July 17 / Administration of Barack Obama, 2012 approach to our deficits and debt that says ev- And the reason I’m optimistic is because what erybody does their fair share. the American people showed me in 2008 is And that was my commitment even before I that when they determine what is true and ran for office and that we’ve fought for the last what is right and they come together, it doesn’t 3½ years—we’ve got a long way to go. There matter how much money the special interests are still way too many people who are out of spend, it doesn’t matter how many television work, too many homes that are still underwater ads are run, ultimately—[inaudible]. across the country, too many small businesses And I think one of the great privileges of be- that are struggling. ing President is as I travel around the country But in addition to making sure that we and meet people from all walks of life—every didn’t fall into a Great Depression, we’ve tried race, every region, every faith—there’s a core to systematically—whether it’s the health care decency to the American people, a basic good- bill, whether it’s our approach to expanding ac- ness and grit and determination of the Ameri- cess to college education for young people, can people, that gives me great confidence whether it is putting in place rules and regula- about our future. tions to protect from the kind of chaos of Wall So I just want to say to all of you, thank you Street that we saw in 2007, 2008—everything for your extraordinary support. Again, thanks we’ve done has been designed to fulfill that to the Watts family for hosting us. And I guar- goal of making sure that we’re building a antee, if all of you stay with me and keep on strong middle class and we’re continuing to working hard for the next 4 months, then I’m create avenues of opportunity for those who going to have the next—another 4 years to do are working hard to get into the middle class. the work that needs to be done. Now, this is going to be a close election. I Thank you. don’t think there’s any doubt about that, not because the other side has particularly new or NOTE: The President spoke at 2:19 p.m. at the interesting ideas, but because the economy is residence of Mikal and Tammy Watts. In his still struggling for a lot of folks. And as a conse- remarks, he referred to Republican Presiden- quence, your help, your support is going to be tial candidate former Gov. W. Mitt Romney of critical. But I’m optimistic about our prospects Massachusetts. Audio was not available for ver- of being able to finish what we started in 2008. ification of the content of these remarks.

Remarks at a Campaign Rally in Austin, Texas July 17, 2012

The President. Hello, Texas! It is good to be And thanks to all of you for being here. I am back in Austin, Texas! Yeah. It’s good to be excited to be back. back. Love Austin, Texas. How’s everybody do- Audience member. I love you! ing today? The President. I love you back. I do. Couple of people I want to acknowledge. Now, Texas, let me tell you, this is my last First of all, your fine mayor of this fine city, campaign. Audience members. Aww! Lee Leffingwell is here. We’ve got an out-of- The President. No, it’s true. Unless I move town guest who is doing outstanding work in down here to Austin—maybe I—[applause]— another part of Texas, the mayor of Houston, run for dogcatcher down here or something. Annise Parker is here. Somebody who is fight- [Laughter] This is most likely my last cam- ing on behalf of working people every single paign, win or lose. And it makes you—— day, Congressman Lloyd Doggett is here. And Audience members. Win! give it up for the outstanding entertainment The President. And it makes you nostalgic provided by Jerry Jeff Walker. about your first campaign and the first few

