Hi, all. Today's report features:
Winning the Future Forum on Small Business: President Obama and senior Administration officials hear from small business owners how to encourage growth and innovation; the President's remarks at the opening and closing sessions; the President joins CEA Chairman Goolsbee to talk about challenges and opportunities for businesses.
State News: Secretary Clinton meets with the Latvian foreign minister and discusses Libya and other topics.
New Zealand: Statements of sympathy and support from the President and Secretary of State on the earthquakes in Christchurch; the State Department's daily briefing mentions a USAID search and rescue team dispatched to New Zealand from Los Angeles.
Young Adults and Health Care: Kalpen Modi from the White House Office of Public Engagement talks about aspects of the new health care law that are important to young adults; HHS launches a Facebook page with information for young people and their parents.
WINNING THE FUTURE FORUM ON SMALL BUSINESS
White House, Feb. 22, 2011:
Winning the Future Forum on Small Business: Opening Session
President Barack Obama kicks off the Opening Session of the Winning the Future Forum on Small Business in Cleveland, OH. The forum is an opportunity for Administration officials to hear from small business owners on how to encourage growth and innovation.
Office of the Press Secretary, Feb. 22, 2011:
Remarks by the President at Opening Session of Winning the Future Forum on Small Business in Cleveland, Ohio
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Thank you, everybody. Thank you so much. Thank you very much. Please, everybody have a seat. It is wonderful to be here, and I just want to say thank you for our hosts at KSU for -- or CSU, rather, excuse me -- for their hospitality. This is the second time I’ve had a chance to be here, and always enjoy interacting both with the team here as well as the surrounding community.
I want to make some quick introductions, because we’ve got some special guests. Our SBA administrator Karen Mills is here. There she is. (Applause.) Members of my Cabinet -- Secretary of the Treasury Tim Geithner. (Applause.) Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke. (Applause.) Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis. (Applause.) Secretary of Energy Steve Chu. (Applause.) We have Mr. Austan Goolsbee, who is our chairman of the Economic Council. (Applause.) And my director of the National Economic Council Gene Sperling is here as well. (Applause.)
And I want to say a special thank you to Steve Case, who is not only an extraordinary entrepreneur and business leader, but is also -- has agreed to chair the Startup America partnership, which is a public/private partnership to help move the entrepreneurship agenda forward. So thank you so much, Steve, for your presence here today. (Applause.)
It is wonderful to be back in Ohio, and we’re going to do something a little different today. I did not come to Cleveland to talk. Instead I came here to listen. I’ve spent the last month since the State of the Union sharing my vision for an America that remains the best place on Earth to do business; an America that competes aggressively for every job and every industry that’s out there; an America that wins the future.
Part of that means making sure that government lives within its means, just like you do. And that’s why I’ve designed a budget that freezes spending for five years and will help reduce the deficit by $400 billion over the next decade to the lowest level since Dwight Eisenhower was President, because by cutting back on what we don’t need, we can invest in the future. We can invest in the things that are critical to our long-term success -- in innovation, so that America stays on the cutting edge; in education, so businesses have access to the skilled workers that they need; in upgrading our transportation and information networks, so companies can move goods and services quickly and cheaply.
So winning the future involves out-educating, out-innovating, out-building, out-hustling everybody else, and it’s entrepreneurs like you who will help America do just that.
Obviously the big companies generally get most of the attention in our economy, and the success of large companies is critical to the success of medium and small businesses as well. But it’s small businesses like yours that help drive America’s economic growth and create two out of every three new jobs.
You’re the anchors of our Main Streets, small businesses built by folks who live and work in the community and look out for one another that end up determining success or failure of cities and towns. They’re the cornerstones of America’s promise, the idea that if you’ve got a dream and you’ve got the work ethic to see it through, you can succeed. And when our small businesses do well, then America does well.
That’s why we convened this Winning the Future Forum for Small Business. Along with Cleveland State and local organizations like JumpStart and NorTech, we looked for entrepreneurs here in Northeast Ohio who live to out-hustle, to out-innovate everybody else -– in manufacturing and construction, in clean energy and biotech, in retail, in restaurants -– including the owner of Bubba’s BBQ, who I imagine will be one of the more popular participants today.
We’re here to hear from you directly. We want your stories -– your successes, your failures, what barriers you’re seeing out there to expand, what you’ve learned along the way. What would make it easier for you to grow? What would make it easier for you to create new jobs? How can America help you succeed so that you can help America succeed?
