Remarks at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Dinner September 26, 2009

Sept. 26 / Administration of Barack Obama, 2009

My offer of a serious, meaningful dialogue they will face increased pressure and isolation to resolve this issue remains open. But Iran and deny opportunity to their own people. must now cooperate fully with the Internation- These are the urgent threats of our time. al Atomic Energy Agency and take action to And the United States is committed to a new demonstrate its peaceful intentions. chapter of international cooperation to meet On this, the international community is them. This new chapter will not be written in 1 more united than ever before. Yesterday I week or even 1 year. But we have begun, and stood shoulder to shoulder with our European for the American people and the people of the allies in condemning Iran’s program. In our meetings and public statements, President world, it will mean greater security and pros- Medvedev of Russia and I agreed that Iran perity for years to come. must pursue a new course, or face conse- quences. All of the permanent members of the NOTE: The address was recorded at approxi- United Nations Security Council and Germa- mately 5:25 p.m. on September 25 at the Pitts- ny have made it clear that Iran must fulfill its burgh Convention Center in Pittsburgh, PA, responsibilities. for broadcast on September 26. The transcript Iran’s leaders must now choose. They can was made available by the Office of the Press live up to their responsibilities and achieve in- Secretary on September 25, but was embar- tegration with the community of nations, or goed for release until 6 a.m. on September 26.

Remarks at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Dinner September 26, 2009

They didn’t want me to be on the right. I look out at all of you tonight—on Mem- [Laughter] This is the CBC. [Laughter] bers of Congress, on State and local officials, To all the outstanding guests here tonight, on leaders of all kinds—and I am reminded of to our outstanding chair of the Congressional the extraordinary acts of public service being Black Caucus, Barbara Lee, please give her a rendered by African Americans today. I’m re- big round of applause. To her outstanding minded of the difference each of you is mak- foundation chair, Kendrick Meek, please give ing at every level of government, in the quiet them a round of applause. neighborhoods of our small towns and the bus- Majority Leader Steny Hoyer is in the tling streets of our big cities. house. The House Majority Whip, James Cly- But I’m also reminded that it wasn’t always burn, is in the house. Chairman of the DCCC this way. I’m reminded of a time long before Chris Van Hollen is in the house. And my the CBC was formed, long before the civil great friend and the chair of the DNC, Tim rights movement was sparked, when just a Kaine—please give him a big round of ap- lone African American was serving in the Unit- plause—Governor of the Commonwealth of ed States Congress. Virginia. I want to begin by congratulating all of the A North Carolinian by birth, the child, some recipients of the Phoenix Award for outstand- say, of slaves, George Henry White was the ing contributions to American life. I have to last of that first generation of African Ameri- single out one of tonight’s honorees, for whom cans elected to Congress in the aftermath of I can personally vouch, our Ambassador to the Appomattox. But at the end of the 1800s, United Nations, Susan Rice. Susan is doing a when a segregationist Supreme Court handed fantastic job as Ambassador, especially this down “separate but equal,” with African past week when we were at the United Na- Americans being purged from the voter rolls, tions, and we are all lucky, all of America is with strange fruit growing on the poplar trees, lucky, to have her representing us there. So White decided against seeking reelec- please give her a big round of applause. tion—meaning that once again, neither the

