Hi, all. Today's diary features:
President Names New Ambassador to China: The President announces that Gary Locke, who has served for two years as Secretary of Commerce, will be his new Ambassador to China.
Youth Round Table: While at Cleveland St. University in Cleveland, OH for the "Winning the Future Forum on Small Business," President Obama dropped by a roundtable meeting featuring youth leaders in the local community to discuss issues of concern to them and announce the the administration's intention to host over 100 additional youth roundtable meetings at local college campuses around the nation.
Vice President in Russia: The VPOTUS meets with U.S. and Russian business leaders to discuss bilateral trade and investment.
Startup America: Aneesh Chopra invites your ideas about the regulatory reforms that could be enacted to help entrepreneurs grow in our country.
Ambassador Rice and Young Women Leaders in Harlem: Ambassador Susan Rice meets with the 11th- and 12th-grade classes of The Young Women’s Leadership School (TYWLS) of East Harlem; for ten straight years, every single senior at TYWLS of East Harlem has been accepted to college with significant financial aid.
StopBullying.gov: A special Facebook message from President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama about how preventing bullying is a responsibility we all share.
PRESIDENT NAMES NEW AMBASSADOR TO CHINA
White House, March 9, 2011:
President Obama Announces Secretary Locke as Ambassador to China
The President announces that Gary Locke, who has served for two years as Secretary of Commerce, will be his new Ambassador to China.
White House, March 9, 2011:
Office of the Press Secretary, March 9, 2011:
Remarks by the President in Announcing Secretary Locke as New Ambassador to China
THE PRESIDENT: Good morning, everybody. As many people know, our current Ambassador to China, Jon Huntsman, has decided to step down from his current job. During his tenure, Jon has been an outstanding advocate for this administration and for this country. He made a real sacrifice in moving his family out of the state that they loved and has helped to strengthen our critical relationship with the Chinese government and the Chinese people. And so I am very grateful for his service.
In replacing Ambassador Huntsman, I can think of nobody who is more qualified than Gary Locke. More than 100 years ago, Gary’s grandfather left China on a steamship bound for America, where he worked as a domestic servant in Washington State. A century later, his grandson will return to China as America’s top diplomat.
In the years between these milestones, Gary has distinguished himself as one of our nation’s most respected and admired public servants. As our country’s first Chinese-American governor, he worked tirelessly to attract jobs and businesses to Washington State, and he doubled exports to China.
Two years ago, I asked Gary to continue this work as Commerce Secretary. I wanted him to advocate for America’s businesses and American exports all around the world, make progress on our relationship with China, and use the management skills he developed as governor to reform a complex and sprawling agency.
He has done all that and more. He’s been a point person for my National Export Initiative, and last year, Gary’s department led an historic number of trade missions that helped promote American businesses and support American jobs. He’s overseen an increase in American exports, and particularly exports to China, a country we recently signed trade deals with that will support 235,000 American jobs.
As Commerce Secretary, Gary oversaw a Census process that ended on time and under budget, returning $2 billion to American taxpayers. He’s earned the trust of business leaders across America by listening to their concerns, making it easier for them to export their goods abroad, and dramatically reducing the time it takes to get a patent. When he’s in Beijing, I know that American companies will be able to count on him to represent their interests in front of China’s top leaders.
As one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, our relationship with China is one of the most critical of the 21st century. Over the last two years we worked hard to build a relationship that serves our national interest -– addressing global security issues and expanding opportunities for American companies and American workers. Continued cooperation between our countries will be good for America, it will be good for China, and it will be good for the world.
As the grandson of a Chinese immigrant who went on to live the American Dream, Gary is the right person to continue this cooperation. I know he will bring the same skills and experience that he brought to Commerce Secretary to this new position that he’s about to embark on.
I want to thank him and I also want to thank his gorgeous and extraordinary family, who’s standing here -- Mona, Emily, Dylan, and Maddy. It’s always tough to move families. Maddy just turned 14 today, so I was commiserating --
SECRETARY LOCKE: Emily.
THE PRESIDENT: Emily just turned 14 today, so I was commiserating with her as somebody who moved around a lot when I was a kid as well. I assured her it would be great 10 years from now. (Laughter.) Right now it’s probably a drag. But I'm absolutely confident that this is -- we could not have better representative of the United States of America in this critical relationship than we're going to get from the Locke family.
