http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/01/05/urgency-getting-right

President Barack Obama meets with his national security team in the Situation Room of the White House Jan. 5, 2010, about the attempted Christmas Day terrorist act aboard an airliner

[View Full Size]

This afternoon the President met with relevant agency heads to discuss the ongoing reviews of the attempted terrorist attack on Christmas Day and move forward on rectifying the problems that were exhibited that day.  Afterwards he spoke to the press and the American people about what he and his Administration is doing to keep America safe:

THE PRESIDENT:  Good afternoon, everybody.  I just concluded a meeting with members of my national security team, including those from our intelligence, homeland security and law enforcement agencies involved in the security reviews that I ordered after the failed attack on Christmas Day.
    
     I called these leaders to the White House because we face a challenge of the utmost urgency.  As we saw on Christmas, al Qaeda and its extremist allies will stop at nothing in their efforts to kill Americans.  And we are determined not only to thwart those plans, but to disrupt, dismantle and defeat their networks once and for all. 
    
     Indeed, over the past year, we've taken the fight to al Qaeda and its allies wherever they plot and train, be it in Afghanistan and Pakistan, in Yemen and Somalia, or in other countries around the world. 

Here at home, our intelligence, homeland security and law enforcement agencies have worked together with considerable success:  gathering intelligence, stitching it together, and making arrests -- from Denver to Texas, from Illinois to New York -- disrupting plots and saving American lives.  And these successes have not come without a price, as we saw last week in the loss of our courageous CIA officers in Afghanistan.
 
     But when a suspected terrorist is able to board a plane with explosives on Christmas Day the system has failed in a potentially disastrous way.  And it's my responsibility to find out why, and to correct that failure so that we can prevent such attacks in the future.

     And that's why, shortly after the attempted bombing over Detroit, I ordered two reviews.  I directed Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano to review aviation screening, technology and procedures.  She briefed me on her initial findings today, and I'm pleased that this review is drawing on the best science and technology, including the expertise of Secretary of Energy Steven Chu and his department.
     
     I also directed my counterterrorism and homeland security advisor John Brennan to lead a thorough review into our terrorist watch-listing system so we can fix what went wrong.  As we discussed today, this ongoing review continues to reveal more about the human and systemic failures that almost cost nearly 300 lives.  We will make a summary of this preliminary report public within the next few days, but let me share some of what we know so far.

     As I described over the weekend, elements of our intelligence community knew that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab had traveled to Yemen and joined up with extremists there.  It now turns out that our intelligence community knew of other red flags -- that al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula sought to strike not only American targets in Yemen, but the United States itself.  And we had information that this group was working with an individual who was known -- who we now know was in fact the individual involved in the Christmas attack.

     The bottom line is this:  The U.S. government had sufficient information to have uncovered this plot and potentially disrupt the Christmas Day attack.  But our intelligence community failed to connect those dots, which would have placed the suspect on the "no fly" list.
In other words, this was not a failure to collect intelligence; it was a failure to integrate and understand the intelligence that we already had.  The information was there.  Agencies and analysts who needed it had access to it.  And our professionals were trained to look for it and to bring it all together. 

     Now, I will accept that intelligence, by its nature, is imperfect, but it is increasingly clear that intelligence was not fully analyzed or fully leveraged.  That's not acceptable, and I will not tolerate it.  Time and again, we've learned that quickly piecing together information and taking swift action is critical to staying one step ahead of a nimble adversary.

     So we have to do better -- and we will do better.  And we have to do it quickly.  American lives are on the line.  So I made it clear today to my team:  I want our initial reviews completed this week.  I want specific recommendations for corrective actions to fix what went wrong.  I want those reforms implemented immediately, so that this doesn't happen again and so we can prevent future attacks.  And I know that every member of my team that I met with today understands the urgency of getting this right.  And I appreciate that each of them took responsibility for the shortfalls within their own agencies.

