Recently, I’ve been traveling across the country to meet with local business leaders, workers and farmers to talk about how trade can support well-paying jobs right here at home. Yesterday I travelled to the Bangor State Fair in Maine.  In its 161st year, this traditional Maine summer event was a perfect place to showcase the importance of agricultural exports to the economic recovery.

Ambassador Kirk speaks with Bangor State Fair Director Mike Dyer and USDA Rural Development State Director for Maine Virginia Manuel. August 5, 2010.

Ambassador Kirk with Matt Davis of Davis Farms and his first-place award-winning cow. August 5, 2010.

I had the opportunity to join Bangor State Fair Director Mike Dyer and USDA Rural Development State Director for Maine Virginia Manuel. With the help of Penobscott County 4-H students, I was able to see first-hand a wide selection of the great American farm products that are sold around the world. I met high school student Matt Davis and his best in show winning dairy cow.  I also saw goats and chickens. College students Majorie Hardy and Haley Emery gave me a tour of the 4-H students' project area where I was able to talk with students about the importance of growing locally and selling globally.

Private sector employment grew 71,000 in July, the seventh consecutive monthly increase, including continued growth in manufacturing. But, the pace of growth was not enough to reduce the overall unemployment rate, which remained 9.5 percent.  There was, however, important variation in employment growth across industries: employment in manufacturing as well as education and health services increased, while that in financial services and construction decreased.  Employment in state and local government, including public school teachers, decreased 48,000, underscoring the importance of the additional state fiscal relief working its way through Congress.

Overall payroll employment decreased 131,000.  However, much of this decline was anticipated because of the winding down of temporary Census employment.  The sharp decline in state and local government employment also contributed to the overall decline.  Private sector employment increased 71,000, above the revised levels of private sector job growth in May (51,000) and June (31,000).  Private sector employment has grown by 630,000 since its low point in December 2009.  Average weekly hours in the private sector rose another one-tenth of an hour; hours are now five-tenths of an hour higher than they were in October 2009.

A bright spot in the private sector jobs numbers for July was the growth of manufacturing employment.  Manufacturing employment grew 36,000, the seventh consecutive monthly rise.  Manufacturing employment is now up 183,000 since its low point.  Both financial services and construction shed jobs.  Temporary help employment also fell, the first such fall since November 2009.

It’s been just under three months since most Americans were introduced to Elena Kagan by the President and in a quick video here at WhiteHouse.gov. Today in Chicago, the President was able to mark her confirmation by the Senate as the next Supreme Court Justice:

A week ago, when the President was in Detroit visiting workers at GM and Chrysler plants that had survived the worst and begun to bounce back, we released a new report demonstrating the amazing comeback that the American auto industry has begun to forge from the brink of extinction.  We also laid out an interactive map showing the locations across the country that were benefiting from the industry’s new turn towards the vehicles of the future, aided by the Recovery Act’s unprecedented investment in clean energy.

In Detroit, the workers roared as the President talked about how his stand helped save not only their companies, but an entire supply chain scattered across the country – about a million jobs all told.  They jeered when he recalled critics who called it a “bad investment.”

Speaking at the AFL-CIO Executive Council Meeting here in DC, the President thanked “all my brothers and sisters in the AFL-CIO” who have worked so hard to help get America’s economy back on track.  He spoke of the progress that’s been made, with millions of people at work now because of the Recovery Act, and the length left to go until the millions still out of work find their jobs.

As for his plans going forward, he summed it up in “three powerful words”:

Together, we’re jumpstarting a new American clean energy industry -- an industry with the potential to generate perhaps millions of jobs building wind turbines and solar panels, and manufacturing the batteries for the cars of the future, building nuclear plants, developing clean coal technology.  There are other countries that are fighting for those jobs, in China and India and in Germany and other parts of Europe.  But the United States doesn’t play for second place.  As long as I’m President, I’m going to keep fighting night and day to make sure that we win those jobs, that those are jobs that are created right here in the United States of America and that your members are put to work.  (Applause.)

So the message I want to deliver to our competitors -- and to those in Washington who’ve tried to block our progress at every step of the way -- is that we are going to rebuild this economy stronger than before, and at the heart of it are going to be three powerful words:  Made in America.  Made in America.  (Applause.)

That’s why we’re finally enforcing our trade laws -- in some cases for the very first time.  That’s why we’re fighting for tax breaks for companies that invest here in the United States as opposed to companies that are investing overseas or that keep their profits offshore.  Because it is my belief -- and I know it’s the belief of this room -- that there are no better workers than U.S. workers.  There are no better workers than your members.  (Applause.)  And they are absolutely committed to making sure that America is on the rise again.  And we are going to keep moving forward with them -- not moving backwards but moving forward with them.

As we rebuild our economy, we’re going to rebuild America as well.  Over the last 20 months, bulldozers and backhoes have been whirring in communities across the country, as construction crews from local companies repair roads and bridges, railways and ports.  That was part of our plan, and it’s put hundreds of thousands of folks to work.  But there’s a lot more to do to rebuild our infrastructure for the 21st century, and a lot more Americans who are ready and willing to do that work.  So that, too, is an area where we’ve got to keep moving forward.

