All Blog Posts from Political Hotsheet

Updated 3:54 p.m. ET

President Obama spoke Tuesday afternoon at the memorial service for those killed at Fort Hood Army post last week. Below are his full remarks, as provided by the White House.

President Obama: To the Fort Hood community; to Admiral Mullen; General Casey; General Cone; Secretary McHugh; Secretary Gates; most importantly, to family, friends and members of our Armed Forces. We come together filled with sorrow for the 13 Americans that we have lost; with gratitude for the lives that they led; and with a determination to honor them through the work we carry on.

This is a time of war. Yet these Americans did not die on a foreign field of battle. They were killed here, on American soil, in the heart of this great state and the heart of this great American community. This is the fact that makes the tragedy even more painful, even more incomprehensible.

For those families who have lost a loved one, no words can fill the void that's been left. We knew these men and women as soldiers and caregivers. You knew them as mothers and fathers; sons and daughters; sisters and brothers.

But here is what you must also know: Your loved ones endure through the life of our nation. Their memory will be honored in the places they lived and by the people they touched. Their life's work is our security, and the freedom that we all too often take for granted. Every evening that the sun sets on a tranquil town; every dawn that a flag is unfurled; every moment that an American enjoys life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness -- that is their legacy.

Neither this country -- nor the values upon which we were founded -- could exist without men and women like these 13 Americans. And that is why we must pay tribute to their stories.

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Updated 11:54 p.m. ET

President Obama addressed the United Nations General Assembly for the first time on Wednesday morning. "Those who used to chastise America for acting alone in the world cannot now stand by and wait for America to solve the world's problems alone," he said. "We have sought -- in word and deed -- a new era of engagement with the world. And now is the time for all of us to take our share of responsibility for a global response to global challenges."

Read the president's full remarks, as delivered, below.



President Obama: Good morning. Mr. President, Mr. Secretary General, fellow delegates, ladies and gentlemen, it is my honor to address you for the first time as the 44th President of the United States. (Applause.) I come before you humbled by the responsibility that the American people have placed upon me, mindful of the enormous challenges of our moment in history, and determined to act boldly and collectively on behalf of justice and prosperity at home and abroad.

I have been in office for just nine months -- though some days it seems a lot longer. I am well aware of the expectations that accompany my presidency around the world. These expectations are not about me. Rather, they are rooted, I believe, in a discontent with a status quo that has allowed us to be increasingly defined by our differences, and outpaced by our problems. But they are also rooted in hope -- the hope that real change is possible, and the hope that America will be a leader in bringing about such change.

I took office at a time when many around the world had come to view America with skepticism and distrust. Part of this was due to misperceptions and misinformation about my country. Part of this was due to opposition to specific policies, and a belief that on certain critical issues, America has acted unilaterally, without regard for the interests of others. And this has fed an almost reflexive anti-Americanism, which too often has served as an excuse for collective inaction.

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President Obama made an opening statement at his primetime news conference on Wednesday in which he made his case for health care reform. Read and watch it below.

Good evening. Before I take your questions, I want to talk for a few minutes about the progress we’re making on health insurance reform and where it fits into our broader economic strategy.

Six months ago, I took office amid the worst recession in half a century. We were losing an average of 700,000 jobs per month and our financial system was on the verge of collapse.

As a result of the actions we took in those first weeks, we have been able to pull our economy back from the brink. We took steps to stabilize our financial institutions and our housing market. And we passed a Recovery Act that has already saved jobs and created new ones; delivered billions in tax relief to families and small businesses; and extended unemployment insurance and health insurance to those who have been laid off.

Of course, we still have a long way to go. And the Recovery Act will continue to save and create more jobs over the next two years -- just like it was designed to do. I realize this is little comfort to those Americans who are currently out of work, and I’ll be honest with you -- new hiring is always one of the last things to bounce back after a recession.

And the fact is, even before this crisis hit, we had an economy that was creating a good deal of wealth for those folks at the very top, but not a lot of good-paying jobs for the rest of America. It’s an economy that simply wasn’t ready to compete in the 21st century -- one where we’ve been slow to invest in the clean energy technologies that have created new jobs and industries in other countries; where we’ve watched our graduation rates lag behind too much of the world; and where we spend much more on health care than any other nation but aren’t any healthier for it.

That is why I’ve said that even as we rescue this economy from a full-blown crisis, we must rebuild it stronger than before. And health insurance reform is central to that effort.

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President Obama today announced "a set of proposals to crack down on illegal overseas tax evasion, close loopholes, and make it more profitable for companies to create jobs here in the United States."

"Even as most American citizens and businesses meet these responsibilities, there are others who are shirking theirs," he said in announcing the proposals. "And many are aided and abetted by a broken tax system, written by well-connected lobbyists on behalf of well-heeled interests and individuals."

"We will stop letting American companies that create jobs overseas take deductions on their expenses when they do not pay any American taxes on their profits," he said.

