Democratic Party

I support President Obama because he stands up for working-class Americans and the underserved among us. When he took office, the economy was falling off a cliff, shedding more than 700,000 jobs a month. Through these difficult economic times for our country, the President offered solutions to rebuild our economy, put people back to work, and laid the foundation for an economy that is built to last. And he did all of this in spite of Republican opposition that tried to block his every move. Thankfully, the President did not back down, and we are seeing the fruits of his labor.

On Friday, we learned that the economy added private-sector jobs for the 23rd straight month. We learned that the economy added 3.7 million private-sector jobs in the past two years. And we learned that the unemployment rate has decreased to 8.3 percent. The President saved the auto industry and the 1.4 million jobs it supports. Manufacturing, the backbone of our economy, is creating jobs for the first time in decades, and for the first  time in a generation, we’re exporting more oil than we’re importing.

Our nation is only as strong as our weakest link, and President Obama is working every day to strengthen all Americans. The President is restoring an economy that rewards hard work and fair play instead of recklessness. Main Street and Wall Street now have to play by the same rules, and consumers have protection from the reckless abuses in the mortgage and credit card industries that have historically preyed on working-class Americans.

I am a Democrat because I work for a living and believe that there should be a level playing field for the entire economy.  I support President Obama because he is a proven leader. Although we still have a long way to go, I know that when the President gets up each and every day, he is focused on making sure that the economy continues to grow for all Americans. And that’s why we all have to work extra hard to re-elect him in November.

To view the President’s record of creating jobs and growing the economy, click here.

Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz released the following statement tonight on the results of the Republican caucus in Nevada:

"This week we’ve seen more evidence of the candidate who will say anything to get elected.  On every issue important to Nevadans and all Americans– from jobs and housing to immigration –Mitt Romney might try to tell voters what they want to hear, but the fact is he’s on the wrong side of the issues.

"Romney is running on his private sector experience and job creation record, but what he won’t tell voters is that he was actually a corporate raider who lined his pockets by running companies into the ground, closing factories, firing workers and sending jobs overseas.  He’s tried to pander to Hispanic voters, when he’s already called the DREAM Act a ‘handout’ and promised to veto it if he had the chance.  And he says he wants to help America’s struggling homeowners, but he hasn’t offered a single plan to do so – what’s worse, earlier this week he doubled down on the outrageous statement he originally made in Nevada that we should let the foreclosure process ‘hit the bottom.

"But Mitt Romney’s failed agenda isn’t just wrong for Nevadans – it’s wrong for the entire country.  Every week, every contest, everywhere he goes, Romney has shown he’s out of touch with the needs of the middle class and doesn’t understand what American families are going through.  In Florida, he said the banks are feeling the same pain as families are feeling – going into Nevada, he said he isn’t concerned about the very poor.

"The truth is we’re ready to face any of the Republican candidates because they are all fundamentally flawed, and they all support the policies of the past that drove our economy to the brink of collapse.  But thanks to President Obama’s leadership, we are starting to dig ourselves out.  So while the GOP field keeps trying to drag our country backward, the President will continue to move America forward – and come November, the choice for voters will be crystal-clear.”

As we begin Black History Month, it is important to remember how fortunate we are to have a President who has been focused on restoring the American Dream for all Americans since his first day in office. President Obama has fought to create jobs, provide access to quality affordable health care, turn our schools around, and make college more affordable for millions. Indeed, the President has represented the best of America and has been that drum major Martin Luther King spoke of.

During his first term, these strong characteristic traits were the foundation for his presidency, and they will hold him in good stead during his second term. The President is a strong, innovative, deep thinker—just the kind of leader our country needed to get through some dark days. He has restored the image of our country both here at home and abroad and has leveraged the respect earned early on in his administration to get the country moving in the right direction.

His achievements separate him from others in this race, and I stand strong in my convictions that he will be re-elected. He is the only candidate with the determination to fight for all Americans, black, white, rich or poor. It gives me great pleasure to endorse, support, and help re-elect our president, Barack Obama. 

