Irish Americans for Biden Harris

National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlyn Hayden issued the following statement today: "Talks led by independent chair Richard Haass with the five parties of the Northern Ireland Executive have reached a critical juncture. The goal has been and remains to reach agreement before the end of the year on new arrangements for parading, flags, and contending with the legacy of past violence.  Initiating these talks demonstrated the commitment of the parties and people of Northern Ireland to move forward on tough issues. We are confident that a solution can be reached if there is political will on all sides. "We call upon the leadership of the five parties to make the compromises necessary to conclude an agreement now, one that would help heal the divisions that continue to stand between the people of Northern Ireland and the future they deserve."

President Barak Obama's Remarks To Graça Machel and the Mandela family; to President Zuma and members of the government; to heads of state and government, past and present; distinguished guests - it is a singular honor to be with you today, to celebrate a life unlike any other.  To the people of South Africa - people of every race and walk of life - the world thanks you for sharing Nelson Mandela with us.  His struggle was your struggle.  His triumph was your triumph.  Your dignity and hope found expression in his life, and your freedom, your democracy is his cherished legacy. It is hard to eulogize any man - to capture in words not just the facts and the dates that make a life, but the essential truth of a person - their private joys and sorrows; the quiet moments and unique qualities that illuminate someone’s soul.  How much harder to do so for a giant of history, who moved a nation toward justice, and in the process moved billions around t...

Caroline Kennedy was sworn in as the US Ambassador to Japan on Tuesday, November 12, 2013 at the US State Department. At a reception later that evening at the Japanese Embassy in Washington, DC, US Secretary of State John Kerry gave welcoming remarks to those who gathered, saying that the appointment of Ambassador Kennedy to Japan is "a symbol of reconciliation, a symbol of possibilities, a symbol of people who know how to put the past behind them and look to the future and build a future together. That is, in today’s world, both remarkable and beautiful." Ambassador Kennedy made brief remarks at the reception. Kennedy is the honorary president of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation in Boston. 

This week, President Barack Obama urged Republicans and Democrats alike to pass an Immigration Reform bill this year.  Speaking at the White House and surrounded by business officials, community leaders, religious clergy and immigration experts, the president expressed an urgency to "modernize our legal immigration system, so that even as we train American workers for the jobs of the future, we’re also attracting highly-skilled entrepreneurs from beyond our borders to join with us to create jobs here in the United States." Read the full text of the speech here.  Find out more about the White House immigration reform initiative . Follow Irish Americans for Obama on twitter .

The United States Senate has confirmed the appointment of Caroline Kennedy  to become the next US Ambassador to Japan.  She won the unanimous endorsement Wednesday, October 16, 2013, according to CBS News . Her confirmation hearing took place before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on September 19, 2013.  Here is a video of that hearing .  She promised to carry on the legacy of her father, President John F. Kennedy . Kennedy, who is the president of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation , has recently completed a  book on her grandmother's historical photographs, entitled Rose Kennedy's Family Album . Visit the JFK Library for more information about President Kennedy and the Kennedy family.

(August 31, 2013) - President Barack Obama praised the contributions of working men and women this Labor Day Weekend in his weekly address to the nation.  President Obama said, "Over the past four and a half years, we’ve fought our way back from the worst recession of our lifetimes. And thanks to the grit and resilience of the American people, we’ve begun to lay a foundation for stronger, more durable economic growth. But as any working family will tell you, we’re not where we need to be. "But if we take a few bold steps – and if Washington is able to come together with common purpose and common resolve – we’ll get there. Our economy will keep getting stronger and more Americans will be able to join the ranks of the middle-class." Here is a transcript of the speech . Here is a video of the Labor Day address : Follow Obama_IrishUSA on Twitter.

Earlier this week, on June 24, 2013, President Barack Obama spoke to a group of business leaders at an Immigration Reform Roundtable in the Roosevelt Room. Here is a transcript of his remarks , and also a video of the conversation . Find out more about the Obama Administration's polices on immigration . Follow Obama_IrishUSA on twitter.