     Immediately after the attack, I ordered concrete steps to protect the American people:  new screening and security for all flights, domestic and international; more explosive detection teams at airports; more air marshals on flights; and deepening cooperation with international partners.
In recent days, we've taken additional steps to improve security.  Counterterrorism officials have reviewed and updated our terrorist watch list system, including adding more individuals to the "no fly" list.  And while our review has found that our watch-listing system is not broken, the failure to add Abdulmutallab to the "no fly" list shows that this system needs to be strengthened.  

     The State Department is now requiring embassies and consulates to include current visa information in their warning on individuals with terrorist or suspected terrorist connections.  As of yesterday, the Transportation Security Administration, or TSA, is requiring enhanced screening for passengers flying into the United States from, or flying through, nations on our list of state sponsors of terrorism, or other countries of interest.  And in the days ahead, I will announce further steps to disrupt attacks, including better integration of information and enhanced passenger screening for air travel.

     Finally, some have suggested that the events on Christmas Day should cause us to revisit the decision to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay.  So let me be clear.  It was always our intent to transfer detainees to other countries only under conditions that provide assurances that our security is being protected. 

     With respect to Yemen in particular, there's an ongoing security situation which we have been confronting for some time, along with our Yemeni partner.  Given the unsettled situation, I've spoken to the Attorney General and we've agreed that we will not be transferring additional detainees back to Yemen at this time.

     But make no mistake:  We will close Guantanamo prison, which has damaged our national security interests and become a tremendous recruiting tool for al Qaeda.  In fact, that was an explicit rationale for the formation of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.  And, as I've always said, we will do so -- we will close the prison in a manner that keeps the American people safe and secure. 

Our reviews -- and the steps that we've taken and will continue to take -- go to the heart of the kind of intelligence and homeland security we need in the 21st century.  Just as al Qaeda and its allies are constantly evolving and adapting their efforts to strike us, we have to constantly adapt and evolve to defeat them, because as we saw on Christmas, the margin for error is slim and the consequences of failure can be catastrophic.

     As these violent extremists pursue new havens, we intend to target al Qaeda wherever they take root, forging new partnerships to deny them sanctuary, as we are doing currently with the government in Yemen.  As our adversaries seek new recruits, we'll constantly review and rapidly update our intelligence and our institutions.  As they refine our tactics, we'll enhance our defenses, including smarter screening and security at airports, and investing in the technologies that might have detected the kind of explosives used on Christmas.
 
     In short, we need our intelligence, homeland security and law enforcement systems -- and the people in them -- to be accountable and to work as intended:  collecting, sharing, integrating, analyzing, and acting on intelligence as quickly and effectively as possible to save innocent lives -- not just most of the time, but all the time.  That's what the American people deserve.  As President, that's exactly what I will demand. 

Thank you very much.
 

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/01/05/teaming-with-olympians-fight-h1n1

Bob Morris, U.S. Weightlifting Coach, gets his vaccination at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Next month, the 2010 Olympic Winter Games will begin in Canada. The world’s top athletes will gather in Vancouver, along with spectators from across the globe. These Games inspire all Americans to be physically active and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

One immediate step that you can take to protect your health is to get your H1N1 flu vaccination. Olympians, Paralympians and hopefuls training for Vancouver are doing just that.  Today, athletes, coaches, and staff who are Vancouver bound are getting vaccinated against the H1N1 flu at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado and the 2010 U.S. Cross Country Championships in Anchorage, Alaska. We urge all Americans to do the same and get their H1N1 vaccine.

As a doctor, I’ve treated patients during many flu seasons. Unfortunately, H1N1 has already made the 2009-2010 flu season one of the most challenging in recent memory. Ninety-nine percent of the flu that is making people sick in the U.S. is H1N1. Even though H1N1 is decreasing in some areas the flu is unpredictable – we could see more illness as flu season continues.

