From a GM plant in Detroit, President Obama highlights the landmark trade agreements passed this week which will support tens of thousands of American jobs, level the playing field for American workers, and help us meet our goal of doubling our exports.

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President Barack Obama and President Lee Myung-bak of the Republic of Korea, deliver remarks on the trade agreement, at the General Motors Orion Assembly Plant, Orion Township, Michigan, Oct. 14, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Earlier today, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and President Obama did something out of the ordinary for a state visit: They got out of Washington.

Together, the two leaders toured the General Motors Orion Assembly plant in Michigan -- then spoke to automotive workers.

When President Obama came into office, the plant was in trouble, slated to be closed. But the President made the decision to intervene and save the U.S. auto industry from collapse. Today, more than 1,700 full and part-time employees at Orion are hard at work producing the brand new Chevy Sonic.

President Lee wore a Detroit Tigers baseball cap as he discussed the benefits American workers will see from the new free trade agreement:  

"I know, folks, that some of you here may think that with the implementation of the KORUS FTA, that somehow your jobs may be exported or go somewhere else. But let me tell you one thing: That is not true. I am here with President Obama today because I want to give this promise to you, and that is that the KORUS FTA will not take away any of your jobs. Rather, it will create more jobs for you and your family, and it is going to protect your job. And that is the pledge that I give you today."

President Obama then described the trade deal as a "win-win":  

"Here in the United States, this trade agreement will support at least 70,000 American jobs. It will increase exports. It will boost our economy by more than our last nine trade agreements combined. And as I said, the good thing is we’ve got a balanced situation. It's not just a matter of folks sending a bunch of stuff here. Koreans are also buying American products. That's what makes it a win-win."

Here’s what happened this week on WhiteHouse.gov:

A Strong Bond The President and Mrs.Obama hosted President Lee Myung-Bak of South Korea for an official White House State visit. On a rainy Thursday President Lee and his wife arrived at the White House to a crowd of people on the South Lawn. Later that day President Obama and President Lee held a joint press conference to discuss theglobal economy and how to capitalize on the strong U.S.-Korean relationship to create jobs. That evening, the Obamas hosted a State Dinner in honor of President Lee, featuring produce from the White House kitchen garden fall harvest.  On Friday, both leaders travelled to Detroit where they toured General Motors Orion Assembly and gave remarks on the recent Landmark Trade Agreement between the two countries.  

Breaking Records  On Thursday the First Lady led 400 local students in a bid to help break the Guinness World Records title for the most people doing jumping jacks in a 24-hour period. National Geographic Kids Magazine “jumped” in on the fun on the South Lawn in support of the First Lady’s Lets Move! Initiative. Figure skater Michelle Kwan and Today show host Al Roker were also on hand.

Fighting for Jobs The morning after the Senate’s failure to pass the American Jobs Act, the president addressed student, business, and cultural leaders at the Forum on Latino Heritage where he talked about his unwavering focus on creating jobs and putting people back to work. “The media will look at last night’s vote and say, well that’s it—let’s move on to the next bill. But I’ve got news for them... not this time. Not with so many American outs of work…we will not take no for an answer.”

Jobs for Law Enforcement Vice President Biden visited Flint, Michigan, a town that has been forced to cut its police force in half due to budget cuts. The Vice President talked with local law enforcement and firefighters about the American Jobs Act and how it would both create jobs and protect the nation's "most basic obligation" to keep our citizens safe by putting cops and firefighters back to work. "This is a fight for the soul of this country. It's a fight for the middle class. ... It's about making sure America's fire departments, police departments continue to be a large part of the American fabric and be able to do their job.”

In May, President Obama called on the public to help identify outstanding Americans for the 2011 Citizens Medal, the nation's second-highest civilian honor. Nearly 6,000 nominations were submitted and reviewed this year, and the President has selected 13 outstanding Americans to receive the award. "This year’s recipients of the Citizens Medal come from different backgrounds, but they share a commitment to a cause greater than themselves," said President Obama, "They exemplify the best of what it means to be an American, and I am honored to be able to offer them a small token of our appreciation."

On Thursday, October 20, 2011, President Obama will welcome the recipients of the 2011 Citizens Medal to the White House for a special ceremony to recognize their efforts to serve their communities, and inspire others to do the same. 

