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Presidential News
President Obama’s Comments About HBCU Draws Criticism
President Obama’s Expected Keystone Pipeline Veto Is Likely To Be The First In A Wave
Washington, DC — Presi- dent Obama and Vice Pres- ident Biden recently met with members of the Congres- sional Black Caucus (CBC) to discuss key issues such as eco- nomic security and education. They also addressed the future of the nation’s more than 100 HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities). But some in attendance say Pres. Obama had very negative things to say about HBCUs.
He reportedly criticized the student loan policies at HBCUs and insisted that low graduation rates, not federal funding cuts or his free com- munity college plan, were the greatest threats to HBCUs. His free community college plan proposes to offer free tuition for enrolled students who maintain a 2.5 GPA and are making progress toward com- pleting their program, but many critics say this will hurt the HBCU community.
According to Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA): “[Presi- dent Obama] said there were some HBCUs that were not good at graduating students and if they did not improve they’d have to go by the way-
PRESIDENT OBAMA
side. In other words he didn’t show much empathy for strug- gling HBCUs. It was like ‘show me the numbers’ and if the numbers aren’t where they need to be, that’s it. It was a somewhat callous view of the unique niche HBCUs fill.”
Rep. Yvette Clarke (D- NY) also commented, “I was concerned about what the President said because it feeds into a narrative about the value of these institutions and whether they are equip to edu- cate our students and what the cost is for doing so. Many of these institutions have not had a maintenance of effort on the part of states or the federal
government and over time that wears on their ability to main- tain standards or even advance beyond a certain level. Accord- ing to HBCUDigest.com: “Since 2008, HBCUs have lost more than $300 million in tu- ition revenue due to changes in federal loan and grant pro- grams, and reduced funding from federal contracts and grants.
The remarks follow recent criticism from White House Advisory Board Chairman and Hampton University President William Harvey during its regular meeting in Washing- ton D.C., in which he chastised the Obama Administration for a lack of connection with the board on pressing issues impacting higher education policy.”
Others say the issues contin- ues to lie with the economic status of Blacks. Despite major improvements to the economy and the nation’s employment rate under the Obama Ad- ministration, unemployment and poverty among African Americans remains high.
“Black America continues to be in a state of emergency,” the CBC said in a press release
WASHINGTON — Wielding the weapon of his pen, Presi- dent Obama this week is ex- pected to formally reject a Republican attempt to force construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline. But in stop- ping the transit of petroleum from the forests of Alberta to the Gulf Coast, Pres. Obama will be opening the veto era of his presidency.
The expected Keystone veto, the third and most significant of Pres. Obama’s six years in office, would most likely be
followed by presidential vetoes of bills that could emerge to make changes in the Afford- able Care Act, impose new sanctions on Iran and roll back child nutrition standards, among others.
For President Obama, his Cross Townsend black roller- ball pen will become an exten- sion of his second-term strategy to act alone in the face of Republican opposition and safeguard his legislative record.
Governors Meet With President Obama At The White House
WASHINGTON — As they gather in Washington, many of the nation's Republican gover- nors are blaming President Barack Obama for a budget standoff that threatens a po- tential Department of Home- land Security shutdown.
The meeting came days be- fore the DHS's $40 billion budget is set to run out, on Feb. 27, over a dispute over Pres. Obama's executive ac- tion on immigration.
They made their case in per- son when they convened at the White House on Monday.
Homeland Security Secre- tary Jeh Johnson warned on Sunday that the possible shut- down threatens to hamstring U.S. response to terrorist threats and warnings, such as the one late Saturday that mentioned the Mall of Amer- ica in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington.
While some have called for compromise, a handful of high-profile Republican gover- nors have urged GOP congres- sional leaders to stand firm,
President Barack Obama speaks during the 2015 Gover- nors’ Dinner reception.
arguing that stopping what they see as Pres. Obama's unconstitutional power grab may be as important as resolv- ing the funding dispute.
The meeting — and a planned afternoon press con- ference at the White House Monday afternoon — caps the annual winter gathering of the National Governors Associa- tion, where talk was domi- nated by the budget standoff as well as a looming Supreme Court case that could strike down health insurance subsi- dies for millions of people across more than 30 states.
White House Says Pres. Obama Willing To Negotiate Details Of Force Authorization Request
The White House has said that President Barack Obama is open to negotiating several aspects of his proposed authorization to use military force against the ISIS terror group, including his proposed three-year time limit on U.S. military action and the use of ground troops.
According to the Associated Press, White House officials say Pres. Obama is firmly opposed to any geographic re- strictions on where the U.S. military can pursue ISIS mili- tants, who have strongholds in Iraq and Syria but have been operating across international boundaries. But they did say he is open to debate on much of the rest of his offer.
"I'm not at all going to be surprised if there are members
of Congress who take a look at this legislation and decide, `Well, I think there are some things that we should tweak here, and if we do, we might be able to build some more sup- port for,"' said White House press secretary Josh Earnest. "So I think it is fair for you to assume that this re- flects a starting point in con- versations."
Lawmakers are expected to consider the authorization re- quest this week after returning from a weeklong break. Some Republicans say Pres. Obama's proposal is too re- strictive for the mission to suc- ceed. On the other side, some Democrats want more limita- tions on Pres. Obama's au- thority so the United States doesn't sign on for another open-ended war.
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