The H1N1 vaccine is safe, effective, and is the best way to protect ourselves and our loved ones from the flu.

To find a clinic near you, visit Flu.gov for our vaccine locator tool which will guide you to the nearest H1N1 vaccination location.
 

Participating in the H1N1 vaccination event at the Olympic Training Center were (left to right): Colorado Chief Medical Officer Dr. Ned Calonge, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Regina Benjamin, Assistant U.S. Surgeon General and Director of CDC National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases Dr. Anne Schuchat, and USOC COO Norman Bellingham.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/01/05/better-or-worse-websters-word-year-2009-distracted-driving

Cross-posted from DOT's "Fast Lane" blog.

I appreciate the choice Webster's New World College Dictionary has made in selecting "distracted driving" as their Word of the Year 2009. I think its rapid intrusion into our national vocabulary shows what an epidemic distracted driving has become.

There's no denying that this phrase became part of my vocabulary this past year. Below is Webster's Editor-in-Chief Mike Agnes explaining their choice:

Now, as interesting as it is to talk about what "distracted" really modifies here, it's probably much more important to focus on what "distracted driving" says about our common sense. 

On its website, Webster's explains its choice further:

A sign of the times surely, distracted driving is another reflection – and consequence – of our ongoing romance with all things digital and mobile and the enhanced capabilities they provide. While it now may be easier and quicker to feed our multitasking habits, it is not always safe, and many jurisdictions are formalizing that position by making it a crime to text or otherwise use a cellphone while driving.

And that's why we've produced the PSA "Calling Plan," and that's why we've launched D!straction.gov, and that's why we want to make 2010 the year we put distracted driving behind us.

Ray LaHood is Secretary of Transportation

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/01/05/a-streamlined-fafsa

As a community college instructor, I feel right at home in the classroom – and so I was thrilled to spend time this morning with local students at DC's Banneker Senior High School to talk with them about their goals of pursuing a college education.  It was a great morning - I joined Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and Senator Jack Reed from Rhode Island to showcase the new and more streamlined Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) which is now available to students. 

(Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Dr. Jill Biden, Senator Jack Reed join students and guidance counselors from Banneker Senior High School to discuss the FAFSA, January 5, 2010. Photograph by Paul Wood, Department of Education)

I know first-hand as a parent and as a former high school and current college instructor just how challenging and overwhelming all of the financial aid forms and paperwork can be - and it was great to see how the current forms have fewer questions, easier navigation and are more user-friendly.  I spoke with students at the computer lab who expressed relief to be working on the more user-friendly FAFSA.

(Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Dr. Jill Biden, Senator Jack Reed join students and guidance counselors from Banneker Senior High School to discuss the FAFSA, January 5, 2010. Photograph by Paul Wood, Department of Education)

President Obama has challenged the nation to have the highest percentage of college graduates by 2020, and simplifying the FAFSA form is a huge step toward removing barriers to financial aid and access to higher education for all. 

If you are considering applying for financial aid, you can learn more here: www.fafsa.ed.gov

-- Jill

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/01/05/educate-innovate-awarding-excellence-mentoring

[Ed. Note: Learn more about the Educate to Innovate campaign.]

It has been a pleasure to work with so many students and their families over the past year as a mentor, helping them awaken to their natural but perhaps undernourished interest in science, technology, math and engineering (STEM). Witnessing students take positions of leadership as they apply their STEM knowledge and make significant differences in their local communities has been immensely rewarding for the students and for myself.

The simple definition of a mentor is a trusted or experienced advisor, and although it gets less attention than formal teaching in much of America today it is a familiar tradition among American Indians like me. Within our Tribal communities, our ceremonies, histories, languages, and everything else we place value on has long been passed orally through an intricate system of mentoring. In American Indian culture, no one is too young to serve as a mentor. Meaningful mentoring relationships can exist between junior high and high school students, amongst peers, between high school and college students, between college or graduate students and faculty, and at a professional level between colleagues.