And, Gary, I wish you all the best of luck in Beijing. Thank you so much.
SECRETARY LOCKE: Thank you, Mr. President. Well, thank you very much, Mr. President. And I'm deeply humbled and honored to be chosen as your next ambassador to China.
It was a little over a century ago that my grandfather first came to America to work as a houseboy for a family in the state of Washington in exchange for English lessons. And he went back to China, had a family, and so my father was also born in China, and came over as a teenager a few years later. He then enlisted in the United States Army just before the outbreak of World War II, became part of that “greatest generation,” and saw action on the beaches of Normandy and on the march to Berlin, and then came back to Seattle to raise a family and start a small business.
My father never imagined that one of his children could ever serve as the Secretary of Commerce in the United States of America. And he was beaming with pride, Mr. President, the day you presided over my swearing-in ceremony. Sadly, Dad passed away this past January. But I know that if he were still alive, it would be one of his proudest moments to see his son named as the United States ambassador to his ancestral homeland.
I'm going back to the birthplace of my grandfather, my father, my mom and her side of the family, and I'll be doing so as a devoted and passionate advocate for America, the country where I was born and raised.
As Commerce Secretary, I’ve helped open up foreign markets for American businesses so they can create more jobs right here in America. And I’m eager to continue that work in China and to help you, Mr. President, manage one of America’s most critical and complex diplomatic, economic, and strategic relationships.
I’m excited to take on this new challenge, as is my wife and our children -- to varying degrees among the kids. (Laughter.) And we’ll be leaving Washington, D.C., with great memories and many new friends.
Being Commerce Secretary has been one of the best jobs I’ve ever had, thanks to the immensely talented and dedicated men and women within the Department of Commerce, in the White House, and within the Cabinet. And I’m proud of the work that we’ve done at the Commerce Department, delivering services faster, serving the needs of U.S. businesses and workers, saving taxpayers billions of dollars by being more efficient in everything that we do. And I’m confident that these accomplishments will stand the test of time.
Mr. President, I’m eager to assume this new position. And it’s a privilege and a solemn responsibility to serve you and the American people as the next United States ambassador to China. Thank you for the confidence and the trust that you’ve placed in me. Thank you.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Thank you so much.
YOUTH ROUNDTABLES
White House, March 9, 2011:
President Obama Drops By Youth Roundtable In Cleveland
While at Cleveland St. University in Cleveland, OH for the "Winning the Future Forum on Small Business," President Obama dropped by a roundtable meeting featuring youth leaders in the local community to discuss issues of concern to them and announce the the administration's intention to host over 100 additional youth roundtable meetings at local college campuses around the nation. Learn more at http://whitehouse.gov/youngamericans.
White House Blog, March 9, 2011:
President Obama Announces 100 Youth Roundtables
Posted by Kalpen Modi, Associate Director of the Office of Public Engagement
This is exciting, folks. A few weeks ago, when President Obama dropped by a Roundtable with Young Americans in Cleveland, Ohio, he announced that he was tasking his Administration with participating in 100 Roundtables all over the country. And over the last 2 weeks we have put together a great initiative to assure that young Americans of all walks of life can participate in a roundtable if they so choose!
Presidents and White Houses of the past have encouraged citizens to debate and discuss issues of the day; it’s one of the great strengths of a free and democratic society. Encouraging citizens to take a more active role in the betterment of American society, President Kennedy said, “The efforts of the government alone will never be enough. In the end the people must choose and the people must help themselves." And speaking directly about young people, President Reagan remarked that, “Each generation goes further than the generation preceding it because it stands on the shoulders of that generation. You will have opportunities beyond anything we've ever known.”
Young Americans today are the most innovative and creative generation we have ever seen. You have inherited incredible challenges and met them with inspiring solutions. You have used mediums, technologies, and ideas to connect to one another that we could have previously only dreamed about. Back in the day, if you wanted to talk to someone at the White House, you likely would have had to ride your horse up to the front door (there used to be stables here). Now all you have to do is fill out a web form.
Host a roundtable in your community and if you’d like someone from the Administration to join, let us know when and where your roundtable will be by submitting your information at www.WhiteHouse.gov/YoungAmericans.
If we can send someone to your roundtable, we’ll let you know about 24-48 hours in advance.