Take a moment to read the incredible stories of this year’s Citizens Medal recipients:

Steve and Liz Alderman, Bedford, NY
After Liz and Steve Alderman lost their son, Peter, in the World Trade Center attack on September 11, 2001, they founded the Peter C. Alderman Foundation. The Foundation works to heal the emotional wounds felt by victims of terrorism and mass violence by training health care professionals and establishing clinics in post-conflict countries including Cambodia, Uganda, Rwanda, and Haiti. Their clinics treat thousands in need and contribute to shaping a positive image of America in the world. The Aldermans receive the Citizens Medal for aiding the victims of conflict who might otherwise go unaided.

• Read more about Steve and Liz: UPI.com

Over the last decade, the gap between the wealthiest and those with the least has grown considerably – since 1980, real median household income has grown four times faster for the top 10 percent of households than it has for middle-income households.  As the recently released Census data confirms, the effects of the recession continue to impact millions of low-income families.  Prolonged levels of high unemployment and reductions in household income have caused an additional 2.6 million Americans to fall into poverty from 2009 to 2010.  The poverty rate is even more severe for children, with 22 percent falling below the poverty line.  These numbers are especially stark for minority communities:  over 30 percent of Hispanic, African American, and Native American children today live in poverty.

Today,the White House released Creating Pathways to Opportunity, a report that highlights steps the Administration has taken to reverse these trends and create opportunity for all Americans. The President has fought repeatedly for policies to help more Americans climb the ladder to the middle class.  That work began with the Recovery Act, which helped increase employment by up to 3.5 million workers at the end of 2010 according to the Congressional Budget Office.  And according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, it kept more than six million Americans above the poverty line in 2009 – from enhanced Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits that ensured more than 45 million low-income Americans had the means to put food on the table to initiatives to rehabilitate homes and stabilize housing prices in 13,000 neighborhoods nationwide suffering from concentrated foreclosures.  The President continued that fight with the December 2010 tax package that continued the expansion of the Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit, which will benefit nearly 16 million families with 29 million children. That same deal helped more than nine million students afford college, through extension of the partially refundable American Opportunity Tax Credit, and secured a critical one-year extension of unemployment insurance benefits.

When considered together, the President’s actions have made a significant impact on low-income communities in five specific areas:

• Rewarding Work.  From putting more money in the pockets of working families to investing in initiatives to help workers remain connected to the workforce and gain new skills, the President has made historic reforms to reward work.  The President secured the Making Work Pay tax credit in 2009 and 2010 and then a payroll tax cut that amounted to a 2 percent raise for working Americans in 2011. In addition, the President secured historic expansions in refundable tax credits for low-income families.  Additionally, through the Recovery Act, over 260,000 adults and youth were placed in subsidized jobs and an additional 367,000 low-income youth received summer employment.
• Reforming America’s Education System. To further empower Americans in their climb out of poverty and into the middle class, the President has made historic investments and reforms in education from cradle to career –  from launching a $500 million fund focused on improving state early learning systems to doubling the funding available for Pell Grants for low-income students.   And as a result of the groundbreaking Race to the Top initiative, more than 40 states have raised standards, improved assessments, and invested in teachers to ensure that all of our children receive a high-quality education.  The Obama Administration has also secured $40 million over the past two years to develop the Promise Neighborhoods initiative – modeled off of the Harlem Children’s Zone – to provide communities with the cradle through college continuum of services.
• Health Security for American Families.  The President has also taken historic steps to ensure greater access to health care for the neediest Americans.  Within a month of taking office, the President signed the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act into law, expanding health coverage to more than 4 million low-income children who would otherwise go uninsured.  And because of the Affordable Care Act, 34 million Americans will become insured by 2021 as a result of provisions expanding Medicaid coverage for adults up to 133 percent of the poverty level.   Indeed, the Affordable Care Act is already working to expand coverage:  nearly one million more young adults have gained access to health insurance because of this critical new law.
• Investment in Small Business and Community Development. The President has also consistently supported investments in small businesses that in turn invest in low-income communities.  Through measures like the Small Business Jobs Act, the President has signed into law 17 small business tax cuts, established new initiatives to expand access to credit, and enhanced SBA lending programs.

