White House Issues New Flow Rate Estimates on Oil Spill

Based on updated information and scientific assessments, Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, and Chair of the National Incident Command’s Flow Rate Technical Group (FRTG) Dr. Marcia McNutt (Director of the U.S. Geological Survey) today announced an improved estimate of how much oil is flowing from the leaking BP well.

Secretary Chu, Secretary Salazar, and Dr. McNutt convened a group of federal and independent scientists on Monday to discuss new analyses and data points obtained over the weekend to produce updated flow rate estimates. Working together, U.S. government and independent scientists estimate that the most likely flow rate of oil today is between 35,000 and 60,000 barrels per day. The improved estimate is based on more and better data that is now available and that helps increase the scientific confidence in the accuracy of the estimate.
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White House Officials Set to Participate in 11 HBCU Graduation Ceremonies

This month, President Obama, the First Lady, and officials from throughout the Administration will deliver commencement addresses to Historically Black Colleges and Universities across the nation.  This weekend Mrs. Obama will send off the students of University of Arkansas – Pine Bluff Saturday, May 8^th and President Obama will greet the graduates of Hampton University Sunday, May 9^th.  In total, eleven HBCUs will receive commencement addresses from Obama Administration officials this year.

Other officials participating in graduation ceremonies include Secretary Robert Gates, Department of Defense (Morehouse College), Secretary Arne Duncan, Department of Education (Xavier University), Administrator Charles Bolden, NASA (Huston-Tillotson University), Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor to the President (Morgan State University), Melody Barnes, Director, White House Domestic Policy Council (Virginia Union University), and Ambassador Susan Rice, United Nations (Spellman College).  In addition, John Wilson, Executive Director of the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities, is scheduled to speak to Wilberforce University, Wiley College, and Harris-Stowe State University.

White House Gives Update on Oil Spill

Rear Admiral Brice O’Hara gave reporters at the White House an update on Coast Guard progress in containing thousands of barrels of oil that have spilled in the Gulf of Mexico as a result of a deadly fire on an rig earlier this month. Reports put the spill on miles from the Louisiana coast.

“Let me help put into perspective some of the interactions that occur. The Coast Guard is the federal on-scene coordinator. So we have the leadership role for spills that occur in the coastal zone for this spill, in particular. We have been very aggressive and proactive in our response, but we have not been alone. We work with federal partners — there are 16 federal agencies who form the National Response Team. We also work very closely with state and local authorities and with nongovernmental organizations — as we move forward with the response, there are roles that volunteers can take and the NGOs are critical in helping us properly channel that drive and energy.”
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Washington Officials Visit New Orleans

Since taking office in January 2009, the Obama Administration has cut through the bureaucratic red tape that delayed assistance to Hurricane Katrina victims, and improved coordination among Federal agencies and with State and local government partners. As a result, nearly $2.4 billion for Public Assistance projects in Louisiana and Mississippi that had been stalled for years has been obligated since the start of the Administration; and thousands of individuals who had been dependent on temporary disaster housing are now receiving assistance.

But is enough being done to bring the Crescent City back?

Yesterday, representatives from twelve federal agencies and the White House met in New Orleans with Mayor-Elect Mitch Landrieu and members of his transition team, for a series of working sessions focused on additional policy priorities for the city.
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President and First Lady Host White House Forum on Workplace Flexibility

Today, President Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama and the White House Council on Women and Girls are hosting the White House Forum on Workplace Flexibility to discuss the importance of creating workplace practices that allow America’s working men and women to meet the demands of their jobs without sacrificing the needs of their families.

Small business owners, business leaders, policy experts, workers and labor leaders are joining with senior administration officials today to share their ideas and strategies for making the workplace more flexible for American workers and families. The opening and closing sessions, as well as five breakout sessions focused on best practices and benefits for the American workplace and workforce, are streaming live on www.WhiteHouse.gov/live. In addition, much of the event is streaming on Facebook and Ustream, and the White House will include comments taken through these social networks in the feedback collected through the forum.
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French President Visit’s Ben’s Chili Bowl in Washington, D.C.

In remarks made at a press conference in the White House with Nicolas Sarkozy, President Obama made light of the French president’s visit earlier in the day to the legendary Ben’s Chili Bowl with his wife, Carla Bruni.