1040 Administration of Barack Obama, 2012 / July 17 campaigns I ran back in my home State of Illi- him, he could barely walk. He had to use two nois—— canes. And he had to wake up an hour early ev- Audience members. Whoo! ery morning, earlier than everybody else, to The President. [Laughter] Illinois in the get—just to get dressed. And he worked at a house! water filtration plant, a blue-collar job, and Mi- Now, back then, understand, I did not have chelle’s mom stayed at home until they were a Air Force One. [Laughter] I didn’t have Ma- little older, and then she went to work as a sec- rine One. I didn’t have the Beast driving me retary. And they never had a lot, and yet be- around. I drove myself around. And Illinois is a cause of the love and the values that were in big State, so we’d—I’d go up and down—I’d that household, Michelle and her brother were usually have one staff person with me; a lot of able to get an unbelievable education and go as times, I’d be the one driving. And we didn’t far as their dreams would take them. even have MapQuest back then, so you had to And I’d hear these same kinds of stories ev- unfold the map—[laughter]—and try to figure erywhere I went. And it reminded me that out how it folds back, and we’d get lost, and— what makes America so exceptional, what but when I think back to those times, those makes us so special, is this basic bargain, this early campaigns, we’d travel to inner-city basic idea that in this country, no matter what communities and rural communities and sub- you look like, no matter where you come from, urban communities, and you’d meet folks from no matter what your last name is, no matter every walk of life: Black, White, Hispanic, what setbacks you may experience, in this Asian, Native American, wealthy, low income. country, if you work hard, if you are willing to And what was fascinating was that every- take responsibility, then you can make it. You where you went, there was a common theme, a can get ahead. common thread. I’d see an elderly couple and That—for the overwhelming majority of I’d think about my grandparents: my grandfa- Americans, that effort means that you can find ther, who fought in World War II, and my a job that supports a family. And it means that grandmother, who worked on a bomber assem- you can maybe get a home that you call your bly line while he was gone. And when he came own and you can send your kids to a good back, he was able to get a college education on school and not go bankrupt when you get sick, the GI bill, and they were able to buy a home take a vacation once in a while, nothing fancy. with the help of an FHA loan. And I’d think The—I was telling some folks up in Ohio about about the journey they traveled and how re- my favorite vacation when I was a kid was markable that was and how that represented all when I was 11, driving around the country and that the greatest generation had done. traveling around the country with my mom and And then I’d meet a single mom somewhere my sister and my grandma. And most of the and I’d think about my mom, who basically time we took Greyhound buses and stayed at raised me and my sister on her own because Howard Johnsons. And if there was any kind of my father left, and how she had to struggle to little swimming pool anywhere, I was happy. work while she was putting herself through [Laughter] And a big event was going to the school and still keep us on track. And yet she vending machine and buying a soda and then was—because of the help of scholarships and filling the ice bucket and carrying it back. grants—able to get her education and then [Laughter] That was a big deal. But the point give me and my sister the best education in the was you didn’t do it—it wasn’t a luxury, it was world. And I thought about how that couldn’t just the chance to have a little adventure with happen probably in most places around the your family. world. And then, part of that bargain was that you And then I’d meet a working couple some- could retire with dignity and respect at the end where and I’d think about Michelle’s parents. of a life and that you knew that your kids could Michelle’s dad had MS, so by the time I met achieve more than you did, that their lives

1041 July 17 / Administration of Barack Obama, 2012 would offer opportunities you couldn’t even down, that basic character of America does not imagine. And that bargain, that idea of who we change. Who we are does not change. What we are as a people, that’s what built this country. believe, the values we hold dear, the impor- That’s what made us into an economic super- tance we place on hard work and that work be- power, this idea that anybody could make it. ing rewarded, whether you are starting a small And being middle class didn’t have anything to business or punching a clock, that idea that you do necessarily with just the money in your can make it if you try here in America, that’s bank account, but it had to do with a set of val- what we’ve been fighting for. ues and a set of beliefs about what was impor- Yes, we’ve been trying to put people back to tant. work, but our goal has not been to just get us And it’s those values that propelled me to back to where we were in 2007. Our goal has get into politics in the first place, because I saw been to rebuild an economy that lasts for ev- the blessings in my life and I wanted to make erybody, for all people. And I am absolutely sure everybody in this country had those same convinced that we are on that path. And we are blessings. not going backwards. And that’s why I’m run- And when we came together in 2008— ning for a second term as President of the Democrats, but also some Republicans and In- United States of America. dependents—it was because we shared that Now, I have to tell you, there are some who belief, that bargain, and we had a sense that it say, well, this is part of America’s fate as it en- was slipping away from us. We had gone ters into the 21st century, that other countries through a decade where hard work didn’t al- are rising and we’re declining. And I just don’t ways translate into higher wages or higher in- buy that. comes and folks acting responsibly didn’t al- Audience members. No! ways get ahead. And that was before the worst The President. What’s holding us back is financial crisis and the worst economic crisis of not—it’s not the lack of new ideas or big ideas our lifetimes, which left millions more unem- or policy prescriptions that could make a dif- ployed, and it looked like they were going to ference in education or housing or health care lose their homes, and struggling that much or you name it. What’s been holding us back is more to keep up with the rising cost of health a stalemate in Washington. And this is not just care or a college education. about two candidates or two political parties. But for the last 3½ years, I have not forgot- This is about two fundamentally different vi- ten why I got into politics, and I have not for- sions for where we take our country. gotten those values. And I haven’t forgotten My opponent and his allies in Congress, why we came together: because we wanted to they’ve got a particular view about how you put this country back on a track where every- grow the economy: top-down economics. body had a fair shot and everybody did their Audience members. Boo! fair share and everybody played by the same The President. Their basic view is that if you set of rules. take the Bush tax cuts and on top of that you And what has kept me going, for all the then layer on $5 trillion more of tax cuts, most- progress we’ve made—4½ million new jobs ly for the wealthy, and you eliminate regula- and half a million new manufacturing jobs and tions on polluters or the regulations we put in us stabilizing the financial system and averting place to prevent another meltdown on Wall a great depression and investing in advanced Street or regulations to make sure that folks ar- manufacturing—for all the progress that we’ve en’t being taken advantage of by unscrupulous made, what has get—kept me going every sin- lenders, that if you just eliminate government gle day is remembering that thing that ties us intrusion into the market and let folks at the together, that binds us as a people, and under- very top maximize their profits, that we’ll all do standing that no matter what we went through, better, we’ll all be better off. no matter how many times we get knocked Audience members. Boo!