In fact, mentoring is one of the most inexpensive and effective strategies for increasing the success of any and all students.  A good mentor can inspire students to find their own path, regardless of those students' circumstances, background, or level of academic preparation. We all know from experience that the significance of relevant knowledge and information is often missed if it is simply written and stored until a worthy individual stumbles upon it. A written or cataloged set of words simply cannot compete with the passion that mentors can bring to ignite and excite us about their work and what they know.

Many of the people who I have mentored either throughout high school or through college today serve their local American Indian Tribe in critical areas, such as natural resources management. For Tribes, of course, connections to the natural world and preserving these precious resources for future generations are long-term priorities. The students' academic and research experiences, their work ethic, and their dedication are helping local Tribes to use technology—in some cases along with traditional knowledge—to preserve and manage precious resources such as water, land, air, and timber.

For example, tools such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have helped the students I have worked with develop scientific models so future decisions relating to health of the local land, availability of water, access to electricity and communications grids, and use of emerging technologies from alternative energy, can improve the overall quality of life for all of the people in a community.

It seems like a very small thing, but to have students I have mentored be right in the middle of these decisions—becoming experts and leaders, providing inspiration and hope in communities that are very desolate, depressed, and despondent—is very gratifying. It means that each and every one of us can dramatically impact and improve the future of our local communities, our states, and our nation, by getting out of the silos of our offices and our labs and making the personal effort to mentor individuals.

Stacy Phelps is Chief Executive Officer of the American Indian Institute for Innovation and is being honored tomorrow with the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/01/05/putting-it-all-perspective

With Congress now needing only to combine ideas from the House and Senate versions of health insurance reform into one final bill to send the President, there is an unavoidable temptation among the media to focus on the five percent of differences between the two versions, instead of the remarkable 95 percent the bills have in common.  But, even as difficult work does remain, it is important not to lose perspective of how far we have come and how close we are to the enacting health reform.

The reality is that the two versions of reform legislation are vastly similar – built upon a shared foundation that will provide stability and security for Americans with insurance, affordable options for those without, and lower costs for families, businesses, and the government.

Both the House and Senate versions of health insurance reform rest upon the following building blocks:

So as you follow the health reform debate in the media, don't fall prey to the cynicism and pessimism of a lot of the chattering class and remember that we are on the precipice of a historic accomplishment that will make a real difference in the lives of American families.

Dan Pfeiffer is White House Communications Director

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/01/05/its-our-hands-census-kicks-2010-portrait-america-road-tour

Yesterday, I started my new year in Rockefeller Center on the Today Show to kick off our huge push to get people to take part in the 2010 Census. 

One of my resolutions is to help make this the best, most accurate Census count ever. 

The Commerce Department's Census Bureau spends 10 years planning how to best count everyone living in America and then New Years comes – and the rubber hits the road!  Which is literally what’s happening this year. 

Today, we're sending out a small fleet of 13 vehicles – which we’re calling the Portrait of America Road Tour – that will drive across the United States and Puerto Rico to get the word out about the 2010 Census.   

We're doing this for the oldest of reasons – because our Constitution tells us to.  Every 10 years, since 1790, we've counted ourselves – every single person living in America.  This count determines how we divvy up about $400 billion in federal aid to states to help pay for things like schools, roads, hospitals and police and firemen.

For the 2010 Census, we've added some high tech twists to the traditional Census process.  Everyone is still going to receive a Census questionnaire in the mailbox, so please – FILL IT OUT, and mail it back.  The form is very simple, and has only 10 questions that should take about 10 minutes to complete, and the questionnaire comes in numerous languages.

I’m counting on the Road Tour to get the word out and encourage people to participate. Our little armada of vehicles will drive more than 150,000 miles, be seen by an estimated 18 million people and stop at more than 800 community gatherings, celebrations and sporting events.