So we’ve pulled together five panels for discussion that will be moderated by various members of my administration -– panels on inspiring entrepreneurship, on accessing capital, on training workers with the new skills they need for the job, on accelerating a clean energy economy, and on growing our exports so that the rest of the world buys the products that we make here in the United States of America. And we’ll have a special sixth session, where I’ll join Austan Goolsbee, the chairman of my Council of Economic Advisers, as he takes questions and suggestions from Americans live on WhiteHouse.gov and on Facebook.
So I’m going to be sitting in on some of the other panels -- to make sure that my staff is doing their work. And then we’re going to come back here and I’ll try to sum up what I’ve heard.
So, again, I am very grateful for all of you being here. This is a working session, not a photo op, so I expect all of you will express your opinions clearly; you won’t hold anything back. And I’m looking forward to hearing from you and then trying to make sure that we’re a good partner in helping you implement the great ideas that you have.
Thank you very much, everybody. (Applause.)
White House, Feb. 22, 2011:
Winning the Future Forum on Small Business: Closing Session
President Barack Obama speaks about the ways his Administration is working to encourage small businesses to innovate and create new jobs during the Closing Session of the Winning the Future Forum on Small Business in Cleveland, OH.
Office of the Press Secretary, Feb. 22, 2011:
Remarks by the President at Closing Session of Winning the Future Forum on Small Business in Cleveland, Ohio
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Thank you. Please, everybody have a seat. Well, we just completed a wonderful session with many of you, and let me thank you again for your participation.
I want to acknowledge a couple of people I didn’t have a chance to mention at the front end. First of all, the mayor of Cleveland, Frank Johnson -- Frank Jackson is here. Please give him a big round of applause. (Applause.) And a wonderful member of Congress, Marcia Fudge is in the house. Where’s Marcia? (Applause.) She was here. As well as a great member of Congress Steve LaTourette. Where’s Steve? Is Steve here? All right. (Applause.)
Now, as I may have mentioned, I’ve been here before. This is the third time I’ve visited Cleveland State University. And every time I come back here, I get more and more excited about what’s happening. Each time I come here, you’ve done more to retool and reinvent yourself. And that’s something that the entire city is doing right now. It’s reinventing itself.
During one of the sessions, somebody asked, why come to Cleveland? And I said, not only are big things happening here but they’re emblematic of what’s happening all across the Midwest and all across the country. This is a city that was founded on manufacturing, like a lot of cities in the Midwest. And as the economy changed, a lot of people wrote off Cleveland as a shell of its former self. But you, all of you in the audience, you knew differently. You’ve been working to reinvent the Rust Belt as the Tech Belt. So you’ve got fiber optics cables that now run beneath Cleveland’s streets like the railroads and highways of the 21st century, drawing new businesses to open their doors downtown. Your universities, your hospitals, entrepreneurs, businesses have all teamed up to get biotechnology and clean energy from imagination to reality, and as a consequence, you’ve made Cleveland an emerging global leader in both fields.
You’re positioning yourselves to attract the jobs, the businesses and the industries of tomorrow. And that’s what I’ve been spending the past few months talking about -– how America is going to win the future. How are we going to reinvent ourselves?
We’re still an outstanding manufacturer. One of the things that I think there’s a misconception about -- and I mentioned this during one of the sessions -- is that somehow our manufacturing days are past. That’s not true. We’re still one of the dominant manufacturers in the world. The challenge, the difference is, is that what used to take 1,000 people to manufacture might now take 100 or 10 because of increases in productivity.
And so it’s not good enough just to rely on the old industries. We’ve also got to invent new ones, and that’s what you’re doing here. Over the last several months, I’ve visited with organizations like the Chamber of Commerce. I’ve traveled to large companies -- just recently I went to Intel because it’s doubling down on America, it’s investing in new plants and equipment and amazing facilities. And those large companies, those large institutions are important to our success. But the truth is, when it comes to our economy, it’s our small businesses that pack the biggest punch, especially when it comes to employment, which is obviously one of the biggest challenges that we faced coming out of this Great Recession that we had.
Entrepreneurs like each of the ones who are here today create two out of every three new jobs in this country, so you’re the cornerstones of the community. You’re the sources of pride for working families. When the bet concerns America, you’ve always gone all in. You’ve taken risks on behalf of America.
And that’s why we convened this Winning the Future Forum on Small Businesses -- to hear from you, to gain your counsel, to talk about how America can help you succeed so that you can keep helping America succeed.
