Presidential Memorandum -- Rulemaking Concerning the Standards for Designating Positions in the Competitive Service as National Security Sensitive and Related Matters

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

MEMORANDUM FOR THE DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE

THE DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT

SUBJECT: Rulemaking Concerning the Standards for Designating Positions in the Competitive Service as National Security Sensitive and Related Matters

The Director of National Intelligence and the Director of the Office of Personnel Management shall jointly propose the amended regulations contained in the Office of Personnel Management's notice of proposed rulemaking in 75 Fed. Reg. 77783 (December 14, 2010), with such modifications as are necessary to permit their joint publication, without prejudice to the authorities of the Director of National Intelligence and the Director of the Office of Personnel Management under any Executive Order, and to the extent permitted by law.

This memorandum is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

The Director of the Office of Personnel Management is hereby authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.

BARACK OBAMA

President Obama discusses his nomination of Mary Jo White to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission and Richard Cordray to continue as Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Here’s a quick glimpse at what happened this week on WhiteHouse.gov.

President Obama taps Denis McDonough to serve as his chief of staff and lead the team at the White House.

view all related blog posts

View the original article here

Secret Service dog dies after fall from roof at Biden event

A Secret Service dog died in New Orleans Saturday night when it fell from a parking garage during a sweep for an event featuring Vice President Biden, the Secret Service said Sunday.

The dog fell from a parking garage at the New Orleans Ritz-Carlton, where Biden was speaking at a fundraiser for Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) Saturday night.

“It was a tragic accident,” Secret Service spokesman Max Milien told The Hill Sunday.

Milien said the Secret Service was not releasing the name and age of the dog, a Belgian Malinois.

The Secret Service has a K-9 division created in the 1970s, the Canine Explosives Detection Unit, which pairs bomb-sniffing dogs with handlers to search for drugs, explosives and firearms.

View Comments

View the original article here

Obama, Biden families attend church service

President Obama and his family made the short trip to St. John's Episcopal Church on Monday morning for the traditional Inauguration Day church service.

The Obamas will be joined at the service by Vice President Biden and his wife, Jill. The group made the short trip from the White House across Lafayette Square Park via motorcade.

The Rev. Luis León, pastor of St. John's Episcopal Church, will also be offering the benediction at the president's inauguration later in the morning. He replaced Atlanta pastor Louie Giglio, who removed his name from the Inaugural program after reports of anti-gay comments he made during sermons in the 1990s.

The church, which opened in 1816, has been visited by every president of the United States since then. It features a bell that was cast by the son of Revolutionary War hero Paul Revere, and also contains a special pew that is reserved for when the president is in attendance. Some early presidents, including James Madison, were communicants at St. John's. León noted that the church had hosted the preinaugural service 11 times, dating back to Franklin D. Roosevelt's swearing-in.

The sermon was given by pastor Andy Stanley from North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, who thanked the president for his work after the Newtown, Conn. school shooting, commenting that he president should be called the "Pastor in Chief."

He then delivered a sermon centered around the story of Jesus washing the feet of his disciples to show that even the most important person in the room should work as a servant.

"You leverage that power for the benefit of other people in the room," he said.  "Mr. President, you have an awfully big room."

Bishop Vacti Mckenzie then offered a blessing to the president and vice president, who prayed to "bless this administration with both favor and grace" and "give them the resources and people necessary to get the job done."

The president also tweeted during his time at the church, his first public comment of the day:

I'm honored and grateful that we have a chance to finish what we started. Our work begins today. Let's go. -bo

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) January 21, 2013

The trip outside also provided the first glance of what first lady Michelle Obama would be wearing for the day's Inaugural events. The first lady donned a navy Thom Browne coast and dress, coupled with a belt, shoes and accessories from J. Crew.

Upon returning to the White House, Obama's eldest daunter, Malia, looked to interject some levity into the day. Traveling in a separate limousine with her grandmother, Malia jumped out of the car and snuck up on the president, shouting "Boo!" as he emerged.