Johnnie Patton, National Committee Woman, MS; Secretary, DNC Black Caucus

Learn more about the President’s accomplishments here.

President Obama continues his call for a return to American values, including fairness and equality, as part of his blueprint for an economy built to last. 

Transcript | Download mp4 | Download mp3

Learn more

• Details for President Obama's plan to help homeowners.

A quick look at this week on WhiteHouse.gov:

Talking Tuition with the Wolverines: Shortly after delivering his State of the Union address, the President took his Blueprint for making college more affordable straight to the people at the frontlines of the issue—students. Speaking from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, the President noted that a college degree “will be the best tool you have to achieve that basic American promise.”

A Georgian Visitor: Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili met with the President in the Oval Office on Monday, discussing relations between our two countries—including Georgia’s contributions to the military operation in Afghanistan and the potential for a free trade agreement between the United States and Geogia—and marked the 20th anniversary of diplomatic relations between both countries.

Hanging Out on Google+: The President participated in the first-ever virtual interview from the White House on Monday from the Roosevelt Room. After more than 227,000 people submitted questions or voted for their favorites, the President sat down for a discussion with a group of Americans from across the country in a Google+ Hangout. In case you missed it, you can watch the full video here.

The Cabinet Convenes: On Tuesday, the President held a Cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House to discuss the ideas he laid out in the State of the Union. A top priority mentioned by the President during the State of the Union was the need to promote small business throughout the country, which was echoed in the meeting, where a new Cabinet member and the head of the Small Business Administration, Karen Mills, joined the discussion and ensured that entrepreneurs were represented.

In the Showroom: With Detroit’s newest vehicles on display at the Washington Auto Show, the President took a trip across town to get a glimpse of the outstanding work produced within the U.S. auto industry. He was impressed by what he saw, saying, “Because of folks coming together, we are now back in a place where we can compete with any car company in the world.”

Fairness, Responsibility and Housing: One way the President plans to achieve his Blueprint for an America Built to Last is by taking action to help responsible borrowers and support a housing market recovery. On Wednesday, he expanded on the ideas he presented in the State of the Union—including a proposal for a Homeowners Bill of Rights—at the James Lee Community Center in Falls Church, Virginia, where home values have fallen by about a quarter from their peak.

The National Prayer Breakfast: At the annual National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C., the President spoke about how his faith and values guide the difficult decisions he makes as he leads the country.

From barackobama.com:

As part of the Affordable Care Act, starting August 1st, many insurance plans will be required to fully cover contraception without co-pays or deductibles as part of women's preventive care. This step will help more women to make health care decisions based on what's best for them—not their insurance company—and could save them hundreds of dollars every year.

Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius announced that certain religious organizations, including churches, will be exempt from paying their insurers to cover contraception.

Here's a look at how the new contraception policy will affect women and religious institutions.

• More than half of all Americans already live in the 28 states that require insurance companies to cover contraception.

• Most women—including 98 percent of Catholic women—who have had sex have used contraception, according to a study by the Guttmacher Institute.

• Some religiously-affiliated hospitals and universities already provide birth control coverage to their employees.

• A majority of Americans support including contraception coverage in health plans at no cost to women.

• Health care experts like the American Medical Association and the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommend contraception as a preventive service.

Protecting women's health

• Under the new provisions in the Affordable Care Act, women will have access to the care and family planning services they need without worrying about the cost.

• Women using contraception reduce their risk of developing ovarian and endometrial cancers to about half the rate of the rest of the population.

Religious employers

• Churches and other houses of worship are exempt from the new law.

• Other non-profit organizations, like religiously affiliated hospitals and universities that employ or serve people regardless of their faiths may qualify for a one-year transition period to prepare for the new law.

Protecting individual religious beliefs

• No individual health care provider will be forced to prescribe contraception.

• No one will be forced to buy or use contraception.

