Building a 21st Century Infrastructure

Building a 21^st century infrastructure is a critical component of President Obama’s effort to accelerate economic growth, expand opportunity, and improve the competitiveness of the American economy. 

With the Highway Trust Fund projected to run out of money before this fall, President Obama has laid out his vision for a long-term infrastructure bill that would provide certainty for our state and local partners, support millions of jobs, and position our economy for lasting growth. The President is calling on Congress to pass a robust multi-year transportation bill before funding runs out and puts hundreds of thousands of jobs at risk.

The President has also been clear that he is committed to making 2014 a year of action and that while he wants to work with Congress wherever they are willing, he will not hesitate to use his power as President to act on his own to promote American economic growth and opportunity.

That is why, as part of its commitment to ensuring America has a first-class transportation infrastructure, the Administration is taking action to modernize the federal infrastructure permitting process, cutting through red tape and getting more timely decisions, while protecting our communities and the environment.  For projects that are approved, this means states, local and tribal governments, and private developers will be able to start construction sooner, create jobs earlier, and fix our nation’s infrastructure faster. 

Over the past 3 years, federal agencies have worked to expedite the review and permitting of over 50 major infrastructure projects, including bridges, transit, railways, waterways, roads, and renewable energy projects, and over 30 of those projects have completed the permitting process.  For example,federal agencies completed the permitting and review for the Tappan Zee Bridge in 1.5 years for a process that normally takes 3-5 years. 

Today, the Administration is releasing a comprehensive plan to accelerate and expand permitting reform government-wide.  The Administration’s plan adopts the best practices learned from the initial focus projects and calls on federal agencies to apply those practices going forward.  By turning best practice into common practice, we can improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the federal permitting and review of all major infrastructure projects.  These reforms include:   

·         Improving Interagency Coordination to Increase Decision Making Speed.  Major infrastructure projects often require multiple permits and reviews from federal agencies and bureaus responsible for ensuring projects are built safely.  To improve interagency coordination, the Administration will institutionalize best practices, including:

o   Requiring early coordination with the identification of a lead agency for each project.

o   Requiring a single coordinated project plan across all federal agencies.

o   Strengthening dispute resolution mechanisms to quickly resolve conflicts and make sure that interagency disputes do not hold back valid projects or quick decision making.

·         Synchronizing Reviews.  Federal agencies will also be moving from separate, consecutive reviews to synchronized, simultaneous reviews.  For example, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the Department of Transportation have launched a new partnership to synchronize their reviews for transportation projects.  By developing one environmental analysis that satisfies all three agencies, project timelines can be significantly reduced. 

·         Driving Accountability and Transparency through the Online Permitting Dashboard.  The Administration’s Federal Infrastructure Projects Permitting Dashboard supports coordination and synchronization of projects among federal agencies, and can also help create a more predictable process for project applicants.  The Administration is expanding the Dashboard to include additional projects, as well as new capabilities to track project schedules and metrics, increasing overall accountability and transparency.  As a first step, today we are adding 11 more Dashboard projects.  Each project will have a lead agency, a coordinated project plan across all federal agencies, and public tracking of progress to ensure milestones are met.  The Administration’s goal is for all major infrastructure projects to be included on the Dashboard to institutionalize and broaden the reach of this tool.

·         Launching an Interagency Permitting Center to Institutionalize Reform.  The Administration is standing up an interagency infrastructure permitting improvement center dedicated to implementing these reforms across agencies, as well as looking for new ways to modernize infrastructure permitting and reviews.  The President’s 2015 Budget includes funding for the center and the expansion of the Permitting Dashboard.

This effort to modernize infrastructure permitting is part of the Administration’s broader commitment to increase investment in U.S. infrastructure, as well as the President’s Management Agenda, which is dedicated to driving efficiency within government, spurring economic growth, and unlocking the full potential of the federal workforce. The Administration has also recently released the GROW AMERICA Act, a four-year, $302 billion transportation plan to modernize our nation’s roads, bridges, and public transportation, spur economic growth, and allow states and localities to make sound multi-year investments.  The GROW AMERICA Act includes reforms to further accelerate the approval and delivery of projects.  Together these efforts will help create the transportation infrastructure we need for the 21^st century.