Anybody who wants to can learn about the Census and how to fill out a Census form.  If you want, you can explain why you’re taking part in the Census, and then you can upload your story onto an interactive website.  And you can follow the tour and see other people’s stories by tracking the Road Tour on Twitter, Facebook or through the Road Tour blog.  Happy New Years and make sure to follow the Portrait of America Road Tour on the web at:

Gary Locke is the Secretary of Commerce.  He can be followed on Twitter at @SecLocke

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/01/04/your-voice-matters-help-make-usagov-work-you

In support of the President's Open Government Initiative -- and in keeping with a 40-year history of bringing government information to the public -- GSA's Office of Citizen Services is hosting the dialog, Your Voice Matters.

Your Voice Matters invites the public to post ideas for improving USA.gov, the U.S. government's official web portal.

USA.gov has evolved over the years in a continuing effort to provide quick and easy access to government information and services. Now, with this online dialog tool, the public can more fully participate in USA.gov's re-design and development that will allow GSA's Office of Citizen Services to better shape the website in response to posted ideas and comments.

Join the dialog and let us know how you prefer to access information and services on USA.gov. Are there tools we should be using but aren't? What are your favorite and least favorite aspects of the website? We're listening and stand ready to make changes.

Your Voice Matters is open through January 15, so please share your thoughts on how to make USA.gov work for you.

David L. McClure is Associate Administrator Citizen Services and Communications at the U.S. General Services Administration

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/01/04/reality-check-health-care-costs-under-status-quo-are-real-danger

Today we got a striking reminder of what defenders of the status quo are defending, and the future that lies ahead if opponents of reform get their way. And this isn't fear-mongering based on some deceptive distortion as we so often hear from those opponents, it's cold hard facts.

Today, the actuaries at the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services released a report and new data on health spending that confirms what families and businesses around this country already know:  The need for health  insurance reform is urgent.  Rising health care costs are eating into family budgets, forcing employers to cut back;  and health spending is taking up a greater and greater percentage of America’s economic output.  The  report,  published in the journal Health Affairs, shows that health spending as a percentage of GDP has increased from 15.9 per cent in 2007 to 16.2 per cent in 2008.  That means more than one in six dollars in this country is tied up in the health care system.  The growth of health care spending is unsustainable.   The time to act is now. America cannot wait any longer.   

There is a glimmer of good news in the report:   Health spending slowed somewhat compared to the  the year before.  The numbers are still shocking:  National health spending reached $2.3 trillion, or $7681 per person in 2008:  The highest in the world.  And the reason the rate of spending slowed in this year was because of the economic slowdown.  Employers and families were simply forced to cut back.   Employers are spending less on health insurance because many no longer provide benefits to their workers. We know that many employers simply can’t afford the high cost.  Many families who have lost their jobs and health insurance went without the care and prescription drugs they need. 

Families are struggling to keep up with the cost of health care.   The share of family income spent on health care grew from 5.3% to 5.9% in one year. 

Government was also handed a higher bill. Health spending on Medicare  grew by 8.6 percent, driven in part by the high cost of private Medicare Advantage plans.  Health insurance reform legislation will eliminate wasteful overpayments to insurance companies while protecting guaranteed Medicare benefits and strengthening the Medicare Trust Fund. 

The data make clear that our economy and our families can no longer afford the health care status quo. The reform proposals being considered in Congress will help drive down the cost of health care while strengthening Medicare for our seniors and improving the quality of care for all Americans. Changing the way we handle hospitalizations to prevent mistakes and unnecessary readmissions and creating incentives in the payment system to reward quality of care rather than just the quantity of care are just some of the important reforms that will help us achieve this critical goal.

And we are closer to passing these reforms than ever before. President Obama’s leadership and the hard work of members of Congress have brought us to an historic moment. After decades of waiting, 2010 will be the year we make health reform a reality.

Nancy-Ann DeParle is the Director of the White House Office of Health Reform