The president added that he wanted to close "a loophole that lets subsidiaries of some of our largest companies tell the IRS that they're paying taxes abroad, tell foreign governments that they're paying taxes elsewhere -- and avoid paying taxes anywhere."

He also said he was seeking to empower the Treasury Department and the IRS to go after overseas tax cheats, and that the reforms mark the beginning of a move "to restore fairness and balance to our tax code."

The president's full remarks, as provided by the White House, are below.

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President Obama this afternoon addressed the state of the U.S. auto industry and impending bankruptcy proceedings for Chrysler.

The president struck a populist note in criticizing "a group of investment firms and hedge funds [who] decided to hold out for the prospect of an unjustified taxpayer-funded bailout."

"They were hoping that everybody else would make sacrifices, and they would have to make none," he said. "Some demanded twice the return that other lenders were getting. I don't stand with them."

"I stand with Chrysler's employees and their families and communities," he continued. "I stand with Chrysler's management, its dealers, and its suppliers. I stand with the millions of Americans who own and want to buy Chrysler cars. I don't stand with those who held out when everybody else is making sacrifices."

The president's full remarks, as provided by the White House, are below.

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President Obama Monday morning announced his administration's new policy for General Motors and Chrysler. He gave the auto giants working capital for 60 and 30 days, respectively, in which they are expected to come up with a plan to become viable in the long term. (Read more about the plan here.)

"I am announcing that my administration will offer GM and Chrysler a limited period of time to work with creditors, unions, and other stakeholders to fundamentally restructure in a way that would justify an investment of additional tax dollars; a period during which they must produce plans that would give the American people confidence in their long-term prospects for success," he said.



He also discussed his openness to letting the companies go into bankruptcy, saying they "need a fresh start to implement the restructuring plans they develop."

"Now, I know that when people even hear the word 'bankruptcy' it can be a bit unsettling, so let me explain what I mean," he said. "What I am talking about is using our existing legal structure as a tool that, with the backing of the U.S. government, can make it easier for General Motors and Chrysler to quickly clear away old debts that are weighing them down so they can get back on their feet and onto a path to success; a tool that we can use, even as workers are staying on the job building cars that are being sold."

"What I am not talking about is a process where a company is broken up, sold off, and no longer exists," he continued. "And what I am not talking about is having a company stuck in court for years, unable to get out."

"...if you buy a car from Chrysler or General Motors, you will be able to get your car serviced and repaired, just like always," he added. "Your warrantee will be safe. In fact, it will be safer than it’s ever been. Because starting today, the United States government will stand behind your warrantee."

The president's full remarks, as prepared for delivery, are below.

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Joined by Sen. John McCain and others, President Obama this morning announced reforms in government contracting that he said would save up to $40 billion per year.

“The American people's money must be spent to advance their priorities -- not to line the pockets of contractors or to maintain projects that don't work,” he said.

“Over the last eight years, government spending on contracts has doubled to over half a trillion dollars,” continued the president. “Far too often, the spending is plagued by massive cost overruns, outright fraud, and the absence of oversight and accountability. In some cases, contracts are awarded without competition. In others, contractors actually oversee other contractors. We are spending money on things that we don't need, and we're paying more than we need to pay. And that's completely unacceptable.”

Read more about the president’s action here. Below, read his full remarks as prepared by the White House, and underneath that see his memo on government contracting.

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Before signing his massive economic stimulus package this afternoon, President Obama made remarks in Denver, Colorado heralding the bill, the crafting of which has consumed much of his young presidency.

He also stressed that there could still be hard times ahead.

“The road to recovery will not be straight. We will make progress and there may be some slippage along the way,” said the president. “…But I have every confidence that if we are willing to continue doing the difficult work that must be done – by each of us and by all of us – then we will leave this struggling economy behind us, and come out on the other side, more prosperous as a people.”

Mr. Obama’s full remarks, as prepared for delivery, are below.

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In remarks from the East Room of the White House, President Obama opened his first prime-time press conference today by saying his recovery plan must move forward as soon as possible.

"It is absolutely true that we cannot depend on government alone to create jobs or economic growth," he said. "That is and must be the role of the private sector. But at this particular moment, with the private sector so weakened by this recession, the federal government is the only entity left with the resources to jolt our economy back to life."

"It is only government that can break the vicious cycle where lost jobs lead to people spending less money which leads to even more layoffs," he added. "And breaking that cycle is exactly what the plan that’s moving through Congress is designed to do."

The president also said that tax cuts, by themselves, cannot revive the economy.

'...as we learned very clearly and conclusively over the last eight years, tax cuts alone cannot solve all our economic problems – especially tax cuts that are targeted to the wealthiest few Americans," he said. "We have tried that strategy time and time again, and it has only helped lead us to the crisis we face right now."

Below, President Obama's remarks in full, as prepared for delivery.

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We've posted President Barack Obama's Inaugural Address in full. You can see it here.