President Barack Obama Weekly Address February 26, 2011 (Video/Transcipt)

Remarks of President Barack Obama
As Prepared for Delivery
February 26, 2011
Washington, DC

Over the last month, I’ve been traveling the country, talking to Americans about how we can out-educate, out-innovate, and out-build the rest of the world. Doing that will require a government that lives within its means, and cuts whatever spending we can afford to do without.  But it will also require investing in our nation’s future – training and educating our workers; increasing our commitment to research and technology; building new roads and bridges, high-speed rail and high-speed internet.

In cities and towns throughout America, I’ve seen the benefits of these investments.  The schools and colleges of Oregon are providing Intel – the state’s largest private employer – with a steady stream of highly-educated workers and engineers.  At Parkville Middle School outside of Baltimore, engineering is the most popular subject, thanks to outstanding teachers who are inspiring students to focus on their math and science skills.

In Wisconsin, a company called Orion is putting hundreds of people to work manufacturing energy-efficient lights in a once-shuttered plant.  And in the small community of Marquette, in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, widely accessible high-speed internet has allowed students and entrepreneurs to connect to the global economy.  One small business, a third-generation, family-owned clothing shop called Getz’s is now selling their products online, which has helped them double their workforce and make them one of America’s 5,000 fastest-growing companies in a recent listing.

Each of these places reminds us that investments in education, innovation, and infrastructure are an essential down payment on our future. But they also remind us that the only way we can afford these investments is by getting our fiscal house in order.  Just like any family, we have to live within our means to make room for things we absolutely need.

That’s why I’ve called for a freeze on annual domestic spending over the next five years – a freeze that would cut the deficit by more than $400 billion over the next decade, bringing this kind of spending to its lowest share of our economy since Dwight Eisenhower was President. Just to be clear, that’s lower than it was under the past three administrations, and lower than it was under Ronald Reagan.

Now, putting this budget freeze in place will require tough choices. That’s why I’ve frozen salaries for hardworking civil servants for three years, and proposed cutting programs I care about deeply, like community action programs in low-income neighborhoods. I’m not taking these steps lightly – but I’m taking them because our economic future demands it.

Still, a freeze in annual domestic spending is just a start. If we’re serious about tackling our long-run fiscal challenges, we also need to cut excessive spending wherever we find it – in defense spending, spending in Medicare and Medicaid, and spending through tax breaks and loopholes.

I’m willing to consider any serious ideas to help us reduce the deficit – no matter what party is proposing them. But instead of cutting the investments in education and innovation we need to out-compete the rest of the world, we need a balanced approach to deficit reduction. We all need to be willing to sacrifice, but we can’t sacrifice our future.

Next week, Congress will focus on a short-term budget. For the sake of our people and our economy, we cannot allow gridlock to prevail. Both Democratic and Republican leaders in the House and Senate have said they believe it’s important to keep the government running while we work together on a plan to reduce our long-term deficit.

Given that, I urge and expect them to find common ground so we can accelerate, not impede, economic growth. It won’t be easy. There will be plenty of debates and disagreements, and neither party will get everything it wants. Both sides will have to compromise.

That’s what it will take to do what’s right for our country. And I look forward to working with members of both parties to produce a responsible budget that cuts what we can’t afford, sharpens America’s competitive edge in the world, and helps us win the future. Thanks everyone, and have a nice weekend.

President Obama Speaks on Libya: "This Violence Must Stop"