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House nor the Senate would be occupied by a That’s why we acted boldly, that’s why we single African American Member. acted swiftly to put in place a Recovery Act that And at the end of an inspiring farewell ad- was passed with the help of Members of Con- dress, the gentleman from North Carolina said, gress here tonight and that’s being carried out “This, Mr. Chairman, is perhaps the Negroes’ with the help from Governors and mayors here temporary farewell to the American Congress; tonight. And as a consequence of those early ac- but let me say, phoenix-like, he will rise up tions, we’re cutting taxes for 95 percent of some day and come again.” working families—not for the rich folks, but for Members of the CBC, all of you gathered ordinary folks—putting some money in their here today, tonight is a fulfillment of that pockets. We’re extending and increasing unem- prophecy. While George Henry White might ployment insurance for 12 million Americans to not have foreseen the exact details of Mont- help them weather this economic storm. We are gomery and Selma, while he might not have making COBRA 65 percent cheaper so Ameri- foreseen the precise outlines of the Civil Rights cans don’t lose their health care coverage if Act and the Voting Rights Act and all the strug- they’re out there looking for work. We are sav- gles to come, he knew that someday African ing the jobs of teachers and police officers that Americans rely on all across the Nation. And Americans would sit in our city halls and state- we’re putting Americans to work rebuilding our houses. He knew that someday the Halls of crumbling roads and bridges and schools and Congress would be walked by Representatives waterways with the largest investment in our in- and Senators of every creed and color. He frastructure since the Interstate Highway Sys- knew, as Frederick Douglass knew, as Harriet tem was built in the 1950s. Tubman knew, as Martin Luther King, Jr., Because of the action we’ve taken so far, we knew, that the arc of the moral universe is long, have stopped the bleeding in our economy. So but it bends towards justice. the next time some of these folks come up ask- More than a century has passed since Con- ing you what the Recovery Act has done, you gressman White left Congress. In that time, we tell them it has prevented us from going into a have faced a number of difficult tests and bitter much worse place. That much we know. That’s trials, as a people and as a nation. There have been confirmed. been dangers to peace and security; there have But we also know that we’ve got a long way to been barriers to justice and equality; there have go, that the progress we’ve made has been un- been threats to opportunity. So we are by no even, and that this recession has hit communi- means the first generation of Americans to be ties of color with a particular ferocity. Today, tested, but tested we have been. Most recently, more than one in seven African Americans are we’ve been tested by an economic crisis unlike out of work, the highest in nearly a quarter of a any that we’ve seen since the Great Depression. century. More than 2 out of 10 African Ameri- Now, I have to say that some folks seem to cans—and 3 out of 10 Black children—are liv- have forgotten just how bad things were when I ing in poverty. took office. They seem to be exercising some So this economic crisis has made the prob- selective memory. So let’s just take a stroll lems in the communities of color much worse, down memory lane. Our economy was shedding but we all know that these problems have been 700,000 jobs every single month, more than the there for a long time. Communities were strug- entire population of Baltimore losing work ev- gling to catch up long before this economic ery month. Credit had dried up. Loans for ev- storm came ashore. One study that looked at erything from college to cars were nearly im- trends in this country over the past few decades possible to come by. Our entire financial system found that while roughly 7 out of every 10 mid- was poised on the brink of collapse with many dle class White children end up surpassing their fearing that what has been called the “great re- parents’ income, roughly 7 out of every 10 mid- cession” would become another great depres- dle class Black children do not. Think about sion. You remember that. that: for the majority of some Americans,