Now, for those who just joined us, we’ve spent the day in breakout sessions talking about five areas of obstacle and opportunity for America’s small businesses: entrepreneurship, how you convert your ideas into companies; capital, and how we can increase it so that you have access to capital, to develop those ideas; workforce development, so we can make sure America has the best trained workers in the world and that that’s done locally, and tailored for the businesses of tomorrow; exports and the obstacles you face to selling your goods and services around the world; and finally, clean energy, and what opportunities you see in a 21st-century clean energy economy.
We had a terrific discussion. The groups that I participated in were remarkable and had great ideas. I know the members of the Cabinet had fun, which is why we’re going to do it again. And over the next several months, what we’re going to be doing is teaming up with mayors and governors and small business owners to host a series of these jobs forums across the country.
And as Steve Case, a successful entrepreneur several times over, came and participated in our discussion on fostering entrepreneurship, I’m pleased to announce that he’s agreed to join my jobs council as we work to create jobs and grow the economy and keep America moving forward.
I should mention just a couple of things that we heard during some of these breakout sessions. Obviously there was a lot of emphasis on capital. And we talked about the SBA programs, the Treasury programs that are in place some people may not be aware of that are making a huge difference in providing financing to a lot of startups and a lot of small businesses across the country.
But we also heard from you about some important ideas. For example, right now we’re already giving a tax break, zero percent on capital gains for investors who invest in small businesses. But a few of you said that that works well. What we could also really use is some tax credits for angel investors because that early financing oftentimes may be what makes or breaks a company.
We talked about the fact that people were encouraged by the investments we’re making in clean energy, but one of the most important things we heard could be done -- and this is something that Steve is going to be taking up with his Startup America -- is creating networking opportunities in particular fields and in particular clusters because oftentimes it’s the contacts that you make in that networking process that may open up job opportunities. And you know what? That doesn’t cost the U.S. Treasury anything to set up but may make all the difference in terms of success.
When it comes to workforce development, one of the most important things that we’ve all learned is how important it is to get businesses in early with the universities and the community colleges -- a hugely under-utilized resource -- to develop the actual training program so that young people have confidence if they go through this training program, they’ve got a job; businesses have confidence that if they hire these young people who went through the training program, they are trained for those jobs.
And one of the things that we really enjoyed hearing about was the local efforts of organizations like JumpStart and NorTech, as well as institutions like Cleveland State in helping to pull all these various elements together. And that’s part of the reason we were able to identify some of the most innovative businessmen and women in northeast Ohio.
For those of you who aren’t aware, JumpStart has worked to help more than 3,000 local businesses lift off and pull together the resources required to keep them aloft in what they call an “entrepreneurial ecosystem.”
NorTech is building regional innovation clusters, small business incubators made up of universities and suppliers and manufacturers and more –- basically a self-contained supply chain that covers everything from attracting that initial capital to shipping that final product. And this cluster concept is so important. We’re all familiar with clusters like Silicon Valley. When you get a group of people together, and industries together, and institutions like universities together around particular industries, then the synergies that develop from all those different facets coming together can make the whole the greater than the sum of its parts.
Right here at Cleveland State, you’ve got a dedicated office that works to help move your research and discoveries from your local labs to your local businesses, and that’s making you a local economic development engine that taps into one of America’s greatest assets, and that’s our entrepreneurial spirit.
And recently we started a new series on the White House website in which my advisors ask for advice from the public, and we gave it a catchy name called Advise the Advisors. And last week, we asked business owners like you to advise us on what drives you, what helps you, but also what holds you back. What are the barriers you’re experiencing that we might be able to help knock down?
So we want to hear about your successes and your failures, and what you learned along the way. So businessmen and women from across the country weighed in. And I know that my staff read every single submission because I told them to read every single submission. (Laughter.)
And one woman in Columbus summed up the entrepreneurial spirit pretty well. She said, “As young as eight years old, I can remember having business ideas, and I was one of those go-getters out there with a lemonade stand, and babysitter clubs and worked as a tutor. I am truly an entrepreneur at heart. It’s not easy to give up a good job for the unknown, but I realize that’s what must be done in order to realize my dreams.”
And so many of you have had that same feeling. You’re willing to take the risk to realize your dreams, and through that you realize America’s dreams.
It’s not easy to jump into the unknown. But each of the business owners here today has done it, whether they’re in advanced biotechnology or just making really good barbecue. (Laughter.)
Just a couple examples of folks who are here: Dr. Albert Green, the CEO of Kent Displays. Is Albert here? Where is he? There he is, Doc. (Applause.) His company is a product of one of NorTech’s clusters -– the Flex Matters Cluster. And that cluster is working to make Cleveland the global epicenter for the development and manufacturing of flexible electronics –- the printing of electronic devices on materials that can bend and flex, like clothing and tablets and medical implants. And we gave them a boost with a contract from the Small Business Administration so they can counsel the small businesses that spring from this cluster on things like patents and exporting, and getting these revolutionary products to market faster.