THE PRESIDENT:  Good afternoon, everybody.  Secretary Clinton and I just concluded a meeting that focused on the ongoing situation in Libya.  Over the last few days, my national security team has been working around the clock to monitor the situation there and to coordinate with our international partners about a way forward.
First, we are doing everything we can to protect American citizens.  That is my highest priority.  In Libya, we've urged our people to leave the country and the State Department is assisting those in need of support.  Meanwhile, I think all Americans should give thanks to the heroic work that's being done by our foreign service officers and the men and women serving in our embassies and consulates around the world.  They represent the very best of our country and its values.
Now, throughout this period of unrest and upheaval across the region the United States has maintained a set of core principles which guide our approach.  These principles apply to the situation in Libya.  As I said last week, we strongly condemn the use of violence in Libya.
The American people extend our deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of all who’ve been killed and injured.  The suffering and bloodshed is outrageous and it is unacceptable. So are threats and orders to shoot peaceful protesters and further punish the people of Libya.  These actions violate international norms and every standard of common decency.  This violence must stop.
The United States also strongly supports the universal rights of the Libyan people.  That includes the rights of peaceful assembly, free speech, and the ability of the Libyan people to determine their own destiny.  These are human rights.  They are not negotiable.  They must be respected in every country.  And they cannot be denied through violence or suppression.
In a volatile situation like this one, it is imperative that the nations and peoples of the world speak with one voice, and that has been our focus.  Yesterday a unanimous U.N. Security Council sent a clear message that it condemns the violence in Libya, supports accountability for the perpetrators, and stands with the Libyan people.
This same message, by the way, has been delivered by the European Union, the Arab League, the African Union, the Organization of the Islamic Conference, and many individual nations.  North and south, east and west, voices are being raised together to oppose suppression and support the rights of the Libyan people.
I’ve also asked my administration to prepare the full range of options that we have to respond to this crisis.  This includes those actions we may take and those we will coordinate with our allies and partners, or those that we’ll carry out through multilateral institutions.
Like all governments, the Libyan government has a responsibility to refrain from violence, to allow humanitarian assistance to reach those in need, and to respect the rights of its people.  It must be held accountable for its failure to meet those responsibilities, and face the cost of continued violations of human rights.
This is not simply a concern of the United States.  The entire world is watching, and we will coordinate our assistance and accountability measures with the international community.  To that end, Secretary Clinton and I have asked Bill Burns, our Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, to make several stops in Europe and the region to intensify our consultations with allies and partners about the situation in Libya.
I’ve also asked Secretary Clinton to travel to Geneva on Monday, where a number of foreign ministers will convene for a session of the Human Rights Council.  There she’ll hold consultations with her counterparts on events throughout the region and continue to ensure that we join with the international community to speak with one voice to the government and the people of Libya.
And even as we are focused on the urgent situation in Libya, let me just say that our efforts continue to address the events taking place elsewhere, including how the international community can most effectively support the peaceful transition to democracy in both Tunisia and in Egypt.
So let me be clear.  The change that is taking place across the region is being driven by the people of the region.  This change doesn’t represent the work of the United States or any foreign power.  It represents the aspirations of people who are seeking a better life.
As one Libyan said, “We just want to be able to live like human beings.”  We just want to be able to live like human beings.  It is the most basic of aspirations that is driving this change.  And throughout this time of transition, the United States will continue to stand up for freedom, stand up for justice, and stand up for the dignity of all people.
Thank you very much.

President Barack Obama Weekly Address February 19, 2011 (Video/Transcipt)

Remarks of President Barack Obama
As Prepared for Delivery
February 19, 2011
Hillsboro, Oregon

I’m speaking to you from just outside Portland, Oregon where I’m visiting Intel, a company that helped pioneer the digital age.  I just came from a tour of an assembly line where highly-skilled technicians are building microprocessors that run everything from desktop computers to smartphones.

But these workers aren’t just manufacturing high-tech computer chips.  They’re showing us how America will win the future.

For decades, Intel has led the world in developing new technologies.  But even as global competition has intensified, this company has invested, built, and hired in America.  Three-quarters of Intel’s products are made by American workers.  And as the company expands operations in Oregon and builds a new plant in Arizona, it plans to hire another 4,000 people this year.

Companies like Intel are proving that we can compete – that instead of just being a nation that buys what’s made overseas, we can make things in America and sell them around the globe.  Winning this competition depends on the ingenuity and creativity of our private sector – which was on display in my visit today.  But it’s also going to depend on what we do as a nation to make America the best place on earth to do business.