• Drugs such as RU-486 that cause abortion are not covered by this policy. The President remains committed to maintaining strict limits on federal funding for abortions.

Reducing costs

• While the monthly cost of contraception for women ranges between $30 and $50, insurers and experts agree that the savings would more than offset the costs.

• It will also save employers money. The National Business Group on Health estimated that employers would pay 15 to 17 percent more not to provide coverage than they would to provide it.

Let us know how the new policy will impact your life.

This week, we celebrated the 1-year anniversary of Startup America, a White House initiative to encourage and accelerate high-growth entrepreneurship.

Forgot to send a card in honor of the occasion? Don’t worry, we won’t tell. But you should take a few minutes to watch this White House White Board, released this day last year, and learn about how Startup America can help entrepreneurs overcome the “valley of death” they often face when launching a new project.

Find out more about how Startup America can help to boost startups and small businesses that create so many jobs in this country:

• Read the details of the Startup America legislative agenda President Obama sent to Congress
• Watch the Gene Sperling, Steve Case, and Aneesh Chopra answer questions about Startup America in a White House Hangout
• Video: What Can Startup America Do for Me?
• Video: Advice for Young Entrepreneurs from Startup America

President Barack Obama delivers remarks on the Veterans Job Corp and the economy while speaking at Fire Station #5 in Arlington, Va., Feb. 3, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Even with the news that the economy added 257,000 private sector jobs in January, there is more work to do to help our veterans returning from war find new jobs at home. And this morning, President Obama visited a fire station in Arlington, Virginia to discuss a new set of ideas to do just that -- including a Veterans Job Corps.

In the State of the Union, President Obama said:

[Our] freedom endures because of the men and women in uniform who defend it. As they come home, we must serve them as well as they’ve served us. That includes giving them the care and the benefits they have earned –- which is why we’ve increased annual VA spending every year I’ve been President. And it means enlisting our veterans in the work of rebuilding our nation.

That's a sentiment the President echoed today at Fire Station #5:

Our veterans are some of the most highly trained, highly educated, highly skilled workers that we’ve got.  These are Americans that every business should be competing to attract. These are the Americans we want to keep serving here at home as we rebuild this country. So we’re going to do everything we can to make sure that when our troops come home, they come home to new jobs and new opportunities and new ways to serve their country.

Already, the Obama Administration has helped 600,000 veterans and their family members go back to school on the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill and hired more than 120,000 veterans to serve in the federal government. First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden have worked with the private sector to secure a pledge from businesses to hire 135,000. And President Obama worked with Congress last fall to pass two new tax credits for companies that put veterans to work.

Now President Obama is making a new push to help veterans build the lives the deserve. In Arlington, he called for three new initiatives.

First, President Obama is working to help state and local communities hire veterans to work as first responders. The administration will make available $166 million in 2012 Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Hiring Grant funding and $320 million in 2012 Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grants and award that money with a preference to communities that recruit and hire post-9/11 veterans. The President's budget for the 2013 fiscal year will include additional $5 billion for these grant programs.

Second, the President is working to develop a Veterans Job Corps conservation program that will put up to 20,000 veterans to work over the next five years. They'll work to restore habitats, eradicate invasive species, maintain public lands, and operate public facilities.

Third, President Obama wants to expand entrepreneurship training opportunities for service members and veterans. Back in August, the Administration established a two-day course in entrepreneurship as part of the Transition Assistance Program with the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs, along with the Small Business Administration. The SBA also offers an eight week online training program that will teach the fundamentals of small business ownership to more than 10,000 veterans every year.

Learn More

• Visit Joining Forces to learn more about ways to help military families.
• Check out the online tools available to help veterans search for jobs.

President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama invited a group of American heroes to the White House for a very special movie night. The guests were retired Tuskegee Airmen, the African American veterans who overcame segregation and prejudice to become one of the most highly respected fighter groups of World War II, and whose achievements paved the way for full integration of the U.S. military.