“Now, I have to point out that the French are properly famous for their cuisine, and so the fact that Nicolas went to Ben’s Chili Bowl for lunch — (laughter) — I think knows — shows his discriminating palate. My understanding is he had a half-smoke, so he was sampling the local wares. And we appreciate that very much.”

Sarkozyby responded: “Insofar as the president has revealed a secret — namely, where I had lunch today — I should say that I have a good friend in Washington who had actually recommended that restaurant,” he said. “When I walked in, I saw a huge photograph of President Obama. And I’m afraid that when you go back to that restaurant, you may see a smaller photograph of the French president.”

On Aug. 22, 1958, Ben’s Chili Bowl opened along the U Street corridor, which was then known as “Black Broadway.” Top performers could be found playing sets in clubs along the corridor, as well as eating and just “hanging out” at Ben’s. It was not uncommon to see such luminaries as Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, Bessie Smith, Ella Fitzgerald, Cab Calloway, Nat King Cole, Redd Foxx, Dick Gregory, Martin Luther King Jr., or Bill Cosby at “The Bowl.”

White House Comments on Summer Jobs Program

The Obama Administration applauded the inclusion of federal funding for summer youth employment activities across the country and encouraged the Senate to pass the legislation.

“As we continue the work of rebuilding our economy and encouraging job creation, investing in summer youth employment is an important way to teach our young people the value of hard work and prepare them for careers in the future,” President Obama said.

President Obama and members of the Congressional Black Caucus recently discussed the importance of supporting a program that would provide young people with work experience, job skills and supplement their family’s incomes during the summer months.
The $600 million passed by the House this week would create 200,000 jobs this summer.  In 2009, more than 300,000 jobs were created through the program through investments from the Recovery Act.  More than 40 percent of the summer youth program participants were African-American and nearly one-quarter were Latino.

An evaluation of last summer’s program conducted by an independent policy research firm concluded that youth valued both the employment opportunities and gaining exposure in high-growth employment areas such as health care and green industries, among others.  The evaluation also found that nearly all participating employers expressed a desire to participate in future programs.

The bill is now being considered in the Senate, where the leadership is working to secure resources for the program.  Individuals interested in participating in a summer job program in their community should visit their local employment office or contact the Department of Labor for more information at www.dol.gov.

House Passes Summer Jobs Legislation

The White House held a conference call to discuss the provisions for a summer youth jobs program that would create 200,000 jobs across the nation this summer.  White House Domestic Policy Director Melody Barnes, Secy. of Labor Hilda Solis, and U.S. Representative Barbara Lee, chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, took part in the call.

The bill now goes to the Senate, which is expected to pass the legislation.

EbonyJet Online Exclusive: National Urban League CEO Marc Morial says, “Civil Rights Organizations ARE United”

Seemingly in response to Washington chatter that a recent White House meeting between President Barack Obama and only three civil rights groups (National Urban League, NAACP, and National Political Action Network) has caused a riff, NUL CEO Marc Morial emphatically dismissed the notion to EbonyJet Online. At the release of NUL’s annual “State of Black America” report, Morial made it a point to note that the Rev. Al Sharpton, who heads the National Political Action Network, and Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., who leads the Rainbow Push Coalition, were in the audience. He also defended his meeting with the president, as well as the actions that Obama has taken so far in an attempt to create jobs in the Black community. “The president is very sensitive to how the jobless situation is affecting minority communities…,” Morial said. “Since our meeting, concrete steps have been taken, and i don’t think that you’ve seen the last of it.”

“You don’t go to a meeting with the president and come out and give a verbatim report to the press what was said. We’d never get back in…,” he said. “I don’t have any problems with the fact that I went to the meeting, and didn’t take anyone with me. I was representing the Urban League. I wasn’t representing everybody and every group.”

Haitian President to Visit Washington

Haitian President Rene Preval is is traveling to Washington on Wednesday to discuss what is needed to rebuild his shattered country.

Preval says he plans to personally thank President Barack Obama for the private and public U.S. aid that flooded into the country after the Jan. 12 earthquake that killed an estimated 230,000 people.

The Haitian president told reporters before leaving Monday that he also hopes to discuss what next steps are needed for reconstruction. He says Haiti needs help with job creation and less donated food, which can undermine local producers.

Preval’s trip includes meetings with Secretary of State Clinton, Attorney General Eric Holder and the head of USAID.