Over the next ten years, nearly half of all new jobs will require education beyond high school, many requiring proficiency in math and science.  And yet today we’ve fallen behind in math, science, and graduation rates.  As a result, companies like Intel struggle to hire American workers with the skills that fit their needs.

If we want to win the global competition for new jobs and industries, we’ve got to win the global competition to educate our people.  We’ve got to have the best trained, best skilled workforce in the world.  That’s how we’ll ensure that the next Intel, the next Google, or the next Microsoft is created in America, and hires American workers.

This is why, over the past two years, my administration has made education a top priority.  We’ve launched a competition called “Race to the Top” – a reform that is lifting academic standards and getting results; not because Washington dictated the answers, but because states and local schools pursued innovative solutions.  We’re also making college more affordable for millions of students, and revitalizing our community colleges, so that folks can get the training they need for the careers they want.  And as part of this effort, we’ve launched a nationwide initiative to connect graduates that need jobs with businesses that need their skills.

Intel understands how important these partnerships can be – recognizing that their company’s success depends on a pipeline of skilled people ready to fill high-wage, high-tech jobs.  Intel often pays for workers to continue their education at nearby Portland State University.  As a result, one out of every fifteen of Intel’s Oregon employees has a degree from Portland State.

In fact, Intel’s commitment to education begins at an even younger age.  The company is providing training to help 100,000 math and science teachers improve their skills in the classroom.  And today, I’m also meeting a few students from Oregon who impressed the judges in the high school science and engineering competitions that Intel sponsors across America.

One young woman, Laurie Rumker, conducted a chemistry experiment to investigate ways to protect our water from pollution.  Another student, named Yushi Wang, applied the principles of quantum physics to design a faster computer chip.  We’re talking about high school students.

So these have been a tough few years for our country.  And in tough times, it’s natural to question what the future holds.  But when you meet young people like Laurie and Yushi, it’s hard not to be inspired.  And it’s impossible not to be confident about America.

We are poised to lead in this new century – and not just because of the good work that large companies like Intel are doing.  All across America, there are innovators and entrepreneurs who are trying to start the next Intel, or just get a small business of their own off the ground.  I’ll be meeting with some of these men and women next week in Cleveland, to get ideas about what we can do to help their companies grow and create jobs.

The truth is, we have everything we need to compete: bold entrepreneurs, bright new ideas, and world-class colleges and universities.  And, most of all, we have young people just brimming with promise and ready to help us succeed.  All we have to do is tap that potential.

That’s the lesson on display at Intel.  And that’s how America will win the future.

Thank you.

President Barack Obama Weekly Address February 12, 2011 (Video/Transcipt)

Remarks of President Barack Obama

As Prepared for Delivery

February 12, 2011

Washington, DC

A few months ago, I received a letter from a woman named Brenda Breece.  I wanted to share her story because it speaks to what a lot of families are going through – and it offers a good example of the kind of responsibility that’s needed in Washington right now.

Brenda is a mom and a special-ed teacher from Missouri.  Her husband, David, was employed at the local Chrysler plant for nearly four decades.  They’ve worked hard their whole lives.  But like a lot of folks, they’ve taken some hits over the past few years.  When the Chrysler plant closed, David had to take early retirement.  His pension helps, but it’s half of what he earned before.  Meanwhile, because of budget cuts, Brenda has had to buy school supplies for her students out of her own pocket – because it’s her job and she cares about those kids.

Money has been tight, but they are doing the best they can.  And like so many families, they are sacrificing what they don’t need so they can afford what really matters.  This is what Brenda told me.  “I feel my family is frugal,” she said.  “We go to the movies…once a month, but usually we just wait for them to come out on TV… I watch the food budget… We combine trips into town [and] use coupons … and we trim each other’s hair when we need a haircut.”

So Brenda and her husband know what they can do without.  But they also know what investments are too important to sacrifice.  Their daughter, Rachel, is a sophomore in college with a 4.0 grade point average.  The tuition is a big expense.  But it’s worth it, because it will give her the chance to achieve her dreams.  In fact, Brenda is looking for a second job to ensure, as she told me, “the money is there to help Rachel with her future.”

