President Barack Obama answers a question at his press conference at the G20 Summit in Cannes, France, Nov. 4, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

When world leaders gathered this week in France, they acknowledged that the global economy was facing significant challenges that put recovery from the recession at risk.

The debt crisis in Europe has put stress on the continent's banking system, and countries like Greece and Italy are struggling to restore fiscal order.

In our country, the economy hasn't rebounded how anyone had hoped. We're adding jobs, but not at anywhere near the pace we need, and too many remain out of work.

And in emerging economies, the rate of growth seems to be slowing as continued financial instability in the rest of the world begins to drag these countries down, as well.

To counter these threats, the G20 leaders in France pledged to coordinate actions and policies to reinvigorate the global economy.

And the focus of that coordination? Jobs.

"There's no excuse for inaction," President Obama said in a press conference earlier today. "That's true globally and it's certainly true back home right now."

While European governments were vowing to do everything necessary to ensure the stability of the euro, the United States made a pledge of its own in the G20 action plan:

The US commits to the timely implementation of a package of near-term measures to sustain the recovery, through public investments, tax reforms, and targeted jobs measures, consistent with a credible plan for medium-term fiscal consolidation.

This commitment puts even greater emphasis on the need for Congress to take action on the American Jobs Act.

The world is looking for American leadership, and that's exactly what the President's job proposal is.

This week, the President urged Congress to pass the infrastructure component of the American Jobs Act and continued to take executive action to strengthen the economy and put folks back to work. The President also celebrated Diwali and hosted Halloween, spoke at the Italian American Heritage Gala, signed two Executive Orders, welcomed NASA Astronauts in the Oval Office, and interviewed with local news stations from across the country.

President Barack Obama is greeted by French President Nicholas Sarkozy for the start of the G20 Summit in Cannes, France, Nov. 3, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)

Today, President Obama is in France for a meeting of the G20 -- a gathering of 20 nations that represent the world's most important industrialized economies. In addition to working sessions with the full assembly of leaders, the President also held bilateral talks with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

In his conversation with President Sarkozy, he discussed the focus of this week's talks:

I think it's no surprise that we spent most of our conversation focused on strengthening the global economic recovery so that we are creating jobs for our people and stabilizing the financial markets around the world. The most important aspect of our task over the next two days is to resolve the financial crisis here in Europe. President Sarkozy has shown extraordinary leadership on this issue. I agree with him that the EU has made some important steps towards a comprehensive solution, and that would not have happened without Nicolas's leadership. But here at the G20 we're going to have to flesh out more of the details about how the plan will be fully and decisively implemented.

The President elaborated on that theme in his conversation with Chancellor Merkel:

This is going to be a very busy two days. Central to our discussions at the G20 is how do we achieve greater global growth and put people back to work. That means we’re going to have to resolve the situation here in Europe. And without Angela’s leadership we would not have already made the progress that we’ve seen at the EU meeting on October 27th.

Talks will continue tomorrow.

This morning, Holly Petraeus -- the assistant director for the Office of Servicemember Affairs in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau -- testified before the Senate Banking Committee.

She was there to talk about the way that predatory lenders often target servicemembers and how military families cope with economic hardships -- especially during deployments.

She told Senators: 

In my role as a military family member, I have seen the problems that can arise for our servicemembers who may experience “too much month and not enough money.” I have also seen first-hand the devastating impact financial scams and predatory lending can have on servicemembers and their families. Unfortunately there are still too many young troops learning about wise spending through hard experience and years of paying off expensive debt.

Her remarks make a powerful argument for the ways that the CFPB will help combat the lenders who try to take advantage of consumers -- and underscores why it's so important that the Senate confirm Rich Cordray.

Take a minute to check them out: http://go.usa.gov/XMf

Entrepreneurs and the businesses they create play a critical role in sparking new industries, expanding our economy, and generating new job growth across the country. Companies less than five yeas old created 44 million new jobs over the last three decades. In fact, these firms accounted for all net new jobs created in the United States during that time. Huge Fortune 500 companies like Apple, FedEx, and Boeing all began as startups from entrepreneurs with big ideas.

Entrepreneurship has long been a cornerstone of America's economic power. Helping entrepreneurs access the capital and support they need to get new businesses off the ground in these tough economic times is one of the most important things we can do to help our economy grow. That's why President Obama included help for entrepreneurs in the American Jobs Act and introduced the Startup America Initiative earlier this year. Both the Jobs Act and the initiative help entrepreneurs cut through regulatory red tape and access the investment capital they need, enabling them  to turn new ideas into new businesses and new jobs more quickly and easily. The President also signed the America Invents Act in September of this year to fast-track startups and help them put their products on the market more efficiently. enable them to put their products on the market more quickly.