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The President. Now, I mean, that’s their the- they’re building better cars and more fuel-effi- ory. And you know, it is a theory. It’s—it— cient cars than ever. That’s an example of what [laughter]—and you know, it would be okay for America can do when we work together. them to make that argument if we hadn’t just But it’s not just the auto industry. Whether spent close to a decade trying their theory, we’re talking about advanced manufacturing of which resulted in the most sluggish job growth batteries that will help us run electric cars, or in decades, income and wages for ordinary wind turbines, or solar panels, or—I believe in folks going down, rising inequality, surpluses making things here in America, and I believe turned into deficits, culminating in the worst in inventing things here in America. economic crisis in our lifetimes. And Governor Romney, his main calling Now, I don’t know about how you guys op- card for running for office is his business expe- erate in your lives, but my general rule is if I do rience, and so understandably, the American something and it just really doesn’t work out— people have been asking, well, let’s find out [laughter]—then I try to do something differ- what you’ve been doing. [Laughter] And if ent the next time. your main experience is investing in companies So I’ve got a different idea. that are called “pioneers” of outsourcing, then Audience member. We love you! that indicates that we’ve got a different vision, The President. I love you back. Because I don’t want to be a pioneer of out- But let me tell you how I think about it. See, sourcing, I want to be a pioneer of insourcing. I don’t believe in top-down economics. I be- I want to stop giving tax breaks to companies lieve in middle-out economics. I believe in bot- that are shipping jobs overseas. I want to give tom-up economics. I believe that when you tax breaks to companies that are investing right give everybody a shot and everybody is able to here in Austin, investing right here in the Unit- work hard and look after their families, every- ed States of America, betting on American body does better, including, by the way, folks workers, making American products that we at the top. Small businesses and large business- sell, stamped with three proud words: Made in es, suddenly, they’ve got customers because America. That’s why I’m running for President those customers got some money in their pock- of the United States again. ets. The history of how we built this country Audience members. Four more years! Four was everybody having a chance to pursue their more years! Four more years! dreams and, together, us building opportunity The President. I’m—in 2008, I said I’d end that made us the envy of the world. the war in Iraq. Thanks to the brave men and And so I don’t believe that we should try women in uniform that serve us with such val- once again something that didn’t work. I think or, I was able to keep that promise. I said we’d what we need to do is keep pursuing a strategy go after bin Laden. Thanks to our men and that says, let’s make the investments in the women in uniform, I kept that promise. We are American people that will help us grow, but now winding down the war in Afghanistan and will also create ladders of opportunity for ev- starting to bring our troops home. erybody. And so, after a decade of war, what I’ve said So let me be specific. When my opponent is let’s take some of the savings, use half of it to wanted to “let Detroit go bankrupt”—— help pay down our deficit; let’s use the other Audience members. Boo! half to do some nation-building here at home. The President. ——I said, first of all, it’s go- Let’s rebuild our roads and our bridges. Let’s ing to cost us a million jobs. Second of all, I be- build broadband lines into rural communities. lieve in the American worker, and I believe in Let’s build high-speed rail that helps move American ingenuity. And so we got manage- people and services all across this country. ment and workers together, and guess what, 3½ Let’s invest in basic research and innovation years later GM is the number-one automaker that has made places like Austin a hotbed of again. The auto industry is roaring back, and entrepreneurship and invention.