Families across this country understand what it takes to manage a budget.  They understand what it takes to make ends meet without forgoing important investments like education.  Well, it’s time Washington acted as responsibly as our families do.  And on Monday, I’m proposing a new budget that will help us live within our means while investing in our future.

My budget freezes annual domestic spending for the next five years – even on programs I care deeply about – which will reduce the deficit by more than $400 billion over the next decade.  This freeze will bring this type of spending to its lowest level as a share of the economy since Dwight Eisenhower was president.  We’ve stripped down the budget by getting rid of waste.  For example, we’re getting rid of thousands of government-owned buildings that sit empty because they aren’t needed.  I’ve also proposed freezing salaries for hardworking government employees, because everyone has to do their part.  And I’m going to make sure politics doesn’t add to our deficit, by vetoing any bill that contains earmarks.

And yet, just as the Breece family is making difficult sacrifices while still investing in the future – by helping their daughter pay her tuition – my budget does the same.  I’m proposing that we invest in what will do the most to grow the economy in the years to come.  This means job-creating investments in roads, high-speed speed trains, and broadband. This means cutting-edge research that holds the promise of creating countless jobs and whole new industries, like clean energy and biotechnology.  And it means improving our schools and making college more affordable – to give every young person the chance to fulfill his or her potential, and receive the job training they need to succeed.  Because it would be a mistake to balance the budget by sacrificing our children’s education.

So, after a decade of rising deficits, this budget asks Washington to live within its means, while at the same time investing in our future.  It cuts what we can’t afford to pay for what we cannot do without.  That’s what families do in hard times. And that’s what our country has to do too.

Thank you.

President Obama on a Historic Day in Egypt (Video/Transcript)

THE PRESIDENT:  Good afternoon, everybody.  There are very few moments in our lives where we have the privilege to witness history taking place.  This is one of those moments.  This is one of those times.  The people of Egypt have spoken, their voices have been heard, and Egypt will never be the same.


     By stepping down, President Mubarak responded to the Egyptian people’s hunger for change.  But this is not the end of Egypt’s transition.  It’s a beginning.  I’m sure there will be difficult days ahead, and many questions remain unanswered.  But I am confident that the people of Egypt can find the answers, and do so peacefully, constructively, and in the spirit of unity that has defined these last few weeks.  For Egyptians have made it clear that nothing less than genuine democracy will carry the day.

     The military has served patriotically and responsibly as a caretaker to the state, and will now have to ensure a transition that is credible in the eyes of the Egyptian people.  That means protecting the rights of Egypt’s citizens, lifting the emergency law, revising the constitution and other laws to make this change irreversible, and laying out a clear path to elections that are fair and free.  Above all, this transition must bring all of Egypt’s voices to the table.  For the spirit of peaceful protest and perseverance that the Egyptian people have shown can serve as a powerful wind at the back of this change.

     The United States will continue to be a friend and partner to Egypt.  We stand ready to provide whatever assistance is necessary -- and asked for -- to pursue a credible transition to a democracy.  I’m also confident that the same ingenuity and entrepreneurial spirit that the young people of Egypt have shown in recent days can be harnessed to create new opportunity -- jobs and businesses that allow the extraordinary potential of this generation to take flight.  And I know that a democratic Egypt can advance its role of responsible leadership not only in the region but around the world.

     Egypt has played a pivotal role in human history for over 6,000 years.  But over the last few weeks, the wheel of history turned at a blinding pace as the Egyptian people demanded their universal rights.
     We saw mothers and fathers carrying their children on their shoulders to show them what true freedom might look like.

     We saw a young Egyptian say, “For the first time in my life, I really count.  My voice is heard.  Even though I’m only one person, this is the way real democracy works.”
     We saw protesters chant “Selmiyya, selmiyya” -- “We are peaceful” -- again and again.
     We saw a military that would not fire bullets at the people they were sworn to protect.
     And we saw doctors and nurses rushing into the streets to care for those who were wounded, volunteers checking protesters to ensure that they were unarmed.

