"We know what we’re fighting for. We can see the America we believe in—a country where everybody gets a fair shot." --- President Barack Obama
Speaking at the opening of the 2012 National Urban League Conference in New Orleans Wednesday night, President Obama touched on several items with a recurring theme of building stronger communities.
From touching on the tragedy in Colorado to the shootings on the South Side of Chicago (his first mention publicly of the Chicago shootings) , the president said he vows to "work with both parties to arrive at a consensus on violence reduction, at every step." He said he is open to "looking at everything we can do to keep our children safe. We must leave no stone unturned. We have no greater mission than keeping our children safe."
The president did suggest implementing stiffer background checks on gun buyers and restrictions to keep the mentally unbalanced from buying weapons, but did not indicate whether or not he was 'open' to changing the nation's current gun laws.
President Obama also reiterated his commitment to education for all and reminded students they still have to do the work. "You gotta earn success", emphasized the President, in a tone not like the condescending tone he used at last year's Congressional Black Caucus annual dinner where he told the predominantly African American audience to "pull yourself up by your own bootstraps". His language offended some African Americans who suggested that he never used that language with other American groups who have asked the president to address the needs and concerns of their population.
Instead, he explained to the National Urban League attendees that the nation's competitors are "not hanging out, and suggested they're not watching excessive amounts of television. "They're not watching "Real Housewives", the president said.
The United States lags behind other nations in education, suggesting that there is less television watching being done by students in developing nations like China, India, and Japan, but rather more studying.
The president earlier today laid out his commitment to strong families in an effort to attract jobs and promote economic growth. On the top of the list: providing tax relief for America's middle class. The debate over whether to extend tax breaks to the rich should be extended come 2013 still finds both political parties at odds with each other.
Still, the president's commitments to building stronger communities and better education for Americans include:
· Creating opportunity and mobility for children by reforming K-12 and early education. The President has devoted more than $4 billion to turning around our lowest performing schools, and some of them are making encouraging gains in reading and math proficiency. And the President has invested in early childhood education, including Head Start, Early Head Start, and child care assistance, benefiting tens of thousands of low income children. The Administration also has invested in new child nutrition programs, to make sure fewer young people go hungry.
· Putting the cost of college within reach for more families, including the largest investment in higher education since the G.I. Bill. Since the beginning of the Administration, the President has dramatically increased Pell Grant funding, helping make college affordable for an additional 200,000 African American students, created the American Opportunity Tax Credit to ease college costs for over 9 million families, and championed bold and comprehensive reform of student loans that will save taxpayers $68 billion over the next decade. Together, these represent the largest investments in higher education since the G.I. Bill. The Administration has also dramatically increased investments in historically black colleges and universities.
· Secure, affordable health care coverage. Within a month of taking office, the President signed the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act into law, expanding health coverage to more than 4 million children who would otherwise go uninsured. And the historic Affordable Care Act will extend coverage to millions of uninsured African Americans by 2016, and prevent insurance companies from charging women more than men and discriminating against those with preexisting conditions such as diabetes or cancer.
· Helping responsible homeowners feel secure in their homes. The Administration’s programs, both through their direct and indirect impact on the market, have helped more than 4 million families permanently modify their mortgages so they can stay in their homes. And the President, as part of the American Jobs Act, has proposed a $15 billion investment in Project Rebuild, which would put construction workers back on the job repurposing and rehabilitating vacant properties.
· Creating Pathways Back to Work. Through the Recovery Act, over 260,000 low-income adults and youth were placed in subsidized jobs and an additional 367,000 low-income youth received summer employment. Building on these successful strategies, the President has proposed a new Pathways Back to Work Fund to support summer and year-round employment opportunities for low-income youth and adults and for the long-term unemployed. In addition, recognizing that we can’t wait for Congress to act, President Obama has announced nearly 300,000 summer jobs and other employment opportunities for youth and new online tools to help youth access opportunities.
·Strong Cities, Strong Communities (SC2) is an inter agency pilot initiative to strengthen the capacity of local governments by partnering with them to execute their economic visions. The Obama Administration has deployed inter agency teams of Federal officials to work with the Mayor’s office in six pilot cities – Fresno, Memphis, Detroit, New Orleans, Chester, and Cleveland – helping to leverage Federal investments, advance specific economic development projects and build collaboration to encourage economic growth. In addition to SC2, the Obama Administration has created the Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative, which has invested more than $345 million in the nation’s persistent pockets of poverty since 2009—reaching 68 communities with an interdisciplinary, place-based, and data-driven approach to holistic community change.
These initiatives are admirable, and we look forward to the president implementing these same ideas and policies so that families and youth here in the Nation's Capital can also see economic and job growth, and stronger families.
