West Wing Week: Mailbag Day, Summer Edition

Posted by White House

While this edition of West Wing Week was focused on questions from the American people, we want to make sure you still have access to information on everything that happened this week at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. This week, the President focused on education with a speech at the University of Texas, gave an address from the White House on leading the world in college graduate numbers, and signed the Education Jobs and Medicaid Assistance Act. The President also congratulated the New Orleans Saints on their Super Bowl Championship, signed the Manufacturing Enhancement Act, met with his National Security Team to discuss Iraq and honored our next Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan.

Friday, August 6, 2010

• The President honors next Supreme Court Justice, Elena Kagan
• The President speaks on the latest jobs numbers

Saturday, August 7, 2010

• The President discusses Medicare and the Affordable Care Act in his weekly address

Monday, August 9, 2010

• The President speaks about Higher Education in Austin
• The President welcomes Super Bowl Champions the New Orleans Saints to the White House

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

• The President signs the Education Jobs and Medicaid Assistance Act
• The President remarks on saving 160,000 teacher jobs

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

• The President signs the Manufacturing Enhancement Act
• The President meets with his National Security Team on Iraq

Another Step for American Manufacturing

Posted by White House

Before signing the Manufacturing Enhancement Act, the President took a step back to talk about his vision and commitment to American manufacturing. That commitment has helped manufacturing become one of the surprisingly bright spots of the economic recovery. A sector that lost 3,864,000 between 2000 and 2008 has turned around and gained 183,000 jobs so far this year:

So while we have fought back from the worst of this recession, we’ve still got a lot of work to do. We’ve still got a long way to go. And I’m more determined than ever to do every single thing we can to hasten our economic recovery and get our people back to work. So that’s why I’m pleased today to sign into law a bill that will strengthen American manufacturing and American jobs. And as I do, I’m joined by two members of my economic team -- Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke, who’s been a tireless advocate for America’s manufacturers; and Ambassador Ron Kirk, who’s been doing a great job and putting in a lot of miles as our U.S. Trade Representative.

Few areas of our economy have been as hard-hit as manufacturing -- not just in recent years, but in recent decades. Throughout the 20th century, manufacturing was the ticket to a better life for generations of American workers. It was the furnace that forged our middle class. But over time, the jobs dried up. Companies learned to do more with less, and outsourced whatever they could. Other nations didn’t always live up to trade agreements and we didn’t always enforce them. And over the last decade, the manufacturing workforce shrank by 33 percent, leaving millions of skilled, hardworking Americans sitting as idle as the plants that they once worked in. This was before the recent recession left them and millions more struggling in ways they never imagined.

Now, some suggest this decline is inevitable, that the only way for America to get ahead is to leave manufacturing communities and their workers behind. I do not see it that way. The answer isn’t to stop building things, to stop making things; the answer is to build things better, make things better, right here in the United States. We will rebuild this economy stronger than before and at its heart will be three powerful words: Made in America.

The President talked about his aggressive National Export Initiative with a goal of doubling exports and supporting several million new jobs over five years. He went on:

That’s why we fought for and passed tax breaks for companies that are investing here in the United States rather than companies that are keeping profits offshore. That’s why we closed loopholes that encourage corporations to ship American jobs overseas. That’s why we’re enforcing our trade laws -- in some cases, for the very first time. That’s why we told America’s automakers that if they made the tough decisions required to compete in the future, that America would stand by them. And that’s why we’re investing in a clean energy industry and the jobs that come with it -– jobs that pay well and carry America to a cleaner, more secure and more energy-independent future.

183,000 Manufacturing Jobs So Far

Posted by White House

From the beginning, the Obama administration’s highest priority has been to rescue and rebuild the economy. Few areas were hit as hard as manufacturing – not just in this downturn, but going back years. Investing in 21st century manufacturing has been a cornerstone of the President’s plan to rebuild the economy stronger than before. And in the past seven months, we’ve seen the strongest manufacturing job growth in more than a decade -- adding 183,000 jobs so far this year.

The trends are promising and the President wants to keep that way. That’s why today, he is signing a bill into law that will make it cheaper and easier for American manufacturers and workers to do what they do best: build great products and sell them around the world. When the Manufacturing Enhancement Act of 2010 becomes a law today, it will create more jobs, help American companies compete, and strengthen manufacturing as a key driver of our recovery.

Watch the bill signing live at 2:50 PM EDT on WhiteHouse.govlive.

[Update: This live event has concluded. Check back later on the blog for the full video.]