     We saw people of faith praying together and chanting – “Muslims, Christians, We are one.”  And though we know that the strains between faiths still divide too many in this world and no single event will close that chasm immediately, these scenes remind us that we need not be defined by our differences.  We can be defined by the common humanity that we share.

     And above all, we saw a new generation emerge --
a generation that uses their own creativity and talent and technology to call for a government that represented their hopes and not their fears; a government that is responsive to their boundless aspirations.  One Egyptian put it simply:  Most people have discovered in the last few days…that they are worth something, and this cannot be taken away from them anymore, ever.

     This is the power of human dignity, and it can never be denied.  Egyptians have inspired us, and they’ve done so by putting the lie to the idea that justice is best gained through violence.  For in Egypt, it was the moral force of nonviolence -- not terrorism, not mindless killing -- but nonviolence, moral force that bent the arc of history toward justice once more.
  
     And while the sights and sounds that we heard were entirely Egyptian, we can’t help but hear the echoes of history -- echoes from Germans tearing down a wall, Indonesian students taking to the streets, Gandhi leading his people down the path of justice.

     As Martin Luther King said in celebrating the birth of a new nation in Ghana while trying to perfect his own, “There is something in the soul that cries out for freedom.”  Those were the cries that came from Tahrir Square, and the entire world has taken note.

     Today belongs to the people of Egypt, and the American people are moved by these scenes in Cairo and across Egypt because of who we are as a people and the kind of world that we want our children to grow up in.
     The word Tahrir means liberation.  It is a word that speaks to that something in our souls that cries out for freedom.  And forevermore it will remind us of the Egyptian people -- of what they did, of the things that they stood for, and how they changed their country, and in doing so changed the world.

     Thank you.

President Barack Obama Weekly Address February 5, 2011 (Video/Transcipt)

 

Remarks of President Barack Obama
Weekly Address
Washington DC
Saturday, February 5, 2011

This week, we received a report on jobs and unemployment that told us we’re continuing to move in the right direction.  But we need to get there faster.  In the short-term, the bipartisan tax cut we passed in December will give an added boost to job creation and economic growth.  This is a tax cut that is already making Americans’ paychecks a little bigger and giving businesses more incentive to invest and hire.

But ultimately, our true measure of progress has to be whether every American who wants a job can find one; whether the jobs available pay well and offer good benefits; whether people in this country can still achieve the American Dream for themselves and their children.  That’s the progress we’re after.

To get there, we have to realize that in today’s global, competitive economy, the best jobs and newest industries will take root in the countries with the most skilled workers, the strongest commitment to research and technology, and the fastest ways to move people, goods, and information.  To win the future, America needs to out-educate, out-innovate, and out-build the rest of the world.

On Thursday, I went to Penn State University, whose students and researchers are poised to lead the way on innovation and job creation.  They’re taking up the challenge we’ve issued to scientists and engineers all across the country:  if you assemble teams of the best minds in your field, and focus on tackling the biggest obstacles to providing America with clean, affordable energy, we’ll get behind your work.  Your government will support your research.

The folks in Pennsylvania have decided to focus on designing buildings that save more energy – everything from more efficient lighting and windows to heating and cooling.  This won’t just cut down on energy pollution, it can save us billions of dollars on our energy bills.

Most of all, discovering new ways to make buildings more energy-efficient will lead to new jobs and new businesses.  Over the last two years, we’ve seen a window manufacturer in Maryland boost business by 55%.  A lighting company in North Carolina hired hundreds of workers. A manufacturer in Pennsylvania saw business increase by $1 million.

All we did for these companies was provide some tax credits and financing opportunities.  And that’s what we want to do going forward, so that it’s profitable for American businesses to sell the discoveries made by the scientists at Penn State and other hubs of innovation.  If businesses sell these discoveries – if they start making windows and insulation and buildings that save more energy – they will hire more workers.  And that’s how Americans will prosper.  That’s how we’ll win the future.