Kent State University is an integral part of the Flex Matters cluster. And one of the first spinoffs from their Liquid Crystal Institute was Albert’s company. Kent Displays researches, develops and manufactures flexible liquid crystal displays from a state-of-the-art production line in Kent, and it’s the first of its kind in the world. So Dr. Green says, “We’re turning the tables, manufacturing a high-tech product right here in Ohio and selling it in the United States and selling it abroad.” So he almost doubled his staff last year, and wants to keep his manufacturing base right here in Ohio. But to keep up with global competition, he’s got to be able to invest in new technology, and he’s got to draw on a highly skilled local workforce, and he’s got to sell his products around the world easily. So he participated today in the exports session today with Gary Locke, our Secretary of Commerce, and he also joined a trade mission to India. And everywhere they went people were asking: Are your products made in America? The world wants American goods. And my administration is going to go to bat for America’s businesses around the world. You should know that. (Applause.)
And we’ve also got -- Norma Byron is here. Where’s Norma? There you are, Norma. Good to see you. Norma is CEO of Ashlawn Energy up in Painesville, and it’s a company that provides multi-megawatt energy storage solutions using -- and I have no idea what this is -- vanadium redox fuel cells. (Laughter.) That’s one of the coolest things I’ve ever said out loud. (Laughter.) So with help of an award from the Department of Energy’s Smart Grid Program, Ashlawn is poised to manufacture a next-generation energy storage system in Painesville that will improve efficiency. It will help families and businesses cut down on energy waste, save money and reduce dangerous carbon pollution. And they’re also retraining local workers with the skills necessary to manufacture new components.
Now, not everything has to be high-tech. So in 1923, the Miceli family began making fine Italian cheeses right here in Cleveland. And Joe Miceli, where are you? There he is back there, the CEO of Miceli Dairy Products. Last month, Joe received a $5.5 million loan from the SBA’s 504 program, which helps small businesses expand and upgrade their equipment. And it’s allowing Joe to break ground this summer on an expansion of their operation off Buckeye Road. Is that right, Joe? So that expansion won’t just add 60 workers; it’s going to double the output of ricotta cheese -- (laughter and applause) -- making this one of the tastiest investments the government has ever made. (Laughter.) And the second phase of expansion will include a new mozzarella and provolone factory. So I want samples. (Laughter.)
So you guys are leading the way, and we know there are some things government can do to help clear the way for your success. We can make sure America remains the best place on Earth to do business by knocking down barriers that stand in the way of your growth. That’s why we passed 17 different tax cuts for small businesses, why I proposed lowering the corporate tax rate and eliminating unnecessary regulations to help larger businesses create jobs.
We actually talked about this in one of the sessions -- we’ve also got to get our fiscal house in order, and that’s why I’ve put forth a budget that includes a five-year spending freeze that will help reduce the deficit by $400 billion and will get annual domestic spending down to the lowest levels since Dwight Eisenhower. I want to work with Democrats and Republicans to make even bigger dents in our deficits –- find new savings, cut excessive spending wherever it exists.
At the same time, we can’t sacrifice investments in our future. I was just with a group of young people, and one young man who is in the sciences pointed out that he’s concerned that his professors are having more and more trouble getting grants because our R&D budgets in this country had been declining as a relative share to GDP. We’ve decided we’ve got to increase that back up. And that’s part of our budget -- investing in innovation.
To facilitate your success, we’ve got to invest in cutting-edge research and technology. We’ve also got to invest in the skills and training of our workers. And we’ve got to invest in the next transportation and communications networks that move goods and information as fast as possible, because if we don’t, tomorrow’s businesses won’t take root here and you’ll have a harder time competing with the rest of the world.
So if we want to win the future, we’re going to have to out-innovate, out-educate, out-build, and yes, we are going to have to out-hustle the rest of the world. And it’s stories like yours and it’s places like Cleveland that make me absolutely confident that we’re going to be able to do that.
As I said, it’s not always easy to project into the future. Sometimes the unknown is scary. But that hasn’t stopped any of you. And it hasn’t stopped America. We’ve never taken the easy route. We’ve always done what’s hard. We’ve been willing to take risks to do big things. And we also get each other’s backs, just like you’re doing here in Cleveland, because we know that when it comes to America’s success, there’s no room for division between business and labor, and Democrats and Republicans. When it comes to competing for jobs and industries, we are on one team, and that is the American team. We will rise and fall together. (Applause.) I absolutely believe that. And if we keep that in mind, there’s nothing we can’t do.