Background:

Modernizing Infrastructure Permitting

As major infrastructure projects are proposed, federal, state, local, and tribal entities work to consider and minimize potential impacts on safety and security, and environmental and community resources such as air, water, land, and historical and cultural resources.  For the majority of projects, these environmental review and permitting requirements are accomplished effectively and efficiently. However, for particularly large and complex infrastructure projects, multiple permits and approvals can lead inefficiencies and delay.

To begin addressing this challenge, the President issued a Presidential Memorandum on August 31, 2011 and an Executive Order on March 22, 2012 to add more transparency, accountability, and certainty into the permitting and review processes for major infrastructure projects.  Since then, federal agencies have worked to expedite the review and permitting of over 50 major projects, including bridges, transit, railways, waterways, roads, and renewable energy projects; over 30 of those projects have now completed the permitting process.  Progress on these projects is tracked publically through the Administration's online Federal Infrastructure Projects Permitting Dashboard.

Building off this work on specific projects, agencies have identified a set of best practices for efficient review and permitting, ranging from expanding information technology (IT) tools to synchronizing reviews for improving collaboration.  On May 17, 2013, the President issued a Presidential Memorandum charging an interagency Steering Committee with developing a plan to put these best practices to work in a systematic and permanent way across the government.  The Steering Committee is comprised of 12 agencies including the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP), Department of Agriculture (USDA), Department of the Army (USACE), Department of Commerce represented by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Defense (DOD), Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Homeland Security represented by the U.S Coast Guard (Coast Guard), Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Department of the Interior (DOI), Department of Transportation (DOT), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation (Udall) as well as the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ).    

An Implementation Plan to Guide Further Reforms

Today, the Administration’s Steering Committee on permitting issued an Implementation Plan, which identifies four over-arching strategies, 15 specific reforms, and nearly 100 near-term and long-term milestones to institutionalize and drive these reforms across Federal agencies.  The full plan will be available HERE following the President’s remarks.

The strategies are:

·         Strategy 1: Institutionalize Interagency Coordination and Transparency by formalizing interagency coordination, including: early identification of a lead agency; synchronizing separate federal review and permitting processes and decisions; standardizing the use of the Permitting Dashboard; and identifying best practices for early engagement with state, local, and tribal governments.

Implementation of key reforms is underway.  For example, for the proposed Great Northern Transmission Line (GNTL), the Department of Energy initiated monthly meetings with other Federal agencies, Minnesota Power, and non-federal agencies to ensure early coordination, and Minnesota Power has held several public meetings.  Through these early coordination meetings, the company was able to narrow down potential corridors to two routes in their application which address agency concerns and will facilitate a more efficient review process.  Similarly, the Lynwood Link Extension project north of Seattle, WA and Federal Way Extension Light Rail Transit in South King County, WA have been working closely with state, local, and tribal governments and all involved federal agencies on the projects’ permitting and reviews to identify issues early in the process and avoid unnecessary delay.  These three projects, as well as eight others, were added to the Permitting Dashboard today.

·         Strategy 2:  Improve Project Planning, Siting, and Application Quality by developing tools to assist project applicants in planning for a major infrastructure project and support effective and timely decision-making by agency staff once the federal process begins.  For example, agencies are expanding access to data and map-based IT tools so that applicants have information about potential sensitive areas, such as the location of an endangered species- in advance of selecting a site.

·         Strategy 3: Improve Permitting Reviews and Mitigation by supporting agency staff in effectively implementing existing regulations, policies, and guidance, as well as identifying barriers. This strategy also includes policies to facilitate advance planning for the mitigation of project impacts and landscape- or watershed-level approaches to mitigation, where appropriate, as well as changes to cost-recovery authority for specific agencies as proposed in the President’s FY 2015 Budget. 

For example, a number of agencies have recently expanded their use of programmatic environmental analyses, improving efficiency by leveraging a single analysis for multiple projects, and improving environmental outcomes by making it possible to plan for nearby projects with a better understanding of how they fit within a single landscape. For example, in 2012, the Department of the Interior released a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement to provide a single blueprint for utility-scale solar energy permitting in six states.  Additionally, on April 10, 2014, the Secretary of the Interior issued a Department-wide landscape-scale mitigation strategy to encourage infrastructure development while protecting natural and cultural resources.  As part of the strategy, Interior will work closely with states, tribes, other federal agencies, and other stakeholders to identify regional conservation priorities that can benefit from coordinated landscape-scale mitigation.

