Applause.)  America is rooting for Detroit.  (Applause.)  We want the Motor City strong.  And behind the stories of plants and cities and economic data, it’s people.  It’s all of you. 

So I’ll just close with a story of a guy named Ramone -- because we’re rooting for guys like Ramone.  Ramone spent eight years in the military, served in Afghanistan, served in Iraq.  Ramone here?  Raise your hand, Ramone.  (Applause.)

So Ramone is somebody who fought for our freedom, fought for our security.  But sometimes we give lip service to supporting our troops, and then when they come home they get lost.  So when Ramone came home, he had a hard time finding a job because it was a tough economy.  He didn’t want to be a burden on his family, so he moved into a homeless shelter, took whatever work he could get.  And then, one day in 2012, a VA counselor that he’d been working with handed him an application from Ford.  Ford was hiring for new shifts. 

Imagine what Ramone felt the day he knocked on his grandpa’s door -- his grandfather who had spent 25 years building Mustangs in Dearborn -- and Ramone was able to tell his grandfather he got a job at Ford.  (Applause.)  And now Ramone has got his own place.  And now Ramone has got a good job right on the line here in Wayne.  And every day, he’s doing just what his grandfather did.  And he’s proud.  He’s punching in and building some of the best cars in the world.  (Applause.)

If you want to know what America is about, about grit and determination and hard work and sacrifice and looking out for one another and not giving up, think about Ramone.  Think about Detroit.  Think about the auto industry.  Think about the Midwest.  Think about Michigan.  Think about America.

When our assembly lines grind to a halt, we work together, we get them going again.  We don’t give up.  We get up, we fight back.  We come back stronger than before.  Thanks to the hard work of people like you, America is coming back.  And I’m going to be on your side every step of the way.  (Applause.) 

Thank you, Michigan.  God bless you.  God bless America.  (Applause.) 

END
4:47 P.M. EST

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
January 07, 2015

Statement by the President on the Celebration of Orthodox Christmas

Michelle and I wish all Orthodox Christians in the United States and in the diverse Orthodox communities throughout the world a blessed and joyous Christmas.
 
During this season of peace and fellowship, we have been saddened to see that, around the world, some Orthodox communities face difficult times and an uncertain future.  We underscore the United States’ commitment to promoting the freedom of religion that is enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and that is the birthright of every person, everywhere.  We join the Orthodox community this holiday season in celebration and in prayer for greater peace and justice throughout the world.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
January 07, 2015

Readout of the President’s Call with French President Francois Hollande

President Obama called French President Hollande from Air Force One this afternoon to personally offer his condolences and to express solidarity after this morning’s horrific terrorist attack in Paris.  The President reiterated his earlier remarks that our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their loved ones, and that Americans stand beside the people of France in the aftermath of this outrage.  He offered the resources of the United States as France works to identify, apprehend, and bring to justice the perpetrators and anyone who helped plan or enable this terrorist attack.  President Hollande thanked the President for his words of support and provided an update on steps being taken to care for the victims and to arrest those responsible.  He affirmed that France will never waver when faced with such adversity and will continue to defend the values of freedom and tolerance that the French republic and its people so nobly embody.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
January 07, 2015

President Obama Signs Mississippi Disaster Declaration

The President today declared a major disaster exists in the State of Mississippi and ordered federal aid to supplement state, tribal, and local recovery efforts in the area affected by severe storms and tornadoes on December 23, 2014.

Federal funding is available to state, tribal, 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 storms and tornadoes in Marion County.

Federal funding is also available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures statewide. 

W. Craig Fugate, Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Department of Homeland Security, named William C. Watrel 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 state and warranted by the results of further damage assessments.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
January 07, 2015

FACT SHEET: Making Homeownership More Accessible and Sustainable

When President Obama took office, our housing market was in free-fall, and rising unemployment and plunging house prices posed numerous challenges for families and the broader economy.  The President took immediate action to stabilize the housing market and protect the middle class.  These steps helped millions of middle class families stay in their homes, save money on their mortgages, and turn their communities around.

