In this week's address, the President spoke about his upcoming trip to Alaska, during which he will view the effects of climate change firsthand. Alaskans are already living with the impact of climate change, with glaciers melting faster, and temperatures projected to rise between six and twelve degrees by the end of the century. In his address, the President spoke to ways in which we can address these challenges, including the transition away from fossil fuels to more renewable energy sources like wind and solar, an effort in which America is already leading.

And he stressed that while our economy still has to rely on oil and gas during that transition, we should rely more on domestic production than importing from foreign counties who do not have the same environmental or safety standards as the United States. The President looked forward to his upcoming trip, and promised that while he is in office, America will lead the world to meet the threat of climate change before it’s too late.

Transcript | mp4 | mp3

On June 24, 2015, President Obama approved Presidential Policy Directive 30, U.S. Nationals Taken Hostage Abroad and Personnel Recovery Efforts, and signed an Executive Order on the recovery of U.S. hostages taken abroad. These steps directed key organizational changes to ensure that the U.S. Government is doing all it can to safely recover Americans taken hostage overseas and is responsive to the needs of their families. Among the changes the President announced was the need to enhance our focus on diplomatic efforts to ensure the safe return of American hostages to their families.

In signing the Executive Order, the President outlined our whole of government approach to hostage recovery and announced that a new Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs would engage at the highest levels of foreign governments to secure the safe return of U.S. hostages. Today, the President has appointed Jim O’Brien to serve as the first Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs. In this role, Mr. O’Brien will report to the Secretary of State and will work closely with the Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell also established under the Executive Order and the rest of the U.S. Government to synchronize diplomatic efforts in support of comprehensive strategies to bring home American hostages. He will also work directly with the families of hostages as part of the U.S. Government team dedicated to securing the safe return of their loved ones.

Mr. O’Brien is uniquely qualified to serve in this position given his extensive background in diplomacy and international negotiations.  He brings years of diplomatic experience having served as the Special Presidential Envoy for the Balkans, Senior Advisor to Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, and Principal Deputy Director of Policy Planning at the Department of State. As Secretary of State John Kerry has said, “Jim is exactly the right person for a job that demands a high level of diplomatic experience and the ability to analyze and find effective remedies to complex problems.”

The appointment of Jim O’Brien is an important milestone in the President’s enhancements of the United States’ response to hostage events and to implement the findings and recommendations of the review ordered by the President.

Lisa Monaco is the President's Advisor on Homeland Security and Counterterrorism.

In September 2009, the President announced that — for the first time in history — White House visitor records would be made available to the public on an ongoing basis. Today, the White House releases visitor records that were generated in May 2015. This release brings the total number of records made public by this White House to more than 4.75 million — all of which can be viewed in our Disclosures section.

This blog post will be updated throughout the day as the President travels to New Orleans to meet with the Mayor and residents who have rebuilt their lives since the storm. Stay tuned here for updates on the trip and to watch his remarks at 4:55 p.m. EDT.

Today's Schedule:

EDT

10:45AM        The President departs the White House en route to Joint Base Andrews
11:00AM        The President departs Joint Base Andrews en route to New Orleans, Louisiana

CDT

12:20PM         The President arrives in New Orleans, Louisiana
12:45PM         The President meets with residents and youth, New Orleans, Louisiana
2:55PM           The President participates in a resilience roundtable, Andrew P. Sanchez Community Center, New Orleans, LA
3:55PM           The President delivers remarks, Andrew P. Sanchez Community Center, New Orleans, LA
5:00PM           The President departs New Orleans en route to Washington, DC

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Since taking office, President Obama has made it a key priority to continue and expedite the recovery and rebuilding efforts since Hurricane Katrina, the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history, by:

• Supporting the needs of survivors
• Bolstering the recovery efforts already underway by state, local, and federal officials by cutting red tape to deploy important resources quickly
• Investing in hard-hit communities
• Ensuring that affected communities build back stronger and more resilient
• The President has directed his Administration to take an all-of-nation approach — to work closely with and support the work of all of our partners, including state and local governments, tribal and volunteer organizations, the private sector, and families

10 years after Hurricane Katrina, the Gulf Coast is building back stronger and more resilient:

98% of families displaced by Katrina are back in their homes.