·         Strategy 4: Drive Continued Improvement by establishing a team dedicated to implementation of the reforms across agencies, further analyzing agency processes, identifying additional reforms, and developing reliable metrics to track timeframes and outcomes for communities and the environment.

To support these efforts, the President’s FY 2015 Budget includes funding to establish an Interagency Infrastructure Permitting Improvement Center (IIPIC) to be housed at the Department of Transportation.  The IIPIC will report to the interagency Steering Committee chaired by OMB in coordination with CEQ to ensure a government-wide perspective.  The Budget also includes funds to expand the Permitting Dashboard to track schedules for more major infrastructure projects, improving transparency and accountability.

Additionally, the Administration established a Cross-Agency Priority (CAP) Goal on infrastructure permitting to drive progress, ensure transparency, and promote interagency coordination.  As a CAP Goal, this effort will receive regular, senior-level reviews, and progress will be tracked publicly on Performance.gov.

Building on Past Success:  Examples of Expedited Projects

The Implementation Plan builds on lessons learned from projects that the Administration has successfully expedited in recent years, at the President’s direction.  Some examples include: 

Replacement of the Tappan Zee Bridge will improve mobility, reduce congestion, and make travel safer on one of the east coast’s busiest routes.  This critical Hudson River crossing north of New York City carries approximately 138,000 vehicles per day between Westchester and Rockland counties, approximately 20 miles north of New York City.  The current bridge is nearly 60 years old and traffic volumes on the bridge have increased by about 30 percent since 1990.  Using the process established under the Presidential Memorandum in 2011, federal agencies completed the permitting and review in 1.5 years for a process that might otherwise take 3-5 years.  A number of key strategies contributed to agencies successfully working together to cut up to three years off the project.  These strategies included:  development of a coordinated timeline; use of concurrent, rather than sequential review – with a particular focus on increased coordination between the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE); identification of aggressive targets; and increased transparency and accountability.

Other examples of infrastructure project permitting reviews that that have been accelerated under this initiative include:

The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority's Little Italy – University Circle Rapid Station project involves the relocation of an existing station at E 120th Street and construction of a new rail transit station along with the rehabilitation of two transit track bridges at Mayfield Road. The project will integrate the station with the dense, high employment areas of Little Italy neighborhood and University Hospitals. The project replaces an obsolete station with a new, energy efficient building, while focusing on reusing existing community resources. The Department of Transportation worked closely with the Greater Cleveland Transit Authority to develop a streamlined and focused environmental assessment in line with the Council on Environmental Quality's guidance.

The Kennebec Bridge Replacement project replaces an 80 year-old moveable bridge at the end of its service life connecting Richmond and Dresden in Maine.  The new bridge will eliminate the need for a movable span, and will provide reliable access and regional mobility for both highway and marine traffic.  Through early and frequent collaboration, open dialogue to quickly resolve disputes, and negotiating and maintaining a project schedule across all Federal agencies involved, the agencies cut up to a year off the anticipated timeline for the permitting and review of the bridge.

Additional examples of projects can be found on the Administration'sPermitting Dashboard.

Investing in a 21^st Century Transportation Infrastructure

Transportation is a critical engine of the nation’s economy.  Investments in the national transportation network over the country’s history, and especially the last half-century, have been instrumental in developing the world’s largest economy and most mobile society.  The President proposes increasing infrastructure investment in order to create jobs, grow our economy, attract private investment, facilitate American exports, reduce commute times and increase access to jobs, make our roads and bridges safer, cut red tape, and increase the return on investment of transportation infrastructure for American taxpayers.  Just weeks ago, the Administration submitted to Congress the GROW AMERICA Act, a four-year proposal designed to achieve those objectives.  

GROW AMERICA ACT – Before this fall, the Highway Trust Fund – which funds a significant portion of the construction and repair of our surface transportation system – will be insolvent and just a few weeks later the authorities that establish our surface transportation programs will expire.  Without action, many states and communities may be forced to slow or stop work on critical transportation projects that our nation depends upon to move people, energy, and freight every day, putting jobs at risk and slowing investment in our future.  The Generating Renewal, Opportunity, and Work with Accelerated Mobility, Efficiency, and Rebuilding of Infrastructure and Communities throughout America Act, or GROW AMERICA Act, is a $302 billion, four year transportation reauthorization proposal that provides increased and stable funding for our nation’s highways, bridges, transit, and rail systems. The Administration’s proposal is funded by supplementing current revenues with $150 billion in one-time transition revenue from pro-growth business tax reform.  This will prevent Trust Fund insolvency for four years and increase investments to meet the transportation priorities and economic needs of communities across the country.  The proposal also includes a series of legislative proposals to improve project delivery and the federal permitting and regulatory review process