Today, the housing market is on firmer footing. Rising home values have brought millions of families out from being underwater, new foreclosures are at the lowest levels since 2006, and home sales have substantially increased.  The President’s push for tough enforcement against past abuses and strong new consumer protections have helped curb irresponsible lending and have given responsible Americans more confidence and security in their most substantial investment. And the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has pioneered new, streamlined mortgage forms to make simpler and easier for families to buy a house.

Still, there’s more work to do: too many creditworthy families who can afford—and want to purchase—a home are shut out of homeownership opportunities due to today’s tight lending market.

That is why today, the President announced a major new step that his Administration is taking to make mortgages more affordable and accessible for creditworthy families. The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) will reduce annual mortgage insurance premiums by 0.5 percentage point from 1.35 percent to 0.85 percent. For the typical first-time homebuyer, this reduction will translate into a $900 reduction in their annual mortgage payment. Existing homeowners who refinance into an FHA mortgage will see similar reductions to their mortgage payments as well. In total, this action will help millions of families save billions of dollars in mortgage payments in the coming years, helping to support the housing market recovery. The new premium level is fully consistent with the FHA’s commitment to continue strengthening its financial health through growing reserves. At the same time, full documentation and continued strong underwriting means lending will remain prudent and sustainable – benefitting both homeowners and FHA.

This step is part of the President’s broader effort to expand responsible lending to creditworthy borrowers and increase access to sustainable rental housing for families not ready or wanting to buy a home. In the coming months the Administration will be taking additional steps to cut red tape and clarify lending standards to build on the measures announced today. And the Administration will continue to urge bipartisan progress in Congress to pass comprehensive housing finance reform legislation that will secure a stable and resilient housing finance system – one that will ensure broad access to mortgages at affordable rates and better serve future generations. 

 Making Homeownership More Accessible and Sustainable

Ø  Reduce FHA Premiums to Help Make Mortgages More Affordable:
Ø  FHA is reducing annual FHA mortgage insurance premiums by 0.5 percentage point from 1.35 percent to 0.85 percent, an average savings of $900 annually for new borrowers.

Ø  Lowered premiums will help more than 800,000 homeowners save on their monthly mortgage costs and enable up to 250,000 new homebuyers to purchase a home.

Ø  These steps will help support home sales, lower housing expenses for affected households, and help bring more balance to the housing market. 

Ø  Build on Successful Policies that Have Helped Lead the Housing Recovery:
Ø  Today’s action builds on the successful steps the Administration started taking immediately after the President took office – actions that helped create today’s strong recovery in housing.

Ø  The Administration’s mortgage modifications, private modifications, and other federal mortgage assistance have helped over 8 million borrowers, more than twice the number of foreclosure completions; more than 3 million borrowers have saved money through refinancing; and the Administration has invested billions in neighborhood stabilization and anti-blight initiatives.

Ø  Today, the housing market continues to strengthen: house prices are up nearly 30 percent from crisis lows; 10 million fewer borrowers are underwater with homes worth less than their mortgages; and new foreclosures are at a 9-year low.

Ø  The President continues to strongly support long-term housing finance reform through legislation that requires private capital to take the risks and rewards in mortgage lending while preserving broad and affordable access for all creditworthy families.

Ø  Preserve Sound Underwriting and Strong Consumer Protections:
Ø  FHA will continue to preserve sound underwriting standards with full documentation requirements and a prudent evaluation of a borrower’s ability to sustain payments.

Ø  CFPB and others will continue to monitor and enforce important consumer protections that helped eliminate the worst lending practices of the past so that mortgages are underwritten in a more sustainable manner. 

Ø  Continue to Strengthen FHA’s Financial Health:
Ø  Even after today’s reduction, FHA annual mortgage insurance premiums will remain at 0.85 percent, higher than historic norms.

Ø  Even with this reduction, FHA is projected to add $7 to $10 billion annually in new capital reserves – in part due to improved risk management and credit policies – and maintain a positive financial trajectory for the Mutual Mortgage Insurance (MMI) Fund.

