The Final State of the Union
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Summary:
Welcome to the West Wing Week, your guide to everything that's happening at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
Welcome to the West Wing Week, your guide to everything that's happening at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. This week, the White House hosted forward-thinking union and business leaders for a Worker's Voice Summit, and local school kids to harvest vegetables in the White House Garden. And, the United States and 11 other Asia-Pacific countries announced they had reached a trade agreement more than five years in the making. That's October 2nd to October 8th or, "#StartTheConvo."
Friday, October 2
- On Friday, the President got a briefing from FEMA administrator Craig Fugate on preparations underway for Hurricane Joaquin.
- That afternoon, the President announced that Education Secretary Arne Duncan, one of the President's longest-serving Cabinet members, was preparing to step down at the end of the year.
Saturday, October 3
Sunday, October 4
- On Sunday, the President flew over the Potomac to Emmitsburg, Maryland. There, the President paid tribute to the firefighters who lost their lives this year while serving their fellow Americans.
Monday, October 5
- On Monday morning, the President announced a historic agreement reached among 12 nations that make up the Trans-Pacific Partnership. The deal will help American businesses sell more goods stamped "Made in America" to some of the fastest growing economies in the world.
Tuesday, October 6
- On Tuesday, the President spent the day talking about his trade agreement. First, at the Department of Agriculture, President Obama and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack met with business leaders to talk about how cutting 18,000 different import taxes will help American workers and our economy.
- The President and Secretary Vilsack then sat down to phone into a radio show hosted by Tom Steever of Brownfield Ag News to answer questions about how the trade agreement will help American farmers. President Obama also sat down for two interviews — one with Kai Ryssdal of Marketplace, and the second with Steve Kroft of CBS's 60 Minutes.
- The afternoon was filled with peppers, potatoes, pumpkins, and greens as the First Lady joined local students in the White House garden to harvest some of fall's produce and learn some healthy kitchen habits.
Wednesday, October 7
- On Wednesday afternoon, the President participated in the Worker's Voice Summit — to energize a new generation of Americans to recognize the power of their voice at work. He also participated in a conversation using the Coworker.org platform.
Thursday, October 8
- On Thursday, the President released a video thanking Americans for stepping up to help Syrian families fleeing violence in their war-torn country. Find out how you can help at AidRefugees.gov.
- On Thursday evening, the President spoke at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute’s 38th Anniversary Awards Gala — to celebrate the achievements of the Latino community in the United States.
Stay engaged with us online, and you can find out more about any of these topics and see complete videos of these events at whitehouse.gov.
