What Government Did Today

Camp Victory Baghdad, Iraq VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN:  Ladies and gentlemen, the last several years, every time I have been in this old palace, am here, I can’t but help think of the irony that we are here today occupying a palace for a noble reason that was once occupied by Saddam Hussein.  Secretary Gates, Admiral Mullen, General Mattis, General Odierno, General Austin, Ambassador Jeffrey, our distinguished and honored Iraqi leaders and military, it’s an honor to be with you today.  It’s an honor to be joined by such a distinguished group of Americans and Iraqi commanders and civilian leaders bound together, I might add — as a nation, we are now bound together as well by years of shared struggle and significant sacrifice. In the predawn hours of March 20, 2003, columns of coalition troops set off across the desert and marshlands from Kuwait en route to Baghdad.  Last week — after seven-and-a-half years that tested our mettle like no conflict in recent American history — the last of our combat units followed that same dusty highway out of Iraq, on their way home

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Remarks by Vice President Joseph Biden at the Change of Command Ceremony for United States Forces-Iraq

El Paso, Texas 10:54 A.M.

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Remarks by the President During Fort Bliss Army Base Visit

11:40 A.M. EDT MR

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Press Gaggle by Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton and Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications Ben Rhodes aboard Air Force One en route Fort Bliss, Texas

11:08 A.M. CDT THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you very much.  (Applause.)  Everybody, please have a seat.  Thank you very much.  It is wonderful to be at ZBB Energy.  And thanks for your hospitality, and thanks for helping to build a future.

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Remarks by the President on Clean Energy Manufacturing in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin

WASHINGTON – On the 75th anniversary of Social Security being signed into law, President Obama promised that he would protect it from the Republican leaders in Congress who have made privatization a key part of their agenda. Despite the financial crisis, they still believe that gambling Social Security on Wall Street is a good idea.  This President will not let that happen.  For several generations, Social Security has been a promise to America’s seniors – that they will have the chance to retire with dignity – and he will safeguard that promise.   The audio and video of the address will be available online at www.whitehouse.gov at 6:00 am ET, Saturday, August 14, 2010

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Weekly Address: President Obama Promises to Protect Social Security from Republican Plans to Privatize It

On behalf of the American people, Michelle and I want to extend our best wishes to Muslims in America and around the world. Ramadan Kareem. Ramadan is a time when Muslims around the world reflect upon the wisdom and guidance that comes with faith, and the responsibility that human beings have to one another, and to God.  This is a time when families gather, friends host iftars, and meals are shared.  But Ramadan is also a time of intense devotion and reflection – a time when Muslims fast during the day and pray during the night; when Muslims provide support to others to advance opportunity and prosperity for people everywhere.  For all of us must remember that the world we want to build – and the changes that we want to make – must begin in our own hearts, and our own communities

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Statement by the President on the Occasion of Ramadan

Welcome Home Ceremony for the 2nd Brigade Combat Team from Iraq Fort Drum, New York Wednesday, July 28, 2010 As Prepared for Delivery— Good afternoon and thank you all for coming. It is an honor to be back up here in the North Country, with some the Army’s finest soldiers and your outstanding leaders, Major General Terry and Sergeant Major Greca. I want to thank my wife, Dr.

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Remarks of Vice President Biden at the Welcome Home Ceremony for the 2nd Brigade Combat Team from Iraq

Tomorrow, President Obama will meet with a group of small business owners at Tastee Sub Shop in Edison, New Jersey, to discuss the economy and urge Congress to pass support for small businesses, the engines of private sector job growth.  The President will discuss with the small business owners how the small business legislation that the Senate is expected to vote on this week will help businesses like theirs grow and hire more workers. A fact sheet on President Obama’s small business jobs proposals is attached. The small business provisions that the President has put forward will help small businesses like the ones the President will meet with by: • Providing small banks on Main Street with capital and incentives to lend to small businesses on Main Street, so that these businesses can renew a credit line, purchase new equipment or open a new location

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FACT SHEET: President Obama to Meet with Small Business Owners, Urge Congress to Act to Support Small Businesses and Create Jobs

The lapse in extended unemployment insurance benefits at the end of May has resulted in 2.5 million jobless Americans exhausting their assistance.  If we do not reinstate benefits by the end of the month, this number will grow to 3.2 million.  These losses are exacting an enormous human toll on families who count on these benefits as they continue to search for jobs. As the President recently remarked :  “Lasting unemployment takes a toll on families, takes a toll on marriages, takes a toll on children.  It saps the vitality of communities, especially in places that have seen factories and other anchoring businesses shut their doors.  And being unable to find work – being able to provide for your family – that doesn’t just affect your economic security, that affects your heart and your soul.  It beats you up.  It’s hard.” It is also bad for the economy.  But unemployment insurance puts money in the pockets of the families most likely to spend the money – which in turn expands the economy and creates jobs.  The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has identified increased aid to the unemployed as one of the two most cost-effective policy options for increasing economic production and employment

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The Economic Case for Extending Unemployment Insurance

On behalf of the American people, President Obama sends his condolences to the people of Lithuania on the death of former Lithuanian President Algirdas Brazauskas.   President Brazauskas played a central role in the restoration of Lithuania’s independence with a deep commitment to the principles of democracy.  As president and later prime minister, Algirdas Brazauskas strengthened his country’s Euro-Atlantic security relationships with Lithuania’s accession to the NATO alliance and guided its integration into the European Union.  The relationship between the United States and Lithuania expanded and deepened under President Brazauskas’ leadership, founded upon shared interests and shared values.  The American people join the people of Lithuania and his family in mourning the loss of a great man who dedicated his life to his country, its freedom, and its security.

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Statement by the Press Secretary on the Death of Former President Algirdas Brazauskas of the Republic of Lithuania