If we can’t – you can hold the roundtable and send us the feedback and sign-in sheets from the toolkit (at www.WhiteHouse.gov/YoungAmericans/follow-up) so that we follow up with you.
Our Youth Team here will read it, and we’ll be in touch with all of your participants in the coming weeks with White House conference calls, web chats, and other opportunities to talk with folks all across the Obama Administration on a number of important issues.
Join us!
VICE PRESIDENT IN RUSSIA
Office of the Vice President, March 9, 2011:
Remarks by Vice President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. at a Roundtable Discussion with American and Russian Business Leaders
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Deputy Prime Minister. I can assure you our support is real. What you're being told by our European friends and others is true. We are working very hard to make WTO a reality for Russia and for us. It's very much in our interest as it is in Russia's.
I want to thank you all for being here and giving me the opportunity to have a chance to have a conversation with you. Resetting our relationships with Russia has in the view of the President and my view, as well, provided the momentum for some improved cooperation on a whole range -- a whole range of issues including arms control and nuclear proliferation, Afghanistan, Iran, North Korea. But one area which we need to do more -- excuse me, I have a cold -- one area which we have to do more is to fully realize the potential -- and there's real potential -- in our relationship which lies in bilateral trade and investment.
And the primary purpose of my visit is to explore how we can resolve the remaining challenges in our economic relationship -- because they must be resolved. To begin with -- I'll say it again -- the United States strongly supports Russia's accession to the WTO. And we are working with Russian negotiators in Geneva to move this process forward. And I think we're making real progress. We're making real progress on bilateral issues that have caused friction in the past such as agricultural trade and enforcement of intellectual property rights.
And our administration also strongly supports -- I want to make this clear -- strongly supports the lifting of Jackson-Vanik. And we are aware of the benefits that will flow to U.S. companies from a freer and more open trade regime between the United States and Russia and quite frankly worldwide. But we also know -- we've often told Russian leaders that investors and companies are looking not just for better trade policies but for assurances that the legal system that exists in each of the countries in which they wish to invest, the legal system treats them fairly and acts on their concerns swiftly.
That is why we're working with you, Mr. Deputy Prime Minister, and your colleagues to improve the investment climate, to promote the rule of law and to tackle some endemic corruption. The Bilateral Presidential Commission is an important venue for our intergovernmental efforts. And we are using it to develop a more adept cadre of managers on both sides of the Atlantic, to improve our procurement systems, and to address issues that you and your colleagues have raised such as the difficulty of obtaining visas.
But beyond negotiations between our governments, we're also relying heavily quite frankly on the emerging connections that all of you around this table represent between Russian and American business leaders and leaders in civil society.
Contacts among citizens are critical, almost as critical as the contacts between our governments, in fostering greater understanding and building our societies together.
And finally, I want you to know that we fully support President Medvedev's vision of a nation powered by innovation and human capital, and that we have a deep respect -- a deep respect -- for the pool of talent and the passion of the Russian people. Indeed, we share a similar vision for our own nation.
So I want to thank you all for being here, and I'd like to open this for discussion. And maybe with your permission, Mr. Deputy Prime Minister, we obviously want to see this new venture succeed. It's an impressive facility, and with a great deal of promise. And I look forward -- I've been visiting Russia since 1973, I look forward to come back when this a rival of Silicon Valley. It would benefit all of us were that occur.
And it's an impressive building, but one of the questions that I think we -- I'd like to ask all you business leaders, particularly you Russian CEOs, is how can we help. How can we help? How can each of our governments help?
We understand the free enterprise system is the engine that's going to ultimately create -- make this a success, but we also know from our own experience in Silicon Valley that government can either be an impediment or it can be a help. I would argue that Stanford University wasn't an impediment. I would argue that the hundred of billions -- millions of dollars we invested in Stanford wasn't an impediment. And so the question is what can we do to help.
And my observation -- and I have a bad habit of being straightforward -- my observation is if a company is big enough and successful enough and has deep enough pockets, it can weather the difficult terrain that sometimes exists in doing business here and in other places.
But the SMEs -- the capricious nature of the system, sometimes is viewed as a real impediment to the small- and medium-sized enterprises. So I hope we can have an open discussion about how each of our governments can be a positive influence in realizing what again is in the mutual self-interest of both our countries, and that is the success of this venture and the growing success and relationship between American and Russian businesses and enterprises.
So again, I thank you all very, very much for being here.
