In an address on Friday, President Barack Obama says the stimulus bill is helping Americans by extending unemployment benefits by 20 weeks for some states, pushing the first time home buyer tax credits through April 2010 and cutting taxes for small businesses. (3:21)
In an address Friday, President Barack Obama orders that flags be flown at half staff until Veterans Day in remembrance of those killed at Fort Hood on Thursday. Obama cautions against speculation about the mass shootings, but says that the White House will provide updates about the shootings as available. (1:32)
Travis Martinez, University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service
Vice President Joe Biden was awarded the Distinguished Service Award From the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund Monday night.
While the Vice President was flanked by tele-prompters during his acceptance speech, Biden lived up to his reputation for candor by appearing to deviate from his prepared remarks.
“You take [risks] every damn day,” Biden said. “Walking up a three story walk-up for a domestic dispute, you’re as likely to get your head blown off as you are to be greeted with a hug.”
“Stopping a vehicle on a side street in broad daylight these days, you don’t know when they role down the window if you’re going to have a glock-9 pointed at you or if you’re going to have somebody hand you … the license,” the Vice President continued.
“I think you’re all nuts,” Biden added. “I love you for it.”
The Memorial Fund cited Biden’s unique career in the Senate, with special attention paid to the years Biden spent on the Senate Judiciary Committee, as the basis the for the award.
In attendance were Biden’s two sons Beau and Robert, along with U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) who was a past recipient of the award.
John DuBois, University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service
President Barack Obama announced new small businesses lending initiatives Wednesday aimed at helping small businesses receive more credit and create new jobs. The new policies seek to provide smaller banks with access to TARP funds to encourage lending, coupled with an increase on the caps for existing SBA loans.
“To spur lending to small businesses, it’s essential that we make more credit available to the smaller banks and community financial institutions that these businesses depend on,” the President said during an afternoon speech at the Metropolitan Archives in Landover, Maryland. “These are the community banks who know their borrowers; who gave them their first loan; who have watched them grow from down the street, not from Wall Street.”
“If these institutions put forth a plan to increase lending to small businesses, we will help them get the capital they need to do it at rates that are more affordable than the ones offered to our largest financial institutions,” Obama added.
By Meagan Wiseley, University of New Mexico-Talk Radio News Service
-Recovery Act
Robert Gibbs introduced Jared Bernstein and Melody Barnes to discuss the report released this morning on education-based jobs saved by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Bernstein, the Chief Economist and Economic Policy Advisor to Vice President Joe Biden, said that preliminary recipient data that is coming in to the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board shows 250,000 education jobs saved or created. These jobs are a subset of the 1 million jobs saved or created thus far through the act, which leaves the Economic Council on track to accomplish the stated goal of saving or creating 3.5 million jobs by later next year.
Bernstein added that the data reflects direct jobs, or jobs that are directly created and funded through spending in the Recovery Act. The Council of Economic Advisers has estimated that the Act has saved about 1 million jobs so far, and this estimate includes direct and indirect jobs.
Bernstein said this is clearly the most transparent and accountable treatment of a government program that has ever been seen before.
Barnes, the Director of the Domestic Policy Council, said the Recovery Act has made schools able to avert massive layoffs and also created jobs for educators in the pre-kindergarten, K-12 and higher education fields.
Barnes pointed out that preventing layoffs averted class size expansion, which has been a concern in the educational context.
Additionally, Barnes said reforms have been put in place to increase standards and assessments, teacher effectiveness and student progress tracking. An extended school day and school year for struggling schools has also been implemented.
When asked how the revenues to keep the new jobs in place when the federal dollars from the Recovery Act money are gone, Barnes said the administrations was very cognizant of such a scenario when developing the Recovery Act and that it was created in the context of the economy improving. Thus, states would be able to support these jobs and increases once the economy strengthens.
-Afghanistan
On the possibility of a runoff election in Afghanistan, Gibbs said that, in his assessment, General McChrystal knew the election would be taken into account. Gibbs said a sizable American force in Afghanistan must be met with a credible partner, and that, without a credible partner, no one involved can make a difference. Gibbs said he is supportive of Deputy Chairman of NATO, Lt. Gen. Karl Eikenberry’s plan to work with Afghan President Hamid Karzai on this matter.
Gibbs refused to comment on hypothetical situations regarding a future election, but did say the administration is encouraging processes by the Afghan people to choose a candidate that is legitimate.
-Health Care Reform
On Heath Care reform, Gibbs said the administration is working to ensure choice and competition in the insurance market. He said the President has been clear on his preference for a public option to be in the final bill.
-Sudan
On Sudan, Gibbs said a comprehensive policy is needed to deal with the humanitarian crisis in Darfur. Gibbs said there is pressure being put on the Sudanese government, and if steps are taken to address components of this issue by the government, there will be incentives.
-Iran
On Iran, Gibbs said that Iran has an opportunity and a responsibility to demonstrate to the world their purpose for a nuclear program. He said the U.S. obligation is to get a sizable amount of low enriched uranium out of Iran in order to make the world more secure.
-Economy
On the financial sector, and Godlman Sachs/JP Morgan executive bonuses, Gibbs said the administration does not want to be in the business of executive compensation. He said last September that the American people went through great lengths to make sure the financial system didn’t collapse. He said the banks are equally as responsible to ensure that it doesn’t happen again.