1461 Sept. 27 / Administration of Barack Obama, 2009 upward mobility; for the majority of others, How are we supposed to tell Americans like stagnation or even downward mobility. That Nathan Wilkes to wait? This is a man whose was taking place over the last decade, before health insurance came with a cap, so when the the economic crisis. That kind of inequality is claims started piling up because he had a sick unacceptable in the United States of America. child, he was left to frantically search for an- Now, bringing hope and opportunity to other option, or face $10,000 of out-of-pocket places where they’re in short supply, that’s not costs. easy. It will take a focused and sustained effort Let me tell you: We have been waiting for to eradicate the structural inequalities in our health reform since the days of Teddy Roos- communities, structural inequalities that make evelt. We’ve been waiting since the days of it difficult for children of color to make a suc- Harry Truman. We’ve been waiting since cess of their lives, no matter how smart or how Johnson and Nixon and Clinton. We cannot driven or how talented they are. And that’s wait any longer. “There comes a time when why we’re launching Promise Neighborhoods the cup of endurance runs over.” There comes to build on Geoffrey Canada’s success in Har- a time to remember the fierce urgency of right lem with a comprehensive approach to ending now. poverty by giving people the tools they need to Now is the time to enact health insurance pull themselves up. That’s why I’ve created an reform in the United States of America. Now Office of Urban Affairs to lift up our cities with is the time to offer stability and security to a coordinated strategy to unleash their poten- Americans who have insurance. Now is the tial. That’s why my administration, under the time to make it affordable for those who don’t leadership of Attorney General Eric Holder, is have health insurance. Now is the time to slow serious about enforcing our civil rights laws the growth of health care costs for our families and tearing down barriers to equal opportuni- and business, our Government. That’s the ty. kind of reform that we need. Now is the time. And that’s what so many Members of Con- But of all the barriers still standing in 2009, gress here tonight and all across the country few are more unjust, few are more en- are working so hard to produce. trenched, few are more inhumane than the Now, many of you are probably familiar barriers to a healthy life and a good educa- with our plan, but I just want to go over a few tion; barriers that constrain the dreams not on- things so you know what to tell your friends ly of African Americans, but of all Americans; and neighbors and folks in the community who barriers that can, and must, and shall be over- ask about it because they may be seeing some come. misinformation—just a little bit. [Laughter] I For the sake of every American living today was up at the G–20—just a little aside—I was and for the sake of every American yet to be up in the G–20, and some of you saw—there’s born, we must bring about a better health care big flags and all the world leaders come in and system in this country—not in 10 years, not in Michelle and I are shaking hands with them. 5 years, not in 1 year—this year. I know there And one of the leaders—I won’t mention who are voices out there telling us we’re moving it was—[laughter]—he comes up to me. We too fast when it comes to health insurance re- take the picture, we go behind, and he says, form. They’re telling us to slow down. They’re “Barack, explain to me this health care de- telling us to wait. bate.” He says, “We don’t understand it. How are we supposed to tell Americans like You’re trying to make sure everybody has Easter Spencer to wait? This is a woman who health care, and they’re putting a Hitler mus- discovered a lump in her breast back in June tache on you. I don’t—that doesn’t make sense and was told it would be 6 months before she to me. Explain that to me.” He didn’t under- was eligible for health insurance that would stand. So let me just clarify. cover the cost of removing it. We’re telling her If you already have health insurance, under to wait? the plan we’ve developed, you will not, I

1462 Administration of Barack Obama, 2009 / Sept. 27 repeat, you will not have to change your cover- members of the CBC and Members of Con- age or your doctor. We are not requiring those gress all across the country, and thanks to you at changes in this legislation. the grassroots level that are going to stand up What we will do is make insurance work bet- and insist that we cannot afford to wait any lon- ter for everybody. It will be against the law for ger. insurance companies to deny you coverage be- Now, the key to progress for all Americans is cause of a preexisting condition. It will be not just healthy bodies, it’s also a well educated against the law for insurance companies to drop mind. And we know that the African American your coverage when you get sick, or water it community will fall behind in the United States down when you need it the most. They won’t be and the United States will fall behind in the able to place some arbitrary cap on how much world unless we do a far better job than we’ve coverage you can receive in a given year or a been doing of educating our sons and daugh- lifetime. We will place a limit on how much you ters; unless we close the achievement gap that can be charged for out-of-pocket expenses. Be- sees Black students and Brown students lag be- cause in the United States of America, nobody hind their White classmates year after year, de- should go broke because they got sick. cade after decade; unless we reach all the stu- We will make it easier to identify health care dents who are dropping out of school and giving disparities and work to close them. That’s long up on their future. overdue. And insurance companies will be re- Today, almost a third of students drop out of quired to cover, at no extra charge, routine high school—a third—and a disproportionate checkups and preventive care, like mammo- number of them are African American or His- grams and colonoscopies. There’s no reason we panic. That’s not just a loss for the African shouldn’t be catching diseases like breast can- American community or the Hispanic commu- cer before they get worse. That makes sense; it nity; that’s a loss for all Americans. That’s the saves money; it saves lives. That’s what we’re future workforce. In the 21st century, when a going to do. good education is a prerequisite for success, So that’s what we do for the folks with health when the jobs of tomorrow require a bachelor’s insurance. And we’ll finally offer the tens of degree or more, when the countries that outed- millions of Americans who don’t have health in- ucate us today will outcompete us tomorrow, surance some affordable choices. We’ll do this with a new insurance exchange, a marketplace we need the talents, the energy, the contribu- where individuals and small-business men can tions of all our children, not just some. We need shop for affordable health insurance plans that to prepare every child in America to compete work for them, as one big group, so they’ll have with any worker in the world. leverage to get a better deal than they get right Now, there are a number of things Govern- now, a much better deal. And that is going to ment can do to offer our kids a 21st-century ed- save them money. ucation. It can increase Pell grants and Perkins Now, there are going to be some who claim loans and simplify financial aid forms. It can es- that, “Well, this is a Government takeover of tablish better standards and assessments in our health care.” There are going to be some who schools. It can reward teachers who are doing a suggest that they’re going to lose their choices. great job and move bad ones out of the class- We are talking about expanding choices. And I room. It can improve quality in early learning just want everybody to remember that they said initiatives. It can rebuild our crumbling schools. the same thing when we tried to pass Social Se- It can offer all our children a complete and curity. They called FDR all kinds of things that competitive education from cradle to class- we cannot repeat here today. They said the room, from college through a career. That’s same thing about Lyndon Johnson when we what Government can do. That’s what Govern- tried to pass Medicare. They are saying the ment must do. And that’s exactly what we’ve be- same things now, trying the same tactics, but we gun to do, here in Washington, across this coun- are going to get this done this year thanks to try.