We've provided more than $5.2 billion since 2009 for rebuilding schools, hospitals, roads, police and fire stations, and historic museums and buildings.

Read more on the Administration's post-Katrina recovery efforts.

See what community-building programs are already at work in your area with this interactive map.

Share how you’ve seen these programs at work in your community. If you’ve got a photo, share that with us, too.

More on Resilience Planning

President Obama is making the biggest commitment in American history to reduce carbon emissions and slow the impacts of climate change.

Real GDP growth in the second quarter was revised markedly upward, as consumers spent more and businesses invested more than previously estimated. The economy grew at a much faster pace in the second quarter than in the first, with strong personal consumption leading the rebound. To continue these strong underlying trends, the President is committed to: pushing Congress to increase investments in infrastructure as part of a long-term transportation reauthorization; opening our exports to new markets with new high-standards free trade agreements; and ensuring that neither fiscal brinksmanship nor the sequester returns in the next fiscal year, as outlined in the President’s FY2016 Budget.

FIVE KEY POINTS IN TODAY'S REPORT FROM THE BUREAU OF ECONOMIC ANALYSIS (BEA)

1. Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rose 3.7 percent at an annual rate in the second quarter according to the BEA’s latest estimate, well above the first quarter’s 0.6 percent pace and the BEA’s initial second-quarter estimate of 2.3 percent growth. In the second quarter, the increase in GDP growth was led by a faster pace of personal consumption growth than in the first quarter and a shift from negative to positive net export growth. Structures investment, which declined sharply in the first quarter and was previously thought to have declined in the second, is now estimated to have grown. Overall, real GDP has now risen 2.7 percent over the past four quarters. Gross Domestic Output (GDO)—an alternative gauge of economic output that is potentially more accurate (though not predictably stronger or weaker) over the long term, which BEA calls “the average of GDP and Gross Domestic Income (GDI)”—has risen 2.5 percent over the past four quarters.

2. The 1.4 percentage point upward revision to real second-quarter GDP was spread across many components of economic output. Business fixed investment accounted for a little more than a third of the overall revision, as investment in structures, equipment, and intellectual property were all higher than previously estimated. Indeed, business investment—weighed down by reduced oil-related investment in the wake of oil price declines and previously thought to have fallen—is now estimated to have grown in the second quarter. State and local government purchases also accounted for 0.3 percentage point of the overall revision, as did inventory investment. Personal consumption, net exports, and federal government spending also each saw small positive upward revisions. Notably, this was an especially broad-based revision without any downward revisions in major components of GDP.

3. Initial estimates of Gross Domestic Output (GDO) growth over the long term tend to predict subsequent revisions to GDP growth. GDO is the Council of Economic Advisers’ term for the average of GDP and Gross Domestic Income (GDI)—two measures that should conceptually be identical but differ due to measurement error. While not systematically stronger or weaker than GDP over time, GDO can provide a more accurate picture of economic output, in part because independent errors to GDP and GDI tend partially to cancel out when the two are added. In addition, early GDO estimates appear to provide information about the extent to which GDP will eventually be revised. When GDO is estimated to grow faster than GDP, GDP tends to be revised up, and vice versa. The chart below shows the association between revisions to GDP growth incorporating all annual revisions to date (the “years later” measure) and the gap between initially estimated GDP and GDO. Of course—as with virtually all economic data when there are noisy statistics—it is important to focus on longer-term trends. Our analysis here is based on four-quarter growth rates of GDP and GDO, and we caution against focusing too much on the quarterly gap.