Thank you very much, everybody. God bless you. God bless the United States of America. (Applause.)
White House, Feb. 22, 2011:
Advise the Advisor: Austan Goolsbee Follow-Up
Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers Austan Goolsbee answers questions about small businesses and the economy and speaks about submissions he received in a recent Advise the Advisor post on Whitehouse.gov as he participates in the Winning the Future Forum on Small Business in Cleveland, OH. The President joins in at 29:07.
Office of the Press Secretary, Feb. 22, 2011:
Remarks by the President in New Media Breakout Session in Cleveland, Ohio
THE PRESIDENT: I'm sorry, did I interrupt an answer?
MS. BERNARD: No. Thanks for joining.
MR. GOOLSBEE: All right, the President of the United States is here. Why don't you tell us why you're here?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, Cleveland I think is a great example of cities all across the country, but especially in the Midwest, who are starting to reinvent themselves. These are typically manufacturing cities. They were built on the auto industry, on heavy manufacturing, steel. And as manufacturing has become much more productive, fewer workers are in manufacturing -- even though manufacturing continues to contribute a lot to the economy -- and so these regions are having to think what’s going to be the businesses of the future that end up employing more people and providing more opportunity. And small businesses are going to be the ones that I think are going to be making the biggest impact on regions like this one -- a lot of risk-takers, a lot of entrepreneurs here.
What we wanted to do is make sure that we listen to small businesses, hear from them, find out what kind of barriers they’re meeting -- whether it’s capital, or finding the right workforce, or how do they partner with larger companies. And so far we've already gotten some terrific ideas.
MR. GOOLSBEE: He’s better at this than we are. (Laughter.) We got some questions for you from WhiteHouse.gov --
THE PRESIDENT: All right.
MR. GOOLSBEE: -- that we were going to shoot to you. James in Addison, Texas: With the virtual death of local banking, it’s next to impossible today to get bank loans for anything other than fixed assets. For working capital, speculative funding, for others, entrepreneurs must look to save capital, family, friends, or even a first customer. Traditional financing sources only help the more traditional forms of business. Innovators must look elsewhere. We're locked in this and we were wondering what your view is.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, one of the things we hear most frequently from small businesses is the problem of start-up capital. Obviously a lot of small businesses do get started with the entrepreneur -- savings, family loans, credit cards. But over the last two years it’s been especially tough for small businesses because of the credit crunch, both in the banking industry as well as the fact that folks don't have home equity loans that they could use potentially to start a business; their credit cards might have been maxed out.
And so what we did over the last two years was try to make sure that the Small Business Administration, the SBA, filled some of this hole. We increased the guarantees that SBA would provide to banks if they loaned -- if they made a loan to a small business. We eliminated some of the fees that might be required. And as a consequence, volume from the Small Business Administration went up substantially.
The other thing that we did was we increased the limits on the loans that might be provided through the SBA. So the SBA has done a lot of good work. The Treasury Department has also tried to make sure that they set up funds that would help to facilitate lending to small businesses. That's especially important in part because small businesses a lot of times have trouble getting loans when their collateral has gone down, the value of their holdings have gone down. And typically that's been real estate for a lot of small businesses.
So we got a range of products that, through the SBA, through Treasury, are providing loans to small businesses, helping encourage small banks to get back into the business of lending again. But we heard some good ideas here today about, for example, providing tax credits for angel investors -- that right now there have been some discussions in Congress about setting up some additional legislation that could help small businesses, and we’re going to see if we can implement it.
MS. BERNARD: We had a lot of questions come in about -- or comments and thoughts about preparing the next-generation workforce. Roy in Temeculah, California, noted: The economy develops in pockets and clusters. Why don't we match this with our workforce development for the best results? We all know that people have many different jobs over their lifetime, and we need to retrain where and when it’s needed -- keep it simple, buy it quickly, keep it local. The local aspect allows easy access for the people that need the training, and it’s tailored to the local environment and conditions.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, the answer is in the question. I think that question is spot on. What you find as you travel around the country is that there’s certain regions that are starting to gain expertise in biotech, or they're starting to gain expertise in advanced battery manufacturing, or they're starting to gain expertise in a particular industry which requires a particular skill set. And if we can get businesses to partner with local community colleges or local universities and have them help to design the training process for the jobs that already exist, it’s a win-win.
For the businesses, it means that all their workforce training costs are absorbed somewhere else, which is obviously good for their bottom line.