Ed. Note: Cross-posted with the NASA blog

Earlier today at an awards ceremony in Herndon, Virginia, I got a chance to recognize the men, women and companies that have made outstanding contributions to NASA’s indispensable partnership with small business. The Fourth Annual NASA Small Business Symposium and Awards Ceremony was a two-day event, providing opportunities for small businesses to network and learn about NASA programs and initiatives, while recognizing outstanding individuals and companies that support the agency’s small business program. Awards were presented to both NASA civil servants and large and small businesses that were instrumental in NASA awarding $4.3 billion to small businesses in FY 2011. This represented 17.9 percent of NASA contracting and exceeded our goal for 2011.

Small businesses are not only crucial to NASA’s trailblazing achievements in space exploration; they are the backbone of the American economy.  As the wheels of our economy continue to pick up speed, it is important to remember that small business is the engine that is getting us moving again.  According to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), small firms have generated 65 percent of net new jobs over the past 17 years. And federal procurement for women, minority and veteran-owned small businesses are a big part of that equation.

First Lady Michelle Obama shares a group hug with children at Royal Castle Child Development Center during her visit as part of her Let's Move! initiative in New Orleans, La., Nov. 1, 2011. Mrs. Obama read to the children and led them in exercises to highlight the importance of building healthy habits at a very young age. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)

First Lady Michelle Obama visited the Royal Castle Child Development Center in New Orleans yesterday, where she led the toddlers in some exercises and read them a book that is an Obama family favorite.

Mrs. Obama was in New Orleans to highlight the importance of building healthy habits at a very young age, a key component of the Let's Move Child Care initiative, which is designed to get child care centers to promote healthy eating and exercise habits. After she finished a round of stretching, jumping and marching in place, the First Lady read two books to the children and their parents. First up was "Lunch" by Denise Fleming, about a mouse that eats vegetables and fruit, followed by "Where the Wild Things Are," the children's classic (beloved by the Obamas) by Maurice Sendak. 

President Barack Obama delivers remarks at Georgetown Waterfront Park by the Key Bridge, which spans the Potomac River between Arlington, Va., and Washington, D.C., regarding the infrastructure piece of the American Jobs Act, Nov. 2, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)

Ed. Note: Cross-posted with the Department of Transportation blog, Fastlane.

It was an honor to stand with President Obama earlier today by the Francis Scott Key Bridge between Washington, DC, and Virginia.  There, the President urged Congress to pass the infrastructure provisions in the American Jobs Act.

 I've been pretty vocal about how important it is to put these transportation investments into action and get hundreds of thousands of construction workers back on the job rebuilding our roads, bridges, airports, and transit systems. So it was my pleasure, today, to hear the President make the case for what has been historically the kind of bill that gets bipartisan support.

I hope the United States Senate heard his call and will pass the transportation provisions of the American Jobs Act this week.

It was entirely fitting that the President made his case at the Key Bridge because this important crossing, which carries 62,000 vehicles each day, is one of America's more than 70,000 bridges in need of repair.  Like many of the other bridges on the Federal Highway Administration's list of structures that need to be monitored, inspected, and repaired, thousands of people rely on this bridge to get to work and school and to deliver goods every day.  And, like many of the other bridges, the Key Bridge is years away from getting the rehabilitation it requires.

However, if Congress passes the transportation pieces of the American Jobs Act, state departments of transportation across the country can finally begin long-deferred repairs on many of these aging bridges and put construction workers back on the job.

America's economy relies on transportation infrastructure; without a well-functioning system of roads and highways, public transit, railways, seaports, and aviation, much of our economic activity would simply grind to a halt.  But, to meet the needs of a growing economy, we must maintain, upgrade, and expand that infrastructure.

That's not a Democratic idea or a Republican idea--it's a common-sense idea: Investments that create, maintain, or expand transportation networks create construction jobs even as they promote economic activity.

To demonstrate this, the White House released a report (pdf) today that highlights the economic value of improving the nation's transportation system.  The report documents the terrific benefits of projects in 20 different states and the District of Columbia.

The Administration has also asked DOT to step up our awarding of TIGER grants by several months, so we can get workers back to their jobsites more quickly.  And, we're shortening the 2012 TIFIA application process to accelerate private financing for bridges, tunnels, transit, and other projects. 

President Obama and the Department of Transportation are doing what we can to connect the men and women who need work with the work America needs to get done.   But we can't do it alone.  We need Congress to pass this bill.

As we continue to climb out of the worst recession since the Great Depression and Americans continue to struggle, it is clear that the need for continued action is urgent. There are things that Washington can do right now to create jobs and grow the economy, and the President has put together the American Jobs Act to do exactly that. 

Unfortunately, even as the President is doing all he can through his executive powers in the "We Can't Wait" campaign, the American Jobs Act is being blocked by Republicans in the Senate who have voted in unison against these common sense, broadly supported proposals, and Republicans in the House refuse to even give the bill a vote.  Senate Republicans have offered their own alternative as an excuse to oppose the President's plan, but a look at them side by side leads to only one conclusion: one is truly a jobs plan, and one is not.

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