The movie was "Red Tails", a new film that tells the Tuskegee story. "Red Tails"was produced by George Lucas, directed by Anthony Hemingway and stars Cuba Gooding Jr., who all joined the President, the First Lady and the Airmen for the screening in the White House theater.

This morning, we got some very encouraging news about our economy. For the 23rd consecutive month, the number of new American jobs has continued to grow. January saw an additional 257,000 private-sector jobs, bringing us to nearly 3.7 million cumulative private-sector jobs under this administration.

This is really positive news, and it's a sign that the job-creation policies that President Obama and Democrats in Congress have fought for and implemented—despite near-universal Republican obstruction—are working. But the reality is that the hard work of rebuilding our economy is far from over. We need to continue to stand behind our President and congressional Democrats to build an economy that lasts—and to ensure every American looking for a job can find one.

To learn more about today's jobs numbers, check out this page on barackobama.com.

Today’s employment report provides further evidence that the economy is continuing to heal from the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. It is critical that we continue the economic policies that are helping us to dig our way out of the deep hole that was caused by the recession that began at the end of 2007. Most importantly, we need to extend the payroll tax cut and continue to provide emergency unemployment benefits through the end of this year, and take the additional steps that President Obama proposed in his State of the Union address to create an economy built to last.

The unemployment rate fell 0.2 percentage point to 8.3%, from a high of 10% in October 2009. The drop in unemployment over the month was entirely due to employment growth, as the labor force participation rate remained constant, once new population weights are taken into account.  The unemployment rate has fallen by 0.8 percentage point in the last 12 months. Private sector payrolls increased by 257,000 jobs and overall payroll employment rose by 243,000 jobs in January. Despite adverse shocks that have created headwinds for economic growth, the economy has added private sector jobs for 23 straight months, for a total of 3.7 million payroll jobs over that period. In the last 12 months, 2.2 million private sector jobs were added on net.  Nonetheless, we need faster growth to put more Americans back to work.

Sectors with net job increases in December included professional and business services (+70,000), manufacturing (+50,000), leisure and hospitality (+44,000), health care and social assistance (+29,700), and construction (+21,000).  Government lost 14,000 jobs.

The monthly employment and unemployment numbers can be volatile, and employment estimates can be subject to substantial revision. Therefore, as the Administration always stresses, it is important not to read too much into any one monthly report; nevertheless, the trend in job market indicators over recent months is an encouraging sign.

"The Lord will make a way somehow." As we celebrate Black History Month, the words of this old hymn keep me encouraged and focused on re-electing President Obama. I was an early supporter of then-Sen. Obama because I knew that he “got it,” and I have remained steadfast. 

In 1991, I was furloughed by my employer (later the company went bankrupt). As a part of the furlough benefit package, I was told that I could use COBRA to keep my health insurance. The COBRA coverage for my son and me would cost approximately $300 a month; I would receive a modest amount of severance pay; and I would be eligible to receive approximately $149 a week in unemployment benefits. But with a mortgage, a car payment, and other expenses, I could not afford the COBRA coverage. My ex-husband put my son on his insurance, but I went without health insurance for approximately two years. 

It got so bad that my house was scheduled for foreclosure. I was able to get forbearance on my mortgage, and eventually it was reamortized. During that time, I diligently searched for work and was able to receive extended unemployment benefits while I went to school at night. I prayed that I would not get sick. When I finally secured a job, I was able to use the Earned Income Tax Credit to keep more of my earnings. The Lord did make a way for me during those two years; somehow, I made it through. I went on to law school and now have my own law practice and pay for my health insurance.

When I first heard Sen. Obama talk about health care, I knew that I had to help him. The major issue during the 2008 campaign was health insurance, but by 2009, the economy had collapsed. I am very proud that in spite of the horrible condition that the country was in, President Obama did not abandon the working poor men and women, who like me, were simply trying to make it. The President understood that health insurance is a safety net for families. He continued to demonstrate his commitment to the less fortunate when he fought to extend unemployment benefit payments. I know the difference that extension made for the families of the 7 million people that were out of work, especially women.