Reduce FHA Premiums to Help Make Mortgages More Affordable

  • FHA is reducing annual FHA mortgage insurance premiums by 0.5 percentage points from 1.35 percent to 0.85 percent. This reduction in premiums will produce an average savings of $900 annually for all new FHA borrowers.

  • More than 800,000 FHA borrowers are projected to take advantage of these lower rates in the first year, saving millions of dollars in total.

  • Lowered premiums will create opportunities for 250,000 new homeowners to purchase a home over the next three years. In recent years, many aspiring homeowners have been waiting on the sidelines before buying a new home. By making mortgages more affordable and helping create further confidence among those wanting to buy a home, the FHA premium reduction will help hundreds of thousands of additional families own a home for the first time.

  • The new home buying activity and benefits of the cost savings to borrowers will help further strengthen the housing market. An increase in first-time homebuyers and more affordable mortgages will help spur more residential construction and help create new jobs in the housing sector.

Preserve Sound Underwriting and Strong Consumer Protections

  • FHA will preserve sound underwriting standards with full documentation requirements and a prudent evaluation of a borrower’s ability to sustain payments. Today’s lending standards are not only tighter than the pre-crisis period, but also much tighter than historical norms. Since 2009 FHA has instituted a credit score floor and required manual underwriting for higher-risk borrowers. Continued access will only be extended to borrowers who can sustain their payments on a well-underwritten and fully documented mortgage.

  • The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and others continue to develop and implement important consumer protections that helped eliminate the worst lending practices of the past so that mortgages are underwritten in a more sustainable manner.  These improvements came because the President fought for and signed into law the strongest consumer protections in history.  The Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act tasked the CFPB with protecting families making financial decisions. The first-ever independent consumer watchdog, the CFPB protects middle class families by making it safer and simpler to apply for a mortgage and know that it is sustainable.  To this end, the CFPB has done the following:

o   Required lenders to evaluate a borrower’s ability to repay their loan, so homeownership can once again help families build long-term wealth.

o   Prohibited lenders from paying bonuses for putting borrowers into more expensive loans.

o   Created rules to ensure borrowers understand their loans and receive timely and useful information about their monthly payments and any upcoming changes to their loan.

o   Set additional protections for those borrowers who are offered riskier, higher-cost mortgages.

o   Established a consumer help hotline that has already addressed more than [175,000] complaints and helps keep CFPB informed of new problems facing families so it can better address new challenges.

o   Required servicers to make good faith efforts to contact delinquent borrowers and inform them of their options to avoid foreclosure as well as ensure certain other borrower protections are followed. 

Continue to Strengthen FHA’s Financial Health

  • Even after today’s reduction, FHA annual mortgage insurance premiums will be at 0.85 percent, above the historic norms of roughly 0.55 percent. Upfront premiums and the life-of-loan MIP structure will remain unchanged. This robust premium structure will more than cover the related estimated credit losses posed to the insurance fund from newly originated loans, continuing to strengthen the Fund and protect taxpayers.

  • This reduction will continue to allow FHA to maintain a positive financial trajectory for the Mutual Mortgage Insurance (MMI) Fund. FHA is projected to add $7-$10 billion annually in new capital reserves each year, as a result of improved risk management and a stronger housing market.

  • FHA’s Office of Risk Management will continue to monitor and ensure effective credit risk management and loss mitigation. The Office will highlight changes that would strengthen credit policies and reduce losses on claims, ensuring that financial reserves will continue to grow.

  • Build on Successful Policies that Have Helped Lead the Housing Recovery

  • The President’s housing policies have helped the housing recovery continue to strengthen. Helped by the Administration’s programs, the housing market is turning around. Homebuilding has more than doubled since crisis lows, spurring job growth in construction and other housing-related sectors. Meanwhile, strengthening home prices have brought millions of families out from being underwater and put hundreds of billions of dollars in wealth back in the pockets of America’s middle class.

o   Year over year home prices have risen for 32 straight months, and are up nearly 30 percent since crisis lows. Rising prices have brought nearly 10 million families out from being underwater since the beginning of 2012, cutting the number of homeowners who are underwater—with homes worth less than their mortgages—by nearly 80 percent.