The city's unemployment rate of African American teens still remains at an all-time high.
Ending his speech, the president said, “We are Americans, and we don’t quit. We accept responsibility. We keep going. We keep marching. We keep moving forward.”
Speaking at the opening of the 2012 National Urban League Conference in New Orleans Wednesday night, President Obama touched on several items with a recurring theme of building stronger communities.
From touching on the tragedy in Colorado to the shootings on the South Side of Chicago (his first mention publicly of the Chicago shootings) , the president said he vows to "work with both parties to arrive at a consensus on violence reduction, at every step." He said he is open to "looking at everything we can do to keep our children safe. We must leave no stone unturned. We have no greater mission than keeping our children safe."
The president did suggest implementing stiffer background checks on gun buyers and restrictions to keep the mentally unbalanced from buying weapons, but did not indicate whether or not he was 'open' to changing the nation's current gun laws.
 |
| President Obama speaking at the 2012 National Urban League conference in New Orleans. |
Instead, he explained to the National Urban League attendees that the nation's competitors are "not hanging out, and suggested they're not watching excessive amounts of television. "They're not watching "Real Housewives", the president said.
The United States lags behind other nations in education, suggesting that there is less television watching being done by students in developing nations like China, India, and Japan, but rather more studying.
 |
| A stern-faced President Obama with a smiling NUL president, Marc Morial, at the 2012 NUL conference in New Orleans. |
Still, the president's commitments to building stronger communities and better education for Americans include:
· Creating opportunity and mobility for children by reforming K-12 and early education. The President has devoted more than $4 billion to turning around our lowest performing schools, and some of them are making encouraging gains in reading and math proficiency. And the President has invested in early childhood education, including Head Start, Early Head Start, and child care assistance, benefiting tens of thousands of low income children. The Administration also has invested in new child nutrition programs, to make sure fewer young people go hungry.
· Putting the cost of college within reach for more families, including the largest investment in higher education since the G.I. Bill. Since the beginning of the Administration, the President has dramatically increased Pell Grant funding, helping make college affordable for an additional 200,000 African American students, created the American Opportunity Tax Credit to ease college costs for over 9 million families, and championed bold and comprehensive reform of student loans that will save taxpayers $68 billion over the next decade. Together, these represent the largest investments in higher education since the G.I. Bill. The Administration has also dramatically increased investments in historically black colleges and universities.
· Secure, affordable health care coverage. Within a month of taking office, the President signed the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act into law, expanding health coverage to more than 4 million children who would otherwise go uninsured. And the historic Affordable Care Act will extend coverage to millions of uninsured African Americans by 2016, and prevent insurance companies from charging women more than men and discriminating against those with preexisting conditions such as diabetes or cancer.
· Helping responsible homeowners feel secure in their homes. The Administration’s programs, both through their direct and indirect impact on the market, have helped more than 4 million families permanently modify their mortgages so they can stay in their homes. And the President, as part of the American Jobs Act, has proposed a $15 billion investment in Project Rebuild, which would put construction workers back on the job repurposing and rehabilitating vacant properties.
· Creating Pathways Back to Work. Through the Recovery Act, over 260,000 low-income adults and youth were placed in subsidized jobs and an additional 367,000 low-income youth received summer employment. Building on these successful strategies, the President has proposed a new Pathways Back to Work Fund to support summer and year-round employment opportunities for low-income youth and adults and for the long-term unemployed. In addition, recognizing that we can’t wait for Congress to act, President Obama has announced nearly 300,000 summer jobs and other employment opportunities for youth and new online tools to help youth access opportunities.
·Strong Cities, Strong Communities (SC2) is an inter agency pilot initiative to strengthen the capacity of local governments by partnering with them to execute their economic visions. The Obama Administration has deployed inter agency teams of Federal officials to work with the Mayor’s office in six pilot cities – Fresno, Memphis, Detroit, New Orleans, Chester, and Cleveland – helping to leverage Federal investments, advance specific economic development projects and build collaboration to encourage economic growth. In addition to SC2, the Obama Administration has created the Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative, which has invested more than $345 million in the nation’s persistent pockets of poverty since 2009—reaching 68 communities with an interdisciplinary, place-based, and data-driven approach to holistic community change.
These initiatives are admirable, and we look forward to the president implementing these same ideas and policies so that families and youth here in the Nation's Capital can also see economic and job growth, and stronger families.
The city's unemployment rate of African American teens still remains at an all-time high.
Ending his speech, the president said, “We are Americans, and we don’t quit. We accept responsibility. We keep going. We keep marching. We keep moving forward.”
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