President Kennedy in Ireland, 1963 (Photo Courtesy of JFK Library)    John Kerry , US Secretary of State, has published his reflections of President John F. Kennedy's historic visit to Ireland in June 1963.  In an essay titled The Legacy of JFK: Reflections on the 50th Anniversary of His Visit to Ireland , Secretary Kerry remarked on "the spirit and idealism of the Kennedy years" and what that meant to his generation growing up in the Cold War era. "I particularly remember watching the news on a little black and white television set as America’s first Catholic President returned to the land of his heritage to celebrate a moment of pride on both sides of the Atlantic and a remarkable reminder that the United States was a nation of immigrants focused on the future but deeply proud of its roots," Kerry says. This past week, Caroline Kennedy and her family returned to Ireland to retrace her father's visit fifty years ago, stopping in New Ross, C...

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama addressed an assembly of young people at the Belfast Waterfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland today. The president is attending the G-8 Summit Meeting in Belfast this week, while Mrs. Obama and her daughters are visiting Northern Ireland and the  Republic of Ireland. Mrs. Obama talked about leadership and the importance of "honesty, hard work and a commitment to education." President Obama talked about the peace process and the challenges facing a new generation of young people all around the world. "You must remind us of the existence of peace -- the possibility of peace.  You have to remind us of hope again and again and again.  Despite resistance, despite setbacks, despite hardship, despite tragedy, you have to remind us of the future again and again and again," President Obama said. Read the entire transcript here . Follow Obama_IrishUSA on Twitter. 

President Barack Obama talked about immigration reform and expanding trade in Latin America in his weekly address to the American people on May 4, 2013. Here is a video of the President's speech: Follow Obama_IrishUSA on Twitter .

President Barack Obama met with Ireland's Taoiseach Enda Kenny in the White House Oval Office this morning to discuss relations between the United States and Ireland.  Here is a transcript of the conversation. 10:41 A.M. EDT PRESIDENT OBAMA:  Well, it is a great pleasure to welcome back Taoiseach Kenny to the Oval Office, to the White House and his entire delegation.  Obviously, we cherish this opportunity once a year to reaffirm the incredible bond between the United States and Ireland.  This year, it also gives us an excuse to stretch out St. Patrick’s Day for a couple of extra days, which is always good. This is now my fifth time to welcome the Taoiseach to the Oval Office.  I’ve had the occasion to visit Ireland as well -- one of the truly wonderful trips that I’ve taken as President of the United States.  And the reason that these meetings go so well is because of the incredible bond and history between our two countrie...

Irish-American Heritage Month  A PROCLAMATION For more than two centuries, America has been made and remade by striving, hopeful immigrants looking for a chance to pursue their dreams. Millions among them were born in Ireland, separated from our shores but united by their belief in a better day. This month, we celebrate the Irish-American journey, and we reflect on the ways a nation so small has inspired so much in another. Generations of Irish left the land of their forebears to cast their fortunes with a young Republic. Escaping the blight of famine or the burden of circumstance, many found hardship even here. They endured prejudice and stinging ridicule. But through it all, these new citizens never gave up on one of our oldest ideas: that anyone from anywhere can write the next great chapter in the American story. So they raised families and built communities, earned a living and sent their kids to school. In time, what it meant to be Irish helped def...

President Barack Obama today gave a landmark speech on immigration reform today in Las Vegas, Nevada.  Here is a video of the speech . President Obama said, "We define ourselves as a nation of immigrants.  That’s who we are -- in our bones.  The promise we see in those who come here from every corner of the globe, that’s always been one of our greatest strengths.  It keeps our workforce young.  It keeps our country on the cutting edge.  And it’s helped build the greatest economic engine the world has ever known. "The Irish who left behind a land of famine.  The Germans who fled persecution.  The Scandinavians who arrived eager to pioneer out west.  The Polish.  The Russians.  The Italians.  The Chinese.  The Japanese.  The West Indians.  The huddled masses who came through Ellis Island on one coast and Angel Island on the other.  (Applause.)  All those folks, before they were us, they...

