Oval Office

2:35 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: Hello, everybody. All right, dont knock anything over. (Laughter.) Its always a little hazardous.

It is a great pleasure for me to welcome the leadership and some of the key participants in Americas Promise. I think as many of you know, this is something that the Powell family and others helped to initiate, and a number of Presidents have participated in it.

The concept is simple -- that our greatest asset are our children. And it is absolutely critical for us as a nation to continually find ways in which we can make sure that they are safe; that they are getting the kind of education they need to succeed in the 21st century; that theyre healthy; that they are on the track not only to be successful but also to be good citizens. And the companies and organizations and non-for-profits that are represented behind me, under Almas leadership, have contributed in so many ways, but this is just a small sampling of the hundreds of organizations around the country that are doing great work every single day and are learning from each other, and creating a network of concern and nurturing for our children in every walk of life.

And so Im very proud to be the latest President to sign on to Americas Promise. It is consistent with a number of the initiatives that weve been putting forward in the administration, whether its through our efforts in Race to the Top and the Department of Education or, more recently, the work that were trying to do around My Brothers Keeper, and making sure that every young person in America gets a chance at success.

And so in addition to the symbolic act of signing on to this declaration, this also gives us an opportunity to collaborate and learn more about some of the great work thats being done out there and figuring out how the government, private sector and non-profits can all work together to achieve the same goal.

So thank you very much for your outstanding work, all of you. And I will now affix my name to this. There you go.

Thank you, guys.

Q Do you still have confidence in the Secret Service?

THE PRESIDENT: The Secret Service does a great job, and Im grateful for the sacrifices that they make on my behalf -- and my familys behalf.

Thank you very much, everybody.

END 2:37 P.M. EDT