Many times during periods of crisis, the needs of women and children are forgotten, but President Obama did not forget us. There are still women anxiously praying that they will be able to hold on until they can get health insurance. There are working women, who may have pre-existing conditions such as high blood pressure or diabetes and are not on medication. They are waiting for insurance. Throughout 2012, I will be working to re-elect President Obama because these women cannot afford to be left behind. 

During his second term, President Obama will be able continue moving our country in the right direction and make health insurance a reality for the working poor. The Affordable Care Act will reduce persistent health disparities that have plagued African American communities that lack access to health care. The people that want to repeal the Affordable Care Act have no concern for the working women and men that need health insurance, nor do they care how chronic illness affects our community. President Obama does.  

The President’s opponents like to deride the Affordable Care Act by calling it “Obamacare.” But I believe those words actually express the reality behind the legislation—Obama cares. Passing the health care bill was tough, but its passage brought new meaning to the words “the Lord will make a way somehow.”

To get the facts about the President’s health care law, click here.

This week, the President made history by holding the first completely virtual interview at the White House on Google+. He also tackled the rising cost of tuition at the University of Michigan, welcomed the President of Georgia, convened a cabinet meeting, stopped by the Washington Auto Show, announced a major refinancing plan for responsible homeowners, and attended the National Prayer Breakfast.

Felicia Escobar, Senior Policy Advisor in the White House Domestic Policy Council, and Luis Miranda, Director of Hispanic Media in the Communications Office, participate in a conference call with people who signed a petition on We the People.

Yesterday, we joined a conference call with individuals from across the country to discuss issues impacting foreign students studying in our colleges and universities. We were joined by our colleagues Julie Rodriguez from the Office of Public Engagement and Luis Miranda from the Office of Communications. The conference call was the next step in our response to a petition submitted through We the People on Whitehouse.gov. We the People is a new way to petition the Obama Administration to take action on a range of important issues facing our country.  We created We the People last year to help make your voices heard in our government. We know that some of the best ideas come from individuals directly impacted by federal policies.

On our call, we discussed the impact that existing immigration laws have on foreign students who have earned advanced degrees in American schools.  As President Obama said during his State of the Union address, it makes no sense to allow these talented students to come to the U.S. and “to study business and science and engineering, but as soon as they get their degree, we send them home to invent new products and create new jobs somewhere else.”  That’s why the President supports legislative measures that would attract and retain immigrants who create jobs and boost competitiveness here in the U.S. – including "stapling" green cards to the diplomas of certain foreign-born graduates in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields – as a part of his vision for building a 21st century immigration system.

We reiterated this message on our call, and also discussed what the Administration is doing—independent of Congress—to help improve existing immigration policies to attract and keep the best and the brightest in our country. During the Q&A session, callers raised many concerns regarding F-1 and other visas targeted for highly skilled immigrants.  Among these was a question regarding the possibility of extending employment authorization to certain spouses of H-1B visa holders who are awaiting the adjudication of green card applications.  We were especially pleased to inform the callers that the Department of Homeland Security had announced just the day before—as part of the One Year Anniversary of the White House Startup Initiative — that they will be addressing this very issue through regulatory reforms. 

Every day, the Administration is working to make improvements in the areas where we can really make a difference.  It is invaluable to hear from people directly affected by our current immigration policies in order to get closer to the President’s vision of a 21st century immigration system that grows our economy and meets our security needs.

Felicia Escobar is a Senior Policy Advisor in the White House Domestic Policy Council and Doug Rand is a Senior Policy Advisor in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy

Click here to see the video.

This morning at the National Prayer Breakfast, President Obama gave a speech where he described how his faith as a Christian informs his thinking as a leader.