Building on Past Accomplishments – The President’s proposal builds on a series of major accomplishments in infrastructure over the past five years.Since the President took office, American workers have improved over 350,000 miles of U.S. roads and repaired or replaced over 20,000 bridges. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was the most significant transportation public works program since the New Deal, providing $48 billion to more than 15,000 projects across the country. Earlier this year, the President announced $600 million in competitive TIGER grants to fund innovative transportation projects around the country.  Notably, the President’s FY 2015 Budget proposes a new America Fast Forward (AFF) bonds program that would build upon and expand a successful program created in the Recovery Act to attract private capital for infrastructure investments.

Leveraging Private Sector Investment – In addition to the need for smart public investment in our shared transportation system, the Administration is committed to leveraging private sector investment to further expand infrastructure investment.  The GROW AMERICA Act proposes a range of measures to attract more investment in infrastructure, including expanding financing options under the TIFIA Program, which leverages federal dollars by facilitating private participation in transportation projects and encouraging innovative mechanisms that help advance projects more quickly.  As part of the FY 2015 Budget, the Administration has also proposed a National Infrastructure Bank, as well as changes to tax rules to encourage greater private investment. 

The President at Presentation of Medal of Honor to Sergeant Kyle J. White, U.S. Army

THE PRESIDENT:  Good afternoon, everybody.  Please, be seated.  Welcome to the White House.  It has been said that true courage is “a perfect sensibility of the measure of danger, and a mental willingness to incur it.”  For more than 12 years, with our nation at war, the men and women of our armed forces have known the measure of danger that comes with military service.  But year after year, tour after tour, they have displayed a selfless willingness to incur it -- by stepping forward, by volunteering, by serving and sacrificing greatly to keep us all safe.

Today, our troops are coming home.  By the end of this year, our war in Afghanistan will be over.  And we’ll welcome home this generation -- the 9/11 Generation -- that has proven itself to be one of America’s greatest.

And today, we pay tribute to a soldier who embodies the courage of his generation -- a young man who was a freshman in high school when the Twin Towers fell, and who just five years later became an elite paratrooper with the legendary 173rd Airborne -- the Sky Soldiers.  Today, we present our nation’s highest military decoration -- the Medal of Honor -- to Sergeant Kyle J. White. 

Kyle is the second Sky Soldier to be recognized with the Medal of Honor for service above and beyond the call of duty in Afghanistan.  Today, he joins Staff Sergeant Salvatore Giunta, and a proud brotherhood of previous honorees, members of the Medal of Honor Society -- some of whom are with us here today.

We have a lot of VIPs here, but I’d like to acknowledge the most important -- Kyle’s parents, Cheryl and Curt, and Kyle’s girlfriend, Helen.  I am told that back home in Bonney Lake, Washington when Kyle wanted to enlist, at first he had his sights set on the Marines.  But his dad Curt is a veteran of the Army, Special Forces.  So I’m told there was a difference of opinion.  (Laughter.)  And, I suspect, a good family discussion.  As Commander-in-Chief, I cannot take sides in this debate.  (Laughter.)  The bottom line is Kyle joined the Army.  And in doing so he carried on his family’s proud tradition of service, which found its expression on a November day over six years ago.

Across Afghanistan, base commanders were glued to their radios, listening as American forces fought back an ambush in the rugged mountains.  One battalion commander remembered that “all of Afghanistan” was listening as a soldier on the ground described what was happening.  They knew him by his call sign -- “Charlie One Six Romeo.”  We know it was Kyle, who at the time was just 20 years old and only 21 months into his military service.   

Earlier that afternoon, Kyle and the 13 members of his team, along with a squad of Afghan soldiers, left an Afghan village after a meeting with elders.  The Americans made their way back up a steep hill -- single file, along a narrow path, a cliff face rising to their right, and a slope of rocky shale dropping on their left.  They knew not to stop, that they had to keep moving.  They were headed into an area known as “ambush alley”.  