STARTUP AMERICA
White House Blog, March 9, 2011:
Startup America Travels to South by Southwest
Posted by Aneesh Chopra, U.S. Chief Technology Officer
This weekend, as an important component of the President’s strategy to out-innovate our economic competitors, the Administration’s Startup America initiative will travel to Austin, Texas. In Texas, I will be joining my colleagues at South by Southwest (SXSW) to engage directly with entrepreneurs—prospective and established—and to help celebrate, inspire, and accelerate high-growth entrepreneurship throughout the Nation.
To complement our efforts, Steve Case, co-founder of AOL and Chairman of the Case Foundation, and Carl Schramm, President and CEO of the Kauffman Foundation, have organized a public response to the President’s call to action, engaging entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, angel investors, foundation leaders, and others to increase the prevalence and success of high growth startups via the Startup America Partnership. The Partnership’s newly hired CEO, Scott Case, will join us at SXSW.
Rather than lecture from the podium, we are reserving the bulk of our time for each of our two sessions (Saturday, March 12, 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.) to respond to your questions and ideas. To that end, we’ve added two options for feedback:
•Share your ideas on what barriers we should reduce or express your opinion on other ideas already posted.
•Ask questions for my colleagues on the panel to answer via Twitter—hashtag #suasxsw for the festival or follow #startupamerica for updates.
We started our conversation last week in the heart of North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park. Over 150 entrepreneurs, investors, and others challenged Administration officials on ideas like extending student loan deferments for startups and a new immigration category called “startup visa”.
Joining me at SXSW will be:
•Ronnie Chatterji (Council of Economic Advisors)
•Sean Greene (U.S. Small Business Administration)
•David Kappos (United States Patent and Trademark Office)
•Todd Park (Health and Human Services)
•Scott Case (Startup America Partnership)
Thank you in advance for your participation. We look forward to hearing from you and taking swift action to support our Nation’s entrepreneurial economic engine.
AMBASSADOR RICE AND YOUNG WOMEN LEADERS IN HARLEM
White House Blog, March 9, 2011:
Ambassador Susan Rice Speaks to Young Women Leaders in East Harlem
Posted by Taara Rangarajan, Special Assistant at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations
Ambassador Susan Rice, the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations, marked the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day on March 8 in East Harlem, New York. There she urged tomorrow’s strong woman leaders, the 11th- and 12th-grade classes of The Young Women’s Leadership School (TYWLS) of East Harlem, to continue to win their future through education.
These young women, primarily low-income students of color, have a remarkable legacy to uphold: for ten straight years, every single senior at TYWLS of East Harlem has been accepted to college with significant financial aid. Ambassador Rice spoke to roughly 120 students and teachers who gathered in the school’s multi-purpose gymnasium on 106th Street. “There is no greater source of empowerment and success,” she said, “than to have, and to insist upon getting the best education.”
After the event, Ambassador Rice met and snapped photographs with Jo’Nella Queen Ellerbe, Marjana Chowdhury, and Tiara Kittrell, seniors who have been accepted to prestigious universities and who delivered introductory and closing remarks on Tuesday. Together with their classmates, these young women carry on with their “most important asset,” as Ambassador Rice called it: “the education that you are getting, and the education that you will continue to get when you leave this great school.”
For more information on the United States’ work at the United Nations, visit www.usun.state.govhttp://www.usun.state.gov/ and follow Ambassador Rice on [Twitter and Facebook. Click here for Ambassador Rice’s statement commemorating International Women’s Day.
STOPBULLYING.GOV
MCandFP, March 9, 2011:
StopBullying.gov
A special Facebook message from President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama about how preventing bullying is a responsibility we all share. Video from StopBullying.gov.
White House Blog, March 9, 2011:
President Obama & the First Lady Address Bullying in Facebook Video
Posted by Macon Phillips
.... While it may not always be in the headlines, bullying is an issue that affects every young person in America, and we all have a responsibility to do something about it.
Tomorrow, the President and First Lady will host parents, teachers, students, community leaders and others at a White House Conference on Bullying Prevention. WhiteHouse.gov/live will have live video throughout the day, including online chats where you can discuss bullying with experts on the subject. We’re already taking questions for one of them, and you can RSVP for a special Facebook Live chat here.
Learn more about the issue at StopBullying.gov and make sure you join StopBullying.gov’s Facebook page.