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We’ve got tens of thousands of folks who lost When it comes to immigration, Mr. Romney their jobs in the construction industry after the thinks that the Arizona law should be “a model housing bubble went burst. Let’s put them to for the Nation.” work rebuilding America. That’s what we do Audience members. Boo! best. And by making those investments, we’re The President. I believe we’re a nation of not just putting people back to work right now, laws and a nation of immigrants. We’ve worked we’re laying the foundation for economic hard on border security. But I’ve also said that growth for decades to come. That’s my vision when you’ve got young people in this country for America. who have been raised as Americans, who be- Now, Mr. Romney disagrees. He said end- lieve in America, then I want to give them a ing the war in Iraq as I did was “tragic.” chance to succeed here in America. It’s the Audience members. Boo! right thing to do. The President. He said he wouldn’t set a I don’t want to go back to the days when timeline in Afghanistan. fighting for the country you love depended on Audience members. Boo! who you love. We ended “don’t ask, don’t tell.” The President. I’ve got a different approach. We’re not going to go back there. And ultimately, you’re the ones who are going We’re not going to roll back Wall Street re- to be able to settle this dispute—with your form. We know the costs when you’ve got lax vote. That’s what our democracy is all about. regulation; everybody is affected, everybody pays a price. I’m running again because we’ve done some And we are not rolling back health care re- great work reforming our education system, but form. The Supreme Court has spoken. We are we’ve got more work to do. I want to hire out- moving forward. If you’ve got health care, the standing new teachers, especially in math and only thing that now happens to you—you’re science. We succeeded in preventing student not paying a tax—the only thing that’s happen- loan rates from doubling, but we’ve got more ing to you is that you have more security be- work to do to bring down college tuition costs cause insurance companies can’t jerk you to make it affordable for every young person. around. Young people can stay on their par- I want to expand access to community col- ent’s plan until they’re 26 years old. Seniors are leges for 2 million more Americans so they get going to see lower prescription drug prices. trained for the jobs that people are hiring for Everybody is going to get free preventive care, right now. A higher education is no longer a including women. luxury. It is an economic imperative in the 21st And by the way, insurance companies can’t century. It is part of what we need to succeed charge women more than men now. Which re- in this global economy. And I’m going to fight minds me, we’re not ending funding for for every young person who is willing to work Planned Parenthood. I think women should hard to get an education. That’s why I’m run- have control of their own health care choices ning for a second term as President of the just like men. We’re not going backwards. United States. If you don’t have health care, then we’re go- So on issue after issue, there is a fundamen- ing to help you get it. And the only people who tal difference. On housing, Mr. Romney says may have a problem with this law are folks who let’s just let foreclosures happen, and the mar- can afford health care, but aren’t buying it, ket will bottom out. I want to make sure that wait until they get sick, and then going to the every American who right now owns a home emergency room and expecting everybody else can refinance their homes at historically low to pick up the tab. That’s not responsibility. rates—put $3,000 in the pocket of every Amer- That’s not consistent with who we are. ican. Not only will you spend that and create So we’re going to move forward on health more customers for businesses, but it can also care, and—which brings me to one last issue, help stabilize the housing market. this whole issue of deficits and debt. Now, the

1044 Administration of Barack Obama, 2012 / July 17 other side says, this is the most important is- ers, we’re rugged individualists, but there are sue, we’re concerned for future generations. some things we do better together. That’s how Now, if you are truly concerned about deficits we financed the GI bill that created the largest and debt, it’s puzzling that you would then pro- middle class in history. That’s how we built the pose a $5 trillion tax cut that would give the av- Hoover Dam and the Golden Gate Bridge. erage millionaire a $250,000 tax break, and to That’s how we sent a man to the Moon. That’s pay for it you would then have to gut educa- how the Internet came to happen, because we tion, gut investments in science and research, recognized there are some things we do well gut our transportation spending, voucherize together and we rise or fall as one Nation, as Medicare—oh, and in the process, eventually, one people. you’re probably going to have to raise taxes on And so here’s the good news, is that in this middle class families. election, you will have an opportunity to Audience members. No! choose between these two visions, and that’s The President. Now, we’ve already cut a tril- the way democracy should work. Now, I will lion dollars. And I don’t believe every Govern- say that there’s going to be about—well, we— ment program works. I don’t believe that Gov- who knows how much money is going to be ernment can help folks who don’t want to help spent? We’ve got folks writing $10 million themselves. So we’ve got to continue to make checks—— Government more efficient and more effective Audience members. Boo! and more customer friendly, but we’re not go- The President. ——running negative ads ing to turn back the clock to the days when se- with scary voices. [Laughter] And it’s basically niors had to fend for themselves, where poor the same message every time. You know, children are on their own, where we’re not they’ve got variations on a theme, but basically, making investments in education and falling these folks know they can’t sell those tired eco- further and further behind other countries. nomic theories that didn’t work last time. So Audience members. No! what they’re going to do is just to say, the econ- The President. So what I’ve said is let’s ask omy is not where it needs to be, and it’s folks like me, who have been incredibly Obama’s fault. I mean, that’s what they’ll say blessed by this country, to do a little bit more. over and over again, and they’ll just keep re- Audience members. Yes! peating it, and they hope it works. The President. What I’ve said is—I told Now, this is a plan to win an election, but it’s Congress last week, let’s go ahead and say ev- not a plan to create jobs. It’s not a plan to grow erybody who’s making $250,000 a year or less, the middle class. your income taxes will not go up one dime, pe- Audience members. No! riod. That includes 98 percent of Americans, The President. And I’ve got to say, I’d be 97 percent of small businesses. But for folks pretty concerned about it except for what you like me, we can afford to do a little bit more to taught me. What you taught me in ’08, what I make sure we are investing in America’s fu- learned in those early campaigns traveling ture. around the State and going to VFW halls and And by the way, we tried that too, Austin. A diners and sitting in people’s living rooms, lis- guy named Bill Clinton tried it, and we took tening to their stories, what you taught me was deficits and turned them into surpluses, creat- that when the American people focus and rec- ed 23 million new jobs. And by the way, ognize the stakes, and when they think back to wealthy people did really well also, because, the values that propelled their parents and again, if folks in the middle class are doing their grandparents and their great-grandpar- well, everybody does well. ents forward in the face of very difficult It’s that basic principle. Abraham Lincoln times—those folks, those generations who said that there are some things we do better to- came here, some as immigrants, some not of gether. We are entrepreneurs, we are risk tak- their own accord, working in farms or ranches