And that’s when a single shot rang out.  Then another.  And then the entire canyon erupted, with bullets coming from what seemed like every direction.  It was as if, Kyle said, the whole valley “lit up.” 

The platoon returned fire.  Kyle quickly emptied a full magazine, but as he went to load a second, an enemy grenade exploded and knocked him unconscious.  He came to with his face pressed against a rock.  And as he moved to get up, enemy rounds hit a rock just inches from his head, sending shrapnel and rock shards across his face.   

Most of the unit had been forced to slide down the cliff to the valley below.  But Kyle saw a teammate -- Specialist Kain Schilling -- trying to treat his own shattered arm, using a tree as cover -- what Kain later called “the smallest tree on Earth.”  I’m sure that’s how it felt.  Kyle sprinted through enemy fire to Kain’s side and began applying a tourniquet -- shielding Kain with his own body as gunfire shredded that tree. 

Then Kyle saw another man down -- Marine Sergeant Phillip Bocks -- in the open, 30 feet behind them, but too injured to reach cover.  Kyle remembers thinking, “It’s just a matter of time before I’m dead.  If that’s going to happen, I might as well help someone while I can.”

     With bullets impacting all around him, Kyle ran to Bocks and began to pull the injured Marine to cover.  But worried that he’d expose Bocks to more gunfire, Kyle retreated.  The enemy rounds followed him.  He ran out again, pulling Bocks a little farther.  And once more he retreated to distract the enemy fire.  Once more he went out -- over and over thinking to himself, “I’m not going to make it.”  Kyle could feel the pressure of the rounds going by him.  But somehow, miraculously, they never hit him.  Not once.  One of his teammates said it was as if Kyle was moving “faster than a speeding bullet”.

     And finally, Kyle succeeded in pulling his comrade to cover.  Tragically, there on that cliff, Sergeant Bocks succumbed to his wounds.  But in his final moments, this American Marine surely found some solace in Kyle White -- the American soldier who, until the very end, was there by his side.   

     Now, that other injured soldier, Kain Shilling, was still out there.  And he had sustained another injury, this time to his knee.  Kyle ran out once more to Kain’s side.  Kyle ripped off his own belt for a tourniquet, and soon got his hands on a working radio.  The voice of Charlie One Six Romeo came into base.  Crouching behind that lone tree, Kyle began calling in airstrikes to take out enemy positions.

     Kyle stayed with Specialist Schilling as night fell.  And Kain was too badly injured to move.  Kyle was starting to feel the fog of his own concussions set in, but he knew that he was Kain’s best chance to get out alive, so Kyle took charge and ordered the Afghan soldiers to form a security perimeter.  He called in a MEDEVAC and made sure Kain and the other injured were safely on board.  And only then did Kyle finally allow himself to be lifted out.

     As the helicopter pulled away, Kyle looked out the window, watching the darkness as they pulled away from that single tree on the cliff.  “When you’re deployed,” he later said, “those people become your family.  What you really care about is:  I want to get this guy to the left and to the right home.”

     This family was tested that day.  Not a single one of them escaped without injury, and six brave Americans gave their lives -- their last full measure of devotion.  And we remember them today.  Sergeant Phillip A. Bocks.  Captain Matthew C. Ferrara.  Specialist Joseph M. Lancour.  Sergeant Jeffery S. Mersman.  Corporal Lester G. Roque.  And Kyle’s best friend, Corporal Sean K. A. Langevin.  Some of their families are here today.  I’d ask them to please stand so we can recognize their extraordinary sacrifice.  (Applause.)

     The legacy of these fallen heroes endures in the courage and strength of their unit -- 14 men, forever brothers-in-arms.  We’re proud to welcome those who fought so valiantly that day:  Specialist Kain Schilling, the soldier that Kyle saved, and members of the 2nd Battalion, Chosen Company of the 173rd Airborne Brigade.  Would you please stand.  (Applause.) 

We honor Kyle White for his extraordinary actions on that November day.  But his journey from that day to this speaks to the story of his generation.  Kyle completed the rest of a 15-month deployment in Afghanistan.  He came back home and trained other young paratroopers as they prepared to deploy.  When he completed his service, Kyle decided to pursue a different dream, and with the help of the Post-9/11 GI Bill, he went to college, he graduated, and today works for a bank in Charlotte, North Carolina.

