Barack Obama

November 5, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, DC – Assistant Attorney General Tom Perez today stated that the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) is a “top legislative priority” of the Obama Administration. The remark came during a Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee hearing focused on the legislation.

Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley, the chief Senate co-sponsor of ENDA, applauded the comment as a major endorsement of the Senate’s efforts to pass a fully inclusive version of the bill.    » read more »

Roosevelt Room

November 02, 2009 -- THE PRESIDENT: Hello, everybody. I am pleased to be joined this morning by my Economic Recovery Advisory Board. Each of these men and women have extraordinary and diverse expertise in the economy.

I want to especially thank Paul Volcker, who has been a terrific advisor to me since the transition and has continued to help steer this group in ways that are providing us some very practical advice as we move forward.    » read more »

Diplomatic Reception Room

October 30, 2009 -- THE PRESIDENT: Good morning, everybody.

AUDIENCE: Good morning.

THE PRESIDENT: We often speak about AIDS as if it's going on somewhere else. And for good reason -- this is a virus that has touched lives and decimated communities around the world, particularly in Africa. But often overlooked is the fact that we face a serious HIV/AIDS epidemic of our own -- right here in Washington, D.C., and right here in the United States of America. And today, we are taking two important steps forward in the fight that we face here at home.    » read more »

Calls For Workplace Anti-Discrimination Law

October 29, 2009 -- Washington, DC -- Today, Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Executive Vice President Mary Kay Henry praised President Obama for his signing into law the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, and called for greater protections for LGBT workers.

"There's a motto we have in the labor movement: 'An Injury to One is An Injury to All,'" said Henry. "For Congress to pass, and the President to sign into law, the first explicit protections on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in the nation's history, is an incredibly important first step in ending the decades of violence and discrimination suffered by the LGBT community.    » read more »

Columbus, Ohio – Ohio Governor Ted Strickland today issued a statement applauding President Barack Obama and the U.S. Congress for their support of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.

The initiative, which was signed into law by President Obama on October 30, allocates $475 million to respond to a plan of action prepared by the Great Lakes states in cooperation with 16 federal agencies.

Funding is available for the most significant problems facing the Great Lakes, including invasive aquatic species, wildlife habitat restoration, non-point source pollution, contaminated sediment clean up, water quality monitoring, and beach monitoring/clean up, all issues that Lake Erie and Ohio have experienced.

Governor’s statement:    » read more »

October 31, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – In this week’s address, President Barack Obama said that while times are still too difficult for too many American families, this week saw real evidence of progress in the economy. On Thursday, we learned that in the third quarter the GDP grew for the first time in over a year, and grew faster than it has in the previous two years.

And on Friday, reports from across the country made it clear that Recovery Act has now created or saved over one million jobs. The American people are still hurting, but these are signs that we are starting to move in the right direction.

Remarks of President Barack Obama
As Prepared for Delivery
Weekly Address
Saturday, October 31, 2009    » read more »

640,329 Direct Jobs Reported on Approximately Half of Spending To-Date

October 30, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – The Obama Administration today reported that recipients of Recovery Act funds have informed the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board that they have created or saved 640,329 direct jobs in reports covering approximately $160 billion, which represents a little less than half of the funds put to work through September 30, 2009.    » read more »

Legislation also includes $2.1billion for clean water, $500,000 for Oakland-Macomb Interceptor

October 29, 2009 -- (Washington D.C.)- The House approved legislation today to provide $475 million for a new Great Lakes restoration effort. The funding, approved as part of the annual funding bill for the Department of the Interior and Environmental Protection Agency, passed the House by a vote of 247 to 178. The Senate is expected to approve the measure in the near future, clearing the legislation for President Obama's signature.

“The Michigan Delegation has been fighting for years to win this kind of restoration money,” said Rep. Levin. “The difference this time is that we now have a President who cares about the Great Lakes."    » read more »

October 30, 2009 -- Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Mark Udall and Michael Bennet joined their Senate colleagues late Thursday in passing the conference report for the Interior Appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2010, and sending the legislation containing key funding for Colorado's national parks, forests and public lands to the President's desk. The bill passed by a vote of 72-28.    » read more »

South Court, Eisenhower Executive Office Building

October 29, 2009 -- THE PRESIDENT: Good afternoon, everybody. Please, have a seat. Before I begin, I want to just acknowledge two people who are working extraordinarily hard on behalf of small businesses. First of all, the administrator of our Small Business Administration, Karen Mills, is here. (Applause.)    » read more »

October 28, 2009 -- THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Please, everybody be seated.

Good afternoon. I have often said that meeting our greatest challenges would require not only changing policies in Washington but changing the way business is done in Washington; that it would require a government that's more efficient and effective and less influenced by lobbyists and parochial politics. And I'm pleased to say that when it comes to the defense bill I'm about to sign into law, we've taken some important steps towards that goal.    » read more »

October 29, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – Today, President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to key administration posts:

• Suresh Kumar, Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Director General of the United States and Foreign Commercial Service, Department of Commerce
• James P. Lynch, Director, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Department of Justice

President Obama said, “I am grateful that these individuals will bring their energy and expertise to my administration and look forward to working with them in the months and years ahead.”

President Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individuals today:    » read more »

October 29, 2009 -- “I congratulate the House of Representatives on the introduction of the Affordable Health Care for America Act, another critical milestone in the effort to reform our health care system.

"This legislation is the product of unprecedented cooperation and countless hours of hard work by Speaker Pelosi, Chairmen Waxman, Rangel, and Miller, Congressman Dingell, and scores of House members who share my conviction that we can’t wait another year for health insurance reform. They have forged a strong consensus that represents a historic step forward.    » read more »

October 27, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – Today, President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to key administration posts:

* Philip E. Coyle III, Associate Director for National Security and International Affairs, Office of Science and Technology Policy
* Lawrence G. Romo, Director, Selective Service System

President Obama said, “These talented public servants will make valuable additions to my administration as we work to bring real change to the American people. I look forward to working with them in the months and years to come.”

President Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individuals today:    » read more »

Rolls Royce will keep making Joint Strike Fighter engine; bill preserves 300 Indianapolis jobs, up to $1.7 billion for state economic development

October 28, 2009 -- Washington – Senator Evan Bayh today praised President Obama’s signing of a defense spending bill that includes full funding for an alternate Joint Strike Fighter aircraft engine made in Indianapolis.

Bayh led the fight on the Senate floor to secure funding for Rolls Royce North America to develop and produce the military fighter engine at its Indianapolis facility. When funding for the program was stripped out of the legislation this summer, Bayh successfully fought to have it reinstated in a joint Senate-House conference committee.    » read more »