"You scared me!" Obama said, before entering the executive mansion with the Bidens for a coffee with congressional leaders.

This post was updated at 10:33 a.m.

View Comments

View the original article here

Inaugural weekend starts with service event for Obama, Biden

President Obama and his family participated in a community service project in Washington, D.C. on Saturday as part of a National Day of Service ahead of the inauguration.

The first family joined roughly 500 volunteers in completing a school makeover at Burrville Elementary School in Washington, according to a pool report. The event was coordinated by the service organization City Year.

"As I look around the room, I see friends from all across the country, people who have been such great supporters of ours, but more importantly, everybody here—adults to children—understand the importance of giving back," Obama said in remarks given to volunteers in the school's gym, per the pool report.

He later added that the inauguration "is a symbol of how our democracy works" and it "should also be an affirmation that we're all in this together."

While at the school, the president and the first lady helped volunteers stain a wooden, multi-tiered shelf. Obama commented that the first lady said he "did a fine job" staining the shelf.

"This is a weekend of celebration, but through it all we have to remember that the reason why we're here...is because a lot of people worked hard and supported us," Mrs. Obama told volunteers, according to the pool report. "And we've got a job to do."

The first lady also encouraged young people to continue volunteering and giving back to their communities.

"The goal is as you make your way through life, who are you pulling up with you? And as long as you're pulling somebody up with you, you're doing the right thing," she said.

Vice President Joe Biden, along with Dr. Jill Biden and other family members, took part in a community service project organized by volunteer group Points of Light at the D.C. Armory as the event-filled inauguration weekend got underway. The vice president and his family helped volunteers pack 100,000 care kits filled with necessities, such as toothbrushes and Band-Aids, for deployed service members, veterans, injured service members and first responders, according to a pool report.

While giving brief remarks at the service event, the vice president said while only 1 percent of the nation was serving their country, the 99 percent back home owe them their gratitude.

Biden added that Martin Luther King Jr. inspired "this notion of absolute service."

"We have to move back to reaching out to people," he said, according to the pool report.

Biden also voiced optimism for the country during President Obama's second term in office. 

"I think we're on the cusp of doing some really great things," he said.

For the past few years, the Obama family has honored Martin Luther King Jr. Day by participating in a community service project. This week Obama encouraged people to participate with him in the day of service via Twitter.

First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden will host a Kids Inaugural Concert Saturday evening at the Washington Convention Center that will honor military families. Invited guests at the concert include families of active duty, reserve and retired service members.

--This report was originally published at 10:32 a.m. and last updated at 1:38 p.m.

More from The Hill:
• At halftime of his presidency, Obama looks to lessons of first four years
• Poll: Voters pessimistic as Obama prepares for second inauguration
• Inauguration festivities list

View Comments

View the original article here

Remarks by the President and the First Lady on Volunteering on National Day of Service

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

Burrville Elementary School
Washington, D.C.

12:46 P.M. EST

     THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, everybody!  Well, this is a good-looking crew here.  (Applause.)  First of all, we just want to acknowledge Burrville Elementary School -- (applause) -- and the principal here, Tui Roper, who is doing outstanding work.  (Applause.)  If you see Tui, you may think she’s a student, but no, she’s the principal. 

     As I look around the room, I see friends from all across the country, people who have been such great supporters of ours, but more importantly, everybody here -- adults to children -- understand the importance of giving back.  And as we think about not so much Inauguration, but we think about the fact that this is Dr. King’s birthday that we’re going to be celebrating this weekend, I’m always reminded that he said, everybody wants to be first, everybody wants to be a drum major; but if you’re going to be a drum major, be a drum major for service, be a drum major for justice, be a drum major for looking out for other people.  (Applause.)