When Kyle walks into the office every day, people see a man in a suit headed to work.  And that’s how it should be -- a proud veteran welcomed into his community, contributing his talents and skills to the progress of our nation.  But Kyle will tell you that the transition to civilian life -- and dealing with the post-traumatic stress -- hasn’t always been easy.  More than six years later, he can still see the images and hear the sounds of that battle.  Every day, he wakes up thinking about his battle buddies.

And if you look closely at that man in the suit on his way to work, you’ll notice the piece of the war that he carries with him tucked under his shirt sleeve -- a stainless steel bracelet around his wrist etched with the names of his six fallen comrades who will always be with him.  “Their sacrifice motivates me,” he says, to “be the best [that] I can be.  Everything I do in my life is done to make them proud.”  

Kyle, members of Chosen Company, you did your duty, and now it’s time for America to do ours:  After more than a decade of war, to welcome you home with the support and the benefits and opportunities that you’ve earned.  You make us proud, and you motivate all of us to be the best we can be as Americans, as a nation; to uphold our sacred obligations to your generation and all who have faced that “measure of danger” and “the willingness to incur it.”   

May God bless you, and may your courage inspire and sustain us always.  And may God continue to bless the United States of America. 

With that, I’d like to have the citation read.

     MILITARY AIDE:  The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, March 3, 1863, has awarded in the name of Congress the Medal of Honor to Specialist Kyle J. White, United States Army.

     Specialist Kyle J. White distinguished himself by acts of gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a radio telephone operator with Company C, 2nd Battalion Airborne, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade during combat operations against an armed enemy in Nuristan Province, Afghanistan on November 9, 2007. 

On that day, Specialist White and his comrades were returning to Bella Outpost from a shura with Aranas village elders.  As the soldiers traversed a narrow path surrounded by mountainous, rocky terrain, they were ambushed by enemy forces from elevated positions.  Pinned against a steep mountain face, Specialist White and his fellow soldiers were completely exposed to enemy fire.  Specialist White returned fire and was briefly knocked unconscious when a rocket-propelled grenade impacted near him. 

When he regained consciousness, another round impacted near him, embedding small pieces of shrapnel in his face.  Shaking off his wounds, Specialist White noticed one of his comrades lying wounded nearby.  Without hesitation, Specialist White exposed himself to enemy fire in order to reach the soldier and provide medical aid. 

     After applying a tourniquet, Specialist White moved to an injured Marine, providing aid and comfort until the Marine succumbed to his wounds.  Specialist White then returned to the soldier and discovered that he had been wounded again.  Applying his own belt as an additional tourniquet, Specialist White was able to stem the flow of blood and save the soldier’s life.

     Noticing that his and the other soldiers’ radios were inoperative, Specialist White exposed himself to enemy fire yet again in order to secure a radio from a deceased comrade.  He then provided information and updates to friendly forces, allowing precision airstrikes to stifle the enemy’s attack and ultimately permitting medical evacuation aircraft to rescue him, his fellow soldiers, Marines, and Afghan army soldiers.

     Specialist Kyle J. White.  Extraordinary heroism and selflessness above and beyond the call of duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, Company C, 2nd Battalion Airborne, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade, and the United States Army.  (Applause.)

     (Prayer.)

     THE PRESIDENT:  That concludes the ceremony, but not the celebration.  I hear the food here is pretty good.  (Laughter.)  And the drinks are free.  (Laughter.)  Who gave a big shout on that?  I heard somebody.  (Laughter.)  But I hope all of you enjoy the hospitality of the White House.  I hope we all remember once again those who are fallen.  We are grateful to the families who are here.  And to Kyle and all who serve in America’s Armed Forces, we want you to know that we will always be grateful for your extraordinary service to our country.

     Thank you very much, everybody.  Have a great afternoon.  (Applause.)  

We need a revolution to end the third gilded age, of this county's history

The right wing activist Supreme Court has unleashed the corrosive influence of money into our political system, turning the Constitutionally-limited, democratic republic our founders entrusted to us into the kind of Oligarchy they fought a revolution to escape. There's one way to restore our nation's promise to promote the GENERAL, not corporate, welfare - and that's with a Constitutional Amendment clarifying our rights as belonging to "natural" persons - and, hence, not corporations.

Thom Hartmann talks about it here.

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Is GOP establishment moving toward tea party?

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Is GOP overplaying hand on Benghazi?

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