What Government Did Today » house

Statement by the President on Passage of the STOCK Act

White House — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 04:17:00 +0000

Release Time: For Immediate Release In my State of the Union Address, I laid out a blueprint for an economy built to last, where everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules – especially those of us who have been sent here to serve the American people. Last week, I called on Congress to pass a bill that makes clear that Members of Congress may not engage in insider trading. No one should be able to trade stocks based on nonpublic information gleaned on Capitol Hill

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Statement by the President on Passage of the STOCK Act

Remarks by the President on Housing

White House — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 22:18:00 +0000

Release Time: For Immediate Release James Lee Community Center Falls Church, Virginia 11:05 A.M. EST THE PRESIDENT: Hello, everybody! (Applause.) Thank you so much. Thank you. (Applause.) Thank you so much. Everybody please have a seat. Have a seat. It is great to be back in Falls Church. (Applause.) Thank you for having me. Last week, in my State of the Union, I laid out my blueprint for an economy that’s built to last. And I want to assure you I am not going to go over the whole thing again this morning. (Laughter.) That was a long speech. I'm not going to repeat the whole thing. (Laughter.) But I do want to talk about some of the issues that I discussed last week because the blueprint we put forward was one that focuses on restoring what have always been this country's greatest strengths — American manufacturing, American energy, skills and education for American workers so that we can compete with anybody around the world in this 21st century economy, and most importantly, the American values of fairness and responsibility. Fairness and responsibility. (Applause.) Now, we know what happens, because we've just seen it — what happened when we stray from those values. We saw what happened over the past decade when we strayed from those values — especially when it comes to the massive housing bubble that burst and hurt so many people. Millions of families who did the right and the responsible thing, folks who shopped for a home that they could afford, secured a mortgage, made their payments each month — they were hurt badly by the irresponsible actions of other people who weren’t playing by the same rules, weren’t taking the same care, weren’t acting as responsibly. By lenders who sold loans to people who they knew couldn’t afford the mortgages; and buyers who bought homes they knew they couldn’t afford; and banks that packaged those mortgages up and traded them to reap phantom profits, knowing that they were building a house of cards. It was wrong. It was wrong. It triggered the worst economic crisis of our lifetimes. And it has been the single biggest drag on our recovery from a terrible recession. Crushing debt has kept millions of consumers from spending. A lack of building demand has kept hundreds of thousands of construction workers idle. Everybody involved in the home-building business — folks who make windows, folks who make carpets — they've all been impacted. The challenge is massive in size and in scope, because we've got a multitrillion-dollar housing industry. And economists can tell you how it’s affected all sorts of statistics, from GDP to consumer confidence. But what’s at stake is more than just statistics. It’s personal. I’ve been saying that this is a make-or-break moment for the middle class. And this housing crisis struck right at the heart of what it means to be middle class in America: our homes — the place where we invest our nest egg, place where we raise our family, the place where we plant roots in a community, the place where we build memories. It’s personal. It affects so much of how people feel about their lives, about their communities, about the country, about the economy. We need to do everything in our power to repair the damage and make responsible families whole again. Everything we can. (Applause.) Now, the truth is it’s going to take more time than any of us would like for the housing market to fully recover from this crisis. This was a big bubble, and when it burst it had a big effect. Home prices started a pretty steady decline about five years ago. And government certainly can’t fix the entire problem on its own. But it is wrong for anybody to suggest that the only option for struggling, responsible homeowners is to sit and wait for the housing market to hit bottom. (Applause.) I refuse to accept that, and so do the American people.

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Remarks by the President on Housing

Remarks by the President at the House Democrats Issues Conference

White House — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 01:13:00 +0000

Release Time: For Immediate Release Hyatt Regency Hotel Cambridge, Maryland 1:36 P.M. EST THE PRESIDENT: Thank you! Thank you, everybody. (Applause.) Thank you. All right, everybody have a seat. Now, let me begin by saying I was told that on a CD that I've just received — (laughter) — that all of you participated in a rendition of Al Green. (Laughter.) What I did not realize was that you also had a reverend who can preach as good as Al Green in John Larson. (Applause.) I kept on looking for the collection plate getting passed. (Laughter.) But, John, thank you for that rousing introduction. To the leader of this august body and soon to be once again Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi — (applause.) To the rest of the leadership team — Steny Hoyer, Jim Clyburn, Xavier Becerra, and the best possible chair we could have for the DNC, Debbie Wasserman Schultz. (Applause.) We've got an all-star team assembled and ready to get to work

Remarks by the President Unveiling a Strategy to Help Boost Travel and Tourism

White House — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 02:12:00 +0000

Release Time: For Immediate Release Walt Disney World Resort Orlando, Florida 12:40 P.M.

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Remarks by the President Unveiling a Strategy to Help Boost Travel and Tourism

Letter — Continuation of the National Emergency with Respect to Terrorists who Threaten to Disrupt the Middle East Peace Process

White House — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 22:09:00 +0000

Release Time: For Immediate Release TEXT OF A LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT TO THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE January 19, 2012 Dear Mr. Speaker: (Dear Mr. President:) Section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C

Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jay Carney, 1/12/2012

White House — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 03:35:47 +0000

Release Time: For Immediate Release Location: James S. Brady Press Briefing Room 1:42 P.M. EST Q Contacts?

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Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jay Carney, 1/12/2012

Readout of the President’s Call with University of Alabama Coach Nick Saban

White House — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 02:11:00 +0000

Release Time: For Immediate Release Earlier today, President Obama called Coach Nick Saban to congratulate him and the University of Alabama on their BCS Championship and their exceptional 2011-2012 season. The President said that he watched the entire championship game and could not have been more impressed with the Crimson Tide’s performance

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Readout of the President’s Call with University of Alabama Coach Nick Saban

Presidential Memorandum — Delegation of a Certain Function and Authority Conferred upon the President by Section 1235(c) of the Ike Skelton National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2011

White House — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 23:23:00 +0000

Release Time: For Immediate Release MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF STATE SUBJECT: Delegation of a Certain Function and Authority Conferred upon the President by Section 1235(c) of the Ike Skelton National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2011 By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, including section 301 of title 3, United States Code, I hereby delegate to you the function and authority conferred upon the President by section 1235(c) of the Ike Skelton National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2011, Public Law 111-383, to make the specified report to the Committees on Armed Services, Foreign Relations, Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, and Appropriations of the Senate and the Committees on Armed Services, Foreign Affairs, Oversight and Government Reform, and Appropriations of the House of Representatives. You are authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.

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Presidential Memorandum — Delegation of a Certain Function and Authority Conferred upon the President by Section 1235(c) of the Ike Skelton National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2011

Press Gaggle by Press Secretary Jay Carney en route Cleveland, OH

White House — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 23:14:00 +0000

Release Time: For Immediate Release 11:12 A.M. EST MR. CARNEY: Thank you all for joining us on our flight to Cleveland, Ohio, and on this trip

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Press Gaggle by Press Secretary Jay Carney en route Cleveland, OH

Readout of the President’s Call with Speaker Boehner

White House — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 21:20:00 +0000

Release Time: For Immediate Release Speaker Boehner called the President this morning and the President reiterated to the Speaker that the only viable option currently on the table is for the House of Representatives to pass the bipartisan Senate compromise that received the support of nearly 90 percent of the Senate. The President told Speaker Boehner that he is committed to begin working immediately on a full-year agreement once the House passes the bipartisan Senate compromise that prevents a tax hike on 160 million Americans on January 1.

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Readout of the President’s Call with Speaker Boehner