Category: February 2012

The Vice President and senior Administration officials met yesterday with four experts and advocates on human rights and legal reform in China: Dr. Xiaorong Li, Professor Benjamin Liebman, Mr. Kenneth Roth and Ms. Jianying Zha.  They discussed the deterioration of China’s human rights situation, prospects for reform, and recommendations for U.S. policy.  The Vice President…

WASHINGTON, DC – Tomorrow, February 10th, the White House Office of Public Engagement will host 150 of The Arc’s leaders, members, advocates, and staff from across the country as part of the White House Community Leaders Briefing Series. The Arc is one of the largest national community-based organizations advocating for and serving people with intellectual…

“Our U.S. Global Development Policy – the first of its kind by an American administration – is rooted in America’s enduring commitment to the dignity and potential of every human being.  It outlines our new approach and the new thinking that will guide our overall development efforts.  Put simply, the United States is changing the…

“We’re expanding scientific collaboration with other countries and investing in game-changing science and technology to help spark historic leaps in development.” – President Obama, September 2010 President Obama’s Global Development Policy, released in Fall 2010, calls for investments in game-changing innovation to accelerate progress toward development goals in health, food security, climate change, energy and…

Vice President Biden spoke by phone yesterday with Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping.  Following up on their discussions during Vice President Biden’s August trip to China, the two leaders previewed the agenda for Vice President Xi’s visit to the U.S. next week – including a broad range of economic and trade issues and regional and…

WASHINGTON, DC – On Friday, February 10, President Obama will sign H.R. 3801, the Ultralight Aircraft Smuggling Prevention Act of 2012. This bill is the last piece of legislation that former Representative Gabrielle Giffords sponsored and voted on in the U.S. House of Representatives. The President will be joined in the Oval Office by the…

President Obama met today with his national security team as a part of his regular meetings on Afghanistan and Pakistan. The President received an update on our engagement with the Pakistani Government on a range of issues of mutual interest, including efforts to strengthen cooperation along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. The President also received an update…

East Room 11:53 A.M. EST THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  (Applause.)  Thank you so much.  Thank you, everybody.  Everybody have a seat. Well, welcome to the White House Science Fair.  (Applause.)  It is — I just spent some time checking out some of the projects that were brought here today, and I’ve got to say, this…

President Obama will host Prime Minister Thorning-Schmidt of Denmark for a meeting in the Oval Office on Friday, February 24.  Denmark and the United States are close NATO allies and the President looks forward to thanking the Prime Minister for Denmark’s important contribution to the NATO mission in Libya and for its continuing commitment to…

Administration and Private Sector Announce over $100 Million in Commitments and Additional Steps to Prepare 100,000 New Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Teachers Today, President Obama will host the second White House Science Fair celebrating the student winners of a broad range of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) competitions from across the country. The…