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And I’ve said it before—and I know I may better for the larger American communi- sound like a broken record—but I’m going to ty. That is how we will build a new foundation say it again: Government alone cannot get our for our economy that yields lasting, shared children to the promised land. Government prosperity. That’s how we’ll take up the cause can’t put away the PlayStation. Government of freedom and justice and equality in our can’t put our kids to bed at a reasonable time, just as earlier generations of Americans hour. Government can’t attend those parent- took it up in theirs. teacher conferences. Government can’t read a Remember what it was like for George book to your child at night. Government can’t Henry White in the early days of the 20th cen- help them with their homework. Government tury, as he was bidding farewell to the House can’t make sure they leave to school on time. of Representatives, the last African American These are things only a mother can do and a to serve there for a quarter century. Remem- father can do. These are things that a parent ber the taunts and the threats and the attacks can do. braved by White, braved by Lewis, braved by We need to accept our responsibilities, as Chisholm. Remember all they did, all so many parents and community leaders. We need to others did, to make it possible for us to be here be good role models and encourage excellence tonight, to make it possible for you to be here in all our children, every last one of them. We tonight, to make it possible for me to be here need to let them know there are no excuses for tonight. not doing your best every day, all the time, in Because I know that if we can act as they order to achieve your dreams. did—with the same sense of unity, the same We’ve got to push our kids to aim higher. I sense of possibility, the same determination, don’t want all our kids aspiring to be ballers or the same sense of purpose—then we will not rappers. I want them aspiring to be teachers only help America’s peoples live healthier and doctors and scientists and engineers. I lives, we won’t just help America’s children want them aspiring to be Members of Con- live out their dreams, but it will be said of us, gress and Supreme Court Justices. I want as it was said of our forbearers, that when the them aspiring to be the President of the Unit- need was great and the moment was hard, ed States of America. I want them to have when the odds seemed against us, we did our their sights set high. part to perfect our Union. No excuses for mediocrity. If they come Thank you. God bless you. And God bless home with a “B,” don’t tell them, “That’s the United States of America. great.” I know some of you all do that. [Laugh- ter] Tell them to work harder and get an A. Set their heights high. NOTE: The President spoke at 8:20 p.m. at A world-class education; affordable, quality Walter E. Washington Convention Center. In health insurance; jobs and opportunity; all of his remarks, he referred to Geoffrey Canada, us accepting responsibility for ourselves and president and chief executive officer, Harlem our children and our common future, that’s Children’s Zone. The transcript was released how we’ll make life better for the African by the Office of the Press Secretary on Sep- American community, and thereby make life tember 27.

Remarks Following a Meeting With North Atlantic Treaty Organization Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen September 29, 2009

President Obama. Hello, everybody. I just sen to the Oval Office. He and I had the op- want to welcome Secretary General Rasmus- portunity to get to know each other at the

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