The White House Weekly Address

Your Daily Snapshot for Saturday, November 12, 2011

Weekly Address: Honoring Our Veterans for Their Service and Sacrifice President Obama speaks from the USS Carl Vinson in San Diego during Veterans Day and calls on all Americans to rededicate themselves to serving our brave men and women in uniform as well as they have served us. Watch the video. Weekly Wrap Up Jobs for Veterans:  On Monday President Obama announced the launch of a suite of new tools designed to help our veterans transition more easily into the workforce. The Veterans Job Bank, which will help put our veterans in contact with companies that appreciate their skills and are eager to hire them, has more than 550,000 job postings from military-friendly employers and is continuing to grow. On Thursday, the First Lady joined the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to announce that a range of businesses have committed to hire 100,000 veterans and military spouses by 2014. Later that day the Senate approved the Wounded Warrior and Returning Heroes tax credits, provisions of the American Jobs Act which will offer businesses a $9,600 tax credit for hiring disabled veterans and create additional tax credits for employers who hire veterans who have spent four weeks or more out of work. Honoring our Veterans: Friday morning President Obama honored the millions of Americans who have served in our nation's military by laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery. In his speech the President called for all Americans to commit to helping our vets when they return home: "So on this Veterans Day, let us commit ourselves to keep making sure that our veterans receive the care and benefits that they have earned; the opportunity they defend and deserve; and above all, let us welcome them home as what they are -- an integral, essential part of our American family." Head Start: President Obama announced historic reforms to the Head Start program that will require all Head Start grantees that fail to meet a new set of rigorous quality benchmarks to compete for continued federal funding. These changes are designed to ensure that all children in Head Start are attending top-notch programs that will help them reach their full potential.  Saving You Money: President Obama signed an Executive Order telling Federal agencies to cut their spending on travel, printing, and IT by 20 percent, which will save billions of dollars. This initiative is only one part of the administration-wide Campaign to Cut Waste, headed by Vice President Joe Biden that promises to eliminate government waste, save taxpayer dollars and make government work more efficiently. The President also announced the four finalists in the SAVE Award, an annual contest for federal employees to submit their ideas for cutting costs by making government more efficient. Submit your vote for your favorite idea today.