o   Housing wealth is growing again, with owners’ equity up more than $4 trillion since hitting a low at the beginning of 2009.

o   Homebuilding continues to come back, leading to an upswing in construction jobs. The annual rate of housing starts has recently been more than double its April 2009 low of 478,000, while the number of residential construction jobs continues to rebound.

o   Existing single-family home sales have increased as much as 50 percent from their crisis low and are close to historical norms of about 5.0 million units.

o   The number of mortgages more than 90 days delinquent has decreased by more than 50 percent to under 2 million loans, the lowest level since 2008.

  • The recovery has been driven by Administration actions to stabilize and heal our housing market. Within a month of taking office, the President launched a series of housing initiatives to help millions of homeowners stay in their homes or transition into sustainable housing opportunities. This relief was provided through a combination of direct assistance and through setting important industry standards and templates that transformed the way the industry responded to the crisis. Among other important actions, the Administration:

o   Launched mortgage modification initiatives that have led to more than 8 million homeowners getting government or private sector relief– twice as many as those who went through foreclosure during the last six years. The Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) has helped over 1.4 million borrowers through permanent loan modifications.  Combined with 2.5 million Federal Housing Administration (FHA) homeowner interventions and the 4.2 million helped through private lender programs largely modeled after the HAMP template, more than 8 million homeowners have been helped.

o   Worked with regulators to create refinancing opportunities for millions of underwater borrowers through the Home Affordable Refinancing Program (HARP), with more than 3.2 million families helped through September 2014, and helped additional borrowers refinance underwater mortgages through FHA’s Short Refinance Program.

o   Established the Hardest Hit Fund (HHF) and committed $7.6 billion in resources to states to develop locally-tailored programs that reduce blight and assist struggling homeowners in their communities, helping over 200,000 borrowers with programs that reduce principal or help them bridge unemployment.

o   Allocated $7 billion through HUD’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) to address foreclosed and abandoned homes in thousands of neighborhoods.  NSP is projected to support close to 90,000 jobs and treat over 100,000 properties – including those with affordable rental and homeownership units – creating a positive ripple effect throughout communities. 

o   Negotiated the National Mortgage Servicing Settlement with 49 state Attorneys General to hold banks accountable and assist struggling homeowners. The Settlement has provided over 600,000 homeowners more than $50 billion in committed relief.

o   In FY 2014, the Department of Justice filed more than 150 mortgage fraud cases, and obtained convictions of more than 600 defendants. The Department's mortgage fraud efforts in that same period also resulted in recoveries of more than $3 billion.

o   Other key efforts included launching an Office of Housing Counseling at HUD that has assisted more than 9 million families, and rehousing or providing assistance to remain housed to 1.3 million homeless or at-risk Americans – including veterans – through the Homeless Prevention and Rapid Rehousing Program (HPRP). In the last four years, veteran homelessness is down 33 percent nationwide, and unsheltered veteran homelessness has been reduced by 43 percent.

  • Continue to cut red tape so responsible families can get a mortgage. While progress has been made, there are still millions of families with strong enough credit profiles to qualify for a mortgage but who are nonetheless being denied loans by lenders. The Administration will not tolerate a return to shoddy underwriting or unsustainable mortgage lending, but believes there are too many middle-class families with good credit by historical standards who remain shut out in today’s tight market and deserve a chance to buy their own home. HUD and independent agencies like the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) are working with stakeholders to clarify put-back and indemnification policies and enhance lender understanding of these policies to encourage originators to extend lending to all creditworthy families.

  • Lay the foundation of a stronger housing finance system for middle class families and economic stability. The President believes it is time to turn the page on the flaws of the past and build a new sustainable housing finance system that will provide a path to secure homeownership for responsible middle class families. The President continues to support long-term reform centered on several core principles: require more private capital in the system; end the failed Fannie/Freddie duopoly business model in order to improve system stability and better protect taxpayers; ensure broad access for all creditworthy families to sustainable products like the 30-year fixed rate mortgage in good times and bad; and help ensure sustainable rental options are widely available. As in the past, the President stands ready to work with members of Congress in both parties to enact commonsense housing finance legislation based on these core principles.