4. A slowdown in business investment during the recovery has been led by oil-driven declines in structures and equipment spending, while intellectual property investment — including research and development—has accelerated throughout the recovery. Structures and equipment investment grew markedly more slowly over the first half of 2015 than they had earlier in the recovery, largely reflecting reduced oil investment in the low-price environment. These components have restrained overall business investment growth. But at the same time, investment in intellectual property, which chiefly comprises research and development and software, has grown progressively faster. In fact, research and development investment has grown 7.9 percent over the past four quarters, the fastest pace since 2007 and three times faster than overall economic growth. The acceleration in overall IP spending has been relatively steady throughout the recovery, while equipment and structures investment have introduced considerable volatility. Many economists view IP investment — and research and development in particular—as an important source of productivity growth.

5. Real private domestic final purchases (PDFP)—the sum of consumption and fixed investment—rose 3.3 percent at an annual rate in the second quarter, and is growing at a faster year-over-year pace than overall GDP. Real PDFP—which excludes noisy components like net exports, inventories, and government spending—is generally a more reliable measure of next-quarter GDP growth than current GDP. While GDO aims to measure output growth more accurately in a given quarter by reducing measurement error, PDFP aims to measure signals of future economic growth by eliminating some of the noise in GDP. Over the past four quarters, PDFP grew by 3.4 percent, a faster rate than overall GDP growth. In analogy to the relationship between GDP and PDFP, the sum of wages and corporate profits is an especially important component of Gross Domestic Income (GDI), the income-side output measure that is combined with GDP to produce GDO. In fact, while PDFP tends to predict next-quarter GDP especially well, wages and profits tend to predict GDP over the next four quarters especially well—despite being more volatile than PDFP. Real wages and profits have grown 2.6 percent over the past four quarters, roughly in line with current trends in GDP and GDO.

As the Administration stresses every quarter, GDP figures can be volatile and are subject to substantial revision. Therefore, it is important not to read too much into any one single report, and it is informative to consider each report in the context of other data that are becoming available.

As the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, it’s my job to oversee the implementation and enforcement of the President’s priorities across the Administration.

You might call us the nerve center where goals become initiatives, and initiatives become programs at work on the ground in local communities and states across the country.

With that in mind, let’s go back to basics for a second and focus on something we can all agree on:

Any plans that we want to make for improving communities across the country need to be hatched in partnership with those communities — by the people who live in them, work in them, and stand to benefit from them.

This week marks ten years since the neighborhoods of New Orleans were left devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Since then, community partnerships with the federal government have helped revitalize those communities. They’ve made sure the city’s vital health clinic system stays funded and delivering high quality services. They’ve laid the groundwork to open the Loyola Avenue-Union Passenger Terminal Streetcar Line in the city’s business district. They’ve brought the number of homeless veterans in New Orleans to a functional zero by December of 2014 – more than a year ahead of the proposed goal. (Hear straight from a New Orleanian about the role open data played in the city's transformation.)

There are projects like these at work across the country, whether you realized it or not.

Over the course of the past six years, this Administration has been steadily creating programs in partnership with the communities they intend to serve – from southeastern Kentucky to Fresno to Detroit.

While there are a lot of things we have been up to from addressing climate change to poverty alleviation, we are taking a new approach — one that relies on communities developing plans that best fit their needs rather than the laundry list of programs the government has. It’s pretty simple. First, we partner with communities by seeking out their plans or vision. Second, we take a one-government approach that crosses agency and program silos to support communities in implementing their plans for improvement. Finally we focus on what works, using data to measure success and monitor progress.

 

We wanted to give the American public a sense of exactly what that looks like – and give you the opportunity to take a look at what’s at work in your area. So today, we released a snapshot view of the Obama administration’s community-based initiatives. It combines datasets from initiatives across more than 15 Federal agencies – and we’re adding datasets and features as we continue building it.

Take a look – see what’s at work in your area.

Then, share how you’ve seen these programs at work in your community. If you’ve got a photo, share that with us, too.

From the start, this map has been built in the open, and source code is available on GitHub. We want to know what you think, and how we can improve it – so share your thoughts with us here.