For the students, what it means is that if you actually go through this program, you know that there’s going to be a job at the end of the day because the employers have actually helped to design the program. And so Skills for America’s Future is a program that we’ve been trying to implement that gets those partnerships between businesses and colleges and universities.
The local community college is a particular asset that has been under-utilized over the last several years that we want to really ramp up. The Department of Labor is also working with state and local governments so that they can design and tailor their own particular approach to training.
But the key here is to recognize that for the vast majority of folks out there, you're not going to have one job or two jobs during the course of your career; you’re probably going to have six or seven different jobs. And even mid-career, you may have to start retraining.
And what we want to make sure of is, A, that there’s financing out there for you to retrain, which is why we increased access to student loans, eliminating some of the unwarranted subsidies that went to banks so that we could expand the Pell Grant Program; make sure that starting in 2014, if you take out student loans, that in repaying them you’ll never have to pay more than 10 percent of your income. So we’ve expanded access to universities and colleges.
But we also want to make sure that you're being trained for the right stuff. And that's particularly true for your second career, for older students. They’ve got a family, they may be working -- they can’t afford to go to school, take out loans, and then it turns out that what they were getting trained for didn’t provide an immediate job opportunity.....
Generally speaking, though, the -- what I’ll do is just talk about what I’ve heard in some of these forums. In addition to financing, I think the other thing that people really wanted to find out is how can they get mentored and partner with some larger businesses. And we’re very lucky we got Steve Case here who obviously used to be with AOL. He has agreed to be the chairman of our sort of umbrella organization that is Startup America, which is going to help to mentor and partner with would-be entrepreneurs -- get them with more mature businesses, medium-sized business, large businesses.
Because a lot of times what they need is financing, but sometimes what they need is mentoring, networking. They need to -- if you’re in the high-tech space, the most important thing for you is to potentially get in front of a Steve Case or a Steve Jobs or a Mark Zuckerberg or others and get a sense of what it is that is happening in your industry, who are the players there. And so that’s another opportunity through a public/private partnership -- doesn’t cost money, but it can potentially provide opportunities.
MR. GOOLSBEE: And we did hear from a number of people who they’re in a later part of their career and they said, look, we still want to be productive; How can we help out? How can we teach the next generation? It fits with your theme there.
THE PRESIDENT: Absolutely.
So bottom line is that small businesses create two out of every three jobs in America. We’re here in Cleveland to make sure that we’re highlighting all the tools that are available right now to increase opportunities for small businesses -- tax credits if you’re providing health care to your workers; tax credits if you’re interested in investing in a small business. Right now you get zero capital gains on those investments.
There are a whole range of tools that we’re trying to bring to bear to make sure that we continue to be the most dynamic economy in the world. And I’m sure that Austan and Sarah will be interested, monitoring our website to get even better ideas as time comes up, and let’s make sure people know what the website is. It is --
MS. BERNARD: Whitehouse.gov.
THE PRESIDENT: Whitehouse.gov.
All right. Thank you, guys....
STATE NEWS
Department of State, Feb. 22, 2011:
Secretary Clinton Meets With Latvian Foreign Minister Kristovskis
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton meets with Latvian Foreign Minister Girts Valdis Kristovskis at the State Department in Washington, DC February 22, 2011.
Department of State, Feb. 22, 2011:
Remarks With Latvian Foreign Minister Girts Valdis Kristovskis
SECRETARY CLINTON: Good afternoon. Before we begin, I’d like to say a few words about the Middle East. The United States continues to watch the situation in Libya with alarm. Our thoughts and prayers are with those whose lives have been lost and their loved ones, and we join the international community in strongly condemning the violence, as we’ve received reports of hundreds killed and many more injured. This bloodshed is completely unacceptable. It is the responsibility of the Government of Libya to respect the universal rights of their own people, including their right to free expression and assembly. The United States is also gravely concerned by reports of violence in Yemen and elsewhere. We urge restraint and for the governments in the region to respect the rights of their people.
In Bahrain, we welcome King Hamad’s decision to release a number of prisoners and we look forward to implementation. We also welcome Crown Prince Salman’s steps to initiate a meaningful dialogue with the full spectrum of Bahraini society. We hope Bahrain’s friends across the region and around the world will support this initiative as a constructive path to preserve Bahrain’s stability and help meet the aspirations of all its people. As we have said, these steps will need to be followed by concrete actions and reforms. We urge all parties to work quickly so that a national dialogue can produce meaningful measures that respond to the legitimate aspirations of all the people of Bahrain, and we continue to call on the Bahraini Government to exercise restraint. There is no place for violence against peaceful protesters.
