Ed. Note: The following is cross-listed with the Department of Transportation blog.

Last week, as President Obama addressed Congress on the American Jobs Act, Kirk Bergstrom, a construction engineer from Centennial, Colorado, who personifies our economic challenges, sat in the First Lady’s box.

Here's what I mean.  Kirk Bergstrom is a stand-up guy, one of those Americans who has played by the rules all his life.  He went to college to improve his opportunities. He developed his skills and experience through more than a decade working in his field.  He got married and began raising a family.  He was doing all the right things.

Then, when the recession began, he was laid off from a company he'd been with for 11 steady years.  He was picked up by another construction company, but was laid off again.  Hired back by his original company, he was again let go when the projects dried up.

For long stretches during this period--three months, six months, another six months--Kirk was unemployed.  But even then he would not give up.  He took part-time work in a warehouse while his wife struggled to hold down different part-time jobs.  The bills--mortgage, utilities, groceries--piled up.

"My wife and I," Kirk says, "would sit up at night and just stare at each other, not knowing what to say."

The Bergstrom Family (Photo from US DOT)

Hi everyone. I’d like to invite you to a very special edition of “Open for Questions” on Wednesday, September 14th, at 4:00PM EDT. Please join me and senior White House officials as we field questions on how the American Jobs Act will impact young Americans. I'll moderate this conversation with:

• Michael Pyle, Special Assistant to the President, National Economic Council
• Roberto Rodriguez, Special Assistant to the President for Education Policy

We’ve already received a number of questions about the American Jobs Act, like:

• How will the President’s plan support young entrepreneurs?
• Will the plan help prevent police, firefighters and teacher layoffs?
• What programs will the American Jobs Act support on youth employment?

On Wednesday, we'll answer these questions, and many more. So, send us your questions and please be sure to tune in for the live video chat. Here's how you can participate:

Right now, you can:

• Ask questions in advance on the White House facebook wall
• Ask us through a form on WhiteHouse.gov

This morning, President Obama was joined by Vice President Biden as well as teachers, veterans, small business owners, construction workers and first responders, as he called on Congress to pass the American Jobs Act right away:

On Thursday, I told Congress that I’ll be sending them a bill called the American Jobs Act.  Well, here it is.  This is a bill that will put people back to work all across the country.  This is the bill that will help our economy in a moment of national crisis.  This is a bill that is based on ideas from both Democrats and Republicans.  And this is the bill that Congress needs to pass.  No games.  No politics.  No delays. I’m sending this bill to Congress today, and they ought to pass it immediately. 

Ed. Note: The following is cross-listed with the Department of Education blog.

In his speech to Congress, President Obama laid out two job programs critical to ensuring every child has the opportunity for a world-class education.

He proposed to invest $30 billion to put hundreds of thousands of construction workers, engineers, boiler repairmen, and electrical workers back to work rebuilding and modernizing our aging public schools and community colleges. And he proposed an additional $30 billion to keep hundreds of thousands of educators facing potential layoffs and furloughs in classrooms where they belong—instead of on unemployment lines.

In the global economy, the nation that out-educates America will out-compete America. But the hard truth is that a number of nations are now out-educating the U.S.—and the antiquated conditions of many public schools are limiting children’s access to the 21st century tools and skills needed to compete in a knowledge economy.

The average public school building in the United States is over 40 years old. Many school buildings are even more antiquated. Today, the digital age has penetrated every nook of American life—with the exception of many of our public schools.

Most classrooms have changed little from a century ago. In fact, 43 states report that a third or more of their schools fail to meet the functional requirements necessary to effectively teach laboratory science—even though hands-on science education is vital for the jobs of the future. That’s no way to provide a world-class education.

Cash-strapped school districts meanwhile face an enormous $270 billion backlog of deferred maintenance and repairs. Tragically, children in the nation’s poorest school districts often attend schools with crumbling ceilings, overcrowded classrooms, and facilities that lack basic wiring infrastructure for computers, projectors, and other modern-day technology.