Throughout our negotiations with Iran, we were clear-eyed about Iran’s status as the world’s foremost state-sponsor of terror, and we resolved not to let the regime off the hook. In fact, from sponsoring terrorist activity to human rights abuses, Iran continues to pursue destabilizing activities in the Middle East region that the U.S. and our allies continue to monitor and address.

So why did the U.S. spend nearly two years negotiating a nuclear agreement with Iran? 

It’s a fair question with an important answer: As destabilizing as Iran’s regional activities are, they would be exponentially more dangerous with a nuclear weapon. And now that we’ve taken a nuclear-armed Iran off the table, we can ratchet up the pressure on its destabilizing activities—including its support for terrorism.

We are committed to countering Iran’s actions that threaten our national security interests and those of our allies, especially Israel. Here's how: 

Strengthening the Defense and Security of Israel:

The United States and Israel have forged a deep and enduring bond since the United States became the first country to recognize Israel in 1948. The close engagement—at all levels—between the two countries reflects how our histories, interests, and values are so deeply intertwined between our two peoples. President Obama knows that Israel’s national security is paramount and that is why, under his leadership, the United States has provided an unprecedented level of support to Israel since he took office. 

Under President Obama, we are helping Israel address new and complex security threats to ensure Israel maintains its Qualitative Military Edge (QME), or its ability to counter and defeat any credible conventional military threat through superior military capability and means. Here’s what that looks like:

Intensifying Security Cooperation with Gulf States:

For the past 70 years, the United States has maintained a core national security interest in the security and the stability of our allies in the Gulf region – Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and Bahrain. We’ve long cooperated on confronting the extraordinary challenges posed by ISIL, al Qaeda, the Assad regime’s war in Syria, and Iran’s destabilizing activities in the region. 

As President Obama has said, we will continue to maintain a strong force posture in the region to deter aggression; bolster the security of our regional friends and allies; ensure the freedom of navigation of international waterways and the free flow of energy to world markets; and address nefarious actors that seek to sow the seeds of instability. Here’s what that looks like: 

Maintaining Restrictions on Iranian Missile and Arms Activity:

Under the Iran deal, Iran will receive relief from nuclear-related sanctions only after it has implemented key measures to roll back its nuclear program and enhance transparency. However, the Iran deal also includes additional arms and missile restrictions for a significant period of time: five years for the arms embargo and eight years for missile restrictions. What’s more, the United States and international community will maintain a broad set of multilateral and unilateral tools, including sanctions, to continue to restrict Iranian conventional arms and missile-related activity. Here’s what that looks like: 

The Bottom Line:

The nuclear deal is an element of our broader efforts to confront and counter Iran’s destabilizing activities in the region. The United States has long worked with its allies and partners to address Iran’s support for terrorism and regional militancy—and the Iran deal does nothing to weaken our resolve to continue to push back and defend our interests and friends. By neutralizing the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran, we are better positioned than ever to work with Israel and other partners to promote regional stability and advance our mutual security. 

In a letter to Congressman Jerrold Nadler, President Obama laid out exactly what our efforts to counter Iran would look like and how they are strengthened by the implementation of the Iran deal. 

As I have underscored repeatedly, it is imperative that, even as we effectively cut off Iran's pathways to a nuclear weapon through implementation of the JCPOA, we take steps to ensure we and our allies and partners are more capable than ever to deal with Iran's destabilizing activities and support for terrorism.

President Obama

Read his entire letter here: 

Colin Kahl is the Deputy Assistant to the President and National Security Advisor to the Vice President.

This morning, Congressman Seth Moulton sent the following message to the White House email list to share why, as a combat veteran, he supports the Iran deal. You can learn more about the historic deal here: http://ift.tt/1G7YmDs

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I was in the first company of Marines to enter Baghdad in 2003.

 

As a combat veteran, I know the cost of war. It is something I still carry with me today in the U.S. House of Representatives, where I have the privilege of representing the people of northeast Massachusetts. And I am reminded of it every time the questions of war and peace come before Congress.

In September, we will face that question once more when members of Congress consider whether or not to support the Iran nuclear agreement.