     And organizations like City Year -- (applause) -- the Corporation for National Service -- (applause) -- all the great work that’s being done day in, day out shows that there’s a huge hunger on the part of young people to get involved and to get engaged.  And it was interesting -- we were talking to one of the young people, I was staining a shelf --

     MRS. OBAMA:  He did a fine job.

     THE PRESIDENT:  And Michelle says I did a fine job.  (Laughter and applause.)  And one of the City Year folks, I was talking to them, I said, how’d you get involved, they said, our parents every holiday we’d always do service and so I was taught at a very young age.  So the fact that we’ve got some outstanding young people here today, I want to say thank you to the parents for showing early on to all our young people how gratifying and how fulfilling this is. 

This is really what America is about.  This is what we celebrate.  This Inauguration we’re going to be -- it’s a symbol of how our democracy works and how we peacefully transfer power, but it should also be an affirmation that we’re all in this together and that we’ve got to look out for each other and work hard on behalf of each other.

     So we’re thrilled that all of you are here.  We hope you guys are having a great time.  (Applause.)  I hear reports that the very young people did some really good work and some of the older folks like me, who it hurt getting our knees kind of bending down a little bit, we were able to manage also, and somehow Michelle looked stylish the whole time she was doing it.  (Applause.) 

     So, Mich, you want to say a few words?

     MRS. OBAMA:  You all, thank you so much.  It’s wonderful to have such great turnout for this day of service.  And I know that we have a lot of family members in the audience -- (applause) -- and we always force our family, when they come up and do something really cool, they have to serve and they do it happily.  So I’m proud of our families for always being there for us.  We love you guys. 

     So as Barack said, this is a weekend of celebration, but through it all we have to remember that the reason why we’re here, why we’re standing here, why we’re able to celebrate this weekend is because a lot of people worked hard and supported us.  And we’ve got a job to do.  And this is a symbol of the kind of work that we need to be doing for the next four years and beyond. 

(Loud crash.)

THE PRESIDENT:  That was a cameraman.

MRS. OBAMA:  That was the press.  This is press.  (Laughter.)  It’s okay, though, it’s okay.  Hope you didn’t break it.  (Laughter.)

So for all the young people, and we’ve got a lot of young people -- City Year members, the students here at this school -- as Barack says, we’re passing the baton onto you all.  So the goal is, is that as you make your way through life, who are you pulling up behind you?  And as long as you’re pulling somebody up behind you, you’re doing the right thing.

So thank you all.  We’re very proud of you and we’re going to come down and shake some hands. 

                                                              END              12:52 P.M. EST

The Kids Inaugural Concert: Our Children, Our Future was held to show military kids how much the country appreciates the sacrifices they make while their parents are serving.

The First and Second families kick off Inauguration weekend by participating in the National Day of Service.

First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden hosted a roundtable for reporters from some of the leading magazines for kids to talk about Joining Forces.

view all related blog posts

View the original article here

Obama urges participation in National Day of Service

By Alicia M. Cohn - 01/08/13 01:19 PM ET

President Obama invited Americans to join him in a Day of Service ahead of his inauguration, in a personal tweet sent Tuesday.

My family will be joining Americans across the country for a National Day of Service on January 19th—join us: OFA.BO/8LqNx7 -bo

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) January 8, 2013

The president, first lady, vice president and other senior members of the administration will participate in the National Day of Service on Jan. 19, the Saturday before Obama is sworn in for his second term.

The Presidential Inaugural Committee (PIC) and the White House are promoting the Day of Service, inviting citizens nationwide to participate in local events by looking up opportunities and organizations on the PIC website.

The Obama family has participated in a community service project in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day for the past few years.

This year, president's private swearing-in takes place Jan. 20, but the public event and parade will occur Jan. 21, which happens to be the holiday. The committee has highlighted King’s legacy as another reason to participate in the service day.

The committee has been busy on social media since its launch last month, sharing bits of trivia from past presidential inaugurations and highlighting participants in the inaugural parade, photos from construction of the stage on the Capitol steps and safety tips for the big day.

View Comments

View the original article here