On Sunday night, after a day spent remembering those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001, President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama attended "A Concert for Hope" at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. with Vice President Biden and Dr. Biden. At the event, the President spoke about how that terrible day changed us, as individuals and as a nation. But the President also talked about what has not changed in these past ten years:

Our character as a nation has not changed. Our faith -– in God and in each other –- that has not changed. Our belief in America, born of a timeless ideal that men and women should govern themselves; that all people are created equal, and deserve the same freedom to determine their own destiny –- that belief, through tests and trials, has only been strengthened.
 
These past 10 years have shown that America does not give in to fear. The rescue workers who rushed to the scene, the firefighters who charged up the stairs, the passengers who stormed the cockpit -- these patriots defined the very nature of courage. Over the years we’ve also seen a more quiet form of heroism -- in the ladder company that lost so many men and still suits up and saves lives every day, the businesses that have been rebuilt from nothing, the burn victim who has bounced back, the families who press on.

President Obama has a message for those who lost loved ones on that terrible day, ten years ago: "We can never replace all that you have lost.  But what we can do, what we will do, is honor the memory of your loved ones by being the best country we can be, and by standing with you and your families, now and forever."

The President and Mrs Obama commemorated today's sad anniversary by attending memorial services at the three sites where the planes went down, and once again met with many of the families. The First Family have been touched by the grief that still lingers:

Despite heartache that never goes away, you’ve done what your loved ones would have wanted.  You’ve learned to live and laugh and love again.  Your courage, your resilience has been an inspiration to my family, and an inspiration to the American people.  Through you, we’ve been reminded that, as a people, we don’t simply endure, we can emerge stronger than before.        

In quiet moments of remembrance, some of you have shared with Michelle and me the beauty of their lives, the anguish of your loss and the pain of these past ten years.  And I realize that there are no words than can ever fill the hole in your hearts.  

But today I want to say again—your loved ones live on in you and in the life of our nation, which will never forget them.  In their name, we’ll never waver in our efforts to prevent another attack on our shores and to spare other families the heartbreak you have known.  In their name, we’ll continue to deliver justice to those who took the people you loved most in the world.  And in their name, we will come together, in spirit of national service, to honor your loved ones, as one American family.

President Barack Obama and daughter Malia Obama participate in a service project to commemorate the September 11th National Day of Service and Remembrance at DC Central Kitchen near the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., Sept. 10, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

To honor those we lost in the worst attack ever on our soil, September 11th has been designated as a National Day of Service and Remembrance, and like many Americans across the country this weekend, the First Family paid their respects by joining a service project. The Obamas prepared food for those in need at DC Central Kitchen, an organization that turns leftover food into meals for thousands of at-risk individuals while offering nationally recognized culinary job training to formerly homeless and hungry adults, which is located near the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.

In a recent weekly address, President Obama called on the American people  to come together in the spirit of service and remembrance for the tenth anniversary of the September 11th attacks.  Even the smallest actions can demonstrate that our sense of common purpose is just as strong today as it was ten years ago. 

First Lady Michelle Obama and daughter Sasha Obama participate in a service event preparing food at DC Central Kitchen in Washington, D.C., Sept. 10, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Samantha Appleton)

September 11th has been designated as a National Day of Service and Remembrance. Throughout the weekend, Americans from across the country will be participating in service projects to honor those whose lives were lost in the horrific attacks on our country on September 11, 2011.

Check out Serve.gov to find a service opportunity in your area.

Be sure to check out President Obama’s recent weekly address where he called on the American people to come together in the spirit of service and remembrance as we approach the tenth anniversary of the September 11th attacks.  Even the smallest actions can demonstrate that our sense of common purpose is just as strong today as it was ten years ago. 

Throughout the week, Cabinet Secretaries have been sharing their reflections on the 10th Anniversary of the September 11th attacks.  Take a look at their videos.

• Attorney General Eric Holder
• Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano
• Secretary of Veterans' Affairs Eric Shinseki
• Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta
   

President Obama marks the tenth anniversary of the September 11th attacks and pays tribute to the first responders, those serving our nation in the military, and those who lost their lives on that tragic day.

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