During the Iraq war, I saw the weapons and influence of the Iranian regime, and I deeply understand the threat Iran poses to America and our allies like Israel. That is why it is so crucial that the international community works together to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

After careful deliberation, I believe the Iran nuclear deal does just that. You can investigate the deal yourself here.

Let me be clear: I do not, and we should not, trust Iran to comply with this agreement. But this deal is not based on trust. It's based on enforceable verification measures that are comprehensive enough to be effective.

 

Inspections will also give us greater intelligence on Iran than we have today.

I respect that some, including a few veterans, may disagree and feel that there is the possibility of a “better deal” out there. To them I say, what's the alternative?

You may hear of two: increasing our sanctions regime or pursuing a military option. Here's why those are just not acceptable:

Increasing sanctions — let alone maintaining them — would only work if the international coalition behind the sanctions holds together. But our allies have been clear: They agreed to sanctions to force Iran to the negotiating table to secure a deal like the one we now have. If we walk away from that deal, we walk away alone.

The other option, taking military action against Iran, would once again imperil the lives of Americans to achieve much less than this deal achieves by diplomatic means. Military action would only set Iran's nuclear program back a few years at most, reaffirm their pursuit of a nuclear weapon, and drive the program underground.

Both these options leave us worse off than we are under the terms of the Iran deal. The fact is there is no “better deal” that will prevent Iran from building a bomb.

No deal is perfect, especially one negotiated among adversaries. But, in our ongoing confrontation with a great threat to world peace, we have found the best available option by peaceful means rather than pursuing a worse option through war.

 

It is for these reasons that I support the Iran deal.

And if you read it for yourself, I feel you will too.

Thank you.

America is at its strongest when we work together to build prosperity that all of us contribute to and share. We are our best when the working men and women who are engines of economic growth are true partners in industry and innovation, with a robust voice in their workplaces. That’s why, last week, President Obama announced his intention to host a White House Summit on Worker Voice on October 7.

Now, we need your help finding workers, employers, and organizers from across the country to join this conversation.

Our economy has come a long way from the economic crisis we faced when President Obama took office. American businesses have created 13 million jobs over the past 65 months, the longest consecutive streak of job growth on record. But we have more work to do to help middle-class wages grow and adapt to the changing nature of work in the 21st century. The Summit on Worker Voice will provide a historic opportunity to bring together a diverse group of leaders – including workers, employers, unions, organizers, and other advocates and experts – to explore ways to ensure that hardworking Americans are both driving our nation’s economic resurgence and also sharing in the benefits of the growth that they are helping to create. 

We know that many of you are doing great work across the country to prove this time-tested principle – that as employers, workers, and communities, we thrive when we stand together and support each other. We need the voices of hardworking Americans who stand up for better conditions in their workplaces. We need the voice of forward-thinking employers who are rejecting the old “us v. them” approach to their employees, instead finding win-win solutions by listening to them. We need the voices of tech innovators building new tools to allow workers to join together to make their voices heard.

You know, we don’t have all the answers here in Washington. We will be more successful in creating shared prosperity if we put our heads together to find new ways to help workers raise their voices together. That’s why we’re pleased to announce that we’ll be accepting nominations for people from across the country to attend the Summit in Washington, D.C. on October 7. Attendees will have the opportunity to participate in the conversation with senior leaders from business, unions, and government who share their commitment to fairer, more productive, and more prosperous workplaces. And we will be counting on attendees to learn from each other too, and to take those lessons back to their communities to make even more of a difference.

We’re looking for nominees who are making a difference for worker voice in their communities. Do you know someone who is bringing coworkers together to discuss common workplace issues, or who is inspiring workers to speak up? Do you know an employer who has taken great lengths to listen to their employees and learn what really matters to them? If so, nominate them to attend the Summit on Worker Voice.

There are limited spaces for attending the Summit at the White House, but there will be many other opportunities for joining the conversation. We’ll continue to provide updates on the blog about how you can join in.