  • Strengthen access to affordable rental housing. The President has consistently supported policies to expand access to affordable rental housing for families who are not ready for, or who do not want to own their own home. Important efforts have included pushing for greater funding for affordable housing such as through programs like the Housing Trust and Capital Magnet Funds, protecting the affordable rental housing market during the economic crisis through HUD’s Tax Credit Assistance Program and Treasury’s Credit Exchange Program, and the launch of a Treasury program that partnered with state and local housing finance agencies to enable the development and rehabilitation of 40,000 affordable rental units. Recently, HUD and Treasury successfully rolled-out another partnership to help state and local housing agencies finance affordable rental housing at significantly lower interest rates, starting with the rebuilding of a 1,100 apartment complex after Superstorm Sandy in Queens, NY. More broadly, the Administration will continue its push for expanding support for affordable rental housing, and reducing barriers to housing development that increase housing costs and prevent working families from accessing jobs.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
January 07, 2015

Remarks by the President on the Terrorist Attack in Paris

Oval Office

12:18 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT:  I've reached out to President Hollande of France and hope to have the opportunity to talk to him today.  But I thought it was appropriate for me to express my deepest sympathies to the people of Paris and the people of France for the terrible terrorist attack that took place earlier today.

I think that all of us recognize that France is one of our oldest allies, our strongest allies.  They have been with us at every moment when we've -- from 9/11 on, in dealing with some of the terrorist organizations around the world that threaten us.  For us to see the kind of cowardly evil attacks that took place today I think reinforces once again why it's so important for us to stand in solidarity with them, just as they stand in solidarity with us.

The fact that this was an attack on journalists, attack on our free press, also underscores the degree to which these terrorists fear freedom -- of speech and freedom of the press.  But the one thing that I'm very confident about is that the values that we share with the French people, a belief -- a universal belief in the freedom of expression, is something that can't be silenced because of the senseless violence of the few.

And so our counterterrorism cooperation with France is excellent.  We will provide them with every bit of assistance that we can going forward.  I think it's going to be important for us to make sure that we recognize these kinds of attacks can happen anywhere in the world.  And one of the things I'll be discussing with Secretary Kerry today is to make sure that we remain vigilant not just with respect to Americans living in Paris, but Americans living in Europe and in the Middle East and other parts of the world, and making sure that we stay vigilant in trying to protect them -- and to hunt down and bring the perpetrators of this specific act to justice, and to roll up the networks that help to advance these kinds of plots.

In the end, though, the most important thing I want to say is that our thoughts and prayers are with the families of those who’ve been lost in France, and with the people of Paris and the people of France.  What that beautiful city represents -- the culture and the civilization that is so central to our imaginations -- that's going to endure.  And those who carry out senseless attacks against innocent civilians, ultimately they’ll be forgotten.  And we will stand with the people of France through this very, very difficult time.

Thank you very much, everybody.

END
12:22 P.M. EST

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
January 07, 2015

Presidential Nominations Sent to the Senate

NOMINATIONS SENT TO THE SENATE:

Alfred H. Bennett, of Texas, to be United States District Judge for the Southern District of Texas, vice Kenneth M. Hoyt, retired.

Armando Omar Bonilla, of the District of Columbia, to be a Judge of the United States Court of Federal Claims for a term of fifteen years, vice Edward J. Damich, term expired.

Jeanne E. Davidson, of Maryland, to be a Judge of the United States Court of International Trade, vice Donald C. Pogue, retired.

Ann Donnelly, of New York, to be United States District Judge for the Eastern District of New York, vice Sandra L. Townes, retiring.

Dale A. Drozd, of California, to be United States District Judge for the Eastern District of California, vice Anthony W. Ishii, retired.

Nancy B. Firestone, of Virginia, to be a Judge of the United States Court of Federal Claims for a term of fifteen years.  (Reappointment)

Michael Greco, of New York, to be United States Marshal for the Southern District of New York for the term of four years, vice Joseph R. Guccione, term expired.