President Barack Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday “for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples”, making him the third U.S. sitting president to win the Prize. Click the audo link below to listen to the President’s full remarks regarding the award. (5:53)
By Talk Radio News Service White House Staff
President Obama says he was “surprised and deeply humbled” to be awarded this year’s Nobel Peace Prize. Mr. Obama, who learned the news in a 6:00 a.m. phone call from White House Secretary Robert Gibbs, will travel to Oslo, Norway for the Dec. 10 award ceremony, which comes with a $1.4 million prize.
Standing in a sunny Rose Garden Friday morning, Obama said he doesn’t feel like he deserves “to be in the company” of prior winners,” adding “I do not view it as a recognition of my accomplishments, but rather as an affirmation of American leadership.”
The Norwegian Nobel Committee, which made the stunning announcement around 5:00 a.m. Eastern time, said it selected Mr. Obama for his “extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.”
Asked by Talk Radio News about First Lady Michelle Obama’s reaction, the President declined to comment. He appeared to downplay the event, saying daughter Malia came into the their bedroom to say “You won the Nobel Peace Prize.”
Just 8 1/2 months into the job, Mr. Obama is now the third sitting American President to win the coveted award. Theodore Roosevelt won in 1906 for brokering an end to a war betwen Russia and Japan, and Woodrow Wilson was selected for the honor in 1919 for helping to establish the League of Nations after World War I.
By Meagan Wiseley – University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service
Today, President Barack Obama invited 150 physicians from each U.S. state to the White House in an attempt to showcase the medical community’s support for his health care reform proposals. Obama said the physicians have experienced first-hand the problems with the U.S. health care system.
“These men and women here would not be supporting health insurance reform if they really believed that it would lead to government bureaucrats making decisions that are best left to doctors,” said Obama. “They wouldn’t be here today if they believed that reform in any way would damage the very critical and sacred doctor-patient relationship.”
One doctor in attendance is an official from the American Medical Association, Obama said. The AMA is “the nation’s largest organization representing physicians from every state and nearly every medical specialty… [and is] committed to achieving health system reform,” according to its website.
Obama said that nurses and physicians know the system best and urged them to “speak out strongly” on why heath care reform is needed. With their help, the President said he is confident that some form of health reform will pass through Congress this year.
The President, speaking just a few minutes ago, calls today‘s historic nuclear talks with Iran “constructive,” but says it’s just a beginning. The next steps, Obama says, are up to Tehran.
Speaking in the Diplomatic Reception, the President said Iran has just 14 days to allow inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) into its uranium-enrichment facility near Qum. He added Iran must follow up by being more transparent. The entire international community, Mr. Obama claimed, “is united” on this matter.
But during today’s talks in Geneva between Iran and the so-called P5+1 (the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany), Iran gave no indication that it is willing to back down on its nuclear program.
At the talks, which included the highest-level bilateral discussions between the U.S. and Iran in years, Tehran also agreed to an additional meeting later this month.
Asked whether the additional talks are merely an attempt by Tehran to stall the West, presidential press secretary Robert Gibbs said: “The Iranians need to understand that we mean business.” If talks do not yield fruitful results soon – and by soon, the White House means Dec. 31 – then tougher sanctions will be on the table, Gibbs said.
What kind of sanctions is Obama considering? The President is said to be weighing the cutoff of gasoline supplies to Iran, the thought being that this would further weaken the wobbly Iranian economy. Why does Iran – the world’s 4th biggest oil producer – have to import gasoline in the first place? Because existing sanctions have choked its refineries of spare parts needed to process enough crude to meet its needs – it is estimated that Tehran imports about 25% of its gas.
These sanctions have, in fact, appeared to have an impact. The CIA has reported that fuel shortages forced the regime to ration fuel in July 2007 and impose a stiff fuel tax in October of last year. Both moves, intelligence analysts say, “were met with stiff resistance and violent protests.”
– TRNS Staff
We’re about to get President Obama’s reaction to today’s talks in Geneva between Iran and the so-called P5+1; the president will speak in the Diplomatic Reception room at 3:05 Eastern.
As for the talks themselves, there has been no indication that Iran is willing to back down on its nuclear program. But Tehran has agreed to allow international nuclear inspectors into its uranium-enrichment facility near Qum – no word on when – it also claims that last week’s disclosure of the facility means that Iran has now disclosed all of its nuclear facilities to the West.
At the talks, which included the highest-level bilateral discussions between the U.S. and Iran in years, Tehran also agreed to an additional meeting later this month.
Asked whether the additional talks are merely an attempt by Tehran to stall the West, presidential press secretary Robert Gibbs said: “The Iranians need to understand that we mean business.” If talks do not yield fruitful results soon – and by soon, the White House means Dec. 31 – then tougher sanctions will be on the table, Gibbs said.
What kind of sanctions is Obama considering? The President is said to be weighing the cutoff of gasoline supplies to Iran, the thought being that this would further weaken the wobbly Iranian economy. Why does Iran – the world’s 4th biggest oil producer – have to import gasoline in the first place? Because existing sanctions have choked its refineries of spare parts needed to process enough crude to meet its needs – it is estimated that Tehran imports about 25% of its gas.
These sanctions have, in fact, appeared to have an impact. The CIA has reported that fuel shortages forced the regime to ration fuel in July 2007 and impose a stiff fuel tax in October of last year. Both moves, intelligence analysts say, “were met with stiff resistance and violent protests.”
– TRNS Staff