And he talked about the importance of our shared set of values as Americans:

We can’t leave our values at the door. If we leave our values at the door, we abandon much of the moral glue that has held our nation together for centuries, and allowed us to become somewhat more perfect a union. Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, Jane Addams, Martin Luther King, Jr., Dorothy Day, Abraham Heschel -- the majority of great reformers in American history did their work not just because it was sound policy, or they had done good analysis, or understood how to exercise good politics, but because their faith and their values dictated it, and called for bold action -- sometimes in the face of indifference, sometimes in the face of resistance.

This is no different today for millions of Americans, and it’s certainly not for me.

The whole speech is worth a watch. Check it out above.

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As Mitt Romney campaigns in Nevada, a state hit hard by the housing crisis, he has yet to offer a single proposal to lend a hand to America’s struggling homeowners, make it easier for them to refinance their homes, or help them avoid foreclosure. Or, as Rep. Jan Schakowsky put it in a call slamming Romney's housing policies (or lack thereof) today: "He hasn’t offered any ideas to help these families recover their piece of the American dream and the dignity that comes with having a home to raise a family in."

Instead, he believes we should let the foreclosure process "run its course and hit the bottom." In other words, Romney would let homeowners lose their homes and let the banks make a quick buck from the wreckage of American middle-class families. And he had the gall to tell underwater Florida homeowners that the banks are "feeling the same thing" they are.

If you’re a homeowner in this country trying to make ends meet, Romney has four simple words for you: You’re on your own.

Banks, on the other hand…

Today in Las Vegas, Donald Trump added his name to a list of such esteemed luminaries as Christine O'Donnell, Robert Bork, Ann Coulter, and the Kansas secretary of state in endorsing Mitt Romney for the Republican presidential nomination.

But like so many before him, Trump hasn't always been on Team Romney. Quite the opposite: Less than a year ago, Trump couldn't resist sharing his disdain for Romney with every news outlet he could get a hold of.

Just last April, Trump mocked Romney in the New York Post as someone who "walked away with some money from a very good company that he didn't create."

He told the Washington Post that Romney has a history of "eliminating jobs rather than creating them."

And Trump believed, he told the Deseret News, that Romney "doesn't have a chance at the Republican nomination."

So what changed? How did Trump go from publicly mocking Romney to deciding he was the candidate for him?

It seems they discovered a common hobby to bond over: Firing people.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, former Nevada Gov. Bob Miller, and former Sen. Richard Bryan welcomed Mitt Romney to Nevada with an op-ed in the Las Vegas Sun. On every issue important to Nevadans—jobs, housing, immigration, and Yucca Mountain—Romney is on the wrong side.

Romney is running on his business experience and job creation record—a point he has stressed in Nevada, a state in which unemployment is a major issue. But Romney doesn't want Nevadans to know that he made millions from buying companies, closing factories, firing workers, and sending jobs overseas. And during his tenure as governor of Massachusetts, the state ranked 47th out of 50 in job creation. In contrast, President Obama has emphasized his commitment to job creation and laid out a blueprint for it in his State of the Union address.

The last time Romney visited Nevada, a state with one of the highest foreclosure rates in the nation, he told homeowners he would let the foreclosure process “hit the bottom”—a stance he reinforced earlier this week. Meanwhile, President Obama visited Nevada last year and proposed new ways to help struggling homeowners keep their homes. Yesterday President Obama unveiled his new housing plan, which will create new opportunities for responsible homeowners to refinance their mortgages and save $3,000 a year.

Immigration is also a critical issue in Nevada, a state with a high population of Hispanics. Romney has proudly accepted the endorsement of Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, who authored the extreme anti-immigration laws in Arizona Alabama. And although 91 percent of Hispanics support the DREAM Act—which provides a pathway to citizenship for those who came to America as children through no fault of their own—Romney called it a “handout” and promised to veto it if Congress passed it. In his State of the Union address, President Obama promised to sign the DREAM Act into law if it came across his desk.

Finally, Romney sought and received the endorsement of South Carolina's Tea Party governor, Nikki Haley, who said she supports Romney largely because he wants to revive the Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Repository. The project, which is strongly opposed by Nevadans and would have led to high-level nuclear waste to be dumped within Yucca Mountain, was canceled by President Obama.

