Category: December 2011

The United States welcomes Indonesia’s ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, (CTBT), which provides a strong example of the positive leadership role Indonesia can play in the global effort to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons.  The Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty is a critical element of the international effort to prevent the proliferation of…

Ambassador Robert Ford returns to Damascus today with our full confidence and support.  His return demonstrates our continued solidarity with the Syrian people and the value we place on Ford’s efforts to engage Syrians on their efforts to achieve a peaceful and democratic transition.  We believe his presence in the country is among the most…

I am deeply disappointed that a minority of the United States Senate has blocked the nomination of Caitlin Halligan to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.  Ms. Halligan has the experience, integrity, and judgment to serve with distinction on this court, and she has broad bipartisan support from…

Prime Minister’s Office Athens, Greece 12:06 P.M. (Local) PRIME MINISTER PAPADEMOS:  (Opening remarks offered in Greek not translated.) Now in today’s meeting, we will have the opportunity to have substantive and productive discussions on important issues of mutual interest, and also we’ll have an opportunity to explore on how we can further strengthen cooperation in…

“We must come together to prevent, detect, and fight every kind of biological danger – whether it is a pandemic like H1N1, a terrorist threat, or a treatable disease.” –  President Obama, United Nations General Assembly, September 22, 2011 Today, the States Parties to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BWC) are meeting in Geneva…

Washington, DC – The Office of the Vice President announced today that Courtney O’Donnell, Director of Communications to Second Lady Jill Biden, will leave the White House to move to Berlin, Germany with her family where she plans to work on projects based in Europe. O’Donnell will be succeeded by Melanie Kaye, who most recently…

James S. Brady Press Briefing Room 2:10 P.M. EST THE PRESIDENT:  Good afternoon, everybody. My number-one priority right now is doing everything that I can, every single day, to create jobs faster and to provide more security for middle-class families and those trying to get into the middle class.  And at this moment, that means…

Earlier today, President Obama held a roundtable discussion on making college more affordable for our nation’s students. The President hosted White House senior officials, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and a dozen college presidents and higher education thought leaders from across the country to discuss rising college costs and strategies to reduce these costs while…

WASHINGTON, DC— The White House today released statements on the departure of Assistant to the President and Special Advisor Phil Schiliro.  Schiliro was announced as Assistant to the President and Director of Legislative Affairs on November 15, 2008 and served in that role from the beginning of the Obama administration until January of 2011.  During…

NOMINATIONS SENT TO THE SENATE:Jonathan Don Farrar, of California, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Panama. Tony Hammond, of Missouri, to be a Commissioner of the Postal Regulatory Commission for the remainder of the…