The process for a new Tunisia and for a new Egypt has only just begun. We welcome Egypt’s leaders signaling their commitment to an orderly transition to a democratic government, and we look to them to take the concrete steps needed to bring about political change. And we will continue to be a supportive partner to the peoples of both countries as they seek a better future.
Across the Middle East, people are calling on their governments to be more open, more accountable, and more responsive, and the United States believes it is in the interest of governments to engage peacefully and positively in addressing their demands and to work to respond to them. Without genuine progress toward open and accountable political systems, the gap between people and their governments can only grow and instability can only deepen.
It was with great pleasure that I welcomed the foreign minister of Latvia here today, a democracy that is demonstrating by its actions how it can build a better future for its own people. We just held a productive meeting. I expressed our unwavering commitment to Latvia’s security and our support for its continuing economic recovery and the efforts that it is undertaking to ensure prosperity, energy security, and justice for all of its citizens. The United States has maintained an unbroken friendship with Latvia throughout its modern history, when it was at war and under occupation and since it acquired its independence from the Soviet Union, and we have long admired the Latvian people’s resilience throughout very difficult times.
We are proud to call Latvia our partner on many important issues, particularly with regard to global security. Latvia joined us at Lisbon last year to approve NATO’s new Strategic Concept, which will update our alliance so we can meet the diverse threats of the 21st century. And Latvia has been a leading partner in our military and civilian engagements in Afghanistan. As I said at the Munich Security Conference this month, and as I emphasized to the foreign minister today as well, these times of economic uncertainty have done nothing to lessen our enduring commitment to Europe and its security. We remain committed to our responsibilities under Article 5 and to the principles of the Strategic Concept. And we will continue working with our allies, like Latvia, to strengthen the security architecture in Europe for the 21st century.
As we work together for global security, we especially commend the Latvian people for their achievements over the past 20 years as they continue their work toward their own better future. Gaining membership in NATO and the European Union took patience and persistence, and when those memberships came they were richly deserved. And after suffering devastating job losses during this last global recession, they have been undertaking stringent cost-cutting measures necessary to begin a sustainable recovery.
The foreign minister and I discussed many issues from accelerating economic progress toward more energy security for Latvia to reduce its dependence on any one source of energy. And of course, a free economy goes hand in hand with a free and just society, and Latvia has shown its strong commitment to the rule of law. It has supported sanctions against Belarus, whose detention of its own citizens we strongly condemn. We commend Latvia for also reaching out to the Belarusian people with visa liberalization that allows them access to open countries and free media and with partnerships in business school education that expose the students of Belarus to free market principles.
As we look forward to seeing Latvia broaden that commitment by renewing a claims process to return communal property to its own Jewish community, I believe that the sky is the limit for Latvia. We have a shared commitment to values, a view of what is in the best interest of our people. And Minister, it is very gratifying for me to have you here today to reaffirm our strong bonds of friendship and alliance. Thank you....
(In response to Jill Dougherty, CNN))
Well, first, Jill, we are obviously watching developments in Libya with grave concern. We have joined with the international community in strongly condemning the violence in Libya, and we believe that the Government of Libya bears responsibility for what is occurring and must take actions to end the violence.
Now, as always, the safety and well-being of Americans has to be our highest priority, and we are in touch with many Libyan officials directly and indirectly and with other governments in the region to try to influence what is going on inside Libya. The Security Council, as you know, is meeting today to assess the situation and determine whether there are steps the international community can and should take.
As we gain a greater understanding of what actually is happening – because you know, of course, that communication has been very effectively shut down, and we’re trying to gather as much information as possible – we will take appropriate steps in line with our policies, our values, and our laws. But we’re going to have to work in concert with the international community, and I think that the message today is very clear and unambiguous from the entire international community: There is no ambivalence, there is no doubt in anyone’s mind, that the violence must stop and that the Government of Libya has a responsibility to respect the universal rights of all of its citizens and to support the exercise of those rights.
Now, we are also deeply saddened and very upset by the murder of four American citizens whose yacht, The Quest, was seized off the coast of Oman. This deplorable act by the pirates that stalk vessels in the waters off of Somalia firmly underscores the need for the international community to act more decisively together. We’ve got to have a more effective approach to maintaining security on the seas in the ocean lanes that are so essential to commerce and travel.
Our deepest sympathies go to the victims’ families at this time, and we will honor their memory by strengthening international responses and partnerships to bring these criminals to justice and to more effectively end the scourge of piracy, something that should not persist in the 21st century....
