Faith & Spiritual Leaders Update: December 4, 2015 Office of Public Engagement

The President on Gun Violence: A Pattern That Has No Parallel Click HERE or below for the President’s remarks on the shooting in San Bernardino:

 President Obama has been monitoring the developments in San Bernardino, CA, sending his condolences to the families of those affected by the shooting and calling on lawmakers to take action to prevent weapons like those used by the shooters this week from getting into the wrong hands.  We are working closely with federal and local law enforcement agencies to conduct a complete and thorough investigation of the incident and those responsible.  In the wake of the violence in Paris and San Bernardino, the President shares the concern of many in the community about potential backlash against Muslim communities in the United States. He is committed to acting on the message that Attorney General Loretta Lynch shared with Muslim Advocates members on Thursday in Washington:

"My greatest fear as a prosecutor, as someone who is sworn to the protection of all of the American people, [is] that the rhetoric will be accompanied by acts of violence… My message to not just the Muslim community but to the entire American community: we cannot give in to the fear that these backlashes are really based on.”

- Loretta Lynch, United States Attorney General December 3, 2015

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West Wing Week: Recap of President Obama’s Week https://www.whitehouse.gov/photos-and-video/video/2015/12/04/west-wing-week-12042015-or-fromage

Global Leadership for a Global Challenge https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKopXxCPCJg

 The President joined nearly 200 world leaders this week in Paris for the COP21 Conference on Climate Change to take decisive action to protect our planet.  Mission Innovation, a multilateral initiative announced in Paris, will accelerate public and private global clean energy innovation to address global climate change, provide affordable clean energy to consumers and create additional commercial opportunities in clean energy.  President Obama called on each of us to “get to work” on creating a world that is “worthy of our children” by cutting emissions.

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Jobs and the Economy

 The United States’ economy has seen significant growth in the recent years, with 211,000 jobs added in November alone. Unemployment is down to its lowest level in over 7 years, we’ve added more jobs over the past three years than in any three-year period since 2000, and wages are continuing to rise.  U.S. businesses have now added 13.7 million jobs over 69 straight months, extending the longest streak on record.

Solidarity on World AIDS Day

 On December 1st, the Office of National AIDS Policy released the Federal Action Plan for 2016 -2020, which outlines specific actions to confront the disease that affects 1.2 million Americans and nearly 37 million people around the world.  President Obama recognized those impacted by the disease and recognized those who fight it in a proclamation and a videotaped statement.

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