1045 July 17 / Administration of Barack Obama, 2012 or factories or mills or mines—when the ery single waking hour, as long as I had the American people tap into what is true and privilege of being your President, fighting for good, that grit and determination and just you, thinking about you. Because in you, I saw neighborliness that built this country, you guys me. In you, I saw my family. If I—in your can’t be stopped. It doesn’t matter how much grandparents, I saw my grandparents. In your money the other side spends, you can’t be kids, I see my kids. stopped. Because of you, because of my faith in you, And so the question’s going to be, how bad through all the ups and downs, I can say I have do we want it? How bad are we willing to work kept that promise. And if you still believe in for it? The—how committed are we to making me, if you’re willing to stand up with me, if sure that our kids get a great education? How you’re willing to knock on doors for me and committed are we to make sure that Social Se- make phone calls for me and talk to your curity and Medicare are there for folks in the friends and neighbors for me and mobilize and future? How committed are we to make sure organize, then we will finish what we started in that our veterans, who have served us valiantly, 2008. And we will build this middle class and that we’re serving them as well as they’ve served us? How committed are we to bringing grow this economy so it works for everybody. down our deficit in a balanced way? How com- And we will remind the world why the United mitted are we to continuing to invest in science States of America is the greatest nation on and research? How committed are we to that Earth. basic American bargain that says if you work God bless you. God bless the United States hard, you can get ahead? of America. In 2008, I tried to just make promises that I could keep. And one of those promises, I said NOTE: The President spoke at 5:20 p.m. at the to you, I’m not a perfect man and I—[laugh- Austin Music Hall. In his remarks, he referred ter]—I promise, talk to Michelle now—[laugh- to his sister Maya Soetoro-Ng, mother-in-law ter]—not a perfect man. I said I wouldn’t be a Marian Robinson, and brother-in-law Craig M. perfect President. But what I said was that I Robinson; and Republican Presidential candi- would always tell you where I stood, I’d always date former Gov. W. Mitt Romney of Massa- tell you what I thought, and I would spend ev- chusetts.

Statement on Extending Health Insurance Coverage to Federal Firefighters July 17, 2012

Starting today, the brave men and women of Each day, these Americans put themselves in our Nation’s Federal firefighting forces, as well grave danger to save the lives of people they as their families, will have access to the health never met, which is why I directed my admin- coverage they deserve. Their heroism in bat- istration to ensure that our Nation’s firefighters tling the deadly fires that have impacted States can count on the care and protection they across the country this summer inspires us all. need.

Statement on Nelson Mandela International Day July 17, 2012

On behalf of the people of the United nual Nelson Mandela International Day. Man- States, we would like to extend our heartfelt dela’s extraordinary life and steadfast commit- congratulations to Nelson Mandela on the oc- ment to the principles of democracy and rec- casion of his 94th birthday and the fourth an- onciliation continues to be a beacon for people

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