President Barack Obama has named Denis McDonough the new Chief of Staff in his administration, replacing Jack Lew . McDonough, a native of Minnesota, had been the Deputy National Security Adviser since 2009, and is a career staffer on Capitol Hill. "I have been counting on Denis for nearly a decade," President Obama said.  "I rely on his intellect and good judgement...He has been one of my closest and most trusted advisers...Denis has played a key role in every major national security decision of my presidency." Read the entire transcript here . Follow Obama_IrishUSA on twitter.

President Barack Obama took the oath of office for his second term before over half a million people stretched out across the Mall in Washington DC on Monday, January 21, 2013.  US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts administered the oath to the president. The president described an ambitious agenda for the next four years, including immigration reform, a stronger middle class, equal access for all Americans, including women, gays and minorities, and a sustainable energy future.  "America’s possibilities are limitless," President Obama said, "for we possess all the qualities that this world without boundaries demands:  youth and drive; diversity and openness; an endless capacity for risk and a gift for reinvention.  My fellow Americans, we are made for this moment, and we will seize it -- so long as we seize it together." Read the  full text of the president's speech .  Here is a video of the ceremony and the speech . Prior to the pr...

President Barack Obama held the final press conference of his first term today in the East Room of the White House and took a moment to reflect on his first four years.  Here is a transcript of his remarks , followed by questions and answers. The President talked about deficit reduction, the debt ceiling, preventing gun violence, and also looked ahead to the next four years. Here is a video of the press conference . Follow Obama_IrishUSA on Twitter .

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton this week thanked US Ambassador to Ireland Dan Rooney and his wife Patricia for their service in a ceremony at the State Department. Mr. Rooney served as Ambassador to Ireland from July 2009 to December 2012, when he and his wife returned to their home in Pittsburgh.  Speaking from the Diplomatic Reception Room, Secretary Clinton called Rooney "a dream ambassador" who "performed this job with enormous integrity and warmth and good humor."  She also commended Patricia Rooney "who has been a fabulous support and great person in reaching out to the Irish on her own behalf alongside Dan." Ambassador Rooney in turn called Secretary Clinton "a remarkable leader...with amazing stamina and commitment." You can read the full text of the ceremony here. Secretary Clinton presented the Rooneys, who where accompanied by their granddaughter Sarah, with two flags, the Chief of Mission flag, and the flag of...

Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano today announced the posting of a final rule in the Federal Register that reduces the time U.S. citizens are separated from their immediate relatives (spouse, children and parents), who are in the process of obtaining visas to become lawful permanent residents of the United States under certain circumstances. The ruling goes into effect on March 4, 2013, and allows certain immigrants here illegally to obtain a provisional unlawful presence waiver here in the United States, rather than having to return home to apply for the waiver.  That allows the applicants to stay with their American families as they await the outcome of the visa application process. The new rule still requires applicants to return to their native countries for an interview at a U.S. Consulate after a waiver is approved. “This final rule facilitates the legal immigration process and reduces the amount of time that U.S. citizens are separated from their...

(Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy) Here are President Barack Obama's remarks on the Tax Agreement passed in Congress on January 1, 2013. President Obama said in part, "We can come together as Democrats and Republicans to cut spending and raise revenue in a way that reduces our deficit, protects our middle class, provides ladders into the middle class for everybody who’s willing to work hard. We can find a way to afford the investments that we need to grow and compete. We can settle this debate, or at the very least, not allow it to be so all-consuming all the time that it stops us from meeting a host of other challenges that we face -- creating jobs, boosting incomes, fixing our infrastructure, fixing our immigration system, protecting our planet from the harmful effects of climate change, boosting domestic energy production, protecting our kids from the horrors of gun violence." Find more details on the Tax Agreement here.