President Barack Obama delivers remarks to the AFL-CIO Executive Council Meeting at the Washington Convention Center in Washington August 4, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)

To get the correct answer, you’ve got to ask the right question. 

An article in USA Today mistakenly concludes that Recovery Act benefits are not reaching the communities that need the help.  Now you might reasonably ask whether the 3 million or so people working because of the Recovery Act live in places where they don’t need those jobs – kind of an absurd proposition.  And it’s also the case that USA Today reaches this conclusion using some incomplete data to begin with - but the article also makes two mistakes: First, USA Today fails to separate out programs directly keyed to joblessness, and second, they conflate state unemployment with need. 

Before going into the details, it’s important to reflect on this second shortcoming, because it’s a fundamental flaw in their analysis.  We put recovery projects where they’re needed, regardless of a state’s unemployment rate.  We build roads where roads are needed, we clean up superfund sites where they are located and we repair schools where schools need fixing.  

[UPDATE: This event has now concluded, watch the full video below.]

For those who have watched our animated video explainer on Wall Street Reform, there’s probably no question that there are benefits in there for every American as a taxpayer, a citizen, and a consumer.

That's true when it comes to the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau passed as part of the bill as well, but there are communities for which that will have a particularly big impact. Throughout the debate in Congress, for example, we discussed how military families and our troops were often targets for shady lending practices and would get new protections under reform.

Today we’re going to take 45 minutes to focus on how Wall Street Reform will affect the African American community, which has long seen more than its share of the kinds of practices the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will put to an end.

Ceci Rouse, who sits on the Council of Economic Advisors, will take questions from representatives Black Enterprise, theGrio, and Jack & Jill Politics – all of whom have been collecting questions from their readers – at 1:00 EDT this afternoon. And, as usual, we’ll be tossing a few live questions into the mix.

• Watch it at WhiteHouse.gov/live.
• Watch and join the discussion at Facebook.

This morning the President signed the Fair Sentencing Act, which reduces the disparity in the amounts of powder cocaine and crack cocaine required for the imposition of mandatory minimum sentences and eliminates the mandatory minimum sentence for simple possession of crack cocaine.  It also increases monetary penalties for major drug traffickers.

President Barack Obama signs the Fair Sentencing Act in the Oval Office, Aug. 3, 2010. Joining the President are, from left, Gil Kerlikowske, Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, Attorney General Eric Holder, Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin, of Ill., Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-SC. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Press Secretary Robert Gibbs was asked about the legislation in his daily press briefing and responded:

MR. GIBBS:  Well, let me see if there’s any guidance on it.  I will say this, April, I think the signing of today’s bill into law represents the hard work of Democrats and Republicans coming -- this is a good example -- of coming together and making progress on something that people had identified as a glaring blight on the law.

Look, I think if you look at the people that were there at that signing, they’re not of the political persuasions that either always or even part of the time agree.  I think that demonstrates the, as I said, the glaring nature of what these penalties had -- the glaring nature of what these penalties had done to people and how unfair they were.  And I think the President was proud to sign that into law.

The Administration is committed to serving our veterans as well as they have served us. With Vietnam veteran, wounded warrior and lifetime DAV (Disabled American Veterans) member Secretary Shinseki at his side, President Obama talked to Disabled American Veterans in Atlanta, Georgia about historic commitments to our veterans and their families.

President Obama charged Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Ric Shinseki with building a 21st century VA. Here’s what VA is doing to serve our vets:

1. It’s easier for about 200,000 Vietnam veterans who may have been exposed to Agent Orange to get the health care and benefits they need.
2. Co-pays for the catastrophically disabled have been eliminated and the half-million Priority 8 veterans will have their VA health care access restored.
3. Funding for veterans health care across the board has dramatically increased – this includes improving care for rural veterans and women veterans.
4. Funding delays for veterans medical care are over. VA is working overtime to create a single lifetime electronic record that our troops and veterans can keep for life.
5. VA is hiring thousands of new claims processors to break the backlog once and for all and, for the first time ever, veterans will be able to go to the VA website and download their personal health records with one simple click. It will also be easier for vets to check on the status of their claims online or even from their cell phones.
6. Today, there are about 20,000 fewer homeless veterans than there were before this Administration took office. We’re not stopping until every veteran who has fought for America has a home in America.
7. The newest veterans returning from Afghanistan and Iraq will have the support and counseling they need to transition back to civilian life. This includes funding the post-9/11 GI Bill, which is already helping nearly 300,000 veterans and family members pursue their dream of a college education.
8. VA is helping with job training and placement for veterans trying to find work in a tough economy.
9. Unprecedented resources are being directed to treat the wounds of today’s wars -- traumatic brain injury and post traumatic stress disorder. The Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act not only improves treatment for traumatic brain injury and PTSD, it gives new support to the caregivers who put their own lives on hold to care for their loved one.
10. The Administration is making it easier for those suffering from PTSD to qualify for VA benefits. A veteran can now establish a claim based on his or her own testimony of events that caused PTSD without the requirement of corroborating evidence -- no matter what war you served in.