Our government has an obligation to make sure that America is the best place on Earth to do business – that we have the best schools, the best incentives to innovate, and the best infrastructure.  Next week, I’ll see that kind of infrastructure when I visit Marquette, Michigan – a place where high-speed broadband is connecting a small town to the larger world.

Supporting businesses with this kind of 21st century infrastructure and cutting-edge innovation is our responsibility.  But businesses have a responsibility, too.  If we make America the best place to do business, businesses should make their mark in America.  They should set up shop here, and hire our workers, and pay decent wages, and invest in the future of this nation.  That’s their obligation.  And that’s the message I’ll be bringing to American business leaders at the Chamber of Commerce on Monday – that government and businesses have mutual responsibilities; and that if we fulfill these obligations together, it benefits us all.  Our workers will succeed.  Our nation will prosper.  And America will win the future in this century just like we did in the last.

President Obama on the Situation in Egypt (Video/Transcipt)

Good evening, everybody.  Over the past few days, the American people have watched the situation unfolding in Egypt.  We’ve seen enormous demonstrations by the Egyptian people.  We’ve borne witness to the beginning of a new chapter in the history of a great country, and a long-time partner of the United States.

And my administration has been in close contact with our Egyptian counterparts and a broad range of the Egyptian people, as well as others across the region and across the globe.  And throughout this period, we’ve stood for a set of core principles.

First, we oppose violence.  And I want to commend the Egyptian military for the professionalism and patriotism that it has shown thus far in allowing peaceful protests while protecting the Egyptian people.  We’ve seen tanks covered with banners, and soldiers and protesters embracing in the streets.  And going forward, I urge the military to continue its efforts to help ensure that this time of change is peaceful.

Second, we stand for universal values, including the rights of the Egyptian people to freedom of assembly, freedom of speech, and the freedom to access information.  Once more, we’ve seen the incredible potential for technology to empower citizens and the dignity of those who stand up for a better future.  And going forward, the United States will continue to stand up for democracy and the universal rights that all human beings deserve, in Egypt and around the world.

Third, we have spoken out on behalf of the need for change.  After his speech tonight, I spoke directly to President Mubarak.  He recognizes that the status quo is not sustainable and that a change must take place.  Indeed, all of us who are privileged to serve in positions of political power do so at the will of our people.  Through thousands of years, Egypt has known many moments of transformation.  The voices of the Egyptian people tell us that this is one of those moments; this is one of those times.

Now, it is not the role of any other country to determine Egypt’s leaders.  Only the Egyptian people can do that.  What is clear -- and what I indicated tonight to President Mubarak -- is my belief that an orderly transition must be meaningful, it must be peaceful, and it must begin now.

Furthermore, the process must include a broad spectrum of Egyptian voices and opposition parties.  It should lead to elections that are free and fair.  And it should result in a government that’s not only grounded in democratic principles, but is also responsive to the aspirations of the Egyptian people.

Throughout this process, the United States will continue to extend the hand of partnership and friendship to Egypt.  And we stand ready to provide any assistance that is necessary to help the Egyptian people as they manage the aftermath of these protests.

Over the last few days, the passion and the dignity that has been demonstrated by the people of Egypt has been an inspiration to people around the world, including here in the United States, and to all those who believe in the inevitability of human freedom.

To the people of Egypt, particularly the young people of Egypt, I want to be clear:  We hear your voices.  I have an unyielding belief that you will determine your own destiny and seize the promise of a better future for your children and your grandchildren.  And I say that as someone who is committed to a partnership between the United States and Egypt.

There will be difficult days ahead.  Many questions about Egypt’s future remain unanswered.  But I am confident that the people of Egypt will find those answers.  That truth can be seen in the sense of community in the streets.  It can be seen in the mothers and fathers embracing soldiers.  And it can be seen in the Egyptians who linked arms to protect the national museum -- a new generation protecting the treasures of antiquity; a human chain connecting a great and ancient civilization to the promise of a new day.

Thank you very much.