Barack Obama

November 17, 2009 -- Today, President Barack Obama and President Hu Jintao announced a far-reaching package of measures to strengthen cooperation between the United States and China on clean energy. Attached are six fact sheets on the U.S-China clean energy announcements.    » read more »

November 17, 2009 -- Beijing, China -- At the invitation of President Hu Jintao of the People’s Republic of China, President Barack Obama of the United States of America is paying a state visit to China from November 15–18, 2009. The Presidents held in-depth, productive and candid discussions on U.S.-China relations and other issues of mutual interest.    » read more »

November 17, 2009 -- Washington, DC – Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced today that DOE is awarding nearly $40 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to Florida and Maine to support clean energy projects. Under DOE’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) program, these states will implement programs that lower energy use, reduce carbon pollution, and create green jobs locally.    » read more »

November 17, 2009 -- WASHINGTON -- Attorney General Eric Holder, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan, and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairwoman Mary Schapiro today announced that President Barack Obama has established by Executive Order an interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to strengthen efforts to combat financial crime.    » read more »

Countries Discuss Outer Space Cooperation

BEIJING -- November 17, 2009 -- China and the United States today released a joint statement at the conclusion of formal talks between President Obama and President Hu Jintao that included agreements on nuclear weapons issues and cooperation in space.

In the statement, the United States and China "reaffirmed their commitment made on 27 June 1998 not to target at each other the strategic nuclear weapons under their respective control." This reverses a decision by the Bush administration, which was first announced in the 2002 Nuclear Posture Review, to target China with U.S. nuclear weapons.    » read more »

November 16, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – Today, President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to key administration posts:

• Julie Brill, Commissioner, Federal Trade Commission
• Edith Ramirez, Commissioner, Federal Trade Commission
• Scott H. DeLisi, Ambassador to the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, Department of State
• Beatrice W. Welters, Ambassador to the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, Department of State
• Earl F. Gohl, Jr., Federal Co-Chair, Appalachian Regional Commission

President Obama said, “These individuals bring a depth of experience to their respective roles, and I am confident they will serve my administration and the American people well. I look forward to working with them in the months and years ahead.”    » read more »

November 16, 2009 -- “As American families prepare to gather for Thanksgiving, we received an unsettling report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that found that hunger rose significantly last year. This trend was already painfully clear in many communities across our nation, where food stamp applications are surging and food pantry shelves are emptying.

It is particularly troubling that there were more than 500,000 families in which a child experienced hunger multiple times over the course of the year. Our children’s ability to grow, learn, and meet their full potential – and therefore our future competitiveness as a nation – depends on regular access to healthy meals.    » read more »

November 17, 2009 -- Beijing, China - Today, President Barack Obama and President Hu Jintao announced a far-reaching package of measures to strengthen cooperation between the United States and China on clean energy. Please see the attached fact sheets for additional details on each of the U.S-China clean energy announcements.    » read more »

In Letter to Obama, Markey encourages President to Dramatically Alter our Nuclear Weapons Mission

November 16, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Representative Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee Subcommittee on Energy and the Environment and the founder of the House Bipartisan Task Force on Nonproliferation, today wrote to President Obama encouraging him to dramatically rethink the way nuclear weapons are used in our country.

Markey urged President Obama to continue his strong leadership on nuclear arms control and nonproliferation with the administration’s forthcoming Nuclear Posture Review, which formally defines the missions and requirements for the U.S. nuclear arsenal.    » read more »

Sends Letter to the President Urging Action

November 16, 2009 -- Representative Mike Capuano today called on President Barack Obama to use the remaining funds from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) to create jobs.

In a letter to the President, Rep. Capuano noted that the unemployment rate is at a "26 year high" and asked the President to "direct the remaining TARP funds towards projects that put more Americans back to work." With $210 billion in TARP funds currently unspent, and another $50 billion expected to be repaid in the next year, Rep. Capuano urged that these funds should be used for job creation.

"TARP was established to address the financial crisis," state Rep. Capuano in his letter. "I do not believe we can reasonably say that the job of TARP is complete."    » read more »

November 14, 2009 -- Filing Center, Hotel Okura, Tokyo, Japan -- MR. GIBBS: Hello, everyone. I'll take a few questions after this. We've got joining us today Michael Froman, Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economic Affairs, to walk you through a little preview of APEC; and Ben Rhodes, if there are any lingering questions from today's speech. And I'll give it to them.    » read more »

November 16, 2009 -- Museum of Science and Technology, Shanghai, China -- PRESIDENT OBAMA: Good afternoon. It is a great honor for me to be here in Shanghai, and to have this opportunity to speak with all of you. I'd like to thank Fudan University's President Yang for his hospitality and his gracious welcome. I'd also like to thank our outstanding Ambassador, Jon Huntsman, who exemplifies the deep ties and respect between our nations. I don't know what he said, but I hope it was good. (Laughter.)    » read more »

November 12, 2009 -- Diplomatic Reception Room -- THE PRESIDENT: Good morning, everybody. Before departing for Asia this morning, I’d like to make a brief statement about the economy.

Over the past 10 months, we’ve taken a number of bold steps to break the back of this recession. We’ve worked to stabilize the financial system, revive lending to small businesses and families, and prevent responsible homeowners from losing their homes. And through the Recovery Act, we’ve cut taxes for middle class families, extended and increased unemployment insurance, and created and saved more than a million jobs.    » read more »

November 13, 2009 -- BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

Every day, Americans who recycle conserve valuable resources while reducing our Nation's carbon footprint. The reprocessing of materials is fundamental to our future prosperity, as recycling helps preserve our natural environment and sustain our economy. Recycling in the United States is a $236 billion industry, employing 1.1 million workers nationwide in 56,000 businesses. On America Recycles Day, we celebrate the individuals, communities, local governments, and businesses that recycle their waste and continually think of innovative ways to use materials that might otherwise be discarded.    » read more »