NEW ZEALAND
Office of the Press Secretary, Feb. 22, 2011:
Statement by the President on the Earthquake in New Zealand
On behalf of the American people, Michelle and I extend our deepest condolences to the people of New Zealand and to the families and friends of the victims in Christchurch, which has suffered its second major earthquake in just six months. Our thoughts and prayers are with all those whose lives have been touched by this tragedy, especially as they search for their loved ones and work to recover from this disaster. The United States is a close friend and partner of New Zealand, as evidenced by the meeting of the U.S.-New Zealand Partnership Forum that was underway in Christchurch when the earthquake struck. To assist in the rescue and recovery efforts, we have agreed to deploy a U.S. Agency for International Development Disaster Assistance Response Team, including an Urban Search and Rescue Team, and we stand ready to provide more assistance as needed. As our New Zealand friends move forward, may they find some comfort and strength in knowing that they will have the enduring friendship and support of many partners around the world, including the United States.
Department of State, Feb. 22, 2011:
Earthquake in Christchurch; Statement of Secretary Clinton
February 22, 2011:
I am deeply saddened by the news that a second major earthquake in 6 months has struck Christchurch. On behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States, I send our sincere condolences and sympathy to the people of New Zealand.
When the earthquake struck, American and Kiwi officials were in the middle of a meeting in Christchurch, discussing plans to further develop and expand the broad partnership between our nations.
The United States stands ready to provide assistance to the government of New Zealand and to the brave people of Christchurch. Our long history of friendship and mutual support in times of need is an example of our enduring bond.
Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected by this terrible tragedy, especially the families of the victims, and with all the people of New Zealand.
Department of State, Feb. 22, 2011:
Daily Press Briefing: February 22, 2011
U.S. Department of State Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs P.J. Crowley leads the Daily Press Briefing at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, DC February 22, 2011.
Department of State, Feb. 22, 2011:
Daily Press Briefing with Assistant Secretary Crowley
MR. CROWLEY: Good afternoon and welcome to the Department of State. I have several things to go over, given the news from around the world.
Starting first in New Zealand, we just released a statement by Secretary Clinton expressing our deep sadness at the news that a second major earthquake in six months has struck Christchurch. On behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States, we send our sincere condolences and sympathy to the people of New Zealand. When the earthquake struck, American and Kiwi officials were in the middle of a meeting in Christchurch discussing plans to further develop and expand the broad partnership between our nations.
The United States stands ready to provide whatever assistance to the Government of New Zealand and to the brave people of Christchurch that they need. Our long history of friendship and mutual support in times of need is an example of our enduring bond. Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected by this terrible tragedy, especially the families of the victims and all the people of New Zealand.
In that regard, USAID is dispatching a search-and-rescue team from Los Angeles. They are at the airport and they might well be airborne at this hour, but the U.S. DART team – Disaster Assistance Response Team – from AID is overseeing this effort.
QUESTION: What’s their ETA?
MR. CROWLEY: I think – what, for New Zealand, it’ll be --
QUESTION: It’s a long time.
MR. CROWLEY: -- a long time, but sometime tomorrow, New Zealand time....
YOUNG ADULTS AND HEALTH CARE
White House, Feb. 22, 2011:
Young Adults, Get Covered
Kalpen Modi from the White House Office of Public Engagement talks about aspects of the new health care law that are important to you, as a young person.
White House Blog, Feb. 22, 2011:
Help with Insurance Coverage for Young Adults on Facebook
Posted by Macon Phillips
The HealthCare.gov family on Facebook is growing. Today, the Department of Health and Human Services launched a new page dedicated to making sure that young adults and their parents know the steps they need to take to stay insured. The new facebook page contains step-by-step instructions on how young adults can stay on their parents’ plan and features a video with Kalpen Modi, Associate Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement.
Before the Affordable Care Act, health plans could remove enrolled children usually at age 19, sometimes older for full-time students. Now, most health plans that cover children must make coverage available to young adults up to age 26. Parents just need to enroll their children in the appropriate open enrollment period. This gives young adults the flexibility to look for jobs and pursue the higher education of their choice.
Before reform passed, too many young adults struggled to get the care they need:
• 42% of young adults either lost or switched coverage once they graduated from school – 46% of which were uninsured for two or more years.
• 76% of young adults who were uninsured reported not getting needed care because they couldn’t afford it.
• 11.3 million young adults, both uninsured and insured, who were surveyed said they were paying off medical bills.
The Affordable Care Act will help 1.2 million young adults remain on their parent’s health insurance plan and drive down costs for all Americans.