Thomas L. Halkowski, of Pennsylvania, to be a Judge of the United States Court of Federal Claims for a term of fifteen years, vice Lynn Jeanne Bush, term expired.

LaShann Moutique DeArcy Hall, of New York, to be United States District Judge for the Eastern District of New York, vice Nicholas G. Garaufis, retired.

George C. Hanks, Jr., of Texas, to be United States District Judge for the Southern District of Texas, vice Nancy Friedman Atlas, retired.

Roseann A. Ketchmark, of Missouri, to be United States District Judge for the Western District of Missouri, vice Gary A. Fenner, retiring.

Patricia M. McCarthy, of Maryland, to be a Judge of the United States Court of Federal Claims for a term of fifteen years, vice Emily Clark Hewitt, retired.

Travis Randall McDonough, of Tennessee, to be United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Tennessee, vice Curtis L. Collier, retired.

Ronald Lee Miller, of Kansas, to be United States Marshal for the District of Kansas for the term of four years, vice Walter Robert Bradley, retired.

Jose Rolando Olvera, Jr., of Texas, to be United States District Judge for the Southern District of Texas, vice Hilda G. Tagle, retired.

Jill N. Parrish, of Utah, to be United States District Judge for the District of Utah, vice Dee V. Benson, retired.

Luis Felipe Restrepo, of Pennsylvania, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Third Circuit, vice Anthony J. Scirica, retired.

Jeri Kaylene Somers, of Virginia, to be a Judge of the United States Court of Federal Claims for a term of fifteen years, vice George W. Miller, retired.

Kara Farnandez Stoll, of Virginia, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Federal Circuit, vice Randall R. Rader, retired.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
January 07, 2015

Presidential Nominations Sent to the Senate

NOMINATIONS SENT TO THE SENATE:

Ashton B. Carter, of Massachusetts, to be Secretary of Defense, vice Charles Timothy Hagel.

Allan R. Landon, of Utah, to be a Member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System for the unexpired term of fourteen years from February 1, 2002, vice Sarah Bloom Raskin, resigned.

Allan R. Landon, of Utah, to be a Member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System for the term of fourteen years from February 1, 2016.  (Reappointment)

Loretta E. Lynch, of New York, to be Attorney General, vice Eric H. Holder, Jr.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
January 07, 2015

Statement by the President on the Attack in France

I strongly condemn the horrific shooting at the offices of Charlie Hebdo magazine in Paris that has reportedly killed 12 people. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims of this terrorist attack and the people of France at this difficult time. France is America’s oldest ally, and has stood shoulder to shoulder with the United States in the fight against terrorists who threaten our shared security and the world. Time and again, the French people have stood up for the universal values that generations of our people have defended. France, and the great city of Paris where this outrageous attack took place, offer the world a timeless example that will endure well beyond the hateful vision of these killers. We are in touch with French officials and I have directed my Administration to provide any assistance needed to help bring these terrorists to justice.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
January 06, 2015

Statement by NSC Spokesperson Bernadette Meehan on Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Lisa O. Monaco’s Meeting with Prince Khaled bin Bandar bin Abdalaziz Al Saud

Today, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Lisa Monaco met with Prince Khaled bin Bandar bin Abdalaziz Al Saud, the Head of Saudi Arabia’s General Intelligence Presidency, to discuss U.S.-Saudi cooperation and consult on regional security issues.  On behalf of the President, Ms. Monaco offered condolences to Saudi Arabia for the deaths of Saudi security personnel who were killed in an ISIL attack along the border with Iraq.  She thanked Prince Khaled for Saudi Arabia’s contributions to the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL and underscored its important role in upholding regional peace and security.  On Yemen, they reviewed recent developments and discussed continued cooperation following senior-level U.S.-Saudi consultations at the White House last month regarding joint support for the stability and security of Yemen.  They also discussed Saudi Arabia’s efforts to engage the new government of Iraq, the need to find a political settlement to the Syrian conflict, and other regional issues, including Iran.