Today, we hosted the largest White House Tweetup to date -- a chance for hundreds of our facebook fans and twitter followers to attend the Republic of Korea Arrival Ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House and tweet all about it. The event was nearly moved to a smaller space inside the White House due to heavy rain. Thankfully, the rain lightened up just in time to hold the ceremony outside as planned and accommodate "tweeps" from across the country.

Read about their experience and follow the story of the White House Tweetup below or on Storify.

President Barack Obama and President Lee Myung-bak of the Republic of Korea hold a press conference in the East Room during President Lee’s State Visit to the White House, Oct. 13, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

As a part of South Korean President Lee Myung-bak's official state visit, President Obama and President Lee held a joint press conference in the East Room of the White House today taking questions from both the U.S. and Korean press on a number of issues including the recently passed landmark trade agreement between the two countries.

We agreed to move ahead quickly with the landmark trade agreement that Congress passed last night -- and which I’ll sign in the coming days.  It’s a win for both our countries.  For our farmers and ranchers here in the United States, it will increase exports of agricultural products.  From aerospace to electronics, it will increase American manufacturing exports, including those produced by our small businesses.  It will open Korea’s lucrative services market, and I’m very pleased that it will help level the playing field for American automakers. 

As a former executive, President Lee will understand when I say that just as Americans buy Hyundais and Kias, I hope that South Koreans will buy more Fords, Chryslers and Chevys.  And tomorrow, President Lee and I will be visiting with autoworkers in Michigan -- some of the many Americans who are going to benefit from this agreement.

In short, this agreement will boost American exports by up to $11 billion and support some 70,000 American jobs.  It has groundbreaking protections for labor rights, the environment and intellectual property -- so that trade is free and fair.  It will promote green jobs and clean energy, another area where we’re deepening our cooperation.  And it keeps us on track to achieve my goals of doubling American exports. 

President Barack Obama and President Lee Myung-bak of the Republic of Korea shake hands after President Obama's remarks welcoming the Republic of Korea leader during the State Visit Arrival Ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House, Oct. 13, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Samantha Appleton)

This morning amidst a light rain, President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama welcomed President Lee Myung-bak and First Lady Kim Yoon-ok of the Republic of Korea to the White House. During the Arrival Ceremony on the South Lawn, President Obama spoke about the strength of the relationship between our two nations:  

Today we celebrate an alliance rooted in the shared values of our people -- our service members who have fought and bled and died together for our freedom, our students and workers and entrepreneurs who work together to create opportunity and prosperity, and our families, bound by the generations, including many who are here today -- proud and patriotic Korean Americans.

President Lee, our two nations have stood together for more than 60 years. Over the past two years we’ve deepened our cooperation. Today, I'm proud to say that the alliance between the United States and the Republic of Korea is stronger than it has ever been.

President Lee Myung-bak also spoke of the historic friendship between the Korean people and Americans. Reflecting on visiting the Korean War Memorial yesterday to pay respects to the 37,000 American soldiers who lost their lives, he said:

It is written on a wall at that memorial that these American soldiers, “answer the call to defend a country they never knew and a people they never met.”  The simple yet poignant words describe how brace and good they were.

Mr. President, Madam First Lady, ladies and gentlemen, the Korean people have never forgotten what these fallen soldiers and their families gave up.  We will always remain grateful to all of them. 

Our alliance is the bedrock of stability, peace and progress, and our relationship is evolving.  Our two countries are working together to fight disease and poverty, climate change and natural disasters.  We are addressing the issues of energy security and eradicating terrorism and extremism, and stopping the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

Today, consumers got some good news when a big insurance company – Blue Shield of California – announced it will be returning $295 million to consumers and the community by the end of the year. This announcement will provide some much needed relief to families who have seen their premiums increase in recent years. And it’s the fourth positive announcement we’ve heard this week alone about health insurance premiums.

Before the Affordable Care Act became law, many insurance companies could raise your premiums without any transparency or accountability. If you wanted to know why your rates were going up, they were under no obligation to tell you.

Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, that’s all changing. Starting September 1, 2011, in every State and for the first time ever, insurance companies are required to publicly justify their actions if they want to raise rates by 10 percent or more. The Affordable Care Act also included $250 million to help States strengthen their rate review procedures so they can successfully fight high premium hikes and help keep costs under control.

Making the insurance marketplace more transparent and holding insurance companies accountable is good for consumers. Accountability and transparency can help drive costs down and give you more information about your health insurance choices.