The choice for Nevadans is clear, write Reid, Miller and Bryan: "If we follow the President’s bold blueprint and create an economy built to last, we will come back stronger than ever."

Having served for more than 11 years on active duty in our Navy with deployments to the Middle East, the Pacific Rim, the Mediterranean Sea and East Africa, I’m grateful for what I learned about the importance of strong sea power and in using smart power to exert global influence.  Though the military is just one element of national power, nothing compares to the ability to project power from a sovereign U.S. Navy vessel afloat in international waters without worrying about basing or overflight rights.

Under the leadership of President Obama, the Navy is rebuilding the fleet from 288 ships to 325 by the next decade.  For this and other reasons, it is clear to me that the President remains committed to a strong Navy and a strong national defense, despite a very challenging fiscal environment that forced difficult spending decisions. 

Though a capable military is necessary, strong national power begins at home.  The President’s track record includes needed investment in our aging infrastructure and the rescue of the American auto industry.  His vision moves us even further by doubling down on his commitment to American manufacturing, reducing our reliance on foreign oil through investment in clean energy, and investing in the most precious resource we have: American workers.

There’s one group of American workers that have already benefited from such investment and will continue to benefit under a second term: Veterans.  Starting in 2001, America increased the size of the military during a decade of conflict.  During that time, thousands of men and women joined our second-to-none, all-volunteer force – sometimes against the wishes of their mothers and fathers – and were sent to places like Iraq and Afghanistan, where they served honorably. 

A grateful nation would want to provide for their orderly transition into the civilian workforce, where their skills and dedication can be put to further use.  President Obama has done just that by signing the “Returning Heroes” and “Wounded Warriors” tax credits for businesses that hire unemployed veterans, by increasing veterans’ employment in the federal government, and by launching the Veteran’s Job Bank and other Labor Department initiatives.

In 2008 I was fired up and squarely behind a bold vision for the future outlined by then Sen. Obama.  While some criticize the President for not doing more during his first term, I admire his persistence and resilience in the face of adversity.  Despite the challenges and setbacks, he remains faithful to his values and committed to his vision.  Simply put, he exhibits exactly the qualities I admire in a leader and in a Commander-in-Chief.

If you see things the way I do, I hope you’ll join me in working as hard as possible in 2012 to ensure President Obama can continue to build on the progress he has made.

Last week in his State of the Union Address, the President laid out his blueprint for an economy built to last, where everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules. He believes this is a make or break moment for the middle class and those trying to reach it. He knows what’s at stake: the very survival of the basic American promise that if you work hard, you can do well enough to raise a family, own a home, and put enough away for retirement.  

The fact is, economic security for the middle class has been eroding for decades. Millionaires and billionaires saw their wealth skyrocket while too many Americans were struggling to get by. And in 2008, the house of cards collapsed. Mortgages were sold to folks who couldn’t afford or understand them.  In addition to the nearly eight million jobs lost, it left responsible homeowners holding the bag and badly hurt from this irresponsible behavior.  

The President refuses to stand on the sidelines and let folks fend for themselves. That’s why he laid out a plan to help responsible borrowers and relieve some of the pain caused by the financial crisis. The President knows the government can’t fix the housing market on its own, and he believes that responsible homeowners should not have to sit and wait for the market to hit bottom to get relief when there are measures at hand that can make a meaningful difference. This includes allowing these homeowners the ability to save an average of $3,000 dollars a year by refinancing at today’s low interest rates. He also put forward a single set of standards, or a Homeowner Bill of Rights, to make sure borrowers and lenders play by the same rules. 

Additionally, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, with Treasury and Housing and Urban Development, announced a pilot sale of foreclosed properties to be transitioned into rental housing.  This will help stabilize neighborhoods and improve home prices. These are just a few of the steps that’ll strengthen the housing market and help folks who are underwater on their mortgage.  

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